Jonah 4 shows us that God wasn’t just trying to save Nineveh—He was also trying to save Jonah. After preaching the most successful sermon of his life and seeing an entire wicked city repent, Jonah was still angry, bitter, and offended that God would be so gracious to people he felt didn’t deserve it. God gently exposed three silent killers in Jonah’s heart: bitterness that poisoned his joy, pride that put his nation and reputation above God’s mercy, and self-righteousness that wanted grace for himself but judgment for everyone else. By growing a plant to comfort Jonah and then sending a worm and a scorching wind to remove that comfort, God showed Jonah that he cared more about 120,000 lost people than Jonah’s temporary shade. The same is true for us today: God will lovingly confront our comfort, anger, and self-righteousness so we can share His heart for people far from Him and rejoice, not resent, when His mercy reaches those we might least expect.
