The Prophet Jonah

Recap: 6Then the Lord God provided a vine and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the vine

Resume: 7- But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the vine so that it withered. 8 - When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah's head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, "It would be better for me to die than to live." 9- But God said to Jonah, "Do you have a right to be angry about the vine?" "I do," he said. "I am angry enough to die." 10- But the Lord said, "You have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. 11 - But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?" That is how the book of Jonah ends.

Friends, there is much that we can all learn about the nature of man and the nature of God in the story of the prophet Jonah. One thing we see is that God is no respecter of persons {Lit. God does not show one-sidedness, favoritism}. Jonah showed favoritism, but God did not show favoritism. God's heart was very different from Jonah's heart.

Jonah's heart was full of favoritism, but God's heart is full of compassion for all people. Jonah loved his own people and hated his enemies, but God loved the people of Israel and the people of Nineveh. Jonah wanted the people of Nineveh to perish because they were enemies of Israel, but God wanted them to repent of their sin, accept His word, and be saved.