M2 N m 1. Jonah's anger.
n 2,3. Jonah's complaint to Yahaveh.
O 4. Yahaveh's question. "Do you well?"
P Q o 5. East side.
p 6-. Gourd. Comes up.
R -6. Jonah's gladness.
P Q p 7. Gourd smitten.
o 8-. East wind.
O 9-. Yahaveh's question. "Do you well?"
N m -9. Jonah's answer.
n 10,11. Jonah's correction by Yahaveh.
690 B.C.
Jonah 4)
1 But it vexed Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry. (Not the waywardness of a child, but the displeasure of a man of God, for great and sufficient reason to him. Now that Nineveh was spared, it might after all be used as God's rod for Israel, and thus destroy the hope held out by him to Israel in 2 Kings 14:25-27. See 3:5.)
2 And he prayed to the LORD, and said, "I pray You, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? hasted to flee before to Tarshish: for I knew that You are a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repent You of the evil. (This was well known, from Yahaveh's revelation of Himself. Jonah knew and refereed to Ex. 34:6; Num. 14:18,19. David knew [Ps. 86:5]. Hosea knew [Hos. 11:8,9]. Joel knew [Joel 2:13]. Micah knew [Micah 7:18]. Jonah's knowledge explains his flight [3:1]. No one could tell us this but himself. He is getting a little sassy with our Father. A lot of religious men do this today. Big mistake!)
3 Therefore now, O LORD, take, I beseech You, my soul from me; for it is better for me to die than to live." (See 2:8. He was having a pity-party, on a crying jag.)
4 Then said the LORD, Do you well to be angry? (Good for you to be angry.)
5 So Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made for himself a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would become of the city.
6 And the LORD God appointed a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his evil case. (God has a sense of humor.)
So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd.
7 But God prepared a worm (Its crimson red, used for dye. Put for a blight of such; as in Deut. 28:39. They were appointed during the night, and came at sunshine) when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered. (Heb. kikayon. Its a nauseous plant. The word vomit comes from it. It does have big leaves and it grows up overnight. Anything that grows up overnight isn't good for anything. Like the "flyaway doctrine". False sense of security. The worm [Satin] is coming to take it away - i.e. "rapture" - see Ezek. 13:18-20.)
8 And it came to pass, when the sun did arise, that God prepared a silent (still. Hence sultry. East wind not the same as in western climes, it is still an hot. See Ex. 10:13,19) east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted,
and wished in his soul to die, and said, "It is better for me to die than to live."
9 And God said to Jonah, "Do you well to be angry for the gourd?" (Good for you.)
And he said, "I do well [it is right] to be angry, even to death." (God must be laughing at him. A man should learn to stand on his own 2 feet and please God rather than man. You're going to be angry lots of times if you don't do it God's way. Jonah did the easy part. He did not share the rest of God's Word besides salvation.)
10 Then said the LORD, "You have had pity on the gourd, for the which you have not labored, neither made it grow; which was the son of a night, and perished as a son of a night: (Reminds you of people today. Let the good times roll and they get to be Jezreel [Jeshurun - Deut. 32:15. Rev. 15]. They forget all about God, they don't thank Him for it, i.e. the blessings.)
11 And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein exist more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand (put for little children. Cp. Deut. 1:39); and also much cattle? (See 3:2,7. Thus the book suddenly ends; and we are left with the solemn reflection that, Nineveh being spared, the way was thus open for the execution of Yahaveh's judgment on Israel by the sword of Assyria, which took place in due time.)