Jonah 4:1-11: Jonah’s anger

Jonah is one of several books in the Bible that would not be accepted to be made a Hollywood movie; the main reason being that there is no happy ending. When Jonah comes to an end we are left with an unresolved issue, does Jonah learn his lesson? The book ends with God portraying His compassion to the Assyrians, but Jonah still in the depths of his self-pity and depression. Just as 2 Samuel ends with the purchasing of the Temple site, not the death of David; and Acts ends with the Gospel having reached Rome not the death of Paul. Jonah likewise ends in such a way as to draw attention to the true central character of the book God and His grace. The book of Jonah could have ended at the end of chapter 3, but instead we are pushed on to look at God’s dealings with His sinful servant, and how God seeks to correct him and sanctify him. We will look at Jonah’s anger at God’s mercy, and God’s mercy on Jonah’s anger.