"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?'" Jonah 4:9-11 Jonah has a bit of an issue with drama. We saw a bit of his dramatic side in chapter one when he jumped on a boat going in the opposite direction of where God wanted to send him. But here in chapter four, Jonah first begs God to take his life because God spared the people of Nineveh (4:3). And then he wishes death for himself because the plant that he happened to like a lot is eaten by a worm and dies (4:8). I don't know about you, but I'd say Jonah is being a little bit dramatic in this chapter with the temper tantrum that he throws. After all, shouldn't he have been a little bit relieved by the repentance of the people in Nineveh? They were turning from their sins, after all! Nope. When the people repent and God spares them in His love and mercy, Jonah becomes very angry. And he tells God as much too. "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?'" (4:2-4) Have you ever gotten really angry or upset about something that you know you shouldn't have gotten upset about? Have you ever thrown a pity party over something that, in all honesty, you were just being dramatic over? Well, if we're going to confess things I'll admit that I certainly have done so. Because if you don't know this already, you should know that I am the drama queen in our family. Growing up writing novels only made me more dramatic. So sometimes I can get angry over things that I really shouldn't. And sometimes I can throw a pity party that looks a little bit like Jonah's. When Jonah expresses his displeasure to God, He doesn't respond how I might imagine He would. He doesn't tell Jonah that he is obviously being ridiculous and that he needs to get his act together. He doesn't give His reasoning to Jonah and He doesn't tell Jonah His exact purpose for sparing the people of Nineveh. No. He simply asks Jonah a question. Is it right for you to be angry? And at first, Jonah doesn't answer. In fact, he stomps off in his anger and goes to sit and watch the city to see if God really was going to spare them or not. While he's up there watching the city (and sulking, I'm almost sure), God prepares a plant to cover him with shade. And Jonah, oh Jonah is really excited about this plant. He was very grateful the Bible tells us (4:6). But just as God prepared the plant, God also prepared a worm to damage the plant. He sent this worm to chew into this plant Jonah loved so that the plant actually withered up and died. Then God prepared one more thing: a hot wind. And this hot wind, along with the sun, beat on Jonah's head until he was ready to faint. This is the point where Jonah again wishes death for himself. And again, God asks him a simple question. Is it right for you to be angry? You see, Jonah had lost his focus. He had become so caught up in his anger. So caught up in his anger towards the people of Nineveh that he would rather them die than God show them His love and mercy. Jonah had lost his focus on what really mattered and he let anger distract him from all the ways God was loving and merciful to him. Yet how many times do we do the same? How many times do we--do I--get angry over something and allow it to lose my focus on what matters? God had given Jonah quite a gift in his second chance to go to Nineveh. In God's mercy, He allowed a fish to spare Jonah from drowning, He kept Jonah alive inside the fish, and then He caused the fish to spit Jonah onto dry land again. What mercy for someone who had only recently disobeyed his God. And God does the same for me. The same for you. He gives us so much mercy every day, mercy beyond what we deserve. Yet every day, I can struggle against my flesh and get angry. I can be a little too dramatic over something. And in my anger I forget God's mercy. And I forget that I could show others God's mercy too. The next time you get really angry over something or you're tempted to throw a temper tantrum, consider pausing. And in the pause think of that question God asked Jonah twice. Is it right for you to be angry? Sometimes when I read Jonah 4 I'm left wondering. God ended this book of the Bible with a question about mercy. Jonah had pity on a plant. Something so small and trivial. And God asks him if He was not supposed to then have pity--mercy--on so many people He had created. I wonder what Jonah said in response. I wonder if Jonah understood. I wonder if Jonah let go of his anger and returned to Nineveh and maybe even forgave them for their past sins. I wonder if he spent the rest of his life telling an unlikely story that displayed all of God's mercy and love. I don't have answers to those questions, but I can answer this question for myself. Is it right for me to be angry about this specific situation? And if God can show mercy to me--a great sinner--should I not also show mercy to those who wrong me? Next time you're tempted to throw a pity party for yourself, remember Jonah. Sometimes what seems important at the moment is just a distraction to keep our focus off of what really matters: God's mercy and love. Thank you so much for studying Jonah with me these past five weeks! I can hardly believe this study is over already. In April we will begin a new study, and I hope you will join me. What are some of the most important things you learned from this chapter? From studying Jonah as a whole? Share your thoughts in the comments!
I enjoyed this study! Through it I learned that I am so much more like Jonah than I thought. He was so human. We sometimes look at him like a terrible sinner and all, and say that we'd NEVER do something like he did, but in reality, we are selfish, sinful people just like he was. We can and should seek to learn from his story.
Bella Morganthal
3/19/2018 01:07:57 pm
Thanks for joining the study, Grace! :) Oh isn't that so true though? Most of my thoughts from this study were lessons I learned during Bible Bee 2014 when we studied Jonah and that study was probably one of the BB studies that most impacted my life because I realized just how much I was like Jonah! 3/22/2018 04:39:37 pm
I absolutely loved this part you wrote on this chapter, Bella, I resonated with it so much. What stood out most to me about this chapter was Jonah's anger, and that he pitied a plant more than so many people. He really must have had a lot of anger and resentment in his heart. And yet, this reminds me of me sometimes when things don't go my way and I am angry saying, "Why God, this would have been so good..." and yet, the one sentence that speaks to me the most in this chapter is when God says, "Is it right for you to be angry?". Is it right for ME to be angry when something doesn't go how I wanted it to go? It centers around giving our lives to Christ, and not just some parts of them, but every single part, and also trust. Trusting God is so important, it's the bases of our faith! I think Jonah must have struggled with trust too, based on his actions. It's a daily decision to lay our lives down at the cross and say, "Lord, I give You my day, my life use it for Your purposes and for furthering Your Kingdom - You take my life and take me where YOU want me to go". And then we have such peace knowing He is leading our lives, repenting of our anger at changes in our lives, and living in His beautiful plan which in reality is so much better than ours - even when we can't see it. =) Did that make sense, hehe?
Bella Morganthal
3/28/2018 12:31:52 pm
Thank you so much for sharing those beautiful, convicting thoughts, friend! I loved reading your comments through this study! <3
Bella Morganthal
3/28/2018 12:32:14 pm
So true! Thanks Grace! Comments are closed.
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