TEXT [Commentary]

  C.   Jonah and God (4:1-11)

1 This change of plans greatly upset Jonah, and he became very angry. 2 So he complained to the LORD about it: “Didn’t I say before I left home that you would do this, LORD? That is why I ran away to Tarshish! I knew that you are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. You are eager to turn back from destroying people. 3 Just kill me now, LORD! I’d rather be dead than alive if what I predicted will not happen.”

4 The LORD replied, “Is it right for you to be angry about this?”

5 Then Jonah went out to the east side of the city and made a shelter to sit under as he waited to see what would happen to the city. 6 And the LORD God arranged for a leafy plant to grow there, and soon it spread its broad leaves over Jonah’s head, shading him from the sun. This eased his discomfort, and Jonah was very grateful for the plant.

7 But God also arranged for a worm! The next morning at dawn the worm ate through the stem of the plant so that it withered away. 8 And as the sun grew hot, God arranged for a scorching east wind to blow on Jonah. The sun beat down on his head until he grew faint and wished to die. “Death is certainly better than living like this!” he exclaimed.

9 Then God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry because the plant died?”

“Yes,” Jonah retorted, “even angry enough to die!”

10 Then the LORD said, “You feel sorry about the plant, though you did nothing to put it there. It came quickly and died quickly. 11 But Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness,[*] not to mention all the animals. Shouldn’t I feel sorry for such a great city?”

NOTES

4:1 This change of plans greatly upset Jonah. Lit., “It was displeasing to Jonah with great displeasure.” The Hebrew cognate adverbial construction indicates that Jonah was deeply offended by God’s compassion for Nineveh. The words translated “upset” are ra‘a‘ . . . ra‘ah [TH7489/7451B, ZH8317/8288]; the second Hebrew word is rendered “evil/calamity” elsewhere (cf. 1:2; see Introduction).

he became very angry. Jonah was so upset that his emotions gave way to burning anger. He was simply furious.

4:2 So he complained to the LORD. The Hebrew verb is the same as that translated “prayed” in 2:1. The NLT renders the sense of the passage. Jonah’s prayer was to Yahweh, the covenant God of Israel.

Didn’t I say? Lit., “Was this not my word?” The phraseology parallels that of Exod 14:12. Jonah asks, “Isn’t this what I said would happen?”

before I left home. Lit., “while I was still in my [own] country.” The noun translated “home/country” is most commonly rendered “ground/land.” Baldwin (1993:583) notes the relation of this noun (’adamah [TH127, ZH141]) to ’adam [TH120/121, ZH132/134] (Adam, human) and remarks that it “is a reminder of Genesis 2:7 and humanity’s origin from dust of the earth and destiny to return to it (Gen 3:19).”

LORD! Jonah’s address to God is the same as the sailors in 1:14. In the Hebrew text it appears at the opening of Jonah’s prayer, thus standing in the polite and honorific position.

I ran away to Tarshish! Although he has been previously represented as fleeing from the presence of the Lord (1:3, 10), Jonah did not admit to this. He only confessed to going to Tarshish because he knew about God’s gracious character. His reason simply is that “he wanted nothing to do with bringing benefit to the Assyrians. Jonah thus argued with God, complaining at God’s goodness!” (Stuart 1987:502). In Jonah’s thinking, for God to act compassionately in this case would bring about injustice, not justice, for surely the Assyrians were worthy of judgment.

I knew that you are . . . merciful . . . compassionate . . . slow to get angry . . . filled with unfailing love . . . eager to turn back from destroying people. Jonah listed five attributes of God as his reason for knowing that God would change his plans: God is gracious, compassionate, patient/long-suffering, abounding in love, and willing to relent punishment given certain conditions. Jonah’s confession contains the same five essential components as found in Joel 2:13. Both passages ultimately derive from Exod 34:6-7.

merciful and compassionate. These two qualities were affirmed by God himself to Moses, although in reverse order (Exod 34:6), and are often mentioned in the OT (e.g., 2 Chr 30:9; Neh 9:17, 31; Pss 111:4; 145:8; Joel 2:13). God alone is known by the combined adjectives khannun [TH2587, ZH2843] (merciful/gracious) and rakhum [TH7349, ZH8157] (compassionate). In addition to the above texts, “compassionate” is used of God in Deut 4:31 and Ps 78:38. Its relationship to the noun rekhem [TH7358, ZH8167] (womb) gives it a tender quality like unto a mother’s love.

slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. Both characteristics of God are found in Exod 34:6. The former lays stress on God’s infinite patience. Limburg (1993:91) observes that “it is the opposite of having a hasty temper (Prov 14:29) or a hot temper (Prov 15:18) and is better than might (Prov 16:32) or pride (Eccl 7:8).” For the latter quality, see the note on 2:8 and the commentary on 2:7-10.

eager to turn back from destroying people. Jonah understood God’s forgiving nature from the very start. What God had done for Nineveh (3:10) was in accord with what Jonah originally feared would happen.

