Jonah 4:6

"Then Jonah went out of the city and sat on the east side of the city, and there made himself a booth and sat under it in the shade, until he might see what would become of the city."

Key Reflection

When Jonah disobeyed God's command to go to Nineveh and instead fled, this verse reveals his emotional state after realizing his mistake. Sitting east of the city under a makeshift booth, Jonah was not only seeking shelter from the sun but also positioning himself to watch for any sign of divine retribution against the wicked city. In first-century Israel, such a location would be visible from much of the city, making it an ideal spot for surveillance. This action underscores Jonah's conflicted feelings and his initial resistance to God’s plans, highlighting the tension between Jonah's desire for Nineveh's destruction and his fear of its salvation.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

And the Lord God prepared a gourd -, (a palm-christ, English margin, rightly.) . “God again commanded the gourd, as he did the whale, willing only that this should be. Forthwith it springs up beautiful and full of flower, and straightway was a roof to the whole booth, and anoints him so to speak with joy, with its deep shade. The prophet rejoices at it exceedingly, as being a great and thankworthy thing. See now herein too the simplicity of his mind. For he was grieved exceedingly, because what he had prophesied came not to pass; he rejoiced exceedingly for a plant. A blameless mind is lightly moved to gladness or sorrow. You will see this in children.

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