←Jonah 4→BSB

In This Chapter 1 person 3 places 8 terms 2 themes 1 resource

People

Jonah 9

Places

    Key Terms

    Kindness (Solidarity) 5 Generous 2 Compassionate 2 Compassionate (NT) Be Kind Kindness (Benevolence) Kindness (Graciousness) Kindness (Affection)

    Themes

    Anger Complaints

    Resources

    Jonah Book Overview

    Jonah’s Anger at the LORD’s Compassion

    ⓘ The account takes an unexpected turn. Jonah, himself...

    The account takes an unexpected turn. Jonah, himself a recipient of God’s mercy, complains about the mercy that the Lord has dispensed to the Assyrians. The prophet’s insolence only magnifies God’s grace (see 4:8–11 for God’s response).

    1Jonah, however, was greatly displeased, and he became angry.† 2So he prayed to the LORD, saying, “O LORD, is this not what I said while I was still in my own country? This is why I was so quick to flee toward Tarshish. I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion—One who relents from sending disaster.

    ⓘ Jonah’s desire to die rather than embrace God’s...

    Jonah’s desire to die rather than embrace God’s will (see also 4:8–9), and his willingness to wait in hope that the city would be destroyed (4:5), are signs of his hard-heartedness and his hatred for the Assyrians.

    3And now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.”

    4But the LORD replied, “Have you any right to be angry?”

    5Then Jonah left the city and sat down east of it, where he made himself a shelter and sat in its shade to see what would happen to the city. 6So the LORD God appointed a vine,† and it grew up to provide shade over Jonah’s head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was greatly pleased with the plant.

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

    8As the sun was rising, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint and wished to die, saying, “It is better for me to die than to live.”

    9Then God asked Jonah, “Have you any right to be angry about the plant?” “I do,” he replied. “I am angry enough to die!”

    10But the LORD said, “You cared about the plant, which you neither tended nor made grow. It sprang up in a night and perished in a night. 11So should I not care about the great city of Nineveh, which has more than 120,000 people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well?”