4:3 Just kill me now, LORD. Lit., “And now, O LORD, please take my life from me.” The prophet Jeremiah likewise fell into despondency and wished for death—in fact, that he might never have been born (Jer 20:14-18). Moses (Num 11:1-15) and Job (Job 6:8-9; 17:1, 10-16) expressed similar feelings of depression. For the word translated “life” (nepesh [TH5315, ZH5883]), see the note on 2:5. Like Elijah of old (1 Kgs 19:4), Jonah asked the Lord to take his life. Elijah had been disappointed with the lack of spiritual change after his preaching (1 Kgs 19:9-14). Jonah lamented the triumph of God’s compassion. Ironically, Jonah resented God’s compassion toward the Ninevites while forgetting God’s earlier compassion toward him.

if what I predicted will not happen. Jonah’s understanding of the outcome of his prophesying did not take into account his own knowledge of God’s compassion and capacity to forgive. So striking are Jonah’s words that the Masoretes insert a setumah (cf. note on 2:9) here so that the reader might pause to consider the implications of what Jonah said.

4:4 Is it right for you to be angry? God did not grant Jonah’s wish, but he went to the heart of Jonah’s problem: Jonah was angry over the seeming injustice of God’s sparing wicked Nineveh after Jonah had announced its destruction. God will ask the question of his prophet again in v. 9.

4:5 Jonah went out to the east side of the city. Some expositors understand the verb here as “had gone out,” so that the reader is given a sort of flashback (cf. Stuart 1987:504). Yet as Keil (1954:412) points out, it is difficult to see how Jonah could be so angry with God before the allotted 40 days had been completed. Whether through direct revelation or by observing that the city remained after the appointed time had passed, Jonah was aware that God had changed his mind.

a shelter. The Hebrew noun envisions a temporary shelter, whether for humans (1 Kgs 20:12, 16; Isa 1:8) or animals (Gen 33:17). Jonah’s makeshift shelter must have been something like the “booths” made of intertwined leafy branches used in the Festival of Shelters (Lev 23:40-43).

4:6 And the LORD God arranged. The narrator plays on the verb manah [TH4487, ZH4948] (arranged, appointed) three times in these verses (cf. 1:17). Not only did God provide the leafy plant (4:6), but the plant-eating worm (4:7), and the scorching east wind (4:8). Sasson (1990:291) calls attention to the fact that the name for God changes with each occurrence of this verb: at 1:17 “it is yhwh [TH3068, ZH3378]; at 4:6, yhwh-’elohim [TH430, ZH466]; at 4:7, ha’elohim [TH1886.1/430, ZH2021/466]; and at 4:8, ’elohim [TH430, ZH466]. It may be accidental that the narrator reaches this particular progression or scheme; but we can nevertheless observe a move from the most (yhwh) to the least (’elohim) personal of God’s names.”

a leafy plant. Since Jonah’s shelter would have had at best only a few leafy branches, his protection from the sun would be partial at best. A growing plant would provide better comfort. The nature of the plant (qiqayon [TH7021, ZH7813]) is greatly debated (Robinson 1985:390-403), but is most often identified as some sort of gourd or castor bean plant (ricinus communis). If it was a gourd, it may have grown over Jonah’s shelter and given double protection. Those who favor the castor bean plant (e.g., Baldwin 1993:586) point to a possible linguistic identification with the Egyptian kiki and Assyrian kukkanitu (see Walker 1957:94).

This eased his discomfort. Lit., “to deliver him from his evil [situation].” The verb for deliver (lehatsil [TH3807.1/5337, ZH4200/5911]; NLT “eased”) forms a sound play with the previous noun for shade (tsel [TH6738, ZH7498]). The LXX was seemingly affected by this paronomasia and translated “to shelter him,” apparently reading tsalal [TH6751, ZH7511] (grow dark) rather than the Hebrew text’s natsal [TH5337, ZH5911] (deliver). The noun evil (ra‘ah [TH7451B, ZH8288]; NLT “discomfort”), which describes Jonah’s situation, is a key term in the book (see Introduction). The NLT renders the sense of the narrative.

