So.. What's the deal with the bush anyway? This Gourd vine that grows up out of nowhere? WHY is Chapter 4 even here in the book anyway?
From Jonah 1-3 - we know Jonah had NO desire what-so-ever to preach repentance to this debauched, villainous, abusive, Idolatrous, abominable unclean Gentile nation.... They represented everything he hated.... But - he went and preached because he was faithful to God.... He preached what HE esteemed to be the least likely message that could ever work - "Ye Olde" 40 days and you get yours.... The message that had NEVER worked ONCE in the whole history of Israel..... AND Lo and Behold... One of the BIGGEST miracles of the ENTIRE Old Testament happens - an ENTIRE Gentile nation which could have been 1 to 3 MILLION people repents on pure SPECULATION that perhaps God would spare them....
Then... There's the bush.... That dangling bit at the end of the story where Jonah is sulking and wishing that God would blast them into oblivion.... and God chides him about "Doing good"... What's that got to do with anything?
WELL.. It turns out.... That vine is quite important to the real Story BEHIND the story... The part that they don't explain because it's unpleasant.... It doesn't fit into our normal "Good morals" stories.....
God sets up an intentional comparison here.... A "Hebraism" so to speak.... Jonah and the Vine are compared with Israel and Nineveh.....
Let's look at Jonah and the vine first - and unwind this a bit...
From Jonah 1-3 - we know Jonah had NO desire what-so-ever to preach repentance to this debauched, villainous, abusive, Idolatrous, abominable unclean Gentile nation.... They represented everything he hated.... But - he went and preached because he was faithful to God.... He preached what HE esteemed to be the least likely message that could ever work - "Ye Olde" 40 days and you get yours.... The message that had NEVER worked ONCE in the whole history of Israel..... AND Lo and Behold... One of the BIGGEST miracles of the ENTIRE Old Testament happens - an ENTIRE Gentile nation which could have been 1 to 3 MILLION people repents on pure SPECULATION that perhaps God would spare them....
Then... There's the bush.... That dangling bit at the end of the story where Jonah is sulking and wishing that God would blast them into oblivion.... and God chides him about "Doing good"... What's that got to do with anything?
WELL.. It turns out.... That vine is quite important to the real Story BEHIND the story... The part that they don't explain because it's unpleasant.... It doesn't fit into our normal "Good morals" stories.....
God sets up an intentional comparison here.... A "Hebraism" so to speak.... Jonah and the Vine are compared with Israel and Nineveh.....
Let's look at Jonah and the vine first - and unwind this a bit...