Jonah 4:10

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: 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 LAND; AND ALSO MUCH CATTLE? - "spare," literally, 'have pity,' and so spare [ 'aachuwc (H2347)]. This is the main lesson of the book. If Jonah so pities a plant which cost him no toil to rear, and which is so short-lived and valueless, much more must Yahweh pity those hundreds of thousands of immortal men and women in great Nineveh, whom He has made with such a display of creative power, espe...

Here God explains the design he had in suddenly raising up the gourd, and then in causing it to perish or wither through the gnawing of a worm; it was to teach Jonah that misconduct towards the Ninevites was very inhuman. Though we find that the holy Prophet had become a prey to dreadful feelings, yet God, by this exhibition, does in a manner remind him of his folly; for, under the representation of a gourd, he shows how unkindly he desired the destruction of so populous a city as Nineveh. Yet this comparison may appear ill suited for the purpose. Jonah felt sorry for the gourd, but he only regarded himself: hence he was displeased, because the relief with which he was pleased was taken away from him. As then this inconvenience had driven Jonah to anger, the similitude may not seem appropriate when God thus reasons, Thou wouldest spare the gourd, should I not spare this great city? Nay,...

5-11 Jonah went out of the city, yet remained near at hand, as if he expected and desired its overthrow. Those who have fretful, uneasy spirits, often make troubles for themselves, that they may still have something to complain of. See how tender God is of his people in their afflictions, even though they are foolish and froward. A thing small in itself, yet coming seasonably, may be a valuable blessing. A gourd in the right place may do us more service than a cedar. The least creatures may be great plagues, or great comforts, as God is pleased to make them. Persons of strong passions are apt to be cast down with any trifle that crosses them, or to be lifted up with a trifle that pleases them. See what our creature-comforts are, and what we may expect them to be; they are withering things. A small worm at the root destroys a large gourd: our gourds wither, and we know not what is the ca...

Verse Jonah 4:10. _WHICH CAME UP IN A NIGHT_] St. Jerome, speaking of this plant, the _kikayon_, assigns to it an extraordinary rapidity of growth. It delights in a sandy soil, and in a few days what was a _plant_ grows into a _large shrub_. But he does not appear to have meant the _ricinus_; this however is the most likely. The expressions _coming up in a night_ and _perishing in a night_ are only metaphorical to express _speedy growth_ and _speedy decay_; and so, as we have seen, the Chaldee interprets it, די בליליא הדי הוה ובליליא אוחרנא אבד "which existed this night but in the next night perished;" and this I am satisfied is the true import of the Hebrew phrase....

THOU HADST PITY ON THE PALM-CHRIST - In the feeling of our common mortality, the soul cannot but yearn over decay. Even a drooping flower is sad to look on, so beautiful, so frail. It belongs to this passing world, where nothing lovely abides, all things beautiful hasten to cease to be. The natural God-implanted feeling is the germ of the spiritual....

EXPOSITION JONAH 4:1 JONAH'S DISPLEASURE AND ITS CORRECTION. JONAH 4:1 1_. Jonah is grieved at the sparing of Nineveh, the expectation of which had led to his former flight, and complains of God's clemency._ JONAH 4:1 IT DISPLEASED JONAH EXCEEDINGLY; literally, _it was evil to Jonah, a great evil. _It was more than mere displeasure which he felt; he was vexed and irritated. The reference is to what is said in the last verse of the preceding chapter, viz. that the predicted destruction was not inflicted. How the knowledge of this re

THEN SAID THE LORD, THOU HAST HAD PITY ON THE GOURD,.... Or, "hast spared it" c; that is, would have spared it, had it lain in his power, though but a weeds and worthless thing: FOR THE WHICH THOU HAST NOT LABOURED; in digging the ground, and by sowing or planting it; it being raised up at once by the Lord himself, and not by any, human art and industry; nor by any of his: NEITHER MADEST IT GROW; by dunging the earth about it, or by watering and pruning it: WHICH CAME UP IN A NIGHT, AND PERISHED IN A NIGHT; not in the same night; for it sprung up one night, continued a whole any, and then perished the next night. The Targum is more explicit, "which was in this (or one) night, and perished in another night;'' by all which the Lord suggests to Jonah the vast difference between the gourd he would have spared, and for the loss of which he was so angry, and the city of Nineveh the Lord s...

You know all about Jonah's refusal to go upon the Lord's errand, and how he was held to it, and carried to his work in a great fish as he would not go by himself. Somehow or other, God will make his servants do his will; and the more speedily they do it, the better it is for them. You know also how the Ninevites repented at the preaching of Jonah, and how the Lord had mercy upon them. Jonah 4:1. _But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry. 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. Therefore now, O Lord, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live._ «For, if I live, the Ninevites will say,

CHAPTER 4 Jonah's Discontent and Correction _ 1. Jonah's discontent (John 4:1) _ 2. The correction (John 4:4) John 4:1. All that had happened displeased Jonah exceedingly and he was very angry. Did he feel that he had lost his prestige as a prophet, having announced the overthrow of Nineveh, when it did not happen? What he feared had come true; God had been merciful to this great city and they were now enjoying what he considered Israel's exclusive inheritance. Instead of rejoicing in the great exhibition of God's mercy towards such a wicked city, he was angry. Like Elijah, in the hour of despondency he requests to die. “Therefore, now, O LORD, take, I beseech Thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die t

JONAH 4. JONAH'S INTOLERANCE REBUKED AND GOD'S MERCY VINDICATED. God's clemency to Nineveh made Jonah very angry. It was not, as we might be tempted to suppose, that he felt his professional credit as a prophet to be ruined by the failure of his prediction. The mischief lay deeper than that. For it was patent enough even to the Ninevites that the message left a loophole of escape, and might have for its object to bring them to repentance. While the prediction had failed, its failure was the highest tribute of success to the prophet's mission; there was no cause for wounded vanity in the case of a man who had converted a whole city; and Jonah's reproach to God is not that in His incalculable caprice He has sent him on a fool's errand and made him ridiculous in the sight of the heathen. He suffers from a darker disease than wounded vanity, and has suffered from it all along; it was the rut...