Jonah was very grateful. Lit., “Jonah rejoiced . . . with a great joy.” Once again, the author employed a cognate accusative to express Jonah’s great happiness (see the note on 1:16).

4:7 But God also arranged for a worm! First, God supplied a plant; then, he sent a worm to destroy the plant. The exact nature of the “worm” is unclear; “larva,” “maggot,” “weevil,” “beetle,” and “centipede” have all been suggested (Sasson 1990:301). Usually cited unfavorably (e.g., Deut 28:39; Job 25:6), the noun is used to describe the suffering psalmist in Ps 22:6 and the lowly state of exiled Israel (Isa 41:14). The text does not use the name “Yahweh” or “Lord God” (4:6) to designate the one who sent the worm; it uses “God” (ha’elohim [TH1886.1/430, ZH2021/466]), the omnipotent sovereign and creator of all things who was disciplining Jonah.

The next morning. The worm began its work at the crack of dawn, when the first rays of the sun streaked across the sky. Accordingly, the heat of the day could take its effect upon a pouting Jonah.

the worm ate through the stem. Although the Hebrew simply reports that the insect attacked the plant, the NLT gives the required sense of the worm’s voracious activity.

withered away. Once again the narrator draws upon the root yabesh [TH3001, ZH3312; cf. TH3004, ZH3317]. Jonah had acknowledged God as the creator of the sea and dry land (yabbashah [TH3004, ZH3317]; 1:9). The sailors had attempted to row to land (1:14), and Jonah was vomited by the great fish onto dry land (2:10). Here it describes the smitten plant which is drying up and withering away (cf. Joel 1:12).

4:8 as the sun grew hot. Lit., “when the sun rose.” By the time the sun had risen in the sky, the worm had done its work. As it rose, God (’elohim [TH430, ZH466]) sent a scorching wind to buffet Jonah.

scorching. The exact force of this adjective is uncertain. Most suggest something to do with oppressive heat: “heat” (GW, also Dios Habla Hoy); “burning” (LXX, La Sainte Bible); “sweltering” (NRSV, cf. Keil; La Sacra Biblia, “oppressive”); and “withering” (Luther, cf. Stuart). The NLT’s “scorching” is reflected in several English versions (NASB, NIV, NJB, REB). The suggestion of “vehement” (NKJV; cf. Sasson, “fierce”) is taken up in 1QH 7:5. The nature of the context favors the idea of a strong, hot, and stifling wind. Since it is the effect of the heat that is stressed in the verse, the NLT’s rendering is as good as any.

east wind. Because in Nineveh southwesterly winds off of the Arabian Desert often brought extreme heat, the mention of an east wind is significant. Jonah had gone to the east side of the city (4:5). God met him there with the heat of an east wind. If the plant and the worm were not sufficient to convince Jonah that God was dealing with him, the location of these events and the direction of the scorching wind ought to do so.

The sun beat down on his head until he grew faint. The verb translated “beat down” is the same as that rendered “ate through” in v. 7. As the worm vigorously attacked the plant, the sun beat down on Jonah viciously. Wind and sun combined to make Jonah faint. Sasson (1990:304) suggests that the major purpose of the wind was to sweep away the shelter that Jonah had erected previous to the appearing of the plant. With no protection available, Jonah would easily suffer sunstroke.

wished to die. Lit., “asked his soul to die.” Like Elijah (1 Kgs 19:4), Jonah wished only for death. The image of a person talking with the soul is exemplified in an Egyptian tale of a man’s dispute over the merits of suicide with his soul (Lichtheim 1973:1.163-169). So eloquent is his reasoning that his soul (ba’) agrees to remain with him rather than desert him at death and cause his annihilation. One of the famous verses reads: “Death is before me today like the fragrance of myrrh, like sitting under sail on breeze day” (Lichtheim 1973:1.168).

4:9 Then God said to Jonah. Jonah was questioned a second time (cf. 4:4) about his anger. This time the divine name ’elohim [TH430, ZH466] (God) rather than yhwh [TH3068, ZH3378] (the LORD) appears. Perhaps this is the narrator’s touch to remind the reader that the omnipotent God of all men is now posing the question to the man Jonah.

because the plant died? God wanted Jonah to understand the object lesson he had provided in the plant that appeared and disappeared so suddenly. As Stuart (1987:506) remarks, “By reducing the question to the particular issue of the gourd, God focused the question in a way that would cause Jonah to condemn himself by his own words. Jonah did just that.”

angry enough to die! Jonah’s anger was such that he would have preferred death to life. In the previous inquiry (4:4), Jonah had answered God by walking away from him. Here he actually gave God an answer, one that would allow God to make his point.

