Jonah
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Jonah 4
Jonah 4
1But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry.
1But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry.
Commentary · verse 1
2And he prayed unto Jehovah, and said, I pray thee, O Jehovah, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I hasted to flee unto Tarshish; for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness, and repentest thee of the evil.
2And he prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.
Commentary · verse 2
Jonah prayed. He stated that he knew God was merciful, slow to anger, and repented of evil but he still got upset that God actually followed through with these attributes towards Nineveh. Jonah gave the reason why he ran from God: Jonah did not believe the prophecy would come to pass. He did not want to be publicly "wrong."
3Therefore now, O Jehovah, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live.
3Therefore now, O LORD, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live.
Commentary · verse 3
Jonah would rather die than continue to live with being publicly wrong. Notice, Jesus called Jonah a prophet in Matthew 12:39. However, what Jonah prophesied did not happen. Another example of this was when Isaiah had prophesied to Hezekiah about his illness ending in death (2 Kings 20 and Isaiah 38), and that did not happen. Jesus also called Isaiah a prophet in Matthew 3:3. In the Bible, a prophet did not just state the effects (WHAT), he also stated the causes (WHY) so that people could affect the WHAT. Both Jonah and Isaiah stated the causes and the effects, and people altered the results (effects) by addressing the causes.
Truth is a right WHAT with a right WHY/HOW. Deception is a right WHAT with a wrong (or no) WHY/HOW. Jonah and Isaiah spoke truth even though peoples' responses altered the WHAT that the prophets stated. What this also meant was that even if a person was able to state the right WHAT and it came to pass, it did not mean they were a prophet unless they could also state the right WHY/HOW.
5Then 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 shade, till he might see what would become of the city.
5So 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.
Commentary · verse 5
Jonah did not respond to God. Instead, Jonah went away from the city...just like he did the first time God told Jonah to speak to the city. Jonah returned to his former thought process. Would God need to have him be "swallowed by another fish"?
6And Jehovah God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to deliver him from his evil case. So Jonah was exceeding glad because of the gourd.
6And 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.
Commentary · verse 6
Again, God had complete control over inanimate objects...like plants. God prepared a gourd (large plant/bush) to give Jonah shade from the sun. This made Jonah "exceeding glad." In effect, Jonah was "in the belly of this bush"...but this time he was glad.
7But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd, that it withered.
7But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered.
Commentary · verse 7
Again, God had complete control over animals. God destroyed the gourd by a worm.
8And it came to pass, when the sun arose, that God prepared a sultry east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and requested for himself that he might die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live.
8And it came to pass, when the sun did arise, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and wished in himself to die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live.
Commentary · verse 8
Again, God had complete control over the weather. Jonah was now in the same frame of mind as he was when he was first in the belly of the fish. If God had complete control over people, He would have directly caused Jonah to confess and repent. Instead, we have seen that God was "All Powerful" over everything that did not have a will: inanimate objects, animals, and the weather. In this one chapter, God used all of these things to reach Jonah.
9And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death.
9And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death.
Commentary · verse 9
God asked Jonah a second question. So far, this entire chapter was a mini-version of the previous three chapters. However, this time, Jonah stated his will that he was in the right. Jonah was not going to confess and repent. Notice, the Book of Job ended with God stating He had complete control over everything that did not have a will before He questioned Job. Job's response was to confess and repent for the two things he had wrongly stated after his suffering began. This chapter actually appeared to be a mini-version of the Book of Job. Would Jonah confess and repent for the thing he wrongly stated after his suffering began?
10And Jehovah said, Thou hast had regard for the gourd, for which thou hast not labored, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night: 11and should not I have regard for Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?
10Then said the LORD, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night:
11And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?
Commentary · verses 10-11
This book ended with a question from God. We do not know if Jonah responded like Job or not. God asked Jonah if the gourd was greater than Nineveh. God used the gourd as a symbol to Jonah. It was supposed to help him understand that Jonah was not being merciful, slow to anger, etc. towards Nineveh. What is more important: a plant or 120,000 people? How would Jonah have felt if God treated him like he wanted God to treat Nineveh?
Commentary · verse 11
The Book of Jonah was the fifth of the twelve books that made up the minor prophet section of the Old Testament. Jonah was a prophet whose warnings were heeded to the extent his prophecy did not occur. The Ninevites responded to Jonah's prophecy by addressing three (and possibly all four) of the causes of judgment God declared concerning Sodom from Ezekiel 16:49. Over a hundred years after these events, Assyria was judged. Although this was a relatively short book, it contained a lot of critical Doctrine. In addition to confessing and repenting to avoid God's judgment, it also showed how God had complete control over inanimate objects, animals, and the weather to influence man.
The mercy given to Nineveh made Jonah exceedingly displeased and angry. Why?