Jonah 4 (KJV) - Bible Truth Library

• Although Jonah is shown to us in a more or less undesirable spiritual condition throughout his book, he never lost the sense of his relationship to God. “I fear Jehovah,” said he. The Spirit says, “Jonah prayed unto Jehovah his God out of the fish's belly.” At the close of his prayer, he cried out in faith, “Salvation is of Jehovah,” and even when he peevishly objected to the divine mercy shown to Nineveh, “He prayed unto Jehovah” (Jonah. 4:1). This is worthy of note. The God with whom we all have to do knows how to keep alive within us the spark of faith, and the sense that we belong to Him, even when we get sadly astray. (“Elohim and Jehovah” by W.W. Fereday)

• He would have preferred the whole population of a vast city to perish than that his own reputation as a prophet should suffer! He was amazed that he should have gone through the streets of Nineveh denouncing judgment within forty days, and then find the divine sentence withdrawn! Yet why should God have given forty days notice, unless He desired to give time for repentance? Does not Peter tell us that He is long-suffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance”? (2 Peter 3:9). (“A Strange Dove” by W.W. Fereday)

• If he really knew all these delightful things about God, it should have been his joy to proclaim them to sinners everywhere. (“A Strange Dove” by W.W. Fereday)

• Wretched heart of man, so unable to rise up to the goodness of God! If Jonah had been nearer to God, he would have known that this was truly the God whom he proclaimed, whom he had learned to love by knowing Him. He would have been able to say, “Now, indeed, the Ninevites know the God whose testimony I gloried in bearing, and they will be happy.” But Jonah thought only of himself; and the horrid selfishness of his heart hides from him the God of grace, faithful to His love for His helpless creatures. (“Jonah 4” by J.N. Darby)

• {v.2-3} Nine times he speaks of himself. How the prophet here again reminds us of the elder brother in Luke 15:29 JND Trans. (“Jonah 4: Jonah Is Very Angry” by G.C. Willis)

• Though he addressed his words to God, it is only too evident that his eyes were on himself, and on what he fancied were his wrongs....It may be that instead of lifting up our eyes to heaven, as our Lord did when He prayed (John 17:1), we have turned our eyes down to ourselves, or around to our brethren, and the sights that we see in either case almost surely make us displeased and angry. (“Jonah 4: Jonah Is Very Angry” by G.C. Willis)

• This is a question, not a prayer—and a question put to Jehovah in order to justify himself for the very sin and disobedience that had already brought such terrible chastisement on him and of which we thought he had truly repented. (“Jonah 4: Jonah Is Very Angry” by G.C. Willis)

• Jonah was a true servant of the Lord and truly knew his Master’s character. This was before he set out for Tarshish at all. One is inclined to think that Jonah had had experiences of the Lord’s grace and mercy to himself even before he had tasted of it so very deeply in the belly of the fish. (“Jonah 4: Jonah Is Very Angry” by G.C. Willis)

• On the one hand, “my saying” as to the destruction of the city would not come true, and Jonah’s reputation as a prophet would be affected. And on the other hand, it may well be that Jonah’s eye looked down the years and saw that, before so very long, “my country” would be desolated by the very city he now hoped to see destroyed. (“Jonah 4: Jonah Is Very Angry” by G.C. Willis)

• What then does Jonah mean when he says, “Thou... repentest Thee of the evil”? It does not mean a change of mind on God’s part, but a change of action caused by a change of mind on man’s part. (“Jonah 4: Jonah Is Very Angry” by G.C. Willis)

J. N. Darby Translation

And he prayed unto Jehovah, and said, Ah, Jehovah, was not this my saying when I was yet in my country? Therefore I was minded to flee at firsta unto Tarshish; for I knew that thou art a gracious *God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great loving-kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.

JND Translation Notes

Lit. "I was beforehand in fleeing."

W. Kelly Translation

And he prayed to Jehovah, and said, I pray thee, O Jehovah, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.