Poor Jonah! God has been merciful to the repentant Ninevites, and he feels like his credibility has been destroyed. His pride is damaged. His enemies have seen a great turnaround. He just can't take it anymore. The end of the book sees him angry at God.
I believe the Ninevites were very cruel warriors and had been cruel to Israel over the years and that's why Jonah was very reluctant to preach to them.
Now Jonah is furious because he knows that if they repent, so will God, and Jonah goes outside the city to see what will become of it and in his anger cries to God," I am so angry, I can't take it anylonger!, kill me now God!"
God's response is simply ' Is it right for you to be this angry?", and Jonah then goes to make a booth to sit on and see what will become of the city.
Now God prepares a gourd(vine) to grow and give him some shade in order to teach Jonah a lesson.
Jonah, is happy for the gourd, thinking he must be right to be angry, and is now being blessed by God, but that's not the case, God's just blessing him, in order to use the gourd to teach him an object lesson.
The next night God prepares a worm to come nd eat the gourd taking away his shade, making Jonah angry, and God then prepaes a hot east wind to scorch Jonah as a part of this lesson.
That day, the east wind and the sun beat down on Jonahs head and he's angry again, so much so, he wishes he was dead!, and God asks him again, "Is it right for you to be This angry?", and Jonah says" yes, even enough to be put out of my misery"
God replies how can you be so upset over the gord that spared you, which came and went in one day?, and shouldn't I spare the people of Nineveh, for their repentence, that great city of which there are numerous people who can't tell their right from their left(the authors referring to the children of Nineveh, who are toddlers no doubt) and many animals of which have done nothing to Jonah to deserve to be wiped out, they are innocent!, why should Jonah be that angry towards them?
The moral of this is one of several, 1. it's better to do as God asks than to be disobedient, and try to do the impossible, run from his sight.
2. It's not right for anyone to be that Angry to have hate eat at you till you want to die, or for someone else to die, esp. innocents.
3. Although we might not understand or like Gods will, we must accept it and go on, as there are unforseen things only He knows about.
It comes a time in all of our lives, that we need to be obedient to God. To me, Jonah is a classic example of knowing what God wants us to do, but we don't. If we continue to choose wrong over right, God will allow certain things to happen to us, in order to get our attention. In the end, the motto of this story is "Just do the right thing" and allow God to lead you in the right direction and you will always reach your proper destination. May God continue to Bless each and everyone throughout the world. with Love/ Kevin P.
God not willing that any should perish.
God's response is simply ' Is it right for you to be this angry?", and Jonah then goes to make a booth to sit on and see what will become of the city.
Now God prepares a gourd(vine) to grow and give him some shade in order to teach Jonah a lesson.
Jonah, is happy for the gourd, thinking he must be right to be angry, and is now being blessed by God, but that's not the case, God's just blessing him, in order to use the gourd to teach him an object lesson.
The next night God prepares a worm to come nd eat the gourd taking away his shade, making Jonah angry, and God then prepaes a hot east wind to scorch Jonah as a part of this lesson.
That day, the east wind and the sun beat down on Jonahs head and he's angry again, so much so, he wishes he was dead!, and God asks him again, "Is it right for you to be This angry?", and Jonah says" yes, even enough to be put out of my misery"
God replies how can you be so upset over the gord that spared you, which came and went in one day?, and shouldn't I spare the people of Nineveh, for their repentence, that great city of which there are numerous people who can't tell their right from their left(the authors referring to the children of Nineveh, who are toddlers no doubt) and many animals of which have done nothing to Jonah to deserve to be wiped out, they are innocent!, why should Jonah be that angry towards them?
The moral of this is one of several, 1. it's better to do as God asks than to be disobedient, and try to do the impossible, run from his sight.
2. It's not right for anyone to be that Angry to have hate eat at you till you want to die, or for someone else to die, esp. innocents.
3. Although we might not understand or like Gods will, we must accept it and go on, as there are unforseen things only He knows about.