Jonah 4.8-9-Jonah Tells God He Is Justified For Being Angry About the Plant Even to Death (Doctrinal Bible Church in Huntsville, Alabama)

Doctrinal Bible Church

Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom

Sunday May 3, 206

Jonah Series: Jonah 4:8-9-Jonah Tells God He Is Justified For Being Angry About The Plant, Even To Death

Lesson # 44

Jonah 4:8 records that God sent an east wind when the sun began to shine upon Jonah and the sun beat down on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint from the heat, despaired of life and sought to die rather than live.

Jonah 4:1 But Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry. 2 He prayed to the Lord, “O Lord, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. 3 Now, O Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.” 4 But the Lord replied, “Have you any right to be angry?” 5 Jonah went out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. 6 Then the Lord God provided a vine and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the vine. 7 But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the vine so that it withered. 8 When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, “It would be better for me to die than to live.” 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?” (NIV84)

“Provided” is the verb mā∙nā(h) (מָנָה), which means “to send” and emphasizes with the reader the Lord’s sovereign control over His creation and His omnipotence over creation.

“A scorching east wind” refers to the hot sirocco east wind, which blows today in the Middle East occurring every fall and spring during the transitions between the rainy and dry season.

It parches the body by evaporating its perspiration and kicks up incredible dust storms that block out the sun and it is not unusual for the temperature to reach 110 degrees Fahrenheit and the humidity to go as low as two percent when this wind blows.

“And the sun blazed on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint” indicates that once the hot east wind died down and the dust settled so as to let the sunshine, the sun beat down on Jonah’s head, which would lead to suffering heat stroke.

The symptoms of which involve a loss of physical strength and mental anguish and even depression or some cases delirium.

The prophet’s discussion with himself or in his own soul of his desire to die is simply another way of asking God to kill him or end his life so that he won’t have to suffer anymore under the hot Middle Eastern sun.

Jonah 4:9 records God posing a rhetorical question to Jonah that asks the prophet if he is justified for being infuriated that the plant died to which Jonah replies emphatically that he was.

“Do you have a right to be angry about the vine?” is a rhetorical question that demands a negative answer.

This question that God poses to Jonah begins with the same wording as the question that He posed to Jonah in verse 4.

God speaks to Jonah because He is attempting to teach Jonah about His grace policy towards the entire human race that flows from His attribute of love.

God is attempting to point out to Jonah that the prophet’s position is totally inconsistent and that His decision to spare the Ninevites was totally consistent with His character and nature and grace policy.

In Jonah 4:1, we saw that Jonah was infuriated because God spared the Ninevites.

However, here in Jonah 4:9, the prophet is infuriated because God employed a worm to kill the little qîqāywōn plant that was provided to bring him relief and protection from the blazing Middle Eastern sun.

So he is infuriated because the Ninevites were not destroyed and when the plant died, which is totally ridiculous since he places a greater value on an inanimate object than human beings who are created in the image of God.

Jonah’s reply to God’s question is right to the point and emphasizes that the plant was extremely important to him since it gave him relief and protection from the oppressive Middle Eastern sun.

However, by giving such a response, God has set up the prophet since Jonah has made clear that through his own words that a plant is more important than human beings since he was upset that God spared the Ninevites yet very upset that God killed the plant.

He values a plant more than human beings, which is inconsistent with the Word of God, which declares that human beings are created in the image of God and not plants.

So with his own words, Jonah condemns himself since his attitude with regards to the Ninevites and the plant is inconsistent with the Word of God.

So Jonah turns God’s question into an affirmation and even adds a prepositional phrase to emphasize that he could not be more justified for being angry about the death of the plant.

Even though, the prophet was no doubt suffering from sun stroke and dehydration, his answer is consistent with his attitude throughout the book and in particular his anger in Jonah 4:2-3.

To summarize, Jonah 4:9 begins with a rhetorical question that is central to the narrative and critical in understanding the account.

It is setting up Jonah to condemn himself and implies that Jonah has no justification in disagreeing with God’s decision or His grace policy towards the Ninevites.

It implies that the prophet has no right to demand that God treat him well and the Ninevites badly.

Jonah is infuriated because the Ninevites were not destroyed and when the plant died.

His position is totally ridiculous since he places a greater value on an inanimate object than human beings who are created in the image of God.

His answer condemns him since it is inconsistent with the Word of God, which declares that human beings were created in the image of God.

Interestingly, Jonah’s last word in the narrative is the Hebrew term for “death.”

Also, once again, we have the Lord being patient and tolerant with Jonah as well as magnanimous with him, which are all expressions of His great love.