Jonah 4:5

"Then Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shade, till he might see what would become of the city."

See under Jonah 4:1, above for a note on the reason for the apparent uncertainty on Jonah's part as to whether the city would be destroyed or not. It appears that Jonah had already concluded that the city would be spared, a conclusion based upon his knowledge of the character of God (Jonah 4:2), and the evident and overwhelming fact of Nineveh's wholesale repentance.

"East side of the city ..." This was the elevated portion of the terrain and provided a better vantage point for seeing the city overthrown, an event Jonah hoped for, contrary to his expectations. His preaching had probably begun on the west side of the city; and thus it may be concluded that he had completed his warning of the entire metropolis.

"Made him a booth ..." "This was a rough structure made of poles and leaves, like those of the Feast of Tabernacle."[16] Jonah evidently expected to stay a considerable time, yet hoping for the overthrow of hated Nineveh. Although Jonah had already decided that God would spare the city, he was not yet certain of it; and as long as there was hope of its destruction, he would wait. Sure, he knew that Nineveh had repented; but there were examples in God's dealings with Israel in which severe punishment was inflicted even after repentance (2 Samuel 12:10-14); and perhaps Jonah hoped for that pattern to be followed in the case of Nineveh. In any case, there he was, as full of derogatory thoughts about Nineveh as ever, and intently hoping for its utter destruction. As a prophetic type of the old Israel, this attitude of Jonah indicated the hatred which the Jews of the times of Jesus would exhibit against any idea of salvation for the Gentiles. As Barnes stated it, "He prefigured the carnal people of Israel, for these too were sad at the salvation of the Gentiles."[17]

Still another reason why Jonah appears in this verse still expecting and hoping for the destruction of Nineveh may be in the estimate which he had of the depth and sincerity, or rather, of the lack of such depth and sincerity, in which case Jonah would have supposed that the punishment was only deferred, not cancelled altogether, and thus he would go ahead and wait for it!

One of the practical lessons that should not be overlooked in connection with Jonah's actions here was stated thus by Blair, "He overlooked the importance of following through."[18] If there was ever a time when the Ninevites needed Jonah it was immediately after their repentance. Uncounted thousands had turned to the Lord, but they were still as newborn babes without any complete knowledge of what turning to God really meant. His petulant departure from the city without addressing himself to the spiritual needs of those new believers "in God" was as reprehensible as anything that the prophet ever did.