I finished reading the book of Jonah today and was again struck by the final chapter.
9 But God said to Jonah, “Do you have a right to be angry about the vine?”
“I do,” he said. “I am angry enough to die.”
10 But the Lord said, “You have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. 11 But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty 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?” (Jonah 4:9-10)
I am so thankful that Jonah is in the Bible. It is such a clear reminder of God’s grace and faithfulness and our grumpiness and fickleness.
Jonah is upset. In fact, this chapter could be subtitled, “Jonah’s Anger at God” or “Jonah’s Pity Party.” Why is he so upset? Because God is gracious, compassionate, patient, and loving toward the sinful (4:1-3). That sort of strikes us as ironic. In our society, people are normally more upset with God’s justice and wrath. But our context is different than Jonah’s. We are blessed to be in a free country that is prosperous, secure, and relatively peaceful. We can’t imagine being in a small country surrounded by enemies who are powerful, cruel, unrestrained, and eager to take us out. That was the Assyrians. And Jonah had heard of their cruelty and was ready to see them destroyed. Perhaps we could compare Jonah to a victim of a crime who would rather see their perpetrators condemned, skinned, and hanged than forgiven.
In other words, his anger is real…and in his mind, very justified.
But God keeps coming back with a simple question…Do you have a right to be angry?
What a powerful question. In our times of anger, we are usually unwilling to listen or consider what is going on in the depths of our heart. We would rather stew. There is something oddly comforting about anger. It makes us feel powerful…like we are doing something about injustice…that we have a right to complain about life, disregard others, and even stew at God.
But God doesn’t attack Jonah…or lecture him…or give up on him. Instead, He simply asks a question. Do you have a right to be angry?
Jonah is not in the mood for self-reflection so God teaches him through an object lesson. First God allows a little plant to grow up over Jonah’s head and provide him temporal relief from the heat. Then the next day He appoints a little worm to eat the plant and cause it to die. And then God brings about a scorching wind on a hot day to really get Jonah’s sweat flowing and anger stirring again. Jonah is so upset and so stuck in self-pity that he wishes to die. He is probably not serious about wanting God to end his life but have you ever gotten to the point that you said those kind of words to others or to God?
“Hey God, if you are going to treat me like this, why don’t You go ahead and kill me too? What are You waiting for? You don’t seem to care about my misery so why not just end it all?”
Anger, complaining, and self-pity are not our finest traits. They make us irrational, miserable, and generally unpleasant to be around. But for some reason we seem to find comfort in such pitiful, self-focused moods. Nobody loves me…nobody cares about me…nobody has it as bad as me…and on top of that, God has given me the short end of the stick…
And God asks again. Do you have a right to be angry?
Jonah was upset about his personal comfort. He was upset that life was not going as he wanted. He was upset that God did not run the universe like Jonah thought He should. And God gently speaks to his heart and says, “You are so upset about the withering of a little vine that gave temporary shade to your head but don’t have a bit of concern about the lives of 120,000 people who are ignorant of My holiness and grace. Aren’t there bigger things in life than your personal comfort?”
It is a gentle stab at Jonah’s heart. And the book ends there. Why?
Because God intends it to be a gentle stab at my heart too.
Am I really upset that I hit two stop lights this morning? That traffic made me five minutes late for work? That my football team lost? That my boys can’t seem to get in line with my agenda? That my coffee is too hot? That my food is too bland? That my vacation is too short? That my bank account is too small? That I am not getting my way?
Is my life really that petty?
Praise God that He understands my heart and still extends grace to His pouting servant. I know I need it.
But just like Jonah, God isn’t content to leave me in my self-pity and anger but calls me to grow a little more gracious, a little more compassionate, a little more patient, a little more loving, a little bit more like Him each day.
Ouch. Thanks, Steve.