Jonah 4:1–11
The Pilgrims that fled Europe for religious freedom endured death, starvation, disease, yet continued for their joy was on Jesus, not on the comforts of this world. They were eternally thankful! Recent studies have shown that your attitude and thankfulness effects your physical health. We can see from Jonah’s attitude of ungratefulness problems that arise that can become long-term condition if we do not ask seek God and ask for help.
The Anger that Results from Ungratefulness (4:1-2)
4:1 “it displeased Jonah exceedingly.” Jonah’s emotion is expressed in the strongest language possible: his greatest fear was that the loving God of the universe would have compassion and forgiveness for Israel’s most hated enemy, and it came true.
4:2 “you are a gracious . . . relenting from disaster.” This is the first reason for Jonah’s flee to Tarshish. Here in this passage and in Joel 2:13 there is a reference to divine repentance (“he relents over disaster”) Nineveh’s responds with repentance and receives deliverance by God.
The main reason Jonah was so angry is because God did not give Nineveh what they deserved, instead God gave them salvation as a result of their repentance! Isn’t this the message of the gospel? God gave us GRACE, God’s riches at Christ’s Expense. Jesus died so that through our faith we would be spared the wrath of God for eternity! Here’s a Hebrew word for us all to learn, WOW! God loves us that much!
What should we do when we become angry? 1. Ask the question, is this anger righteous or unrighteous? Righteous anger would be the hatred of sin yet compassion and love for the sinner. Unrighteous anger would be the hatred of sin yet hatred for the sinner too. We have to remember, that people are slaves to sin, it’s only the truth of Jesus Christ that can free them. God is just in His Righteous anger. God has established a response for all who never come to repentance and place faith in Jesus Christ. What should we do? 2. Pray, ask God to change your heart to His! Ask God to give you a passion to for the Ways of Christ, to be His Witness, passion for His Word, His World, and for His Worship, because He alone is Worthy! 3. Surround yourself with Thankful people! You’ve got to have the body of Christ that cares about the things of Christ. Show me your crowd and I’ll show you your future! 4. Worship God! When you are angry, worship the living and loving God! May He give you a spirit of gratitude!
- Is my anger just?
- Have I prayed for God’s transformation?
- Have I surrounded myself with Christ-like people?
- Am I worshiping Christ? Job worshipped God, even in his darkest trials! Job had lost everything and what did he say? In Job 1:21 “And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”
The Anxiety that Arises from Ungratefulness (4:3-4) Jonah was so mad that he wished he were dead! Phil 4:6 “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”
The Arrogance that Resides During Ungratefulness (4:5-10) 4:5 He was grateful for his own deliverance, yet Jonah still refused to accept God’s compassion for the Ninevites. Still somehow hoping that the Lord would bring judgment, and wrath, Jonah leaves the city and makes shelter at a safe distance in order to watch his enemies fall! 4:6 Some suggest that this plant was a castor oil plant, which grows quickly to a height of 15 feet. Some versions us the word gourd. 4:7-8 The same divine hand that had mercy on both Jonah and Nineveh provided the great fish and the shade now brings a worm to kill the plant, and a hot east wind.
“Unbelief in the heart is like the worm in Jonah’s gourd—an unseen adversary.” – DL Moody
God cared about the people of Nineveh, yet Jonah only cared about a plant. God was concerned about others, Jonah was concerned about himself. God worked in the hearts of the people of Nineveh. Jonah worked at nothing or did nothing for the plant. God’s purpose is eternal and Jonah’s is temporal. God’s concern is human life and Jonah’s concern is personal comfort. God displays his love, yet Jonah displays his true character.
Jonah was arrogant. He had forgotten who was in authority, who was sovereign, who is the giver of life. Often times the ungrateful forget the Giver and love the gifts more than the Giver!
The Ability to be Grateful is an Attribute of God (4:11) The Creator of this Universe cares deeply about our gratitude! Are we satisfied in Christ? Are we grateful? God even cares about the cattle in verse 11. We see that Jesus states in Matthew 10:29 “that not a sparrow will fall to the ground apart from the will of the Father.” We have the ability to have joy because of the Holy Spirit! What did Paul tell Timothy, “God did not give us a spirit of fear, but one of love, power, and self-control.” Gal 5:22 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,…”
Now the ending of Jonah isn’t the greatest, but we can guess that Jonah learned a valuable listen from his ungratefulness. We found out God is an animal lover! We knew that! It’s written down so he and others would not repeat it! Are you ungrateful? Turn to Christ, the giver of hope, life, and peace! Be Grateful!