Jonah 4:9

"And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death."

The almost incredible stubbornness of Jonah is matched historically by only one thing, and that is the obstinate unwillingness of Israel to accept the Lord Jesus Christ, that being exactly the very event which this conduct on the part of Jonah was designed to foretell.

"Doest thou well ...?" How frequently in the divine solicitations concerning sinful mankind has the Father pressed home the truth with questions? Note these examples:

Doest thou well to be angry? (Jonah 4:9).

Adam, Where art thou? (Genesis 3:9).

Where is thy brother, Abel? (Genesis 4:9).

What doest thou here, Elijah? (1 Kings 19:13).

Betrayest thou the Son of Man with a kiss? (Luke 22:48).

Lovest thou me more than these? (John 21:24).

Wilt thou be made whole? (John 5:6).

Saul, Saul, Why persecutest thou me? (Acts 22:7).

Before leaving this verse, it should be noted that a different word in the Hebrew is used for God, than is used in other verses of this chapter. In fact, the following pattern is evident:

Jonah 4:4 "[~Yahweh]," meaning God the Creator is used.

Jonah 4:6, "[~Yahweh] ['Elohiym]," the compound name of God found in the Book of Genesis.

Jonah 4:8, "[~'Elohiym]," the personal God, sends the worm.

Jonah 4:9, "[~'Elohiym]," the Ruler of Nature sends the east wind.[21]

C. F. Keil, and other scholars, have also marveled at this selective use of several different names for God in this book. The significant truth here is that the critical conceit of trying to determine the origin of Old Testament books by the variations of God's name found in them is effectively refuted by this single book, which has a number of different names for God in the same passage!