The Mississippi enterprise. (Jackson, Miss.) 1938-current, 1959-09-12

to destroy Nineveh, but to
warn the city in order that it
would repent and be saved.
Then said the Lord, Doest thou
we'll TO be angry"
Is there good reason for
being angry, and are you &C.
complishing anything thereby?
$50 Jonah went out of the city.
| and sal on the east side of the
city, and there made him a
booth, and sat under il in the
SHADOW. til he night see what
i would become OF the city
Stii; hopeful that the pagan
Gentiles OF NineveE would D.
destroyed, Jonah removed him
self frorl their midst where he
could observe what would take
piace and he At 2 safe distance
should anything destructive
take place. F'of protection
from the sun Jonah made him
self & boot: to sit under while
he watched to see what would
become of the city Of Nineveh.
GOD REPROVES JONAH
OF SELFISH PRIDE:
and the Lord God prepared
q gourd, and made it to come
up over Jonah, that it might
be a shadow over his head, to
deliver him from his grief. So
Jonah was exceeding glad of
the gourd" To add to the
shade already provided by the
booth Jonah had made, the
Lord caused a gourd, kind OF
vine, to come up and grow over
the booth. The leaves of the
vine provided satisfying shade
from the terrific heat of the
Assyrian sun, and this pleased
Jonah no little. But God pre-
pared a worm when the morn
ing rose the netx day, and it
Smote the gourd that it Wither-
ed' God had made both
the vine and the worm to serve
specific purpose which up to
this point remained hidden to
Jonah. There is no permanent
peace or comfort to be enjoy
ed under the circumstances
which Jonah was then living,
for he was angry at the mercy
of the Lord and anxious to
see a while city of people de-
strOyed. "And it came to pass
when the sun did arise, that
God prepared vehement east
wind; and the sun beat upon
the head of Jonah. that he
tainted and wished in himself
to die, and said it. 1t is better
for me to die than to live
Jonah suffered a heat stroke
during this time and gain wish
ed death upon himself. Moth
ing he had done or tried to do
turned out well for him. And
God said to Jonah, Doest thou
well to be angry for the
gourd? And he said, | do we'll
to be angry, even unto death"
The destruction of the
vine and the heat stroke we're
the last straw with Jonah, he
wished himself out of world
where sinners can escape de-
struction by repenting, and the
prophet is made to suffer the
consequences of going unto
them with Gods word. Jonah
preferred a world of retribu-
ton and destruction to one of
mercy and forgiveness.
'Then said the Lord, Thou
hast had pity on the gourd,
for the which thou hast not
laboured, neither madest it
grow; which came up in a
night, and persisted in a
night" 1t was true that
Jonah had done nothing to
cause the gourd to exist, but
his main interest in ana con-
Germ for the gourd was because
it served his purpose. And
should not | spare Nineveh,
that great city, wherein are
more than six-score thousand
persons that cannot discern
between their right hand and
left hand; and also much cat
tlev Jonah was more con-
cerned about one plant than
he thought God should be over
a hundred and twenty thou
sand human souls.
PRACTICAL POINTS ON
THE LESSON:
Jonah ministers to Nineveh
with success. On the second
command to Jonah he went