Jonah 4:7

"But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered."

Here, too, the record plainly refers to a supernatural event, that of God's preparing and commissioning a worm to destroy the gourd which had enjoyed such a short period of growth. This also is one of the "six supportive miracles" mentioned under Jonah 4:6, above.

This worm struck effectively against the very source of Jonah's great gladness, which, strangely enough, was not connected in any way with the great repentance of Nineveh, but was derived from a wretched gourd vine which provided him shade! If there was ever an example of a man's being "exceedingly glad" for the wrong reasons, here it is in these two verses. There are millions of Jonahs everywhere in our society today, people who are glad, exceedingly so, for the comforts and luxuries they enjoy, rather than for the great hope of the soul's eternal redemption in Jesus Christ our Lord. They are more thankful for sports contests, outings on the beach, air-conditioning, soft drinks, plenty of beer, etc., than they are for the right to worship God without molestation. Yes, there are a lot of Jonah's who are still "exceedingly glad" for gourds!

Regarding the "worm" mentioned in this verse, Deane wrote that the term could be used here collectively, as in Deuteronomy 28:39, thus meaning "worms,"[20] that is, a sudden massive infestation of them. This appears unnecessary, however; one worm operating strategically upon the main stem of the gourd at, or near, ground level, would have destroyed it as effectively as any army of 10,000 worms, especially when aided by the scorching east wind that arrived almost simultaneously to hasten the destruction of the gourd. There is no use for the commentators to help the Lord out with little problems of this kind. The whole account clearly deals with events which the inspired author attributed to the direct intervention of God. In short, they are miracles.