Was Jonah angry at God?

[TonyChanYT]

Jonah warned the Ninevites. They repented. God decided not to punish them. (Jonah 3)

Jonah 4:

1 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry.

Jonah was a man with extreme emotions. He was angry because God had mercy on the Ninevites. Was Jonah angry at God?

I don't think so. The next thing he did was to pray to God:

2 And he prayed to the LORD and said, “O LORD, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.

Jonah contrasted his anger with God's. In some psychological sense, he was angry at himself:

3 Therefore now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.”

The Lord disagreed:

4 And the LORD said, “Do you do well to be angry?”

God wasn't angry with Jonah. He didn't take Jonah's anger personally. God was nice to the Ninevites and now he was nice to Jonah:

6 Now the LORD God appointed a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant.

Jonah's emotions were unstable and extreme. One moment, he wanted to die; the next moment, he was extremely happy.

7 But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered. 8 When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint. And he asked that he might die and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.”

At this point, Jonah wanted to die again.

9 But God said to Jonah, “Do you do well to be angry for the plant?” And he said, “Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die.”

Was Jonah directly angry at God himself?

I don't think so. Earlier, he was angry that God did not destroy the Ninivites. Now, he was angry that God destroyed the shading plant. Jonah was angry at God's acts but not directly at God himself. God reacted kindly to Jonah despite his irrational anger.

 

[JohnDB]

Jonah warned the Ninevites. They repented. God decided not to punish them. (Jonah 3)

Jonah 4:


Jonah was a man with extreme emotions. He was angry because God had mercy on the Ninevites. Was Jonah angry at God?

I don't think so. The next thing he did was to pray to God:


Jonah contrasted his anger with God's. In some psychological sense, he was angry at himself:


The Lord disagreed:


God wasn't angry with Jonah. He didn't take Jonah's anger personally. God was nice to the Ninevites and now he was nice to Jonah:


Jonah's emotions were unstable and extreme. One moment, he wanted to die; the next moment, he was extremely happy.


At this point, Jonah wanted to die again.


Was Jonah directly angry at God himself?

I don't think so. Earlier, he was angry that God did not destroy the Ninivites. Now, he was angry that God destroyed the shading plant. Jonah was angry at God's acts but not directly at God himself. God reacted kindly to Jonah despite his irrational anger.

Nineveh was the capitol city of Aramea.

He absolutely hated them for their brutality and barbarity...especially when they were brutal and barbaric against his fellow Israelites. He wanted God to destroy them for their wicked ways.
He wanted to proverbially toast marshmallows over their souls roasting in Hell.

There's a type of revenge in that.

 

[MatthewG]

Because he wanted to them to get there’s!

 

[Bob]

God’s Grace can be hard to grasp.

Jonah was thinking, “They did not deserve forgiveness,” and guess what: he was right!

Ditto the older brother of the Prodigal Son.

Do any of us deserve God’s forgiveness for our transgressions?

(See also, Matthew 20: 1-16; the parable of the vineyard workers)

 

[MatthewG]

Also in general it’s okay to be angry (many in times where injustices occur or when a loved one is harmed, etc..), just don’t let yourself become so angry you start to become bitter, and a root of bitterness starts to affect the heart.

 

[Lambano]

Jonah was angry at God's acts but not directly at God himself.

Was David angry at God?

David became angry because of the LORD’S outburst against Uzzah, and that place is called Perez-uzzah to this day.

Frankly speaking, I don't see how you can be angry at someone's actions without being angry with the person for doing those actions. This is different from hating what someone did without hating the person who did it. (You'll no doubt recognize the aphorism, "hate the sin but love the sinner".) Hate and anger are different emotions.

 

[Lambano]

God wasn't angry with Jonah. He didn't take Jonah's anger personally. God was nice to the Ninevites and now he was nice to Jonah:

Grace. Ain't it amazing?

BTW, this is a subject that is near to my heart, because someone I care about is suffering terribly and is very angry with God for his circumstances.

Well, as my pastor said, "Atheists don't bother to curse a god they don't believe in".

 

[TonyChanYT]

Was David angry at God?

Good question. See David was ANGRY because the LORD had broken out against Uzzah and follow up there.