4:10 the LORD. The covenant name “Yahweh” reappears here as the Lord now deals tenderly with his prophet in an attempt to enlighten him.

You feel sorry about the plant. The verb translated “sorry” connotes a deep feeling of compassion, mercy, and genuine sympathy, especially “the shared sufferings due to the misfortune or disaster that befalls another” (TDOT 4.272).

you did nothing to put it there. Lit., “you did not toil over it or make it grow.” Jonah’s sorrow could not be personal for he himself had not labored over or cared for the plant.

It came quickly and died quickly. The Hebrew text points out that the plant came up in a night and perished in a night. Allen (1976:234) represents God as saying, “Your attachment to it could not be very deep, for it was here one day and gone the next. Your concern was dictated by self-interest, not by a genuine love.”

4:11 120,000 people. Sasson (1990:311-312) cites studies that estimate that in the days when Nineveh flourished, the population was about 300,000 people. Whether the population was that high in Jonah’s day is unknown. Scholars have often debated the meaning of the figure 120,000 here, some (e.g., Keil 1954:416-417; Feinberg 1976:151; Pusey 1953:426) suggesting that this reflected the number of children, so that the total population would be something like 600,000. If 120,000 represents the men available for military service (cf. e.g., Num 1; 2 Sam 24:2-9), then a total population of Nineveh could come close to 300,000. It is possible, of course, that 120,000 is simply a round figure, perhaps reflecting the symbolism of the numbers 10 and 12. Sasson (1990:311-312) speaks for many (e.g., Allen 1976:234), however, who think that 120,000 is “not at all implausible for Nineveh even before its heyday.” God would have spared Sodom and Gomorrah for 10 people (Gen 18:32); why should he not be moved for 120,000?

people living in spiritual darkness. Lit., “who do not know their right hand from their left.” Some commentators (Keil 1954:416-417; Laetsch 1956:242-243; Feinberg 1976:151) take the phrase to refer to children below the age of accountability. The NLT has applied the emphasis of the right hand/left hand motif: The Ninevites are totally blind spiritually. Applying this motif in a slightly different manner, one may say that whereas Israel was to deviate neither to the right hand nor the left but to follow the Lord and his commandments (Deut 17:11, 20 [NASB]; Josh 1:7; Prov 4:23-27), the Ninevites had no knowledge of spiritual truth—hence, they didn’t know what lay to either side of it.

people . . . animals. Both humans and animals had been involved in the public display of penitence. The Scriptures indicate that Israel’s God was concerned about people and animals (Neh 9:6; Pss 36:6; 145:16; Joel 1:16-20; 2:21-27; Matt 10:29-31). Limburg (1993:98) observes that Jonah’s story “has a special concern to show God’s love for the outsiders, the people of the world—and even for their cattle!”

Shouldn’t I feel sorry for such a great city? God’s argument is from the lesser to the greater (a fortiori), a familiar method known both in the Scriptures (Gen 44:8; Exod 6:12; Deut 31:27; 2 Kgs 5:13; Jer 12:5; Ezek 14:12-23; 15:1-6; Matt 6:30; 10:25; 12:11-12; Luke 11:13; 12:24, 28) and the rabbinic literature. (For a concise discussion of the principles of rabbinic exegesis, see Kaiser 1981:52-55.) If Jonah could feel sorrow for the dead plant over which he had not toiled, should not God be concerned for Nineveh? Allen (1976: 234) depicts God’s feelings as meaning, “All those people, all those animals—I made them, I have cherished them all these years. Nineveh has cost me no end of effort, and they mean the world to me. Your pain is nothing to mine when I contemplate their destruction.”

COMMENTARY [Text]

The concluding chapter of the book presents the reader with an unexpected conclusion. Rather than rejoicing over the effectiveness of his preaching, Jonah was greatly displeased. His displeasure gives way to absolute fury. He blurted out his anger by telling the Lord that he was afraid of this outcome all along. Because he knew that God was gracious and compassionate (Exod 34:6-7), Jonah had feared that if the Ninevites responded with repentance at his announcement of God’s judgment, God might forgive them and remit the threatened penalty. Since God himself had said that Nineveh was a wicked city (1:1), why should they not perish? Would not his preaching be in vain? Rather than facing that possibility, Jonah had fled to Tarshish—at least, he had attempted to do so.

