Life Applications and Lessons in Jonah Chapter Four
You will not believe all of the life applications and lessons in Jonah chapter four! All four chapters of the small book in the Bible are filled with lessons for us, but I believe chapter four has the most.
As I read chapter four in the book of Jonah, words like: selfish, entitled, and pouty came to mind. Then I realized that we all have some of these attitudes in us. Let’s take a look so we can recognize them and squash them before they take root.
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Summary of the Book of Jonah Chapter Four
Chapter four continues with Jonah preaching to the people of Nineveh. They repented and turned to the Lord. Jonah’s mission was such a success, but he was not happy about it! He even spoke pretty harshly to the Lord.
Jonah ended up sitting outside of town, and the Lord provided a shade that brought him comfort. Jonah was happy about the shade until the Lord took it away the next day. Then Jonah was back to his complaining.
Jonah 4:1-2
“Jonah was greatly displeased and became furious. 2 He prayed to the Lord, ‘Please, Lord, isn’t this what I said while I was still in my own country? That’s why I fled toward Tarshish in the first place. I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger, abounding in faithful love, and One Who relents from sending disaster.'”
Jonah 4:1-2
- Jonah’s preaching was a success! However, this made him angry.
- He preached out of obligation, not love.
- Jonah thought the people of Nineveh needed judgement, not forgiveness. How quickly he had forgotten that he had just received a 2nd chance from the Lord.
- He thought the Lord’s forgiveness and compassion was good for him but not for the Ninevites.
- Why do we tend to think God’s forgiveness and mercy is great for us, but others don’t deserve it? We may not actually think that very thing, but how do we feel about a person who does something we consider unforgivable – against a child, a loved one, or an animal? If they truly repent, God’s grace and mercy are there.
Jonah 4:5-6
5 “Jonah left the city and found a place east of it. He made himself a shelter there and sat in its shade to see what would happen to the city. 6 Then the Lord God appointed a plant, and it grew over Jonah to provide shade for his head to rescue him from his trouble. Jonah was greatly pleased with the plant.”
Jonah 4:5-6
- It sounds like Jonah was waiting outside of the city to see if Nineveh might still be destroyed.
- Instead of hoping people get what they deserve, let’s pray that they repent and turn to the Lord. This applies to when we watch the news or social media! Yikes!
- Even in Jonah’s pouting pity party, the Lord provided comfort for him for a day.
- This was an extra day of comfort that he wouldn’t have had if the Lord hadn’t blessed him with it.
Jonah 4:7-8
7 “When dawn came the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, and it withered. 8 As the sun was rising, God appointed a scorching east wind. The sun beat down on Jonah’s head so much that he almost fainted, and he wanted to die. He said, ‘It’s better for me to die than to live.’”
Jonah 4:7-8
- What a great picture of entitlement!
- Instead of complaining about it, he should have gotten up and moved to another location – taken action!
- It is easy to get comfortable with our blessings and then complain when we don’t have them. We need to be intentional about being grateful for our blessings, even if they are only for a short-term.
- Focus on what we have rather than what we do not have.
- Think about the blessings we have had in our lives that are now gone. It was better to have had them for a time than to never have had them at all.
- When I read this, it actually gave me peace in regards to grief. I have lost several people in my life, but losing a child put grief at another level. Looking at it through a different mindset is comforting. The Lord blessed us with our son for 29 years!
Jonah 4:9
9 Then God asked Jonah, ‘Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?’
‘Yes, it’s right!” he replied. ‘I’m angry enough to die!’”
Jonah 4:9
- Can you imagine how you would feel and react if one of your kids, students, or basically anyone spoke to you like Jonah spoke to the Lord?
- This is proof that the Lord is compassionate, slow to anger, and abounding in love!
Jonah 4:10-11
10 “And the Lord said, ‘You cared about the plant, which you did not labor over and did not grow. It appeared in a night and perished in a night. 11 So may I not care about the great city of Nineveh, which has more than a hundred twenty thousand people who cannot distinguish between their right and their left, as well as many animals?’”
Jonah 4:10-11
- Jonah seemed to care about his own comfort but had no concern for the salvation of the Ninevites.
- The Ninevites had been acting very evil, but they did not know the Lord. However, when they heard the truth, they repented.
- Jonah knew the Lord and His truths, and yet he sinned out of selfishness and rebellion.
- As we come across people who don’t portray Godly characteristics, stop and ask yourself if they know the Lord. There may be times people have wondered the same things about us.
- I am so glad the Lord is merciful to sinners. If not, where would I be?
It is so easy to look at Jonah and judge his actions. The funny thing about that is that we would be doing the same thing he was doing (at a different level of course).
I think the Lord shared these scriptures and story with us to teach us the same life lessons He taught Jonah. I am thankful for these lessons and hope to live them out in the days to come.
I have enjoyed studying the book of Jonah these past few weeks. If you have not seen the other chapters’ lessons, you can find them here:
Jonah Chapter 1
Jonah Chapter 2
Jonah Chapter 3
I would love to hear your thoughts and insights on these scriptures.. There is still so much to learn from Jonah’s story!
Life Applications and Lessons Resources
If you are trying to get started with a daily Bible plan, see Simple Bible Study Ideas for Spiritual Growth. I hope these tips will help you like they have helped me.
These are a few of my favorite Bible study resources:
Fun Gift Idea of Biblical Life Lessons
If you have joined me recently, these daily life applications from the Bible are examples of some of the comments I am writing in the Bibles I am giving to my grandchildren when they graduate from high school.
Click here to see the post where I explain this eternal gift idea. I want to give them great hope and all the resources I can to use in today’s world! May they always know God’s promises are true!
Related Posts
1 – Ephesians – Part 1
2 – Ephesians – Part 2
As we read His Word each day, I pray that we will see how It applies to us. Let’s seek His instruction and put it into action.
Please share any encouragement and lessons you learned this week as you read the Word of God. I would love to hear your thoughts.
Until next time…
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“From one Man He has made every nationality to live over the whole earth and has determined their appointed times and the boundaries of where they live.” Acts 17:26
(New Testament in the Holy Bible)
Jonah chapter four is such a powerful reminder about patience, compassion, and God’s mercy. It really challenges us to reflect on our own attitudes—especially how we respond when things don’t align with our expectations. The lesson of choosing mercy over anger feels so relevant in daily life Best School in Greater Noida | Top School in Greater Noida
I really enjoyed the book of Jonah. Yes, mercy over anger is very relevant today!
I Love To Read Your Devotionals . I Move These To A File I Have So I Can Go Back & Reread Them. Thank You Susan For All You Do. Love You.
Great job on breaking this story down into bullet points! I agree that Jonah preached to the Ninehvites out of obligation and not love. It makes me think what Paul said when we do things without having love, it means nothing.
What a great series, Susan. I have such compassion for Jonah. He’s so relatable! Even with all his selfish and entitled ways I’m thankful to learn from his journey. He’s proof that God’s love and grace knows no bounds. Big hugs, CoCo
Amen to that!!!