Jonah 4:5–11

After confronting God about his mercy toward Nineveh, Jonah leaves the city and sits outside, waiting to see what will happen. God appoints a plant to give Jonah shade, then appoints a worm to destroy it, and finally sends a scorching east wind. Through it all, God is exposing Jonah’s heart. Jonah is exceedingly glad when God’s provision benefits him, but exceedingly angry when it is taken away (Jonah 4:5–8).

The book ends with God asking Jonah a question. Jonah has compassion for a plant that he did not create or sustain, yet he resents God’s compassion for an entire city filled with people made in his image. God’s final words reveal the great irony of Jonah: the pagan sailors feared God, the wicked Ninevites repented, but God’s prophet remains resistant to God’s heart. And because Jonah never answers God’s final question, the question is ultimately left for us: Do we share God’s compassion for lost people?

Read & Pray: Jonah 4:5–11

1. As you read Jonah 4:5–11, what stands out to you? What seems strange or surprising? What questions does the story leave you with?

2. Jonah leaves Nineveh and builds a shelter outside the city, apparently hoping God might change his mind and destroy the Ninevites (4:5). Even after witnessing an entire city repent, Jonah hates the idea that God would show mercy to people like that. Who are the people you struggle to desire God’s mercy for? What makes it so difficult for you to want God’s grace for them?

3. God “appoints” a plant to give Jonah shade from the scorching heat (4:6–8), just as he previously appointed the great fish to save him from the ocean (1:17). Jonah is “exceedingly glad” because of the plant (4:6), but angry enough to die when God takes it away (4:8–9). In other words, Jonah loves God’s mercy when it is directed toward him, but hates it when that same mercy is directed toward the Ninevites. What does this reveal about how Jonah views himself compared with the Ninevites? Why is it sometimes easier to receive God’s grace ourselves than to rejoice when he extends that same grace to others?

4. God exposes the contradiction in Jonah’s heart: Jonah has compassion for a plant that existed for a single day, while God has compassion for more than 120,000 people in Nineveh (4:10–11). Jonah cares deeply about what comforts him; God cares deeply about people who are spiritually lost. Where are you most tempted to prioritize your own comfort, preferences, or plans over God’s mission to people around you?

5. Jonah ends abruptly with God’s question: “And should not I pity Nineveh?” (4:11). We are never told how Jonah responds. In a sense, God’s question hangs in the air for every reader to answer. As you think about your neighbors, coworkers, family members, and the people of our city who do not know Christ, do you share God’s compassion for them? What would it look like for that compassion to become more visible in your life?