Why did God send Jonah to a Gentile city if He was only dealing with Israel?
God sent Jonah to Nineveh because He sovereignly chose to show grace to a Gentile city, even though His primary program at that time was with Israel. The Old Testament economy was not exclusively Jew only; Scripture records exceptions, such as Jonah and Rahab, where God moved in sovereign grace toward Gentiles.
Les explains that from Genesis 12 until well into the Book of Acts, God was dealing primarily, not exclusively, with Israel—Jew only, with exceptions. He points to Acts 11:19 as the source of that term. Even in the Old Testament economy, God was dealing only with Israel, but in His sovereign grace He sent Jonah to Nineveh, a Gentile city. Likewise, in His sovereign grace, the spies ended up on the wall of Jericho and met Rahab. These exceptions show that Israel-only dealings were not absolute.