In the 4th and final chapter of the book of Jonah we find the prophet alienated and angry with God for His audacious display of grace and forgiveness of the Ninevites. Jonah is so upset with the Lord that he actually wishes that God would take his life from him! Jonah has just witnessed one of the greatest displays of mercy yet reacts in bitterness. In this reaction we see Jonah's heart, and it isn't a pretty picture. Jonah's response to God arises from his prejudices against the Ninevites and his lack of compassion for them. Since he is a Hebrew, Jonah has experienced and knows the love of God and His gracious provision and he is also secure in the covenant God has with the Hebrews. When he sits atop the hill outside the city of Nineveh he looks on in the hopes that God will still treat the people with justice and not show them the same mercy that the Israelites have received. When he realizes that God has extended amazing grace to the 120,000 inhabitants of Nineveh, he reacts in anger because not only does he desire their demise as enemies of Israel, but he is haunted by the possibility that he would be seen as a traitor by his people for taking this saving message to the Ninevites.
As Jonah sits on the hill in a deep state of pouting, God does something that catches even the casual reader by surprise, He appoints a plant (gourd) to grow and relieve Jonah's discomfort. Why would God provide Jonah comfort in the midst of his racial tirade? God is still trying to teach Jonah about His character. Jonah is extremely happy about the plant God provided, even though he had nothing to do with it. Jonah nods off and God yet again appoints something in Jonah's life, this time He provides a worm to devour the plant then He immediately provides a scorching heat to beat down upon Jonah's head; needless to say Jonah was not quite as happy about the appointment of these things. Much like His activity in our lives, God is trying to remind Jonah of exactly who He is. As we look back on the book of Jonah we see that God appointed several things in the life of Jonah, first He appointed a storm, second He appointed a great fish, third He appointed a plant, fourth He appointed a worm, lastly He appointed the scorching heart. The only commonality is that God appointed all of these things in Jonah's life for a singular purpose. God is teaching Jonah, as He has to do with us, that He is the one who is in control of situations and circumstances and His purpose will never be thwarted. God knew exactly what Jonah needed in each season of His journey and appointed what was needed for that time period. Like Jonah, we are happy when the Lord provides us with a plant, or in our contemporary terms, God bestows blessing upon us, but we recoil and pout when God appoints things to discipline us.
There are many things to glean from the life of Jonah in that He is a prophet that most everyone can find common ground with. As I reflect on what the Lord has taught me through this study, one truth seems to resonate more than others. Do I truly thank God for the worms He appoints in my life as much as I thank Him for the plants? In our consumer -driven society we often get caught up in the pursuit of acquisition and and that carries over to our spiritual lives as well. What we have to realize is that God knows us and loves us intimately and although we think we know what is best in any given situation, God in His sovereignty and omniscience is able to appoint precisely what I need in every season of my life. We are told that "My thoughts are not your thoughts, and My ways are not your ways (Isaiah 55: 8-9)," and the sooner we come to terms with that reality the sooner He is able to mold us into the children of God that we are called to be. My personal prayer in my life and the life of my family, is that I (we) will be able to truly trust the Lord in each and every circumstance and be able to say, like Job, "the Lord gives and the the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord (Job 1:21)."
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