Jonah 4 Commentary

My Jonah 4 commentary centers on the uncomfortable ending of the book. A sulking prophet, an appointed plant, an appointed worm, an appointed east wind, and an unanswered question from God. The chapter closes without Jonah’s reply, and that silence is the point. It leaves the reader to answer in his place.

Jonah 4:1-4

‘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 4:1-4 ESV

Now we learn why Jonah ran. It wasn’t fear of Nineveh or disbelief in God’s power. It was the opposite. Jonah knew exactly who God was, and he didn’t want Him to be that way toward this particular city. His anger in verse 1 is the hinge that swings the whole book open.

Just look at the creed he recites in verse 2. This is a near verbatim quote of God’s self-disclosure to Moses in Exodus 34:6. Gracious. Merciful. Slow to anger. Abounding in chesed חסד (steadfast love). This is the same confession that appears throughout the Psalms (86:15, 103:8, 145:8).

Jonah knew the words. He just didn’t want them to apply to the Assyrians.

And, so he literally asks to die. Two times in this chapter Jonah will say it is better for him to die than to live (verses 3 8). The prophet who begged to be released from the belly of sheol שאול just two chapters back now asks for death. Why? Because God did not destroy a city full of wicked sinners.

I think it’s worth noting that God’s reply is not a rebuke. God simply challenges his hard-hearted prophet with a question. Do you do well to be angry? Oof. That questions hits hard, for me. I’ve had moments of anger where God convicted me.

It is the same patient, searching voice that asked Adam, “Where are you?” (Genesis 3:9) and Cain, “Why are you angry?” (Genesis 4:6). God already knows the answer. He is inviting Jonah to know it, too.

Appointed – Manah

I would be remiss if I didn’t pause here to draw out the verb that ties the whole book together. The Hebrew manah מנה means to appoint, assign, or number. It carries a sense of purposeful commissioning. Nothing happens by accident in the book of Jonah.

The verb appears four times in the book, and every instance is a creature or a force that God aims at Jonah to teach him something.

1. The great fish (Jonah 1:17) was appointed to swallow and carry Jonah back to shore.
2. The plant (Jonah 4:6) was appointed to shade him and make him glad.
3. The worm (Jonah 4:7) was appointed to eat the plant and take away his shade.
4. The east wind (Jonah 4:8) scorched the prophet’s head until he was faint.

The fish, the plant, the worm, the wind. Everything and everyone in this book does what God intends for them to do. Even the pagans.

Just not the one who should have been first in line to obey.

Jonah 4:5-8

‘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.”‘ Jonah 4:5-8 ESV

Jonah builds a sukkah סוכה, a temporary shelter, and sits down to watch Nineveh burn. Even after witnessing the king’s decree, he still hopes the forty days will end with fire from heaven. He has obeyed the letter of the commission (go and preach). But, he has not accepted the spirit of it (may God have mercy).

God gives Jonah a final object lesson. He appoints a plant to grow, and Jonah is exceedingly glad. The Hebrew is simcha gedola שמחה גדולה. This is the first time in the entire book that Jonah is glad about anything.

Not when the sailors were saved. Not when he was rescued or when Nineveh repented. The prophet is finally happy because of his personal comfort.

God then appoints the worm and the east wind. The same verb that gave the prophet shade now takes it away. The plant dies in a single verse. The prophet wilts in the next. And, for the second time, Jonah asks for death.

I think this is one of the most quietly devastating scenes in the minor prophets. Jonah has more compassion for the loss of his own comfort than for a hundred twenty thousand souls who had lived their whole lives in darkness.

Jonah 4:9-11

‘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 4:9-11 ESV

God asks the same question again. This time, Jonah answers. And, his answer is breathtaking in its honesty. Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die.

Notice how God frames the comparison. Jonah pities something he did not labor for, did not make, and did not sustain. On the other hand, God demonstrates pity for something He made, labored for, and has sustained for generations.

The Hebrew verb translated “pity” here is chus חוס, which carries the sense of looking at something with tender eyes. God is showing Jonah that His compassion is not arbitrary. It is the deliberate love of the Creator for His creation.

The Right and Left Hands

God’s response in verse 11 includes a phrase about the people of Nineveh who “do not know their right hand from their left”. There are two common interpretations of this phrase.

John Calvin’s commentary on Jonah 4:11 explains that this phrase means infants, those who are young enough to literally not know the difference between right and left. Barnes’ commentary on this verse reveals the second interpretation: moral ignorance.

The Jewish commentator Rashi wrote that it referred to small children. He also notes his opinion that the Hebrew word for “beasts” which follows is directed at those who do not recognize their Creator.

Regardless of interpretation, it becomes clear that the scope of God’s compassion is wider than Jonah can accept.

The Unanswered Question

I need to point out in my Jonah 4 commentary that this book ends on a question mark. There is no verse where Jonah repents. He does not come down from his hill. There is no apology. The author simply stops writing, and the last thing on the page is God asking, “Should not I pity them?”

At first, I found this ending frustrating as heck. I wanted Jonah to finally get it. I wanted the arc to close. But, I have come to the conclusion that the open ending of this book is the whole point. The question is not just for an iron age prophet. The author invites every ready to answer.

Conclusion

Jonah 4 is a chapter about a prophet who saw miracle after miracle, whose single recorded sermon saved an entire city of non-believers, and still was not happy.

God forgave the worst people Jonah could imagine, and Jonah’s response was to ask for death. The last chapter drags the reader up the hill and makes us sit with the prophet in the leaves of the same withered plant.

Who are you secretly watching, hoping for judgement?

God is still asking his final question. Don’t they deserve grace, instead?

More Posts on Jonah

• Jonah 1 Commentary
• Jonah 2 Commentary
• Jonah 3 Commentary
• Jonah and the Whale