He ran from God, then he ran to God, so he could run with God. So what’s Jonah up to in chapter 4? He’s running past God! Of all the books in the Bible, Jonah has the most unexpected and overlooked final chapter. If the story ended at chapter 3, Jonah’s legacy would be truly inspiring. He would be a spiritual hero for the ages, the preacher who led the greatest mass revival in the history of the world! But in Jonah 4, the prophet is pouting; he’s having a pity party! Why the anger and resentment? To sort things out, we might observe that God speaks three times in the chapter, and each time he asks a penetrating question. As He interacts with Jonah, we learn three important truths about God. First, He forgives the undeserving (v 1-4). “Do you do well to be angry?” God asked. Jonah was in no mood to answer the question directly, but by his own admission, he was upset about God’s goodness. He appreciated this attribute when the LORD saved him from drowning or showed favor to his own nation. But this time, God’s goodness had gone too far! All along, he had suspected this would happen if he preached in Nineveh. How could God extend grace and mercy to the enemies of Israel, a terrorist state? Jonah didn’t want to see them repent of their sin; he wanted to see them punished for it! Second, He exposes our self-pity (v 5-9). “Do you do well to be angry for the plant?” God asked. It was the same question, now more specific, to show just how petty Jonah had become. Rather than confessing his bad attitude, Jonah had left town in a huff, escaping to a place where he could watch whatever happened next. He was hoping his prophetic time bomb would start ticking again—that God might reconsider and choose to destroy the city in forty days after all. But soon Jonah became so preoccupied with himself that he lost sight of Nineveh. Thankful for a plant that made him feel loved by God, he sank into further despair when the plant was taken away from him. If Nineveh went to hell, that was fine with him. Just don’t take away his shade! Third, He grieves over lost souls (v 10-11). In his last question, God asks Jonah, “Should I not pity Nineveh, that great city?” While Jonah’s heart had become attached to a plant, God’s compassion was for spiritually blind people. The book ends abruptly, forcing us to examine our own hearts. As Tim Keller writes, “It is as if God shoots this arrow of a question at Jonah, but Jonah disappears, and we realize the arrow is aimed at us. How will you answer?” For further meditation: