Jonah Chapter 4

 Chapter 4

Let’s see how Jonah reacts at the start of chapter 4 “ But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry.  He prayed to the LORD, “Isn’t this what I said, LORD, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.  Now, LORD, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.” 

How can I be reading that correctly? How is it that Jonah helped save all of the people of Nineveh and his response is anger and wishing the Lord would take his life. Why is it that even when it works out for the good, I get angry when I think God wasted my time? Why do I get angry when my “enemy” has success? What would we do if God came to us and reacted to us the way he reacted to Jonah?   But the LORD replied, “Is it right for you to be angry?” As we get to the end of the book, I think we are given one of the greatest lessons in all the bible. Read how this scenario plays out. 

Jonah had gone out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. Then the LORD God provided a leafy plant and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the plant.  But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the plant so that it withered.  When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, “It would be better for me to die than to live.” 

 But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?” 

“It is,” he said. “And I’m so angry I wish I were dead.” 

God knows that sometimes we don’t understand unless he gives us something solid that we can see right in front of us. God provided a plant to help shade Jonah. Another interesting part about this is that the bible says Jonah went to a place east of the city to see what would happen to the city. But, didn’t God tell him nothing was going to happen? Did he leave the city just to see if maybe his whining and wishing that he was dead was going to change God’s mind? But, back to the plant. The plant gave him shade, so Jonah was happy, but the next day the plant withered and so once again Jonah wanted to die. So again God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?” Now remember, all of this is happening because Jonah felt inconvenienced by God asking him to go to Nineveh. Now the book ends with what I feel are two of the greatest verses in the bible. 

But the LORD said, “You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight.  And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?” 

We get so angry in life when things don’t go our way. We get so upset at God when things don’t go according to our plan. But we did either absolutely nothing or very little to help our situation. Most of the time we didn't even consult God before we made those plans. But as soon as they fall apart, somehow it's God’s fault. We think we are alone, or we think he is mad at us or doesn't love us. God has spent our whole life tending to us and helping us grow. He loves us and wants us to have eternal life. Next time we get angry at someone and wish something negative on them, think about how that person is God’s creation, God is tending to them at that moment. Maybe they are there at that moment for us because we need tended to.