Jonah 4

Jonah's Anger and the Lord's Compassion

1 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly,^[a] and ¹he was angry.

2 And he prayed to the LORD and said, "O LORD, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? ²That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a ³gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and ⁴relenting from disaster.

3 ⁵Therefore now, O LORD, please take my life from me, ⁶for it is better for me to die than to live."

4 And the LORD said, ⁷"Do you do well to be angry?"

5 Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city and ⁸made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, till he should see what would become of the city.

6 Now the LORD God appointed a plant^[b] and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort.^[c] So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant.

7 But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered.

8 When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching ⁹east wind, ¹⁰and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he ¹¹was faint. And he asked that he might die and said, ¹²"It is better for me to die than to live."

9 But God said to Jonah, ¹³"Do you do well to be angry for the plant?" And he said, "Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die."

10 And the LORD said, "You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night.

11 And should not I pity ¹⁴Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much ¹⁵cattle?"

Jonah 4 Commentary

Chapter 4

Jonah repines at God's mercy to Nineveh, and is reproved. (1-4) He is taught by the withering of a gourd, that he did wrong. (5-11)

Verses 1-4 What all the saints make matter of joy and praise, Jonah makes the subject of reflection upon God; as if showing mercy were an imperfection of the Divine nature, which is the greatest glory of it. It is to his sparing, pardoning mercy, we all owe it that we are out of hell. He wishes for death: this was the language of folly, passion, and strong corruption. There appeared in Jonah remains of a proud, uncharitable spirit; and that he neither expected nor desired the welfare of the Ninevites, but had only come to declare and witness their destruction. He was not duly humbled for his own sins, and was not willing to trust the Lord with his credit and safety. In this frame of mind, he overlooked the good of which he had been an instrument, and the glory of the Divine mercy. We should often ask ourselves, Is it well to say thus, to do thus? Can I justify it? Do I well to be so soon angry, so often angry, so long angry, and to give others ill language in my anger? Do I well to be angry at the mercy of God to repenting sinners? That was Jonah's crime. Do we do well to be angry at that which is for the glory of God, and the advancement of his kingdom? Let the conversion of sinners, which is the joy of heaven, be our joy, and never our grief.

Verses 5-11 Jonah went out of the city, yet remained near at hand, as if he expected and desired its overthrow. Those who have fretful, uneasy spirits, often make troubles for themselves, that they may still have something to complain of. See how tender God is of his people in their afflictions, even though they are foolish and froward. A thing small in itself, yet coming seasonably, may be a valuable blessing. A gourd in the right place may do us more service than a cedar. The least creatures may be great plagues, or great comforts, as God is pleased to make them. Persons of strong passions are apt to be cast down with any trifle that crosses them, or to be lifted up with a trifle that pleases them. See what our creature-comforts are, and what we may expect them to be; they are withering things. A small worm at the root destroys a large gourd: our gourds wither, and we know not what is the cause. Perhaps creature-comforts are continued to us, but are made bitter; the creature is continued, but the comfort is gone. God prepared a wind to make Jonah feel the want of the gourd. It is just that those who love to complain, should never be left without something to complain of. When afflicting providences take away relations, possessions, and enjoyments, we must not be angry at God. What should especially silence discontent, is, that when our gourd is gone, our God is not gone. Sin and death are very dreadful, yet Jonah, in his heat, makes light of both. One soul is of more value than the whole world; surely then one soul is of more value than many gourds: we should have more concern for our own and others' precious souls, than for the riches and enjoyments of this world. It is a great encouragement to hope we shall find mercy with the Lord, that he is ready to show mercy. And murmurers shall be made to understand, that how willing soever they are to keep the Divine grace to themselves and those of their own way, there is one Lord over all, who is rich in mercy to all that call upon him. Do we wonder at the forbearance of God towards his perverse servant? Let us study our own hearts and ways; let us not forget our own ingratitude and obstinacy; and let us be astonished at God's patience towards us.

Cross References

• 1. [ver. 4, 9]
• 2. Jonah 1:3
• 3. See Joel 2:13
• 4. See Joel 2:13
• 5. [1 Kings 19:4]
• 6. [Ecclesiastes 7:1]
• 7. [ver. 1, 9]
• 8. [Nehemiah 8:15]
• 9. Jeremiah 18:17
• 10. [Psalms 121:6]
• 11. [Amos 8:13]
• 12. [See ver. 3 above]
• 13. [ver. 1, 4]
• 14. See Jonah 1:2
• 15. [Jonah 3:7]

Footnotes

• [a]. Hebrew it was exceedingly evil to Jonah
• [b]. Hebrew qiqayon, probably the castor oil plant; also verses 7, 9, 10
• [c]. Or his evil

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO JONAH 4

This chapter gives us an account of Jonah's displeasure at the repentance of the Ninevites, and at the Lord's showing mercy unto them, Jon 4:1; the angry prayer of Jonah upon it, Jon 4:2,3; the Lord's gentle reproof of him for it, Jon 4:4; his conduct upon that, Jon 4:5; the gourd prepared for him; its rise, usefulness, and destruction, which raised different passions in Jonah, Jon 4:6-8; the improvement the Lord made of this to rebuke Jonah, for his displicency at the mercy he showed to the Ninevites, and to convict him of his folly, Jon 4:9-11.