His Compassion to Comfort. His Compassion to Confront.

  By: Lauren Thomas 

We all like a tidy story, complete with conflict, climax, and conclusion. I think that’s why we largely ignore the final chapter of Jonah. But the fourth chapter of Jonah is where most of us live our lives.

I know you’re familiar with Jonah. He was called by God to go to Nineveh and warn them of God’s coming judgements. Instead, he fled in the opposite direction. Nineveh was in Assyria, and Assyria was Israel’s enemy after all. While on a boat, heading in the opposite direction of his God-given task, he was confronted by a storm. He knew the storm was his fault, and told the pagan sailors on board as much. They reluctantly threw him overboard. God appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, then vomit him onto land. Jonah had a lot of time to contemplate during those three days in a fish. So, when God recommissioned him to go to Nineveh, Jonah complied. Jonah’s prophetic message to the Ninevites resulted in widespread repentance. And at this, God relented from the punishment he had planned for them. 

 

That covers chapters 1, 2, and 3. 

 

Now for chapter 4. Jonah didn’t like it. He got angry. Complained. He threw a pity party to rival the size of that great. He sat outside the city and waited, hoping that God would punish the city anyway. (Yeah, Jonah isn’t someone we should want to emulate). 

 

The whole book is about God’s great mercy and compassion. In addition to God showing compassion to Nineveh, God continued to exude compassion, even to undeserving Jonah, by appointing a plant to give Jonah’s pity party some pleasant shade. 

 

Now the Lord God appointed a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant.

Jonah 4:6

 

We get this kind of compassion. In fact, this is how we generally define compassion: concern for the suffering of others. So that’s why we can miss God’s next act of compassion for Jonah: God appointed a worm to destroy Jonah’s shade plant, followed by a scorching east wind. This got Jonah’s attention. And the dialogue between God and Jonah that follows contains God confronting Jonah with his great compassion.

 

I mentioned earlier that this is where we live. By which I mean generally, that we are recipients of God’s great compassion through the work of Jesus Christ, our Savior. But specifically, I mean to encourage you by a redefinition of your circumstances. 

 

God often shows us his compassion by alleviating our discomfort. And sometimes God shows us his compassion by removing our comfort in order to confront us with his character. Read Jonah chapter 4 to see what I mean. God’s compassion for you doesn’t change based on your circumstances. Don’t be like Jonah who felt he had the right to get mad at God for the way things were going. It was God’s compassion to comfort Jonah and it was God’s compassion to confront Jonah. But God’s compassionate character is constant. 

 

Whatever you are facing today, hold on to the truth of God’s character: He is compassionate toward you.

 

Reflection:

Remember a time when you felt God’s compassion through comfort.

Remember a time when you were confronted by God’s character through a time of suffering.

How can you reframe your current circumstances in the light of God’s compassion?