But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry. (Jonah 4:1)
When Jonah warned the Ninevites of God’s coming judgment, the people fasted, wore sackcloth, and repented of their evil ways. When God saw their genuine response, He forgave them and spared them from the judgment that He had pronounced on them (Jonah 3:10).
However, God’s decision to spare Nineveh did not please Jonah. Remember, Nineveh was the capital city of Assyria, Israel’s enemy. Jonah prophesied during the reign of Jeroboam II (2 Kings 14:25), whose reign ended about twenty-five years prior to Assyria’s conquering of Israel.
The statement “it displeased Jonah exceedingly” is rather strong language when we consider that this was Jonah’s reaction to something that God had done, something merciful and kind. The Hebrew word that is translated as displeased means “to tremble, quiver.” God’s decision upset Jonah so much that he was shaking from his anger.
Clearly, Jonah believed that God’s decision to spare the Ninevites was unjust. It is likely that Jonah wanted Nineveh destroyed to spare Israel from future destruction. However, God will accomplish His will in this world regardless of what people believe to be “fair” or “just.”
Jonah’s judgment of God’s decision caused him to be resentful, and his resentment caused him to become “very angry.”
Although Jonah had obeyed the Lord and gone to Nineveh to warn the people, he likely didn’t expect them to repent. Perhaps he had such a low opinion of the Ninevites that he didn’t believe they would care about doing what was right. Moreover, Jonah believed the people weren’t deserving of God’s mercy; therefore, he became very angry with God.
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. (4:2)
Now we see the confirmation of what we thought all along: Jonah didn’t want to preach to the Ninevites because he was afraid that God would spare them. He completely understood the nature of God, and he knew that God would keep His word if Nineveh repented.
It might be easy for us to quickly jump to condemning Jonah for his attitude, which was wrong, but we also need to understand that even in his displeasure, Jonah didn’t turn from the Lord but to Him. He still prayed. His motives in his prayer may have been wrong, but he still prayed. He didn’t abandon God and ignore Him for the rest of his life.
However, this still doesn’t change the fact that Jonah’s attitude was wrong. Jonah was aware of God’s grace and mercy; he had seen it in his own life. Yet, he did not appreciate those qualities when the Lord applied them to the Ninevites, Israel’s enemy.
Again, lest we be tempted to come down too hard on Jonah, how often do we do the same thing? We are humbled and overjoyed when God forgives us and shows us mercy after we have repented, yet we become just as resentful as Jonah when we see God do the same for someone that we think doesn’t deserve it. How hypocritical! How dare we presume to think that we are any better than anyone else!
Jonah’s anger was so severe that he made a terrible request:
Therefore now, O LORD, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live. (4:3)
Such a request not only demonstrates Jonah’s level of anger but also shows his level of despair. He reached the point where he’d rather die than live because things weren’t going the way he expected or wanted. This reasoning calls back to his attitude during the storm. He seemed to think that if he weren’t around then maybe God’s plan could be thwarted. Jonah also had a bit of a pride problem.
The Lord doesn’t even acknowledge Jonah’s misguided request; He simply answers with a question for Jonah:
Then said the LORD, Doest thou well to be angry? (4:4)
Now, in this circumstance, we know that the right answer is “no.” Of course, the Lord already knew that Jonah wasn’t right in his anger. God merely asked the question to challenge Jonah to evaluate his attitude. Jonah needed to slow down and think about his anger, assessing whether his perspective was true.
God was inviting Jonah to see things from His perspective and to see the Ninevites not as enemies to be destroyed but rather as sinners in need of forgiveness. Perhaps, then, Jonah could better understand God’s patience and compassion toward the Ninevites.
Jonah’s displeasure was not a “righteous anger” towards evil doings. He was angry with God because he believed God was wrong in sparing the Ninevites. Perhaps if Jonah had remembered that his own sins put him on the same level as the Ninevites, he would not have been so quick to judge them.
May we always look at others through God’s eyes and not our own.