Have you ever seen a grown man throw a tantrum? Embarrassing, right? Like Bobby Knight in basketball or John McEnroe in tennis, it’s hard to look away when an adult acts like a kid. But that’s exactly what the prophet Jonah did in chapter 4 of his autobiographical Old Testament book – arguably the most embarrassing chapter in the whole Bible.
Attitude Problems
Let’s start with some context. 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.
More context. Jonah is quoting from Exodus 34, where Moses had to get a second copy of the Ten Commandments because he broke the first tablets out of anger (how embarrassing). Israel was, in Moses’s words, “a stubborn and rebellious people”. Sound familiar?
But Moses knew what Jonah was finding out about God’s fundamental nature, that he is “a merciful and compassionate God, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love“. This is a popular Old Testament statement (see Joel 2:13; Nehemiah 9:1; Psalm 86:15, 103:8, 111:4, 112:4, and 145:8). God is more willing to forgive than we can even imagine.
But Jonah is angry about it. How embarrassing!
Undeserved Mercy
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.
Remember, Nineveh was evil. And it was the sworn enemy of Israel – and the nation who would later destroy the Israelites! Why would God possibly want to forgive Nineveh?
But why not apply the same logic to Israel, or to Jonah, or to us? Are we any better? What have we done to deserve his forgiveness? God’s mercy and grace is undeserved, no matter who you are. That’s the lesson everyone learns when they meet the God of the Bible.
Rude Awakening
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.
But nothing happened. The only heat was the sun beating down on Jonah’s back. So God showed him some mercy.
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.
Jonah had had enough. Once again, he’s mad at God – but this time for the most petty of reasons: he’s uncomfortable. How embarrassing.
Jonah 4:9-11 Then God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry because the plant died?” “Yes,” Jonah retorted, “even angry enough to die!” Then the LORD said, “You feel sorry about the plant, though you did nothing to put it there. It came quickly and died quickly. But Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness, not to mention all the animals. Shouldn’t I feel sorry for such a great city?”
And that’s how this epic story ends: with a question. The cliffhanger causes us to do some reflecting of our own. What makes us grieve? Our own personal struggles, trivial as they usually are, or the spiritual well-being of other humans? It’s embarrassing how we care more about our own comfort than people.
Jonah knows God but he has taken his special relationship with God for granted. God has given Jonah the privilege and honor of His great purpose: to seek and save the lost. Jonah totally missed it. Do we?
