Devotional- Jonah 4:10-11
Jonah 4: 10-11 AMP
“ Then the Lord said, “You had compassion on the plant for which you did not work and which you did not cause to grow, which came up overnight and perished overnight. 11 Should I not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 [innocent] persons, who do not know the difference between their right and left hand [and are not yet accountable for sin], as well as many [blameless] animals?”
Verses 10 and 11 in Jonah Chapter 4 depict God responding to Jonah’s anger about the plant that once shaded his dying. To recap, God had let the plant grow and shade Jonah’s head after he left Nineveh to wait and see if judgment would fall on the city or not. Jonah wanted Nineveh to receive judgment. God used the plant’s death to reveal to Jonah why he had no good reason to be angry about God loving his/Israel ‘s enemy.
It is easy to criticize Jonah for not having an ounce of care for Nineveh. However, his bias towards Nineveh was reasonable from a human perspective. Nineveh was a notoriously sinful city with a long-standing conflict with Israel. The Ninevites were especially known for capturing and harming Israelites in unspeakable ways. Jonah could not let go of the past and release his grudge towards Nineveh. The constant bumping of heads and pain inflicted was too great for Jonah to forgive. Therefore, Jonah tried to run away from God’s presence after God had instructed him to go to Nineveh and tell them that in 40 days the city would fall. Jonah knew that God would forgive Nineveh if they repented. Jonah did not want Nineveh to get saved.
It was difficult for Jonah to have compassion for Nineveh because his pain, anger and opinions blinded him, making him hateful and vengeful. Jonah’s hate for Nineveh is highlighted to elaborately display God’s perfect loving heart. It reminds us that God’s love is unconditional, and his mercy is plenty. God loves everyone. Moreover, overall, the book of Jonah shows how God uses imperfect people to carry out his will and purposes. No matter how far we stray, God is forever present and always orchestrating events to lead us back to the Christ centered predestined prearranged paths He set for us to walk in before time began.
