Day 402: A lesson in mercy - Jonah 4 vs 1 – 11
1-3 Jonah was greatly displeased and became furious. He prayed to the Lord, “Please, Lord, isn’t this what I said while I was still in my own country? That’s why I fled toward Tarshish in the first place. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger, abounding in faithful love, and one who relents from sending disaster. And now, Lord, take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” 4 The Lord asked, “Is it right for you to be angry?”
5-8 Jonah left the city and found a place east of it. He made himself a shelter there and sat in its shade to see what would happen to the city. Then the Lord God appointed a plant, and it grew over Jonah to provide shade for his head to rescue him from his trouble. Jonah was greatly pleased with the plant. When dawn came the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, and it withered. As the sun was rising, God appointed a scorching east wind. The sun beat down on Jonah’s head so much that he almost fainted, and he wanted to die. He said, “It’s better for me to die than to live.” 9 Then God asked Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?” “Yes, it’s right!” he replied. “I’m angry enough to die!” 10-11 And the Lord said, “You cared about the plant, which you did not labour over and did not grow. It appeared in a night and perished in a night. So may I not care about the great city of Nineveh, which has more than a hundred twenty thousand people who cannot distinguish between their right and their left, as well as many animals?” Jonah 4:1-11 Christian Standard Bible
Most of us would say Jonah's reaction in vs 1-3 to how God spared the people of Nineveh was way over the top. Why do you think he reacted as he did?
Could it be that he did not want to see the special favour and love which God had shown to Israel extended to other nations? He knew the people of Nineveh were Israel's enemies and so didn't care about their fate. But notice how gently God challenges his reaction in vs 4. God was showing Jonah the very patience and compassion that Jonah had spoken about God. And then the Lord used a visual aid to teach Jonah a lesson about mercy. Did you pick up a recurring word in vs 5-8?
The plant that so quickly grew over the little hut Jonah had made, the worm that attacked the plant, and the scorching east wind were all 'appointed' by the Lord. It's the same word as when God 'appointed' a great fish to swallow Jonah. All of these events were out of the ordinary, but Jonah wasn't surprised because prophets were accustomed to God doing things beyond human explanation. I suggest that the Lord's lesson for Jonah (and for us) is expressed in vs 10-11.
God's mercy must have priority in our thinking and living and should banish all our self centred focus on personal comforts! A paraphrase of Philippians 2:4-8 says: “Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. Have the same attitude Christ Jesus had! Though He was God, He didn't think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, He gave up his divine privileges; took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. And when He appeared in human form, He humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.” That's what God's mercy is like – and which He now calls us to put on in our lives.