Comfort of Jonah

2022-01-02

The reluctant prophet, after being compelled to preach to his enemies, sat in a booth, waiting to see if God really would spare Nineveh. God provided a gourd to provide shade, which Jonah appreciated.

When God destroyed the gourd, Jonah was angry. The thing that provided comfort for Jonah was preferred before the 120,000 people that were spared God’s wrath.

And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death. Then said the LORD, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night: And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle? (Jonah 4:9-11)

We can learn a few things here.

People are more important than things. Even the people we do not like or have harmed us when compared to our favorite things.

Even the worst people need the Gospel. Especially the worst people because we often know we are the worst.