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Ben Wulpi
Old Testament II
Dr. Bergdall
our children. But not many people are aware of the real purpose behind the book of
Jonah, which is illustrated in chapter four of the book. Chapter four is where Jonah
expresses his reasoning for fleeing from God when given the assignment to prophecy at
Nineveh and his anger at God for sparing the city. It reveals Jonah’s character, tarnished
by his jealous nationalism and personal pride. The message of this short chapter, and thus
of the whole book, is of God’s grace extending to all people. “…God is interested in all
people whatever their nationality or race and expects those who know him to dedicate
themselves to sharing that knowledge” (Reed 161). It is about judging based on a system
of merit versus God’s mercy. God’s mercy is ultimately sovereign over any amount of
merit.
scholars debate the time period in which the book was written. The information must
have come from Jonah himself, but since it is written in third person, and there is no clue
as to authorship, it could have been written by another. Some suggest Jonah was written
in a postexilic time period based on the usage of past tense when referring to Nineveh
(“Nineveh was a great city”), the allegedly exaggerated picture of Nineveh, and
The time setting of the book is estimated at somewhere between 782 and 745
B.C., during a time of Assyrian weakness, which could help to explain Jonah’s success
there. “The consciousness of weakness and possible defeat would go far to explain the
readiness of Nineveh to accept the prophet’s message” (Gaebelein 361). Nineveh was the
capital of Assyria, a brutal enemy of Israel. It was known as the greatest city in the world,
a metropolis filled with prosperity and great wickedness. Assyria’s enemy status to Israel
plays a part in explaining Jonah’s anger toward God for sparing the city.
Jonah son of Amittai was from the town of Gath-Hepher in Zebulun. He was a
prophet during the reign of Jeroboam II of Israel (about 786-746 B.C.). He is mentioned
in 2 Kings 14:25 as a prophet who predicted prosperity and territorial gains for Israel,
which would have given him a good reputation as a popular, highly esteemed prophet in
Israel. The people always loved to hear good news prophesied, so those prophets that
bore good news were highly regarded. Jonah may also have been the shy, young prophet
of 2 Kings 9:1-11 who anointed Jehu king over Israel. Jonah represents Israel, as well as
all of humankind, in its selfish rebellion against God’s sovereignty. “There is no character
in the Bible who epitomizes humankind quite like Jonah” (Pickard 91). Jonah is depicted
as narrow, vindictive, nationalistic, and bitterly exclusive. His attitude can be compared
to that of the prodigal’s elder brother in Luke 15, who is angered at the Father’s
unconditional love, forgiveness, and acceptance for his long lost son. Jonah also appears
to be very depressed throughout the book, going through intense swings of emotion.
“Jonah ben Amittai is quite possibly the most persistently and intensely dejected
Jonah is the fifth book of the Minor Prophets, and it is unique among the latter
prophets in being almost completely narrative, with the exception of Jonah’s psalm in
chapter 2. The book is either (a) historical or (b) allegorical or parabolic. Most view
historical setting and the fact that he was mentioned by Jesus as a historical figure
(Matthew 12:39-41, Luke 11:29-32). But many people have trouble viewing Jonah as
historical because of the alleged impossibility of a human surviving three days and nights
The fourth chapter of Jonah is generally divided up into three distinct sections.
The first is verses 1-3, which show Jonah expressing his anger towards God. The second
is verses 4-9, in which God counsels Jonah, questioning his right to be angry by using an
object lesson. And the third section is verses 10-11, where God expresses His concern for
Chapter three ends with God relenting of his impending destruction of Nineveh
when he sees their genuine repentance. The first verse of chapter four continues with
Jonah’s reaction: “But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry” (KJV).
Jonah was actually angry because of God’s grace toward the Ninevites. This is the same
grace that Jonah had been the recipient of earlier, when God spared him from death at sea
by providing the fish to swallow and protect him. Instead of rejoicing over God’s
In verse 2, Jonah cries out to God, directing his anger towards him. He says to
God, “…is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to
flee 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” (NIV). In essence, this
is Jonah saying to God, “I told you so!” He knew that God is a merciful God who would
not follow through on his judgment of destruction. So Jonah is blaming God not only for
sparing the Ninevites, but for his own disobedient flight to Tarshish. This confession of
God’s character may be some sort of creed in ancient Israel, since it is repeated
throughout the Old Testament some ten times (Exodus 34:6-7, Joel 2:13, Numbers 14:18,
Nehemiah 9:17, Psalm 145:8-9, etc…). It is a representation of the God of the covenant,
the one who has revealed himself to Israel. Jonah doesn’t disagree with the confession;
his problem is that God is indiscriminate in the exercise of his mercy (Fretheim 119). He
is trapped by the covenant. He can no longer argue, so he gets mad. But what is the real
source of his anger? Why is he so angry at God for showing mercy? In sparing Nineveh,
• Through his actions, God had declared that Jonah must forgive the
• God made clear that Ninevites and Israelites were equal in his
In light of these, Jonah couldn’t take it. He got angry. “His feelings were so deeply
ingrained that he simply could not accept God’s demand….It destroyed the foundation on
which his entire life had been built” (Pickard 77). Jonah had so much hatred for the
Assyrians for their past oppression of his people that he could not rejoice over their
salvation.
