Jonah’s Anger and God’s Kindness
“But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became angry. So he prayed to the Lord, and said, “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!”
Then the Lord said, “Is it right for you to be angry?”
So Jonah went out of the city and sat on the east side of the city. There he made himself a shelter and sat under it in the shade, till he might see what would become of the city. And the Lord God prepared a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be shade for his head to deliver him from his misery. So Jonah was very grateful for the plant. But as morning dawned the next day God prepared a worm, and it so damaged the plant that it withered. And it happened, when the sun arose, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat on Jonah’s head, so that he grew faint. Then he wished death for himself, and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.”
Then God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?” And he said, “It is right for me to be angry, even to death!” But the Lord said, “You have had pity on the plant for which you have not labored, nor made it grow, which came up in a night and perished in a night. And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left—and much livestock?”
God sends Jonah to Nineveh, and Jonah goes very reluctantly after a near-death experience at sea. Jonah preaches the simplest message he can get away with, “Forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown!” We don’t know if that’s all that God wants Jonah to say; however, that’s all that Jonah is willing to cry out, perhaps hoping that his token obedience will have no effect on the Ninevites.
Tough luck, Jonah! The Ninevites repent completely with sackcloth and fasting and mourning, even to the point of covering their animals with sackcloth and withholding food and water from even the animals. Jonah is enraged! How dare these people have such a change of heart?
“But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became angry. So he prayed to the Lord, and said, “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!”
Wooo! Talk about your hissy fits! Now we learn that Jonah has anticipated that the Ninevites would repent and that God would forgive them. But Jonah feels that he is more qualified to judge the Ninevites than God is and Jonah wants these people to SUFFER!!! Why give these people any chance at all?
“Then the Lord said, “Is it right for you to be angry?” Ouch! God gets right to the heart of the matter with this question. If the Creator of the Universe is willing to forgive the Ninevites when they repent, who is Jonah to try to block God’s mercy and grace? Obviously, Jonah isn’t about to change his heart readily, so God prepares an object lesson for Jonah.
Jonah has sulked his way out of Nineveh and is now sitting on an eastern hill overlooking the city, probably still hoping that God is going to bring disaster on Nineveh. What’s significant about this direction? Storms move in from the northeast, and Jonah is probably still hoping for a catastrophe to hit Nineveh. Jonah prepares a shelter for himself, but in addition, God has a plant with large leaves grow up right next to Jonah’s shelter, providing delightful shade and coolness. Jonah enjoys the plant for one night and then God sends a worm to damage the plant so that it withers and the sun beats down on Jonah.
“And it happened, when the sun arose, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat on Jonah’s head, so that he grew faint. Then he wished death for himself, and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.” Notice that God doesn’t’ just send a gentle breeze; God sends a scorching east wind that likely throws dust into Jonah’s face and eyes. Jonah is furious! Why is God punishing him like this? First God forces Jonah to preach to the worst people in the entire world so that they repent instead of getting the fate they so richly deserve and now God is torturing Jonah with heat. God has plucked Jonah’s last nerve! Stupid people! Why did they have to repent so completely? Of course, Jonah is conveniently ignoring the fact that if the Ninevites had failed to repent, they might have tortured and killed him.
“Then God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?” And he said, “It is right for me to be angry, even to death!” But the Lord said, “You have had pity on the plant for which you have not labored, nor made it grow, which came up in a night and perished in a night. And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left—and much livestock?”
APPLICATION: The story of Jonah is the story of most of us. We really feel we are far more qualified to judge people than God is, and we are more than willing to label anyone who disagrees with us on any issue as “woke,” “racist,” “right wing,” “left wing,” “reactionary” ….the labels are endless. Labels allow us to distance ourselves from others as we comfort ourselves with the thought that OUR position is right and just while THEIR position is despicable. Given the same call as Jonah, we would have booked passage to Tarshish as quickly as possible! Why help those people who are obviously so wrong? Too bad God doesn’t think the same way we do.
God knew every sin the Ninevites had ever committed and yet God forgave the Ninevites when they sincerely repented. But Jonah didn’t want the Ninevites to repent; he wanted them to die miserably. Are we willing to allow God to extend His mercy and grace to those with whom we disagree or do we feel they too deserve nothing but misery and death? May God break open our stony hearts and give us tender hearts that will minister mercy and grace even to those whom we think are our worst enemies!
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, we confess that we have judged others harshly, hoping they will suffer because they fail to agree with us. Lord, break away the stone around our hearts and give us Your heart of love and mercy and grace towards all those around us, especially with those with whom we violently disagree. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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