Jonah 4: God Sends A Bush, A Worm, And A Wind

Instead of being pleased with his incredible success as a prophet turning people back to God, Jonah sulks.  Apparently, he really wanted to see Nineveh burn.  That's why he refused to go when sent there by the Lord in the first place - Jonah knew that God would forgive and repent of His decision to punish them.  God decides that it's time for another lesson for His prophet.  (Fortunately, this one doesn't involve a giant fish!)

Jonah throws such a spiritual tantrum that he prays for the Lord to take his life (vs. 3).  God asks, "Is it right for you to be so angry?"  In response, Jonah goes out of the city and sets up a booth from which to watch what will happen to the city, possibly still hoping for its destruction.

To show the prophet His perspective, God sends a bush to grow and shelter Jonah from the sun.  Jonah enjoys the shade - for a day.  The next day, God sends a worm to devour the bush, so that it withered.  To add insult to injury, God then sends a sultry east wind that causes Jonah to overheat out in the sun.  Once again, the prophet whines that death would be better than enduring such discomfort.

At the end of the book, Jonah is still angry.  In fact, he proclaims that he is "angry enough to die" (vs. 9).  Then the Lord reveals His point: Jonah has gotten himself all worked up and concerned over a simple bush that was here today and gone tomorrow.  But Nineveh is a city with 120,000 people (and also many animals).  The Lord points out that it is only right that He should be concerned with their welfare and strive to avoid their destruction.

The story of Jonah ends with us not knowing whether Jonah got the message.  I have to say that I am not optimistic that he did.  In a way, the attitude of Jonah is a bit like the chosen people's experience in miniature.  They were charged to bring the message of God's holy love to the world, but preferred to sit on it instead and keep their special relationship with God to themselves.  It is a mistake repeated by the Pharisees in the time of Jesus when they felt it was their job to bar people from the kingdom of heaven that they felt didn't measure up.  God forbid that such an attitude would be found in the Church today!  Who knows what God would send next!