‘The Angry Prophet’
“But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” And the Lord said, “Do you do well to be angry?”
Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, till he should see what would become of the city. Now the Lord God appointed a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant. But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered. When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint. And he asked that he might die and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.” But God said to Jonah, “Do you do well to be angry for the plant?” And he said, “Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die.” 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. And should not I pity Nineveh, 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 cattle?”
There is an old adage that can be applied to what we encounter in this chapter - ‘the same sun that softens wax hardens clay’. It’s amazing but people can respond very unpredictably to a move of God. Some will enter in and rejoice; others will withdraw and criticize. What we find in chapters 3 and 4 are examples of both. The Ninevites respond positively to Jonah’s preaching and enter into God’s gracious provision, but Jonah’s response is very different. Rather than celebration and thanksgiving, Jonah ‘was greatly displeased’. He saw it as a great evil and became angry. He was grieved, frustrated, and disappointed. Why?
Perhaps he wanted the Assyrians judged for their mistreatment of the Jews, or he thought that the destruction of Nineveh would serve as a persuasive example of God’s judgment and lead the Jews to repentance. We don’t really know. But one thing is clear; Jonah, who appeals to God’s grace and compassionate character in chapter 2 in order to have his own need met, resents the expression of that same grace to the Assyrians in chapter 4. He didn’t see any connection between God’s forgiveness of him and his call to forgive others. Biblically, the forgiven are obligated to forgive and promote reconciliation. This principle is crucial to the biblical call, and too often we fail. Jesus illustrates this truth in his parable of the unmerciful servant (Matt.18). How quick are you to forgive? How eager are you to see others forgiven? I think this is the primary truth being underscored in this chapter. The grace and forgiveness of God is available without prejudice, and we should forgive with the same openhandedness.
Interwoven with this major theme are three other important truths: the tragedy of misplaced anger, the foolishness of misplaced happiness, and the inhumanity of misplaced compassion. “Jonah was greatly displeased and became very angry (v.1).” Revival had broken out throughout Nineveh. A cruel people had responded to God’s message and given themselves to the business of genuine repentance. The judgment of God was lifted and 600,000 people were spared, and Jonah’s response is anger. It’s completely inappropriate. Twice the Lord challenges the nature of Jonah’s anger - “...Have you any right to be angry?”....”...Do you have a right to be angry about the vine?” The issue wasn’t essentially that of anger but rather, the cause of his anger. Was his anger righteous in character? Not all anger is wrong. Sometimes anger is the appropriate response to a situation. It can provoke us to godly action. But Jonah’s anger was misplaced. It was rooted in prejudice and pride. It took a tragic turn.
Notice the results of his anger. Three significant things. Two are inferred in verse 5 - “Jonah went out and sat down” at a place east of the city. What’s suggested here is that he abandoned the will of God. He ‘went out’ and became useless to the Lord, and he ‘sat down’ and refused to participate any further. Misplaced anger - anger rooted in selfishness and pride - will destroy your walk with the Lord. It will strip you of your usefulness and provide fertile ground for resentment and bitterness. God will not use anyone who refuses to let resentment and bitterness go. The third result of Jonah’s unresolved anger is despair - Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.”