Rerouted: 30 Days Through the Book of JonahSample

Commit to Compassion

Michelle Martino

Jonah 4:10-11

Lord, how could You allow this person to get away with what they did? Disappointed, I wrestled with God as I navigated an unfair situation. I begged God for my version of justice and fair consequences to play out.

Jonah found himself similarly frustrated when God met the Ninevites with mercy instead of allowing them to suffer consequences for their sin. In today’s reading, God confronted Jonah to question his affections.

In Jonah 4:11, God contrasted Jonah’s care for a withered plant — which had provided him temporary shade — with his lack of compassion for 120,000 people and their cattle. Jonah favored the plant because he had benefited from it. But what about the Ninevites, people created in God’s image (Genesis 1:27)? God challenged Jonah to value their lives and their animals, which He also created.

Describing the Ninevites as people “who did not know their right hand from their left” (Jonah 4:11), God acknowledged their spiritual immaturity. His mercy was rooted in His desire to give them opportunities to repent and know Him. God also asked, "Should not I pity Nineveh?" (Jonah 4:11). The Hebrew word for “pity” here can also mean “to have tears in one’s eyes.” Our loving heavenly Father has immeasurable compassion for all people, even in our sin and brokenness (Psalm 72:13).

But Jonah, distracted by his own desires, missed God’s mission. Despite knowing Scripture and having heard from God, his personal knowledge wasn’t enough. He was called to love as God loves.

We don’t know Jonah’s final response, but we know God invited him to embrace a posture of gratitude and grace, which also encourages us to reflect:

• Do we love our enemies (Matthew 5:44)?
• Do we pray for those who offend us (Luke 6:27-28)?
• Do we extend forgiveness and grace as He has to us (Ephesians 4:32; Matthew 18:21-35)?
• Do we trust Him even when we don’t understand His ways (Isaiah 55:8-9; Romans 11:33)?

When we choose personal comfort over our calling, pride blinds us to God’s love. Like Jonah, we can struggle to surrender. But when we recognize how God has loved us, we are compelled toward compassion for others. In embracing His grace, we flourish in all He calls us to do.