Jonah 4

Jonah 4:1

IV. THE DISPLEASURE OF THE PROPHET (Chap. 4) A. Jonah’s Petulant Prayer (4:1-3)Jonah was angry that Israel’s Gentile enemies had been spared. In despondency, he asked that he might die, perhaps fearing that Assyria might again threaten Israel. Most of Israel’s enemies were severely dealt with by God, and the people of Israel expected their enemies’ destructionnot their salvation. Even though Jonah, as a preacher, understood that God was gracious and merciful, he also knew that countries like Assyria were usually reserved for annihilation by God. For God to show mercy to Assyria (one of the worst of Israel’s enemies in the OT economy) seemed totally wrong to the average Israelite.

Jonah 4:4

B. God’s Searching Question (4:4)The LORD pricked the prophet’s conscience with the probing query: “Is it right for you to be angry?”

Jonah 4:5

C. Jonah Sulking Outside the City (4:5)By way of answer, Jonah passed through Nineveh and sat on the east side of the city to see what would become of it.

Jonah 4:6

D. Object Lesson on God’s Sovereign Mercy (4:6-11)4:6-8 There the LORD God prepared a large plant to protect him from the sun. Jonah was greatly pleased by this. The next day, however, God prepared a worm which caused the plant to wither. Also, the Lord prepared a sultry east wind which, together with the sun, caused the prophet to faint and to wish for death. 4:9-11 Then God reminded His prophet that if he had pity on the plant, how much more reason did the Lord have to show pity to a city with more than one hundred and twenty thousand children alone, to say nothing of much livestock. The lesson of this little book is that God loves the worldnot just the Jews, but the Gentiles as well.