What is the significance of the Vine and Gourde in the book of Jonah?

[Emily Ruth]

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Jonah 4

5 Jonah went out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. 6 Then the LORD God provided a vine and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the vine. 7 But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the vine so that it withered. 8 When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah's head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, "It would be better for me to die than to live."

9 But God said to Jonah, "Do you have a right to be angry about the vine?"
"I do," he said. "I am angry enough to die."

10 But the LORD said, "You have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. 11 But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?"

I thought it might have something to do with Israel and the church and the condition of our hearts in the end times since the people God was speaking about here were about to be destroyed if they didn't repent.

[cminto]

I think God was showing Jonahs sinfullness, in caring more about a vine then the 120K souls perishing.

[Joel]

Jonah's Gourd (http://rr-bb.com/showthread.php?t=938).

[Emily Ruth]

Thank you Joel. That is a very imformative thread. I will have to read it in its entirety.

But for some reason the Lord is showing me that there is significance to Christians looking to God for the protection of the Rapture from His wrath and yet they are cheering on the destruction of our enemies (such as Islam) when in fact, God loves them too and we should be witnessing to them as God wanted Jonah to do with Ninevah.

Could it be that it is a story for God to show us that everything is one unit in God’s perspective. We have enemies but they are also those whom God loves. God’s love is our comfort and shelter. If we ask Him to destroy our enemies, we are also asking God to destroy that which He loves. If God does as we desire, we are often asking God to destroy the very thing which has also given us comfort and we will suffer with them.

[Joel]

Very true words.

[goinghome]

Are we asking god to destroy our enemies? I pray for protection for soldiers, and to bring Islamists into the sheepfold, as many as possible before the rapture. I guess it's naive, but I just assumed that's what everybody would pray for, except maybe the heathen. But, on the other hand God loves justice, so if they do get destroyed I think there will be some pleasure for Him in that :idunno As far as Jonah and the Gourd, I think that God's point was that Jonah knew God had chosen them to get another chance, so Jonah was really mad and sinning against god because Jonah did not want to do the will of God out of hate for his (Jonah's) enemies. Also, when we show no gratefulness for the little things (like shade from a gourd), why should God give us any more of it, or anything else. Especially after God has forgiven us of so much (like all the running Jonah did).

[Emily Ruth]

Are we asking god to destroy our enemies? I pray for protection for soldiers, and to bring Islamists into the sheepfold, as many as possible before the rapture. I guess it's naive, but I just assumed that's what everybody would pray for, except maybe the heathen. But, on the other hand God loves justice, so if they do get destroyed I think there will be some pleasure for Him in that :idunno As far as Jonah and the Gourd, I think that God's point was that Jonah knew God had chosen them to get another chance, so Jonah was really mad and sinning against god because Jonah did not want to do the will of God out of hate for his (Jonah's) enemies. Also, when we show no gratefulness for the little things (like shade from a gourd), why should God give us any more of it, or anything else. Especially after God has forgiven us of so much (like all the running Jonah did).


Well, I hope you are right about all of the body of Christ is thinking as we are but unfortunately, I think that is not always true.

I did a study about Jonah several years ago and learned that the army of Ninevah did some very nasty things to Jonah's people and based on what I read - Jonah had ever right to hate them with every fiber of his being.

I just know that each nugget of scriptures is teaming with messages to us - especially in the last days and it just struck me that in many ways we are facing the same situation - with the emergent church and Islam and false teachers, etc. We are righteously angry but at the same time - we need to remember that God still loves them and wants us on board with Him.

I just love the book of Jonah because it shows God's compassion so beautifully both for Jonah and for Ninevah. It is a book that taught me forgiveness more than any other book I have read in the scriptures.

[cminto]

I would be very angry too if I kept getting slapped in the face with all those dead fish :)
(parents understand)

[LaMontre]

I haven't read the other thread as yet, but I did just finish Jonah, and it seems to me that the gourd was a means for God make Jonah understand how God felt about the Ninevites. Seems that Jonah was hard hearted, and selfish man. God had to break him down a little.:

Jon 4:10 Then said the LORD, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not labored, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night:
Jon 4:11 And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?

This could be prophetic of Peter being sent to the Gentiles, and refusing to go. Although I don't see God removing any protection from Peter when he refuses.

As far as the significance to the gentiles, and the church, I don't know, other than the fact that Jesus used this story as an analogy of his resurrection.

If anything, it might have to do with the broken branches from Romans 11 since the gourd was protecting Jonah, and was removed. This happened when the kingdom was taken from the Levitical preisthood, and given to the disciples in Mat 23.

[HeIsEnough]

God loves them too

Always a hard pill to swallow when we think too highly of ourselves. Jonah has many lessons, and that one is as plain as day, yet many believers walk away from that mirror and forget it. A beautiful thing to remember is that once the Lord shows us that detail as only He can, we tend not to forget it.