Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Jonah+004

Jonah 4 (ESV)

Jonah’s Anger and the Lord’s Compassion

¹ But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. ² And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. ³ Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” ⁴ And the Lord said, “Do you do well to be angry?”

⁵ Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, till he should see what would become of the city. ⁶ Now the Lord God appointed a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant. ⁷ But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered. ⁸ When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint. And he asked that he might die and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.” ⁹ But God said to Jonah, “Do you do well to be angry for the plant?” And he said, “Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die.” ¹⁰ And the Lord said, “You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night. ¹¹ And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?”

REFLECTION:

In the Book of Jonah, God’s patience and loving discipline to the prophet is an important theme. In Chapter 4, God shows us the following lessons:

• Jonah tells why he does not want to go to Nineveh. He didn’t want the people of Nineveh to repent, he wanted them to be destroyed. Jonah didn’t know that the God of Israel was also the God of all people. Are you equally surprised when you see some people who seem extremely unworthy turn to God? Are you as narrow minded as Jonah? We must not forget that, in fact, we were not worthy of God’s forgiveness originally.
• Although Jonah is not good, he also knows that suicide is a serious sin. Because his life is in God’s hands, he can only ask God for death in his anger, just like Moses and Elijah.
• Jonah was angry at the withering of the plant, but was indifferent to the well-being of the people of Nineveh. Many of us may have wept over the death of pets, or wept over the damage of our beloved objects, but have we ever cried because a friend did not know God? We always take our own gains and losses very seriously, and are often slow to respond to the spiritual needs of people around us.
• God let Jonah to understand that since he cherished the plant that give him shade, how could God not love the many inhabitants of Nineveh! There are 120,000 children under the age of three or four, and this accounts for about one-fifth of the population, which is about 600,000 in the city.
• The Book of Jonah points out that God loves all mankind, and the whole book is a “mission” book.

PRAYER:

Dear God! Please expand my narrow mind, so that I will not think that some people will never receive Your salvation. Please give me a heart that loves the lost soul, and work hard to preach the gospel and lead unbelievers to return to You.

HYMN:

A Passion For Souls – youtu.be/Td6Q4MYzVRQ