Condemnation or Compassion? (Jonah's Anger and God's Kindness)

Jonah 4:1-11 

1 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became angry. 2 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. 3 Therefore now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live!"

4 Then the LORD said, "Is it right for you to be angry?"

5 So Jonah went out of the city and sat on the east side of the city. There he made himself a shelter and sat under it in the shade, till he might see what would become of the city. 6 And the LORD God prepared a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be shade for his head to deliver him from his misery. So Jonah was very grateful for the plant. 7 But as morning dawned the next day God prepared a worm, and it so damaged the plant that it withered. 8 And it happened, when the sun arose, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat on Jonah's head, so that he grew faint. Then he wished death for himself, and said, "It is better for me to die than to live."

9 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!"

10 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. 11 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?"

Job was angry and displeased at God’s lovingkindness and mercy shown to the wicked undeserving sinners of Nineveh.  He only wanted them to get what they deserved and was angry when God showed grace and mercy to those sinful and wicked people of renown in Nineveh.  He repeated scripture like Exodus 34:6-7 about God’s character of lovingkindness and being slow to anger while displaying grace and mercy, but he ironically he himself acted contrary to how God did in a display of his own sinful wickedness.  He bemoaned how he had run away from his calling to preach the bad news of judgment to Nineveh because he knew God had this character and would likely forgive and spare them.  He ran away because he wanted them to suffer justice for their sin against God and not get away with their unrighteousness, forgetting it was God’s kindness that leads to repentance (Romans 2:4), and that repentance then leads to forgiveness and life because the LORD is merciful.  Jonah went so far in his anger at not seeing that the sinners were smited that he wanted to die rather than see them happy when forgiven, probably because he had worked so hard his whole life to be righteous and felt those who lived in sin deserved only destruction.  He felt only the ones living right deserved God’s love and grace, which is not sound theology because God’s grace is undeserved and all our best efforts fall short because we are all sinners (Romans 3:20, 23).  He did not really understand God’s character and his own sinfulness with a humble heart and mind.  He still thought that Nineveh would end in destruction even though God had forgiven them because they had sincerely repented, and so set up camp outside the city to wait for their destruction.  God tried to teach Jonah a lesson by giving him a shade plant to ease his misery which then was eaten by a worm and died the next morning and a harsh wind.  Jonah again was asked if it was right for him to be angry about the plant dying just as he was about the people of the great city being spared from death.  God pointed out that he had pity of compassion on a plant provided by God but not for the one hundred and twenty thousand persons spared by God’s own compassionate pity who were made in the image of God and needed to hear what was right and wrong (Deuteronomy 1:39) according to His word delivered by a prophet like Jonah.  We do not have the rest of the story that ends so abruptly here, but we hope that Jonah took God’s correction to heart, repented of his self-righteousness, and learned to show compassion instead of Pharisaical judgment of hate and condemnation.  May we at least learn this lesson for ourselves as we consider God’s forgiveness of reconciling grace in Jesus Christ for each of us whom He has shown pity and compassion on!