JONAH
4:4-6
JONAH
DESIRED DESTRUCTION
BUT
NEEDED THE LORD’S INSTRUCTION
Jonah
4:4 Then said the Lord, Doest thou well to be angry?
Susie: The
Lord asked Jonah if it was a good thing for him to be angry. Notice that Jonah
did not answer the Lord.
Susan: God
was asking, “How is being angry working for you, Jonah?” It is not good for
anyone to be in this type of unjust anger. He was not capable of cohesive,
rational thought because he was ablaze with this anger and it consumed him.
Susie: Jonah
stomped off like a pouting child.
Asbury
Bible Commentary
Jonah
was angry because his prejudice toward the Ninevites as a people was deep
seated. He did not want them to repent and change their evil ways. He wanted
them dead, period. That was not right, and the Lord wanted Jonah to see his
sin.
Susie: The
entire article from the Asbury Bible
Commentary may be found here:
Jonah
4:5 So Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and
there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what
would become of the city.
Susie: Jonah
headed east which was the opposite direction from his home in Israel. He found
a spot and built a temporary shelter from the hot sun.
Susan: Jonah
still harbored a sliver of hope, an insatiable desire, that God would utterly
destroy Nineveh, and he wanted a ring-side seat to watch its fall. However, as
a prophet, Jonah knew that God overflowed with mercy, grace, and forgiveness
for anyone who was truly repentant, but he did not want to admit it to himself
at the moment. Jonah did not want God to extend mercy and grace to anyone but
the Israelites.
Jonah
4:6 And the Lord God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that
it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was
exceeding glad of the gourd.
Susie: God
set up the illustration He was using to teach Jonah about his unmerciful
attitude. He caused a plant to rapidly grow up over Jonah’s shelter in order to
provide more shade from the sweltering heat.
Susan: God
continued to extend grace overwhelmingly to Jonah even though Jonah
demonstrated an exceedingly unacceptable attitude toward God and His sovereign decision
to spare Nineveh.
Susie: Part
one of the lesson was that God still gave grace to Jonah. The last few verses
of the book of Jonah deal with God’s continued lessons to Jonah using the
plant.
QUESTIONS
1.
God confronted Jonah about his anger. Has the
Lord ever confronted you about an attitude either by the Holy Spirit’s
prompting within you, a particular scripture verse jumping out at you, or a
brother or sister speaking the truth in love? Write about that experience and
thank the Lord for His correction.
2.
Why did Jonah hang around instead of going home
to Israel?
3.
Why did God cause a plant to grow up overnight?
4.
Do you think Jonah realized the super plant was
a gift from God? Why or why not?
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