Jonah continues his prayer in verse 3, begging the Lord to take his life. “Now, O
Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live” (NIV). He is so
distressed by God’s actions that he doesn’t want to live anymore. Life is offered to the
wicked Ninevites, while Israel continues to suffer much distress? It seems as if God has
taken his promise away from Israel and given it to the Ninevites. This is what compels
Jonah to wish his own death. This verse is often compared to Elijah’s request for death in
1 Kings 19:4, when he was fleeing from Jezebel. But Elijah wishes to die because of his
failure, while Jonah was in despair over his success in turning people to God (Fretheim
122).
In verse 4, the Lord displays his patience with Jonah, asking him, “Have you any
right to be angry?” (NIV) Instead of openly rebuking Jonah, God patiently works to
convince Jonah of his childish attitude, showing tenderness in the face of Jonah’s
judgmental anger.
In verse 5, Jonah does not answer the Lord’s question, but he goes eastward of the
city, builds himself a shelter (Hebrew succah, probably made out of branches and leaves)
and sat in its shade to see what would happen to the city. This is Jonah’s attempt at
challenging God with the firmness of his resolve, showing his unchanged mindset and
feeble attempt at independence from God. Jonah is so angry that he doesn’t want to
accept gifts from anyone. The Ninevites would have been grateful for Jonah’s warning
which led them to their repentance and salvation. They would have gladly offered him
suitable dwellings and given him honor. In his book Jonah, Jack Sasson asserts from the
Hebrew text that Jonah is almost tentative in his pouting: “This is a rather belabored
verse: Jonah exits, sits, builds, sits, then stares at the city. The effect is once more of
movements coming in spurts, as if Jonah is taking his time or is not sure how best to
proceed” (287). The usual view is that Jonah sat down to watch, hoping that God would
change his mind again and destroy the city, but it is more probable that Jonah was
expecting something to happen that would explain God’s ways a little more clearly to
him.
And that is what God did. Verse 6 says that God provided a plant (Heb. kikayon)
that grew over Jonah’s head to give him further shade, delivering him from his grief.
Jonah was “exceedingly glad” because of the plant. The exact identification of the plant is
uncertain based on the Hebrew, but some scholars say that it might be a ricinus or castor-
oil tree. Different translations call it a gourd, a tree, or simply a vine, but the botanical
identification of the plant doesn’t really matter to the message of the passage. Jonah was
very joyful over this plant. This sudden drastic change of emotion is surprising. Both
verses 1 and 6 use the modifier “exceedingly,” showing the wide spectrum of Jonah’s
emotions. It wasn’t just because the plant protected Jonah from the heat, because he had
already set up a shelter for himself. He was also joyful at the miraculous growth of the
plant, for it had sprung up overnight. But this was not a joy of gratitude. It was selfish.
This is the first step of God’s object lesson. “The kikayon thus becomes an instrument of
God’s connivance, for God has indeed tricked Jonah into enjoying or feeling contentment
for something that he hasn’t worked for and thus doesn’t deserve” (Perry 57). This is God
The next verse (7) continues God’s object lesson. “But at dawn the next day God
provided a worm, which chewed through the vine so that it withered” (NIV). Here again,
God provided (Heb. manah: “to appoint” “to provide” “to prepare”) something for Jonah.
Earlier he provided the fish to protect him (1:17), then he provided the plant to give him
shade, and he provided the worm to destroy the plant, along with his joy.
In verse 8, God provided (manah) a sirocco, a vehement east wind common to the
Middle East, which is described as “a dust-laden, furnace-like blast of heat that parches
the body by evaporating perspiration” (Fretheim 124). The sun beat down on Jonah so
that he grew faint, and he “wished in himself to die” (KJV), saying once again that it was
better for him to die than to live. The difference in this death wish is that Jonah
“requested for himself that he might die” (ASV, emphasis mine), rather than requesting of
God (v. 3). Jonah is still trying to assert his independence. From Jonah’s perspective,
“God can apparently no longer even be depended upon to take his life. He would prefer
to keep Jonah alive and miserable” (Fretheim 125). And the reason for Jonah’s anger is
different this time. The first time he was angry because Nineveh was not destroyed, but
here he is angry because the plant is destroyed. God is trying to show Jonah the
inconsistency of his position. But instead of getting God’s point, Jonah reverts back to his
In verse 9, God asks Jonah the same question: “Do you have a right to be angry?”