Despite the bitterness of his prophet, God gently chided him: “Is it right for you to be angry about this?” Because God is a gracious and merciful God, as Jonah knew him to be, Jonah should rather have considered his mission to have been highly successful since the result was in keeping with who Jonah knew God to be.

Jonah, however, would hear none of it. Once again walking away from God (cf. 1:3), he went out to the east side of the city and sat down. Perhaps God would see Jonah’s righteous cause and give the Ninevites their justly deserved destruction. But outside the city, Jonah found no shelter from the oppressive heat of the day. Therefore, he built a rude hut for himself and there he sat, a disgusted prophet waiting for God to change his mind and destroy the city.

However, God was not through with his prophet. He would attempt to teach him a spiritual lesson. Because Jonah’s hastily built hut was inadequate to spare him completely from the scorching sun, God miraculously intervened on behalf of his pouting prophet. He caused a plant to grow above him so as to shade him from the piercing rays of the sun. How grateful Jonah was! Yet God had more purposes in mind than temporarily shading him. When Jonah greeted the rising sun on the next day, he found that God had commissioned a worm to destroy his newly acquired shelter. Moreover, an unusual east wind served only to add scorching heat to the weight of the sun beating down upon his head. Jonah was beside himself in anguish and pain. Faint and near exhaustion, he wished only to die.

Once again, God came to his prophet with a question: “Is it right for you to be angry because the plant died?” Jonah averred that it was—he was furious to the point of death itself. Again the Lord reasoned with Jonah. Did he not see that his sorrow over the plant was self-serving? He had lost something that he had not labored for. By contrast, God reclaimed an entire population of a great city over which he had sorrowed. The Lord is not only Israel’s God but the God of the whole world which he created and nourishes. Jonah should have rejoiced that these members of the human race had repented of their wickedness. Didn’t Jonah see this? Rather than being a failure, his preaching had helped to overturn (cf. 3:4 and note) the wicked lifestyle of an entire populace, not to mention the fate of many animals.

Did Jonah learn the lesson of the plant?[78] Did he respond positively to God’s patient dealing with him? One would like to think that he did and, like a recommissioned Elijah (1 Kgs 19:9-21), was available to deliver other messages for God.[79] If Jonah’s preaching in the days of Jeroboam II (2 Kgs 14:25) took place after his mission to Nineveh, then Jeroboam’s great military exploits would have taken place toward the end of his long reign (792–752 BC). The most likely historical scenario would put Jeroboam’s campaigning after the death of Adad-nirari III of Assyria in 783/782 BC and during a period of both Assyrian (782–746 BC) and Aramean (773–750 BC) weakness.[80] Because Jonah’s ministry in Nineveh is most likely to be dated around 758–755 BC (see Introduction), this would leave little time for Jeroboam’s foreign wars before his death in 752 BC. Moreover, signs of the Israelite weakness that appeared after his passing could be seen in the immediately preceding years.

Accordingly, one can, at best, only hope that Jonah wrote the story of his activities to remind his fellow countrymen both of God’s love for all people, Jew and Gentile alike, and of the need for all prophets to respond positively to God’s claim upon their lives.[81] If Jonah is indeed the author of the book that bears his name, perhaps he intended for his readers to learn the lesson of obedience from his failure. If so, Jonah may have repented and reported for subsequent duty.

Theologically, this chapter reveals a great deal about God’s activities and character. Because he is a God of grace, compassion, and loving-kindness, he reaches down to people in their need (cf. Joel 2:13). This, together with his infinite patience, makes his forgiveness of repentant sinners a rather natural feature of his dealing with them (cf. Exod 34:6-7; Neh 9:17; 2 Pet 3:15; 1 John 1:8-9). The ultimate expression of these features reached a climax in the life and atoning death of Jesus Christ. God’s Son gave himself for a sinful world so as to bring to himself a people who are eager to reproduce these qualities in their lives (Rom 3:22-25; 2 Cor 8:9; Eph 1:3-8; Titus 2:11-14; 3:4-8).

This chapter adds to the picture of God’s patience with Jonah that is presented throughout the book. Thus, rather than punish Jonah when he disobeyed God’s summons and fled to Joppa, God let Jonah play out his role. Once Jonah was on the sea, God sent a storm to get Jonah’s attention and then rescued him from the waters by means of a “great fish” (1:17). By this, God demonstrated that he is not only the God of the land of Israel but the sea as well. Then, as the fish vomited Jonah on land (2:10), Jonah’s own confession was seen to be true: “The LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land” (1:9). God had patiently but surely brought his prophet back to a position of trust and obedience (2:4, 7-9).

