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You must be in fellowship prior to your Bible study, so that the spiritual information you receive can become a source, of blessing to your soul and produce spiritual growth. Jonah 4:2-4 2 And he prayed [palal] unto the LORD [Yahovah], and said [amar], I pray [anna] thee, O LORD [Yahovah], was not this my saying [dabar], when I was yet in my country [adamah]? Therefore I fled [barach] before [qadam] unto Tarshish [Tarshiysh]: for I knew [yada] that thou art a gracious [channuwn] God [el], and merciful [rachuwm], slow [arek] to anger [aph], and of great [rab] kindness [checed], and repentest [nacham] thee of the evil [ra]. 3 Therefore now, O LORD [Yahovah], take [laqach], I beseech thee, my life [nephesh] from me; for it is better [towb] for me to die [maveth] than to live [chay]. 4 Then said [amar] the LORD [Yahovah], Doest thou well [yatab] to be angry [charah]? KJV-Interlinear 2 And he prayed to the LORD and said, 'Please LORD, was not this what I said while I was still in my own country? Therefore, in order to forestall this I fled to Tarshish, for I knew that Thou art a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity. 3 'Therefore now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for death is better to me than life.' 4 And the LORD said, 'Do you have good reason to be angry?' NASB Now Jonah complains. He complains not that God 'did not' do something that He said He would, but that God 'did' do something that He said He would. Namely if the Ninevites repented then their doom in forty days would be set aside. They repented and their scheduled destruction was canceled. Jonah found this embarrassing. He had been preaching death and destruction and now it wasn't going to happen. He further states that it was 'he' that told God that God would be compassionate and forgive the Ninevites if they repented. Jonah did not want them to be forgiven. He did not like the Ninevites. He wanted them to burn. And his hate was a passionate hate. He ran away in order to prevent this repentance from happening. Yet Jonah forgot that once thrown overboard, just a few days earlier (short memory), he was pleading with God through prayer, that he would be spared. But he did not want the Ninevites to receive that same consideration. Jonah was guilty of a double standard. 'Ok for me, but not for you.' Ex. 34:6 6 Then the LORD passed by in front of him and proclaimed, 'The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; NASB Jonah even quotes scripture such that he understands the compassion of God, but Jonah has a blind spot in his own spiritual life. He studies and learns doctrine, but he hasn't learned its proper application. Or rather he has chosen to disregard its application to others. His learning and understanding was selective. Jonah was angry because God treated these heathen with the same policy as He treated himself. Jonah had no good reason for being angry. His priorities were wrong. His application of Gods grace policy was wrong. He was wrong because he was angry only because he did not get his own way. And to pour even more salt into Jonah's emotional wound, the Ninevites had demonstrated more understanding of Gods grace than he. And he was one of Gods chosen people for crying out loud! That was his own attitude. Jonah saw himself, an Israelite, as Gods chosen. He even forgets that Gods chosen are of a spiritual nature, not a genetic one. Out of anger and disgust the prophet rebuked God, of all things, saying in essence, 'I know that You are forgiving and now look what has happened! You forgave them all. Why? They don't deserve it. They all should have been blown to ity-bity bits.' Sometimes even a spiritually growing Christian person can have a blind spot in their spiritual life. When they want something their way and things do not go their way, then frustration and anger can get in the way of their thinking. Look at the world. It is full of evil people, and yet many of the evil ones prosper. Why is that? Well remember that in this world there is the jungle, and then there are the establishment principles which God placed in the world in order to offset the jungle laws. This gives everyone the right and opportunity to have a life, and consequently to hear the gospel and doctrine. Many will reject God, but they will still have a good and decent life because they can buy and sell and otherwise advance within the environment which (by the way) God created for them. Their prosperity will not last because they will die sooner or later, and it is in this short life on this earth that they will have their only opportunity to have their own defined happiness. Then eternity will set in. For unbelievers their life will turn really bad forever. For negative believers, their additional blessings in heaven will be greatly reduced. All have in effect traded away their eternal futures for some benefit now which is temporary. Not a good trade, but then everyone does this with their eyes wide open. Jonah saw the evil of the Ninevites. He saw their rejection of God, and he saw their flaunting of their wealth. Jonah resented them for their prosperity. They should pay. But then along comes God and when they repent, He forgives them. Now they aren't going to pay for their sins. But then wait a second. Did not someone else pay for the sins of all of mankind? Paying for the sins of the Ninevites and Jonah as well? Did Jonah forget the work of the Savior? Did Jonah forget that he was once an unbeliever destined for the Lake of Fire, and that he too had to believe in the Savior in order to be saved? Now lets think about something. If Hitler had believed in Christ when he was a child, then he would be saved. Right? What are the rules of salvation? Believe on the Lord and thou shalt be saved. And how many people would just get all upset if they knew that Hitler was saved and in heaven today. What about Sadaam? And why would you get upset? Just like Jonah, you probably just don't like the idea that these evil folks deserve grace from God. Sure they murdered lots of people, but then were not these people under the guardianship of God also? Does God control history or not? Do people die accidentally? Does God miss things in history? Therefore, did God allow these people to die for no reason? The answer of course, is that God is in control of history and that God knows far more about everyone than either you or I. In fact neither you nor I knew any of the victims of past evil. So don't we have to defer to Gods judgment? So again the question is posed. Do we have any good reason to be angry in life? Do we have any good reason to be judgmental of others in life? Do we have any good reason to doubt God? End Of Lesson Study to show thyself approved (mature) unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing (studying/discerning), the Word of truth.

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