Jonah 4:10-11

10, 11. By his answer Jonah unwittingly offers Jehovah the opportunity to put him to shame. The prophet’s attitude is absurd. He grieves over the destruction of an insignificant plant, in which he could have no vital interest; he had expended no labor upon it, nor had he caused its growth. How absurd to find fault with Jehovah for sparing Nineveh with its thousands of inhabitants! The two verses are full of marked contrasts.

Thou… I The pronouns are emphatic in Hebrew.

Gourd… Nineveh The former small and insignificant, the latter great and magnificent. The superiority of the latter’s claim upon the divine mercy is further indicated:

That cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand Children of the tenderest age. They have as yet done no wrong; surely for their sake alone God would be justified in saving the city. The age limit to which this expression may be applied is variously estimated. Some think of three years, others of seven. The latter is favored by the fact that among Orientals seven years seems to be a favorite period by which to reckon childhood. Since, as commonly estimated, children under seven years of age constitute about one fifth of the entire population, the number given here would make the population of Nineveh about six hundred thousand. If the other estimate is accepted the number would be considerably increased. Nineveh proper cannot have contained such a large population; the city in its widest extent must be in the mind of the author (see on Jonah 3:3).

Much cattle The animals also were guiltless. Besides, as Calvin remarks, “Oxen were certainly superior to shrubs. If Jonah was right in grieving over one withered shrub, it would surely be a harder and more cruel thing for so many innocent animals to perish.” An additional reason for the divine mercy is at least implied. Jonah had expended no labor upon the plant, but how much effort and care had Jehovah bestowed upon the population of Nineveh! The fact that he sent a prophet to preach there (Jonah 1:2; Jonah 3:2) was evidence of his interest in the city. Could he cast off the inhabitants when they turned to him?

What an insight these words give into the divine love and mercy, into the very heart of God! Jonah had condemned himself; “he was obliged to keep silent, defeated, as it were, by his own sentence.”