Jonah 4:2
And he prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.
Jonah fled toward Tarshish while still in his own country because he knew God to be gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abundant in kindness, and he expected Him to relent from threatened judgment and spare Nineveh if its people turned from evil and repented. When God did spare the repentant city after it humbled itself, Jonah was angry, displeased and discouraged, fearing humiliation as a false prophet because his warning went unfulfilled and prizing his own reputation above the lives of its people. The verse reveals the Lord as gracious and merciful, patient and slow to anger, rich in kindness, who withholds destruction, accepts repentance and extends probation when sinners turn to Him. That sparing gave Nineveh longer time to change, and as with Nineveh so the disappointment after 1844 granted the world longer time to prepare for Christ's coming so the judgment warning could reach more people. The reprieve warns against selfish sorrow and resentment when God's work does not proceed according to one's own wishes, calling instead for valuing mercy and continuing to labor for repentance and salvation rather than dwelling on personal humiliation.
Jonah's Flight and Anger
Jonah fled toward Tarshish while still in his own country because he knew the Lord to be gracious and merciful, slow to anger, patient, and abundant in kindness. He knew that God relents from threatened judgment, calamity and punishment and withholds destruction when people repent, and he fled because he expected God to spare Nineveh if its people turned from their evil ways and repented. That knowledge was the reason he gave for his flight, for he feared God would spare the city after it turned from evil.
When God did spare repentant Nineveh after its people turned from their evil ways and humbled themselves, Jonah was angry, troubled, displeased, resentful and discouraged at the outcome of his preaching. Instead of rejoicing in grace shown to the repentant city, he resented the mercy extended to it.
He feared that his warning of destruction going unfulfilled would leave him humiliated and regarded as a false prophet and damage his standing as a prophet. He was angry because matters had not gone his way and God had not acted according to his will. He focused on his own humiliation instead of the mercy shown to the repentant city.
Concern for his reputation made him lose sight of the value of the city's people and of God's compassion toward them. He prized his reputation as a prophet above their lives and interests. He valued his reputation more than their lives and did not share God's compassion, with his concern obscuring their greater value so that he overlooked mercy toward the repentant city instead of rejoicing in it.
God's Merciful Character
The Lord revealed in Jonah's prayer is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, patient, and abundant and rich in kindness. That character is why Jonah fled toward Tarshish while still in his own country, for he knew beforehand that such a God would relent from threatened judgment and calamity rather than carry it out. His slowness to anger and abundance in kindness are the very revelation of divine mercy toward a guilty city.
He relents from threatened evil, calamity, punishment and announced judgment, withholds destruction, accepts repentance, spares the repentant city and extends its probation when people repent, turn from their evil ways and humble themselves. Nineveh was spared because its people turned from evil, and that sparing gave the city longer time to change after repentance. The same mercy that withdrew threatened judgment from Nineveh is seen in allowing the world more time to prepare for Christ's coming, so the judgment warning could reach more people and test them with greater light.
Pardon and healing do not depend on human merit. He loves sinners freely and is patient with them. His desire is that they repent rather than perish, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, rich in kindness, and willing to turn from bringing calamity.
Prophecy and Present Warning
God's sparing of Nineveh was not merely pardon but prolongation, giving its people a longer time to change by extending their probation after they repented, turned and humbled themselves. As Nineveh received more time after repenting, so after the disappointment of 1844 the world was granted a longer time to prepare for Christ's coming. That added time allowed the judgment warning to reach more people more widely and to test them with greater light. The passing of the announced time did not make the message false, but served God's purpose to prosper the work and carry it forward.
Jonah's discouragement at the outcome of his preaching stands as a warning against selfish sorrow when events do not turn out as hoped. His anger because matters had not gone his way and God had not acted according to his will warns against resenting God when His work and a predicted judgment do not proceed according to one's own wishes. Such resentment resists God's choice to prosper the work and carry it forward, and overlooks His mercy toward a repentant people. Instead of dwelling on personal humiliation at an unfulfilled warning of destruction, the reprieve should be valued and used to continue laboring for repentance and salvation and to give people further time to repent and prepare for Christ's coming.