2026 Pentecost Devotions II
Thursday, September 17
Jonah 3:10—4:11
10 When God saw what [the people of Ninevah] did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them, and he did not do it.
4:1 But this was very displeasing to Jonah, and he became angry. 2 He prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord! Is not this what I said while I was still in my own country? That is why I fled to Tarshish at the beginning, for I knew that you are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from punishment. 3 And now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” 4 And the Lord said, “Is it right for you to be angry?” 5 Then Jonah went out of the city and sat down east of the city and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, waiting to see what would become of the city.
6 The Lord God appointed a bush and made it come up over Jonah, to give shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort, so Jonah was very happy about the bush. 7 But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the bush, so that it withered. 8 When the sun rose, God prepared a sultry east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint and asked that he might die. He said, “It is better for me to die than to live.”
9 But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the bush?” And he said, “Yes, angry enough to die.” 10 Then the Lord said, “You are concerned about the bush, for which you did not labor and which you did not grow; it came into being in a night and perished in a night. 11 And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left and also many animals?”
“… But this was very displeasing to Jonah, and he became angry …”
Have you ever encountered someone like Jonah.
No matter what God does, Jonah complains. God is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, so Jonah whines, saying that it would be better if he wasn’t even born. God appoints a bush one day which makes Jonah happy. The next day, it’s gone, and Jonah grouses, saying it would be better if he just died. God delivers Nineveh, and Jonah vents his frustration. If I didn’t know better, I’d say Jonah was a spoiled teenager.
Have you ever encountered someone like Jonah?
No matter what God does, they complain. God is merciful to those who don’t deserve it, so they whine. God forgives obvious sinners, so they grouse. God calls society to care for the poor even if they don’t have jobs and work regular hours, so they vent their displeasure. God demands that society care for strangers, including undocumented immigrants, so they grumble. God commands us to love all people, including those whose ethnicity, race, religion, and place of origin differ from us, so they express their resentment. God is loving to everyone – yes everyone -with no exceptions, so they show their annoyance.
Have you ever encountered someone like Jonah?
Prayer: Lord, you are indeed gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love. Teach me Your ways that I may stop my complaining. Amen.