When Jonah grudgingly went to Nineveh, he still had hopes. His entire message was, “Just forty days more and Nineveh will be overthrown!” (Jonah 3:4). He wanted to see Nineveh flattened! The Hebrew Scriptures preserved this story, not to endorse Jonah’s spirit, but rather, through God’s challenge to the sulking prophet at the end, to show that God’s love truly extends to the whole world.

• The writer of Jonah had a superb touch with irony. The book describes an astounding preaching success—a whole city repenting and turning to God. And the preacher’s attitude? “Jonah thought this was utterly wrong, and he became angry” (Jonah 4:1)! What factors does the story say made Jonah so angry? Do any of those factors play into the way(s) you respond to people?
• The story of Jonah ended with a question, not a statement. God asked Jonah, “Can’t I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than one hundred twenty thousand people who can’t tell their right hand from their left, and also many animals?” Is there any person or group of people you’d rather see God “zap” than to see them repent? Is it right for God to extend the offer of mercy to all people?