Jonah 3: a bet on the Lord's mercy

The Lord is merciful even though He is also righteous and punishes the wicked.
Jonah hated the people of Niniveh, certainly, they deserved to be destroyed. It is not common that a prophet from the Lord preaches on a foreign land, however Jonah preaches:

4 Jonah entered the city, went one day’s walk and preached, “In forty days Nineveh will be smashed.”

Apparently he preached to just a small portion of the city because the city was much greater than a one days' walk length. He would be glad if it really were smashed; but the people of Nineveh bet on the Lord's mercy!

5 The people of Nineveh listened, and trusted God. They proclaimed a citywide fast and dressed in burlap to show their repentance. Everyone did it—rich and poor, famous and obscure, leaders and followers.

Even the king repented. He made a decree:

8-9 (...) Everyone must turn around, turn back from an evil life and the violent ways that stain their hands. Who knows? Maybe God will turn around and change his mind about us, quit being angry with us and let us live!”

It was really a bet: "who knows? Let us repent and expect that the Lord is merciful to us".
The prodigal son bet on the mercy of his father too; but unfortunately the older son didn't.
Am I betting on the mercy of the Lord?