#DailyDevotion Are You Only Concerned About Yourself?
Jon. 4. 6The LORD God had a plant grow up over Jonah to serve as a shade over his head to keep him from suffering, and Jonah delighted very much in the plant. 7But when the next day dawned, God had a worm come and attack the plant so that it withered.
Now throughout the text of Jonah, God has been “the God (HaElohim) or “LORD (Yahweh).” In this instance we get “Yahweh Elohim.” This combination is used of God abut 39 times in the bible. You get the personal name of God, Yahweh, and the creative name for God Elohim. You may also find a bit more with a modified form of the two names. Another instance English translation use “Lord GOD” they are translating “Adonai Yahweh,” but note in this instance Lord uses small case and God is all capital letters. The introduction in your Bible should tell you how they are treating these two different cases. The LORD, for a moment takes pity on Jonah and has a plant grow up over his booth to give him some shade and Jonah delighted very much in this bit of good fortune. Nothing better than a bit of shade when you’re out in the hot sun. But it wasn’t to last. The next morning God had a worm attack the plant so that it withered.
8When the sun rose, God had a hot east wind blow. The sun struck Jonah’s head so that he grew faint and asked for death, saying, “It’s better for me to die than live.” 9“Is it right for you to get so angry about the plant?” God asked Jonah. “It is right for me to be angry enough to die,” he answered. 10“You pity the plant you didn’t work for or raise,” the LORD said, “because it grew in a night and died in a night. 11Shouldn’t I pity this great city of Nineveh in which there are more than 120,000 persons who can’t tell their right hand from their left, as well as many animals?”
Well that wasn’t the end of it. Then God sent a hot east wind to blow on Jonah and the hot sun struck Jonah. He was growing faint from it all. Jonah felt so miserable he wished for death. He was angry that the plant that gave him shade was now dead. Well God was going to use this as an object lesson. God asked him if it was right for him to be angry? Jonah sounds like an immature child in his response. Have you ever got so angry about something going on in your life you wish you were dead? I don’t know. Maybe the LORD is trying to tell you something. I wouldn’t spend too much time thinking about it. But we do know that the LORD uses suffering to produce in us patience, endurance, character and hope (Rom. 6). We know the suffering we endure prepares us to bear the weight of eternal glory (2 Cor. 4:17). We know the suffering we experience doesn’t compare to the glory He has prepared to reveal to us (Rom. 8:18).
Well the LORD reasons with Jonah he has no right to be angry about the death of a plant he didn’t work for or raise. What’s his problem? The LORD points to Nineveh and asks shouldn’t He have had pity on Nineveh which had 120,000 persons plus animals. We see here the LORD God’s concern for all humanity. He is not only concerned for the Israelites or the Jews but for all people. It just seems like the LORD’s people, even up to Jesus’ revelation, didn’t get it. Even the early Church didn’t get it until Jesus sent Peter to Cornelius’ house (Acts 10) and then more properly sealed it to the Church in the first Church council at Jerusalem (Acts 15). This is a good reminder for us as Christians not to only be concerned about just the people of our own congregation. The LORD still wants the Church to evangelize the people around us and those far away.
Gracious God and Father, You have had mercy on us, sending the Good News of Jesus Christ to us so that we may be saved. Give us a heart for those who do not know You. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.