THE HEART OF GOD
Opening Prayer
Thank you, Father, for those people who are channels of your love in my life. I look to you to bless them today.
Read JONAH 4
Jonah’s Anger at the Lord’s Compassion
4 But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry. 2 He prayed to the Lord, “Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing 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, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.”
4 But the Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry?”
5 Jonah had gone 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 leafy plant[a] and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the plant. 7 But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the plant 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, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?”
“It is,” he said. “And I’m so angry I wish I were dead.”
10 But the Lord said, “You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. 11 And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?”
Footnotes
- Jonah 4:6 The precise identification of this plant is uncertain; also in verses 7, 9 and 10.
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Take a moment to consider the character of God, especially his extraordinary love. Remind yourself that you are the object of that love, and the Father takes delight in you, his child.Poor Jonah fell into a deep depression after what happened in Nineveh, convinced that God had made a mistake. He felt he wanted to die (vv. 3, 8, 9), but God dealt with Jonah very tenderly, helping him understand his heart of love, and why he cared for the Ninevites.
Notice again how God orchestrated events with the leafy plant (v. 6), a very hungry worm (v. 7), and then a scorching east wind (v. 8)—all expressions of the providence of God and designed to speak to Jonah. The punchline came right at the end of the story. If Jonah could show compassion toward a plant, how much more should God have had compassion on the people and animals in Nineveh?
The book of Jonah is like a missionary tract written to encourage the people of Israel to reach out with God’s love to the surrounding nations. It speaks to us of the largeness of the heart of God and his compassion for those who do not know him. This burden is something that he wants to form in us as well, lifting us out of our comfort and complacency to respond to the needs of the world.
Apply
What does God see when he looks into your heart?
Closing prayer
Lord, forgive me when I am absorbed in my own concerns and fail to see the needs around me. Give me your heart of compassion and a will to obey you.
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