Daily Thoughts from Jonah: Do You Do Well to Be Angry (Jonah 4:1-4)

But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. And he prayed to the LORD and said, “O LORD, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. Therefore now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” And the LORD said, “Do you do well to be angry?” (Jonah 4:1-4 ESV)

The enemy of Jonah’s people had repented at his preaching of judgment and Yahweh had relented of His intention to destroy them.  And Jonah finally explains to us why he had fled from Yahweh.  He anticipated this turn-around from judgment because he knew how gracious and merciful Yahweh is and how patient with sinners He is and how willing to pull back from punishment.

When he was in the belly of the fish he wanted to live and praised God in psalm for his rescue.  But now as he contemplated going back to his people he was convinced, in his anger, that it was better for him to die.  He didn’t plan to take his own life but asked Yahweh to take it, because only God has that right.

Yahweh simply asked, “Do you do well to be angry?”  We never do well to be angry in this way.  We never do well to have so much hatred for others that we rue their repentance and restoration to life.  We never do well to have an attitude toward anyone that is different from God’s attitude.  We too must be gracious and merciful, patient with sinners and abounding in steadfast love.

Who would you hate to see forgiven?  I know that is an awful question to ask, but it is a critical one to ask.  There are people we hate, and perhaps justly so, for the ways in which they have been so destructive to the lives of those we love.  But we have been destructive in our own ways.  God forgave us!  Do we want a God who will go after the soul of the one who shoots up a synagogue, of the one who trains others to carry out acts of terror, of the one who drowns her own children, of the one who takes the life of a police officer, of the one who hurts someone in our own family?  That is the only God we have who can offer hope to us.  Lord, teach us your heart.