We read, with a great deal of pleasure, in the
close of the foregoing chapter, concerning the repentance of
Nineveh; but in this chapter we read, with a great deal of
uneasiness, concerning the sin of Jonah; and, as there is joy in
heaven and earth for the conversion of sinners, so there is grief
for the follies and infirmities of saints. In all the book of God
we scarcely find a "servant of the Lord" (and such a one we are
sure Jonah was, for the scripture calls him so) so very much out of
temper as he is here, so very peevish and provoking to God himself.
In the first chapter we had him fleeing from the face of God; but
here we have him, in effect, flying in the face of God; and, which
is more grieving to us, there we had an account of his repentance
and return to God; but here, though no doubt he did repent, yet, as
in Solomon's case, no account is left us of his recovering himself;
but, while we read with wonder of his perverseness, we read with no
less wonder of God's tenderness towards him, by which it appeared
that he had not cast him off. Here is, I. Jonah's repining at God's
mercy to Nineveh, and the fret he was in about it,
1 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry. 2 And he prayed unto the Lord, and said, I pray thee, O Lord, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil. 3 Therefore now, O Lord, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live. 4 Then said the Lord, Doest thou well to be angry?
See here, I. How unjustly Jonah quarrelled with God for his mercy to Nineveh, upon their repentance. This gives us occasion to suspect that Jonah had only delivered the message of wrath against the Ninevites, and had not at all assisted or encouraged them in their repentance, as one would think he should have done; for when they did repent, and found mercy,
1. Jonah grudged them the mercy they found
(
2. He quarreled with God about it. When his
heart was hot within him, he spoke unadvisedly with his
lips; and here he tells us what he said (
II. See how justly God reproved Jonah for
this heat that he was in (
5 So Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would become of the city. 6 And the Lord God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd. 7 But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered. 8 And it came to pass, when the sun did arise, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and wished in himself to die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live. 9 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. 10 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: 11 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 persists here in his discontent; for the beginning of strife both with God and man is as the letting forth of waters, the breach grows wider and wider, and, when passion gets head, bad is made worse; it should therefore be silenced and suppressed at first. We have here,
I. Jonah's sullen expectation of the fate
of Nineveh. We may suppose that the Ninevites, giving credit to the
message he brought, were ready to give entertainment to the
messenger that brought it, and to show him respect, that they would
have made him welcome to the best of their houses and tables. But
Jonah was out of humour, would not accept their kindness, nor
behave towards them with common civility, which one might have
feared would have prejudiced them against him and his word; but
when there is not only the treasure put into earthen
vessels, but the trust lodged with men subject to like
passions as we are, and yet the point gained, it must be owned
that the excellency of the power appears so much the more to
be of God and not of man. Jonah retires, goes out of the
city, sits alone, and keeps silence, because he sees the
Ninevites repent and reform,
II. God's gracious provision for his
shelter and refreshment when he thus foolishly afflicted himself
and was still adding yet more and more to his own affliction,
III. The sudden loss of this provision
which God had made for his refreshment, and the return of his
trouble,
IV. The further fret that this put Jonah
into (
V. The rebuke God gave him for this; he
again reasoned with him: Dost thou well to be angry for the
gourd?
Let us therefore own that we do ill, that we do very ill, to be angry for the gourd; and let us under such events quiet ourselves as a child that is weaned from his mother.
VI. His justification of his passion and
discontent; and it is very strange,
VII. The improvement of it against him for his conviction that he did ill to murmur at the sparing of Nineveh. Out of his own mouth God will judge him; and we have reason to think it overcame him; for he made no reply, but, we hope, returned to his right mind and recovered his temper, though he could not keep it, and all was well. Now,
1. Let us see how God argued with him
(
2. From all this we may learn, (1.) That though God may suffer his people to fall into sin, yet he will not suffer them to lie still in it, but will take a course effectually to show them their error, and to bring them to themselves and to their right mind again. We have reason to hope that Jonah, after this, was well reconciled to the sparing of Nineveh, and was as well pleased with it as ever he had been displeased. (2.) That God will justify himself in the methods of his grace towards repenting returning sinners as well as in the course his justice takes with those that persist in their rebellion; though there be those that murmur at the mercy of God, because they do not understand it (for his thoughts and ways therein are as far above ours as heaven above the earth), yet he will make it evident that therein he acts like himself, and will be justified when he speaks. See what pains he takes with Jonah to convince him that it is very fit that Nineveh should be spared. Jonah had said, I do well to be angry, but he could not prove it. God says and proves it, I do well to be merciful; and it is a great encouragement to poor sinners to hope that they shall find mercy with him, that he is so ready to justify himself in showing mercy and to triumph in those whom he makes the monuments of it, against those whose eye is evil because his is good. Such murmurers shall be made to understand this doctrine, that, how narrow soever their souls, their principles, are, and how willing soever they are to engross divine grace to themselves and those of their own way, there is one Lord over all, that is rich in mercy to all that call upon him, and in every nation, in Nineveh as well as in Israel, he that fears God and works righteousness is accepted of him; he that repents, and turns from his evil way, shall find mercy with him.