This time though, God is questioning Jonah’s anger for the loss of the plant that had
shaded him and brought him so much joy. Jonah responds, “I do. I am angry enough to
die” (NIV). Jonah responds with anger, showing that he thinks God’s actions are not just.
“What makes Jonah even more angry here and wish even more intensely for his death is
his perception of the contrasting ways of God’s dealings with him and Nineveh. God is
It is in verses 10-11, the final verses of the book, that God drives home his point.
He says to Jonah, “You have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend to it
or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. But Nineveh has more than a
hundred thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle
as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?” (NIV). Jonah had been given
the plant as a pure gift, not as something that he had earned or deserved. And it was just
one lifeless plant, ephemeral in nature, passing away quickly. The plant stands in contrast
to God’s relationship with the Ninevites. He created and nurtured them over a long period
of time, and there were large masses of them, human beings created in God’s own image.
Jonah has no claim to the plant, so there can be no question of injustice whatsoever in
God’s taking the plant from Jonah. If Jonah can make no claims of justice for the plant,
he can definitely make no judgments concerning what God has done with Nineveh
(Fretheim 127).
There are a few things to point out in God’s final response to Jonah. First, the
phrase “…who cannot tell their right hand from their left…” warrants some closer
inspection. In the Bible, the right hand is the symbol of the good realm, the hand that
symbolizes power and righteousness. The left hand, by contrast, is the symbol of evil, the
hand used to curse and used to clean oneself. Each realm is opposite to each other and
should not be mixed. So when it is said that Nineveh cannot tell their right hand from
their left, it is saying that they have no discernment, no knowledge of ethics or the basics
God asks Jonah, “Should I not pity Nineveh?” (ESV). The verb translated “pity”
has the literal sense “the eye flows on account of.” In beautiful imagery, it shows that the
Lord sees Nineveh and is moved to tears of compassion for its people (Limburg 155).
The seemingly innocent words “…and also much cattle” (KJV) give even further
evidence of God’s far-reaching grace. God is concerned even with the animals of
Nineveh. The animals were included in the king’s decree for repentance, given in chapter
3: “Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock taste anything…” (3:7 NIV). God does not
Jonah pouting over his pitiful puny plant, while the great heart of God reaches out to his
lost children. The Ninevites are saved, not because they are good, but precisely because
they are unworthy and have recognized it” (Pickard 91). That is the message of Jonah:
that God’s grace is offered to all, not because we have done anything to deserve it, but
because God loves us in spite of our wickedness, in spite of our rebellion from him. He is
the Creator, the Sustainer, the One who gave us life, and who wants us to turn back to
him. The Lord does not want anyone to perish, but wants everyone to come to repentance
(2 Peter 3:9). Anyone and everyone include our enemies, those that would harm us, or
whom society would look down upon as inferior. God does not discriminate in his
offering of free grace. Colossians 3:11 says, “In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are
I think the modern church needs to be refreshed of this message from time to
time. We should not be proud of our status as Christians, looking down on those who are
not in our “inner ring.” There is no “us” and “them” when referring to Christians and
non-believers; the only thing that separates us is this free grace offered by God, which we
did nothing to earn, and therefore no right to be proud of. Like Jonah, sometimes we as
Christians tend to be selfish in our faith, and we sit comfortably under the shelters we’ve
made that give us security, such as our arrogance in our faith, and we sit idly, watching
But the real focus of the book of Jonah is not Jonah, or us. The real focus is on the
grace of God. I think it’s important to remember that as Christians, we were once
Ninevites. We were lost, didn’t know our right hand from our left, and we were headed
for destruction. But God offered us his grace, and once we repented, we were given new
life in Christ. “So great a love, allows us to clear our messy lives before God, once and
for all, regardless of our previous history and of any pre-condition on our own, and get a
new start!” (Bachmann 53). Praise God that he has given us a fresh start by offering us
Works Cited
Arnold, Bill T., Bryan E. Beyer. Encountering the Old Testament: A Christian Survey.
Mission Studies: Journal of the International Association for Mission Studies Vol.
Limburg, James. Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching, Hosea-
Mitchell, Hinckley G., John Merlin Powis Smith, Julius A. Bewer. The International
Critical Commentary: Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi and Jonah. New York: Charles
Perry, T.A. The Honeymoon Is Over: Jonah’s Argument With God. Peabody,
Reed, Oscar F., Armor D. Peisker, H. Ray Dunning, William M. Greathouse. Beacon
Bible Commentary: Hosea Through Malachi. Kansas City, Missouri: Beacon Hill
Press, 1966.
Sasson, Jack M. The Anchor Bible: Jonah. New York: Doubleday, 1990.