JONAH 4
SHOULD I NOT CARE?
Application Guide
READ THE TEXT
JONAH 4
1 Jonah was greatly displeased and became furious. 2 He prayed to the Lord, “Please, Lord, isn’t this what I said while I was still in my own country? That’s why I fled toward Tarshish in the first place. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger, abounding in faithful love, and one who relents from sending disaster. 3 And now, Lord, take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.”
4 The Lord asked, “Is it right for you to be angry?”
5 Jonah left the city and found a place east of it. He made himself a shelter there and sat in its shade to see what would happen to the city. 6 Then the Lord God appointed a plant, and it grew over Jonah to provide shade for his head to rescue him from his trouble. Jonah was greatly pleased with the plant. 7 When dawn came the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, and it withered.
8 As the sun was rising, God appointed a scorching east wind. The sun beat down on Jonah’s head so much that he almost fainted, and he wanted to die. He said, “It’s better for me to die than to live.”
9 Then God asked Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?”
“Yes, it’s right!” he replied. “I’m angry enough to die!”
10 And the Lord said, “You cared about the plant, which you did not labor over and did not grow. It appeared in a night and perished in a night. 11 So may I not care about the great city of Nineveh, which has more than a hundred twenty thousand people who cannot distinguish between their right and their left, as well as many animals?”
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
In general, was there anything that stood out to you from the sermon or the reading of the text? Was there anything you were encouraged or confused by?
Jonah was angry at God’s mercy displayed toward the Ninevites. What are the types of people you struggle to understand God’s care for?
Jonah struggled to show others mercy because he failed to grasp the mercy he had been shown. In what ways was Jonah showed mercy? In what ways have you been shown mercy?
The book of Jonah ended with a question from God - “Should I not care?” Why is our answer to this question important?
How was the gospel and the work of Jesus magnified through the text or sermon?
Is there anything the Spirit is calling you to obey as an individual or as a group?