5 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. 6 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. 7 But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered. 8 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.” 9 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.” 10 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. 11 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?” ESV
Jonah 4:5-11 Do you like to see things to the finish? Do you imagine how you would like the finale to play out? Jonah finds a good spot to look out over the city and take in the show. Jonah has made clear that he hopes the city is crushed by God’s wrath. God causes a vine to grow providing Jonah shade. The next day God has a worm destroy the plant & sends a hot sun & wind making it unbearable for Jonah. Jonah believes he is entitled to be angry about the plant-to the point of wanting to die-even though he had nothing to do with the life or death of the plant. God’s teachable moment as Jonah had never considered God’s heart for over 120,000 people in the city of Nineveh. God will have mercy on whom He chooses to have mercy. We-as recipients of God’s mercy-Grace-love should rejoice when others receive the same! Forgive as we have been forgiven & love as we have been loved.
