Daily Devotions
Jonah
"Please take my life from me"
Text: Jonah 4:3
AN UNWARRANTED PRAYER
Jonah’s prayer was unwarranted. His angry emotions caused him to burst out with these words.
“Therefore now, O LORD, please take my life from me,
for it is better for me to die than to live!”
Jonah 4:3
1. “Therefore now, O LORD, please take my life from me”
a) Jonah expressed a wish to be slain.
b) He asked God to take away his life.
2. “For it is better for me to die than to live”
a) This was how Jonah thought.
b) Though he was a prophet he was very wrong to pray in this manner!
GOD’S RESPONSE TO THIS PRAYER
God knew how Jonah had felt all along. He knew that the problem of Jonah’s spirit was a deep-seated one. Being gracious and merciful, He continued to reach out to Jonah.
“Then the LORD said, ‘Is it right for you to be angry?'”
Jonah 4:4
1. God could have heeded Jonah’s prayer but He did not!
2. “Then the LORD said”
a) God wanted Jonah to deal with this problem of anger.
b) He wanted to keep this dialogue going.
3. “Is it right for you to be angry”
a) Jonah was allowed to speak up.
b) He could state his reasons why he was so angry.
c) What was Jonah angry about?
i) Was he angry with God?
ii) Was he angry with the Ninevites?
iii) Was he angry that God had relented from punishing the Ninevites?
HOW WOULD JONAH ANSWER GOD?
Jonah knew that he had no answer to give to God for his anger!
1. This anger had been simmering.
2. There was now an outburst.
Jonah had no moral or any other kind of right whatsoever to feel so exceedingly displeased and angry!