Jonah 4: God’s Mercy

In our final week with Jonah, we look beyond the commonly-told story to the book’s often-ignored fourth chapter. We see Jonah’s anger at God — for God’s goodness, mercy, and salvation. And we see Jonah’s lack of logic: he doesn’t think Nineveh deserved the same mercy God had just showed Jonah in chapter 2. Jonah’s posture invites us to consider our own religious, self-righteous judgment of others, and how it hinders us from enjoying God’s grace — to ourselves and especially to people we deem undeserving. At the end of the book, we’re each challenged to answer the question God asked Jonah: should God not care about people… even if they’re evil? And if God does care (which he does), shouldn’t we care too? If so, how?