Chapter 4
Jonah’s Anger at the Lord’s Mercy
This change of plans greatly upset Jonah, and he became very angry. 2 So he complained to the Lord about it: “Didn’t I say before I left home that you would do this, Lord? That is why I ran away to Tarshish! I knew that you are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. You are eager to turn back from destroying people. 3 Just kill me now, Lord! I’d rather be dead than alive if what I predicted will not happen.”
4 The Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry about this?”
5 Then Jonah went out to the east side of the city and made a shelter to sit under as he waited to see what would happen to the city. 6 And the Lord God arranged for a leafy plant to grow there, and soon it spread its broad leaves over Jonah’s head, shading him from the sun. This eased his discomfort, and Jonah was very grateful for the plant.
7 But God also arranged for a worm! The next morning at dawn the worm ate through the stem of the plant so that it withered away. 8 And as the sun grew hot, God arranged for a scorching east wind to blow on Jonah. The sun beat down on his head until he grew faint and wished to die. “Death is certainly better than living like this!” he exclaimed.
9 Then God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry because the plant died?”
“Yes,” Jonah retorted, “even angry enough to die!”
10 Then the Lord said, “You feel sorry about the plant, though you did nothing to put it there. It came quickly and died quickly. 11 But Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness,* not to mention all the animals. Shouldn’t I feel sorry for such a great city?”
* 4:11 Hebrew people who don’t know their right hand from their left.
Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Jon 4). Tyndale House Publishers.
1 O Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever?
How long will you look the other way?
2 How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul,
with sorrow in my heart every day?
How long will my enemy have the upper hand?
3 Turn and answer me, O Lord my God!
Restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die.
4 Don’t let my enemies gloat, saying, “We have defeated him!”
Don’t let them rejoice at my downfall.
5 But I trust in your unfailing love.
I will rejoice because you have rescued me.
6 I will sing to the Lord
because he is good to me.
The following is a link to Dr. Lee Warren's 25 minute podcast episode entitled, "Brain Ruts Come From Mental Habits" (Part 2). In this video he gives an encouraging description of how God designed our minds to change and grow through repetition and focus.
Dr. Warren is an award-winning author and practicing neurosurgeon who researches and teaches about the connections between faith, the Bible, and neuroscience.
While he says at the beginning of this video that it's important to watch Part 1 to fully understand the material, we did not include that episode because everything is explained so well in Part 2.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ays3jHSTkQc
1. How does what we intentionally keep our focus on the most control who we are becoming?
2. How does neuroscience help us understand why Jesus said the Greatest Commandment was "to love the Lord your God with ALL your heart, and with ALL your soul, and with ALL your mind, and with ALL your strength?" (Mark 12:30)
3. How does taking "every thought captive" and forcing it to submit in "obedience to Christ" and His Word (2 Corinthians 10:5) form a "sound mind" as described in 2 Timothy 1:7?
4. How is "thanking God in (not for) all circumstances and "thinking about whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, excellent, or praiseworthy" different than toxic positivity and living in denial? (From 1 Thessalonians 5:18 & Philippians 4:8)
5. If I were to evaluate my most repetitive thought loops and patterns, would I find them to be in alignment with God's perspectives?