Jonah is somewhat of an enigma. Having seen their repentance and God withholding judgment upon them, one would expect him to be ecstatic, overcome with joy, but he was displeased and angry (v1).
I know how I would feel – I would have thought I had succeeded. Can you imagine tele-evangelists making much of it – hundreds of people turning to Christ. They might even write a book, or two, on it that even the king repented and ordered the whole country to show acts of repentance! – ‘The conversion and transformation of a nation.’
Jonah is not just disappointed, but exceedingly displeased and angry. However, he did the right thing – he prayed.
It was a strange prayer, but honest, “Ah, LORD, was not this what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore, I fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, one who relents from doing harm. Therefore now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live!”
Jonah was displeased and angry because God was merciful to the people of Nineveh. He considered them as enemies and wanted God’s judgment on them. You could ask, why go and preach to them about repentance if he did not want them to? This was Jonah’s excuse for not going in the first place, he hated them and wanted God to judge them. God had been merciful to him, but he resented God being merciful to the people of Nineveh. Have we ever felt like that? It is so hypocritical! Which one of us deserve God’s mercy?
Jonah reached a point that God had to ask him if it was right for him to be angry (v4). Jonah was exceedingly angry. God knows our hearts and where we are, nothing is hidden from Him, but sometimes He asks us questions to reveal our true thoughts and position. An example was in Genesis 3 when God called to Adam, ‘Where are you?’. God knew full well where he was, but He wanted Adam to answer to reveal his situation. Similarly asking Cain where Abel was (Genesis 4); and asking Saul why he was persecuting Him (Acts 9).
We need to be honest with God, but we must learn from this and ask ourselves are we right to have our thoughts and behaviour.
What did Jonah do? He went out of the city and sat on the east side of the city (v5-8). He made himself a shelter from the shade and watched what would become of the city. I do not know what he was expecting. Perhaps he thought the repentance was a sham and it would not last, and God would carry out His judgment and perhaps it was ‘here’s hoping,’ it was almost a sulk.
Not only did Jonah have the shelter, but The Lord prepared a plant for a shade to make him less miserable. Jonah was grateful for the plant, but it seems it only lasted one day because at dawn, God prepared a worm which damaged the plant, and it withered. When the sun came up it became warm, together with a strong east wind and the sun beat on Jonah so much so that he became faint. In this state Jonah again wished he were dead.
It is a recurring statement in this story – ‘The Lord prepared.’ He prepared a fish, a plant, a worm, and a wind. The God of creation shows his almighty power and control over all His creation.
Surprising what makes people happy and then sad and even angry. In Jonah’s case a plant, something here today and gone tomorrow, made him happy and he became angry when the worm ate it.
God spoke to Jonah (v9-11) and asked him, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?” God had prepared it for him to shield him from the sun and wind and was very temporary. God had every right to remove it. Jonah said that he had every right to be angry about the plant and even to want to die. The Lord makes a point to him that he was full of pity for the plant but did not care about Nineveh and the lost souls there which were facing a lost eternity.
The Lord made it clear to Jonah that saving the lost is most important and that should be our priority over temporal things. God created everything and has every right to do as He plans with His creation.
We, like Jonah, are often more concerned about the temporal and trivial, especially when we gain some benefit from it, and we become attached to it. Jesus said (Mark 8:36), “What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?”
Jonah did not think that The Lord should be concerned about people other than the people of Israel. God created all men and as much as He loved Israel, He had every right to show His love to others, even the Assyrians of Nineveh
It is shown in Acts 10:34,35 when Peter was told by God to go to Cornelius, a Gentile. Just like Jonah, he was not very happy to go but God gave him a sign with the sheet containing all animals, clean and unclean. He needed some persuasion but eventually he went and was amazed at Cornelius’ faith. His conclusion was – “In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him.”
I am so glad because His love has reached even me.
