Jonah 4:7-11

Jonah 4:7 (KJV)

But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered.

 

Now God was beginning to teach Jonah a lesson about his attitude and priorities.  In the last verse Jonah was literally rejoicing in the cool shade the gourd gave him.  It is not stated as to what kind of worm the Lord had appointed for this task but whatever kind it was it caused destruction quite quickly to the shade which was making Jonah very happy.  The castor oil plant has very little resistance to even the slightest damage.  This also shows God’s great command of the creation, He not only appoints a great fish to do a certain job but also a little worm which attacked the gourd.  It may have attacked the roots which would cause it to wither very quickly but whatever the plan of attack was, it withered the plant.

 

Jonah 4:8 (KJV)

And it came to pass, when the sun did arise, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and wished in himself to die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live.

 

Jonah was sleeping and since the desert is cool, Jonah did not know yet what was happening to his little shelter.  When the sun began to rise the temperature would have started to go up till it hit desert temperatures which could be in the 100s Fahrenheit.  At this time God was preparing a vehement east wind which as it is called today a “sirocco.”  The word “vehement” carries with it the meaning of “scorching or sweltering.” Since the gourd was now dead, the sun was now beating down on Jonah’s head to the point that he fainted and was at the point of death and had wished that God would take him in death.  He thought death was better than life.  As a prophet of God he probably knew that he would have a home in Heaven and thought that to be better than living here.  What a contrast between Jonah and the Apostle Paul.  Philippians 1:23-24 (KJV)   For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:  24 Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.  Paul knew that to be with Christ was far better but he knew what his calling meant and he took it seriously.  He was willing to continue to face adversity in this world for the cause of Christ.  Jonah wanted to take the easy way out and go to Heaven.

 

Jonah 4:9 (KJV)

And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death.

 

Here God asks Jonah a legitimate question.  Are you angry that the gourd has been destroyed by the worm I sent?  Jonah answers in a very arrogant manner that he does well by being angry over the death of the gourd.  His anger is so ignited that he wants to die.  First his anger was kindled over the repentance of the Ninevites and now his anger is kindled over the death of the shade tree.  No matter what situation he is in, it seems all he wants to do is die.

 

Jonah 4:10 (KJV)

Then said the LORD, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night:

 

Then the Lord gives Jonah another lesson.  He had compassion on the gourd but the reality was he did not plant it, water it, care for it, or prune it and he had nothing to do with its quick growth to the point it covered his booth.  The gourd came up in a night and in the same time span, the gourd died in the night.  Jonah did not perform one work of a gardener but just enjoyed the shade because it was provided for his comfort.

 

Jonah 4:11 (KJV)

And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?

 

God now compares Jonah’s wrong views to the reality that he should be focused on and that was the Ninevites.  Jonah cared about the gourd which he did not plant but God is stating that He cared enough about the Ninevites to see them repent of their evil ways and that a swift judgment was avoided because of their repentance.  Jonah did not see that there were more than 120,000 people as 120,000 eternal souls who because of their upbringing under false gods, would not have enough discernment to know the difference between their right and left hands.  In other words, they would not know the truth unless it was proclaimed to them which Jonah did in the name of the Lord.  These people would not know to die without a personal relationship to God through His son Jesus, would mean eternal damnation but this did not move Jonah.  Notice the last phrase in this book is “and also much cattle.”  It is an interesting phrase because in the Bible what were cattle used for?  They were used for sacrifice.  1 Samuel 16:2 (KJV)   And Samuel said, How can I go? if Saul hear it, he will kill me. And the LORD said, Take an heifer with thee, and say, I am come to sacrifice to the LORD.  Now let us zip to the New Testament and see what sacrifice God has in view.  Romans 12:1 (KJV)   I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.  The true believer is to present themselves as living sacrifices.  So the cattle in view in Nineveh would have been the true believers in God.  It was a simile because the cattle represented the true believers whom God would have chosen from the foundation of the world unto salvation.  Apparently their time of election was not yet so Nineveh could not yet be destroyed.

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