The Most Embarrassing Chapter in the Bible
God called Jonah to preach to the enemy nation of Israel, which he finally did in the previous chapter. But instead of destroying Ninevah like Jonah warned, God ended up sparing the city because of their repentance. That’s when Jonah lost it.
Jonah 4:1-3 (NLT) This change of plans greatly upset Jonah, and he became very angry. So he complained to the LORD about it: “Didn’t I say before I left home that you would do this, LORD? That is why I ran away to Tarshish! I knew that you are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. You are eager to turn back from destroying people. Just kill me now, LORD! I’d rather be dead than alive if what I predicted will not happen.”
Consider Jonah’s attitude change from chapter 2 to chapter 4. When he was desperate and in the dark, Jonah humbly vowed to go God’s way. Now that Ninevah’s in the hot seat instead of him, he’s furious that God isn’t meeting his expectations. It’s embarrassing when your attitude toward God gets exposed.
The truth is, we love it when God lets us off the hook… and we hate it when he does it for our enemies. This proves how little we really understand God’s mercy and grace. That’s embarrassing.
Jonah 4:4 (NLT) The LORD replied, “Is it right for you to be angry about this?”
God is patiently trying to help Jonah understand the extent of his mercy. Jesus did the same thing in his parable of the vineyard workers. The landowner invited additional laborers at different times during the work day, but at the end of the story he paid them all the same wage. When the early workers got angry, the landowner defended his actions:
Matthew 20:13 (NLT) He answered one of them, ‘Friend, I haven’t been unfair! Didn’t you agree to work all day for the usual wage? Take your money and go. I wanted to pay this last worker the same as you. Is it against the law for me to do what I want with my money? Should you be jealous because I am kind to others?’
There’s something in most of us that really hates this parable. It pushes against our idea of justice. It doesn’t seem right. That’s exactly how Jonah felt about the situation in Ninevah.
Jonah was a slow learner, so God used an object lesson to try to get his point across.
Jonah 4:5 (NLT) Then Jonah went out to the east side of the city and made a shelter to sit under as he waited to see what would happen to the city.
Jonah is overlooking the city, waiting for the fireworks show. He hoped against hope that God would follow through on his threat after all. He knew about Sodom and Gomorrah, and he wanted an encore of the fire-and-brimstone God.
Jonah 4:6 (NLT) And the LORD God arranged for a leafy plant to grow there, and soon it spread its broad leaves over Jonah’s head, shading him from the sun. This eased his discomfort, and Jonah was very grateful for the plant.
Jonah waited, comfortable enough to camp out for the night under God’s protection (Psalm 121:5-6). The next day brought a rude awakening:
Jonah 4:7-8 But God also arranged for a worm! The next morning at dawn the worm ate through the stem of the plant so that it withered away. And as the sun grew hot, God arranged for a scorching east wind to blow on Jonah. The sun beat down on his head until he grew faint and wished to die. “Death is certainly better than living like this!” he exclaimed.
Finish the story by going to the topic at pursuegod.org/jonah.
