Jonah 4:10

Compassion (Heb. hus, concern [NIV], be sorry for [NEB], pity [RSV, RV]) is the key attitude. Jonah had become completely indifferent to the fate of the Ninevites. He knew His God well (Jonah 4:2). Nevertheless his appreciation for God’s love for Israel had evidently so pervaded his life that it crowded out any compassion for these people who lacked knowledge of and relationship with Yahweh. Furthermore, Jonah had announced that Israel’s borders would expand under King Jeroboam II (2 Kings 14:25). To reveal his lack of compassion to him God dealt with him as any ordinary person. He exposed him to the pleasures and discomforts that everyone faces and made him see that his theology made him no more compassionate than anyone else. It should have. Knowledge of a sovereign, compassionate God whom He feared should have made Jonah more submissive to God’s will, more compassionate toward other people, and more respectful of God.