Anger is a truly complex and overwhelming emotion to experience. This is an emotion that no one needs to be taught or shown to understand. As humans, because of the fall and brokenness of our world due to sin, anger is an emotion that is simply ingrained in us from birth. Whether it is a toddler who was not allowed to watch their favorite show for the fifth time in a day, an employee who was overlooked for a promotion for their peer who they believe is “unqualified,” or you getting cut off during the crazy Michigan construction; we all experience anger.
1. What was a time in your life that you allowed anger to overcome you?
2. Was the outcome good or bad?
In Jonah chapter 4, we come to the end of this truly incredible and special story. From an attempted runaway, to being thrown overboard a ship, being swallowed by a big fish, taking a trip underwater inside the fish, to then having the opportunity to preach repentance to an entire city; Jonah is truly an epic story! However, in chapter 4, we see a glimpse into the brokenness of even one of the Lord’s prophets. I don’t say this as a pass or excuse to anger or sin. I say this first, as a reminder to never put our fellow brothers or sisters in Christ on a pedestal. None of us are perfect, we all mess up, fall short, and continue to sin. That’s the beauty of the Cross and the continual need for the active work of the Spirit to sanctify us and make us more like Christ! Secondly, as we will see as we unpack chapter 4 together, we must remind ourselves to view our world through the eyes of the Lord, not ourselves.
As we read from the end of Jonah 3:10–4:1, “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. But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry.” The people of Nineveh were truly on a one-way path to ultimate destruction. Yet, Jonah was called to take repentance to these people—something that he truly had no desire to do. The people heard the message, they truly repented of their sins and the Lord relented His righteous judgment upon them. This, however, was not what Jonah wanted and therefore stirred up this emotion of anger within him.
3. Have you ever been angry with God?
4. What were the circumstances and how did you react?
Continuing in Jonah 4:2-4 we read, “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?’” Did you catch what Jonah did in light of the anger he was experiencing? He prayed to the Lord. Jonah’s response to his call from the Lord, and his response to Nineveh’s repentance all stemmed from selfish disobedience; however, this he did right. His response to his anger and frustration was to simply talk to the Lord. I love this! If you get nothing else from this passage and this study guide, take this challenge. During your moments and maybe even seasons of anger, frustration, selfishness, take those thoughts and feelings before the Lord and talk it out with Him.
The Lord responds to Jonah’s anger and desire to, honestly, die, by asking him a simple question to try and refocus his heart and mind, “Do you do well to be angry?” (Jonah 4:4). From here, I believe that Jonah may have found himself at a place where he was convicted by the Lord’s question and realizatied He needed to take a step back to evaluate his response. Some argue that he was simply sitting to wait and see if the people of Nineveh would fall back into sin and the Lord would then unleash His judgment. However, I view his time sitting outside the city as a time of contemplation. Jonah 4:5-8 reads, “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.’”
5. How often have you taken your emotions and feelings of anger, frustration, and disappointment, and prayerfully had an honest conversation with the Lord?
6. What was the outcome of those prayers and times with the Lord?
7. When was the last time you took some time to honestly take a step back and refocus your heart and mind on Christ?
These verses in Jonah 4:5-8 are filled with yet another miracle. The Lord literally made a plant spring up to maturity in a matter of moments, maybe a few hours. Regardless of the time, it grew up to maturity in time for Jonah to have relief for the time he was sitting outside in the heat with the sun beaming down on him. Yet, the next day it was eaten and destroyed by a worm. Now, if you have not seen the VeggieTales version of Jonah, I want you to stop what you are doing and go enjoy “The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything” In that video, the worm is a silly, fun character. However, in the Scriptures, this worm is used to further the Lord’s point to Jonah that He is the Author and Creator of ALL things. It is solely the Lord who can create and solely Him who can bring ultimate and righteous judgment. Sadly, Jonah again finds himself at a point of selfishness and pity for his needs as he has lost shade and relief from the heat, crying out to simply die again. It is important to note that this truly is not a statement of hyperbole from Jonah. His anger and emotional self-pity have driven him to a point of desire for death to seek relief from his disappointment and anger at the Lord’s response to the grace given to the people of Nineveh.
8. When was a time in your life that you experienced the grace of the Lord?
9. Do you desire God’s righteous judgment over your life for your sin and disobedience?
This book ends with the following verse in 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?’”
The Lord again questions Jonah asking him, “Do you do well to be angry for the plant?” Again, the Lord is trying to convict Jonah’s heart and anger to understand the bigger picture at hand. The Lord then puts Jonah’s whole mission in front of him with a final question. He uses the creation and death of the plant that He created in contrast to the thousands of Ninivies He also created. The people were living in sin and disobedience, yes, but they were still His creation. God asks Jonah a simple question of which deserves to have pity and mercy, the plant or the people?
We serve a just and righteous God, who created all living things in our world and created us male and female in His image. Jonah was given an incredible mission and calling. The call to share the ultimate grace of the Lord and call a city to repentance is simply an amazing calling. Yes, they were enemies of the people of Israel, but this was a calling and directive from the Lord to Jonah. When the Lord calls, He will lead us in our obedience! So, I want to challenge you the next time we become angry or frustrated with a situation or person, to remember the Lord’s question, “Do you do well to be angry?” May we truly take a step back from the situation, refocus our hearts and minds on the Lord, then prayerfully bring that anger and those emotions before Him. Ask for His will, His purpose, and be obedient to His leading.