Jonah 3:10
When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.

Jonah 4:1-11
But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” And the Lord said, “Do you do well to be angry?” Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, till he should see what would become of the city. Now the Lord God appointed a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant. But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered. When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint. And he asked that he might die and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.” But God said to Jonah, “Do you do well to be angry for the plant?” And he said, “Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die.” And the Lord said, “You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night. And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?”

Jonah 4:1
But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry.

Matthew 6:24
“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.”

Three Signs of a divided Heart

1. Inconsistency

2. Anger

Jonah 4:1
But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry.

Jonah 4:2
And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.

3. Despair

Jonah 4:3
Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.”

“Whatever controls you is your Lord. The person who seeks power is controlled by power. The person who seeks acceptance is controlled by the people you want to please. We do not control ourselves. We are controlled by the lord of our lives. If Jesus is Lord, He is the one who controls you. He is the ultimate power in your life. There are not bargains. We cannot manipulate him by playing, “let’s make a deal.” (Becky Pippert)

God’s Love for Us

1. God’s Love is a Patient Love

Jonah 4:4
And the Lord said, “Do you do well to be angry?”

2. God’s Love is a Purifying Love

Jonah 4:6
Now the Lord God appointed a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort.
So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant.

Jonah 4:7-8
But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered. When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint. And he asked that he might die and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.”

3 God’s Love is a High-Priced Love

Jonah 4:10-11
And the Lord said, “You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night.
And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?”

For this week’s application guide click this URL:https://storage2.snappages.site/QG8D8X/assets/files/Jonah-4-Application-Guide-Oct-6.docx

Resources Cited

Books/Commentaries/Sermons

Keller, Tim. Rediscovering Jonah. New Your, New York. Penguin Books, 2018.

Keller, Tim. Angry Enough to Die. September 9, 1990. https://gospelinlife.com/sermon/angry-enough-to-die/

Phillips, Richard D. Jonah & Micah. Edited by Richard D. Phillips, Philip Graham Ryken, and Iain M. Duguid. Reformed Expository Commentary. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2010.

Pippert, Becky. Out of the Saltshaker and Into the World. Downers Grove, IL. Intervarsity Press, 1979.

Warren, Rick. The Purpose Driven Life. Garnd Rapids, MI. Zondervan, 2002.

Zahl, Paul. Grace in Practice. Grand Rapids, MI. Eerdmans Publishing, 2007.