Read Jonah 4
Background: After an eventful detour, Jonah had finally made it to Nineveh to deliver the message from the Lord. The response was overwhelming and immediate: people from great to small had responded in repentance and making vows to change their ways. God responded by offering forgiveness and relenting from the announced judgment. Jonah did not find it so easy to forgive. His attitude is immediately clear:
Key Verses: But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry. 2 He prayed to the Lord, “Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. 3 Now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.”
Thoughts: Jonah was angry at God for being consistently merciful. He confesses that as being the reason he had run away from his calling in the first place. He just wanted to die. God continued to pursue Jonah. When Jonah left the city God sent him a plant to protect him from the scorching sun. Jonah did not appreciate it, and when God removed it, he complained. He wanted a corner on God's mercy, while he felt he could deny mercy from those who needed it most. We leave Jonah sitting there pouting, with the haunting question: Are we too stuck in his self-righteousness?
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