Jonah’s Anger and the Lesson of the Plant (Jonah 4)

The book of Jonah is not only about whether a prophet obeyed or disobeyed, but about what kind of heart stands behind obedience. In chapters 1–3, God brings Jonah to the point of preaching to Nineveh; in chapter 4, God reaches Jonah himself—testing and exposing the prophet’s inner world: his anger, his values, and his view of mercy. The real collision here is not merely between “mission” and “comfort,” but between human, narrowed “justice” and God’s merciful righteousness.

When God’s goodness feels “wrong”

The chapter opens with strong language:
“But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry.” (Jonah 4:1, KJV)

Jonah’s anger is not presented as God’s fault, but as Jonah’s heart being revealed. Jonah prays and admits what he already knew about 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.” (Jonah 4:2, KJV)

Here is the tension: Jonah knows God’s character, but he cannot rejoice when that mercy is shown to others—especially to those he considers undeserving. Scripture does not require us to guess hidden motives beyond what is written; what it clearly shows is this: Jonah is angry because God’s mercy did not match Jonah’s preferred outcome.

God’s first response is not a lecture but a question:

“Doest thou well to be angry?” (Jonah 4:4, KJV)

God teaches through a living parable

God does not merely rebuke Jonah; He teaches him through a vivid, living illustration.

“And the LORD God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head… So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd.” (Jonah 4:6, KJV)

The point is not botany, but providence: the text emphasizes that God prepared it—this was purposeful, not accidental.

Then God acts again:

“But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered.” (Jonah 4:7, KJV)

And again:

“…God prepared a vehement east wind…” (Jonah 4:8, KJV)

Jonah’s reaction is intense: he wants to die. God questions him again:

“Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd?” And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death.” (Jonah 4:9, KJV)

The climax: what you pity, and why

Now God reveals the heart of the lesson:

“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:
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 4:10–11, KJV)

The logic is sharp:

• Jonah pities something temporary, something he did not earn, something he did not cultivate.
• God declares His right to pity and spare a great city filled with human lives—people in need and limited understanding—and even animals.

The chapter ends without Jonah’s reply. It is as if God places the question into the reader’s hands.

The message for us today: your “plant” and your “Nineveh”

Jesus later says:

“Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.” (Luke 6:36, KJV)

Jonah 4 does not teach that God is “only mercy” with no judgment. The warning proclaimed in Jonah 3 is real; repentance matters. Yet chapter 4 exposes something deeper: God’s heart is not destruction but turning people back, and He is willing to confront and reshape His servant’s heart along the way.

So the question becomes personal: What do you grieve more—your lost “shade,” or the saving of people you struggle to love? When God shows mercy to someone you consider “unworthy,” will you stand with the Father’s heart, or remain outside like Jonah?

Closing compass

“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” (Psalm 91:1, KJV)

A “plant” can be shade—real, but temporary. God’s shadow is not temporary. Sometimes God allows what is temporary to wither, not to crush us, but to expose where we placed our heart—and to call us back under His mercy.