When Jonah obeyed a second commission and preached (apparently with not-altogether-pure motives) the coming judgment, God blessed his message so that the people of Nineveh turned from their wicked ways. God then relented from the threatened judgment (3:1-10). Rather than being grateful and happy over the results of his ministry, Jonah became angry with God. Therefore, God again dealt patiently with his prophet. He provided a plant to shade him from the heat of the day in the very spot where Jonah had positioned himself. By the next day, however, a “worm” of some sort had destroyed Jonah’s means of shelter (4:5-7). When Jonah faced the renewed heat of the sizzling sun and scorching wind, he again became angry (4:8). And once again God asked whether it was right to be angry, now over the plant that died (4:9). When Jonah said that it was and that he was angry enough to die, God patiently and tenderly explained the lesson of the plant to him. If Jonah could feel sorry for the plant that had been provided for him, should not God feel compassion for so many human beings, not to mention animals, who are the objects of his sustaining power (4:9-11)? Apparently, Jonah had forgotten how God had provided a sea creature to bring him to repentance. Yet Jonah was not willing to grant God the prerogative of accepting the penitence of the Ninevites. Jonah grieved over a plant that God had provided but was unwilling to grant God the privilege of compassion for needy human beings. Once again God did not punish Jonah but, in patience, reasoned with him theologically.

All along the way, then, God’s infinite patience can be seen. What Jonah experienced is in keeping with what the Scriptures reveal concerning God: He is infinitely patient (Exod 34:6; Num 14:18; Pss 86:15; 103:8; Joel 2:13; Nah 1:3). Because he is patient, he bore with the total spiritual bankruptcy of the world in Noah’s day (1 Pet 3:20). Similarly, he still delays the great day of judgment in order to prolong the day of salvation (2 Pet 3:15). Accordingly, God’s patience should lead people to repentance (Rom 2:4; 9:22-29) so that ultimately, through faith and patience, they become those “who are going to inherit God’s promises” (Heb 6:12). God’s patience with Jonah and compassion for wicked Nineveh stand as a challenge for today’s believing church. How easy it is to give up on those who “just won’t listen” or seem irretrievably reprobate. How tempting it is to write off those individuals, communities, or nations that “are just asking for God to strike them down.” Yet if God had compassion on wicked Nineveh, should not believers have a godly concern for those individuals and nations who appear to violate the ethical and moral standards of civilized society? If God dealt patiently with wayward Jonah, should we not be slow to take offense and quick to forgive backsliding Christians (Prov 19:11; Gal 6:1-5)?

Jonah’s experiences also warn us that believers can be out of fellowship with God—even while seeking to serve him. It would be easy to assume that having received Christ as Savior we would thereafter make steady spiritual progress in our Christian lives. Such is frequently not the case, however. The truth is that believers often struggle with the will and standards of God as much as Jonah did. How grateful we should be that God is gracious and compassionate, ever willing to forgive and receive repentant sinners back to a place of intimate fellowship and profitable service (Exod 34:6-7; 2 Pet 3:17-18; 1 John 1:5-9).

Jonah’s own struggle with God’s relenting from judging Nineveh revealed his conception of God’s gracious character. His understanding of Israel’s elect place in God’s economy left little or no room for outsiders. How easy it is to find fault with Jonah. Nevertheless, Jonah’s problem has plagued segments of the believing church throughout the ages and still permeates many a congregation.[82] It is all too easy to confine God’s love to those of one’s own fellowship or denomination. May God help believers to have a vision of God’s grace, compassion, loving-kindness, and concern for all people everywhere.

The lesson of Jonah and Nineveh reinforces the gospel call. In what many have termed a post-Christian generation, Jonah’s message takes on even greater force. A world of lost “Ninevites” still faces God’s certain judgment (Acts 17:30-31). There remains, however, the possibility that unbelieving lives may be “overturned” (3:4). Like Saul on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1-16; 22:6-21; 26:12-23; Gal 1:11-17), many may be waiting to be told the message of saving grace in Christ Jesus in order that their lives may be turned to faithful service for him (Acts 20:24; 2 Tim 4:7-8). Jonah’s story thus reminds us of the need for sharing the Word of God with an unbelieving world and for praying for all people everywhere (cf. 1 Tim 2:1-6). The desperate condition of the lost and the urgency of the times demand that an unrepentant generation be confronted with the lesson of Nineveh: “Someone greater than Jonah is here” (Matt 12:41).[83]