Then
the Lord said,
“You had compassion on the plant for which you did not work and which
you did not cause to grow, which came up overnight and perished overnight. Should I not have compassion on Nineveh
Jonah
4:10-11 New American Standard
Bible (NASB)
Jonah was upset because the
plant under which he had taken refuge died. God actually did this on purpose to
teach Jonah a lesson. Remember Jonah had run away from the assignment God had
given him because he didn’t want the people of Ninevah to be saved. He was then
upset when the people repented because they would not be punished for their
sin. Jonah had no compassion on them because of what they did to his people,
because of the way he viewed them (as horrible sinners.) He had compassion on
the plant because it was of benefit to him. Compassion has a lot to do with our
perspective. We decide to have compassion on people we understand, and not on
people we don’t understand. We decide who we think “deserves” to have
compassion. Unfortunately, this perspective is based on ourselves. We forget
about God’s perspective. He often sees people very differently from the way we
see them. His love is greater and purer than any we could have or give. He
loves all people, and willingly accepts the genuine repentance of any. He
doesn’t want any to be separated from Him through sin. If the city had received
the wrath prophesied, they would have all died in their sin without being
saved, eternally separated from God. One hundred twenty thousand may seem like
a small city, but that only counted men of military age. The city itself
covered almost 3 square miles. That is a lot of people to die without a second
chance. Ask God to help you see with His perspective, to have compassion like
He does.
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