Thursday Devo
Scripture:
Jonah 4:5-11
5 Then Jonah went out to the east side of the city and made a shelter to sit under as he waited to see what would happen to the city. 6 And the Lord God arranged for a leafy plant to grow there, and soon it spread its broad leaves over Jonah’s head, shading him from the sun. This eased his discomfort, and Jonah was very grateful for the plant.
7 But God also arranged for a worm! The next morning at dawn the worm ate through the stem of the plant so that it withered away. 8 And as the sun grew hot, God arranged for a scorching east wind to blow on Jonah. The sun beat down on his head until he grew faint and wished to die. “Death is certainly better than living like this!” he exclaimed.
9 Then God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry because the plant died?”
“Yes,” Jonah retorted, “even angry enough to die!”
10 Then the Lord said, “You feel sorry about the plant, though you did nothing to put it there. It came quickly and died quickly. 11 But Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness,[a] not to mention all the animals. Shouldn’t I feel sorry for such a great city?”
5 Then Jonah went out to the east side of the city and made a shelter to sit under as he waited to see what would happen to the city. 6 And the Lord God arranged for a leafy plant to grow there, and soon it spread its broad leaves over Jonah’s head, shading him from the sun. This eased his discomfort, and Jonah was very grateful for the plant.
7 But God also arranged for a worm! The next morning at dawn the worm ate through the stem of the plant so that it withered away. 8 And as the sun grew hot, God arranged for a scorching east wind to blow on Jonah. The sun beat down on his head until he grew faint and wished to die. “Death is certainly better than living like this!” he exclaimed.
9 Then God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry because the plant died?”
“Yes,” Jonah retorted, “even angry enough to die!”
10 Then the Lord said, “You feel sorry about the plant, though you did nothing to put it there. It came quickly and died quickly. 11 But Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness,[a] not to mention all the animals. Shouldn’t I feel sorry for such a great city?”
Commentary:
4:10–11 perished. Finally Jonah expresses concern over something perishing (see note on 3:9), but ironically it is a plant, not the 120,000 people who do not know their right hand from their left, an idiom for being morally and spiritually unaware, that probably refers to the entire population. Jonah’s compassion for the plant explains the rather odd expression that translates the final words in the Hebrew text, and also much cattle. The ironic question raised by these words is: If Jonah will not allow God to have compassion on Nineveh for the sake of the 120,000 people whom God created and cares for, will Jonah not allow God to have compassion on Nineveh for the sake of the animals, since after all, Jonah was willing to have compassion on a plant? The question is left unanswered so that the readers of the book may answer it for themselves.
Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 1691.
Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 1691.
Questions:
One of the greatest tensions throughout the book of Jonah is understanding how God can be perfectly merciful while also being perfectly just. Jonah loved God's mercy when it benefited him but struggled to accept that same mercy being extended to Nineveh. Yet God never compromises either His holiness or His love. T
hroughout the story, we see both His compassion and His justice on display, pointing us to the place where these two realities perfectly meet: the cross of Jesus Christ. At the cross, God's justice was fully satisfied because sin was punished, and God's mercy was fully displayed because Jesus took that punishment in our place. The book of Jonah ultimately points beyond Jonah to Jesus, the only One who perfectly reveals the goodness of God.
hroughout the story, we see both His compassion and His justice on display, pointing us to the place where these two realities perfectly meet: the cross of Jesus Christ. At the cross, God's justice was fully satisfied because sin was punished, and God's mercy was fully displayed because Jesus took that punishment in our place. The book of Jonah ultimately points beyond Jonah to Jesus, the only One who perfectly reveals the goodness of God.
- When you look into the mirror of your own life, which side of God's character do you tend to emphasize: His mercy or His justice? Does your answer change when you're thinking about your own sins versus the sins of someone who has deeply hurt or offended you? What does that reveal?
- How does the cross of Jesus perfectly satisfy both God's holy justice and His unfailing mercy? Why is it essential that we hold both truths together instead of emphasizing one while neglecting the other, as Jonah did?
- Where have you been excusing your own sin while holding someone else to a higher standard? Is there a grudge to release, an attitude of self-righteousness to confess, or an area of compromise to surrender at the foot of the cross?
Prayer Topics:
- Thank Jesus for willingly taking your place on the cross so that God's justice could be satisfied and His mercy could be freely extended to you. Ask God to help you live in humble gratitude for the gospel.
- Praise God for His perfect character. Thank Him that He is completely holy, completely just, completely loving, and completely faithful.
- Pray that His mercy would lead you to greater obedience, deeper worship, and a growing desire to reflect Christ in every area of your life.
This Week's City 7:
Try to commit to memory!
4. Can a person be good enough to go to heaven? No. Because Jesus rose from the dead, proving He is God, I believe a person is saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.
(John 1:12, 14:6; Acts 4:12; Romans 4:1-25, 5:1-2, 6-11, 6:23, 10:1-4, 10:9; Galatians 3:26; Ephesians 2:1-9; 1 Timothy 2:5-6; Titus 3:4-7)
(John 1:12, 14:6; Acts 4:12; Romans 4:1-25, 5:1-2, 6-11, 6:23, 10:1-4, 10:9; Galatians 3:26; Ephesians 2:1-9; 1 Timothy 2:5-6; Titus 3:4-7)
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