Week 35: A Worm and a battle of wits!

 

The Lord sent a worm (Jonah 4:7 CEV).

Eh?  Come again!

If the verse had read “the Lord sent a leviathan”, that would be a wee-bit more credible; but a worm?

Sounds ludicrous, doesn’t it?

சீச்சி, போயும் போயும்  ஒரு புழு

Talking about worms reminds me of another verse Psalm 22:6 wherein David seems to be in terrible depression: “But I am a worm, and no man”

But I don’t think that line of thinking is germane, not even Frenché. We will move on.

The Lord doesn’t employ a sledge-hammer to swat a fly. Let’s read the narrative (Jonah 4 CEV) for greater understanding:

⁶ The Lord made a vine grow up to shade Jonah’s head and protect him from the sun. Jonah was very happy to have the vine, ⁷ but early the next morning the Lord sent a worm to chew on the vine, and the vine dried up. ⁸ During the day the Lord sent a scorching wind, and the sun beat down on Jonah’s head, making him feel faint. Jonah was ready to die, and he shouted, “I wish I were dead!”

Actually, you have to read chapters 4 & 3 kind of “SDRAWKCAB” to get a handle on the runaway prophet’s shenanigans.

Jonah was ready to die

why

he felt faint

why

the sun beat down on Jonah’s head

how

the Lord sent a scorching wind

after

the vine dried up

how

the worm chewed on the vine

so sad, especially because

Jonah was very happy to have the vine

who made it

 The Lord made a vine grow up to shade Jonah’s head and protect him from the sun

where

At the shelter where Jonah sat outside the city

why did he do that

Jonah was really upset and angry and waited to see what would happen to Nineveh.

why was he upset

The Lord had pity and did not destroy Nineveh as he had planned

why did the Lord have pity

 God saw that the people had stopped doing evil things and was concerned about them

then what was Jonah’s rant about

You (God) are a kind and merciful God, and you are very patient. You always show love, and you don’t like to punish anyone.

isn’t that good, just like God

True. But it belied Jonah’s prophecy of death and damnation. So he lamented “Our Lord, I knew from the very beginning that you wouldn’t destroy Nineveh. That’s why I left my own country and headed for Spain”.

A pathetic attempt at justifying his original sin.

With the sun beating down on his roofless head, Jonah’s proximate anger seems to have shifted from his disappointment at the non-destruction of Nineveh to the vine that withered away. He seems to be completely nescient about the worm and its destructive act. He was only mindful of what became of the vine.

Let’s return again to the object lesson.

⁹ But the Lord asked, “Jonah, do you have the right to be angry about the vine?”

“Yes, I do,” he answered, “and I’m angry enough to die.”

¹⁰ But the Lord said:

You are concerned about a vine that you did not plant or take care of, a vine that grew up in one night and died the next. ¹¹ In that city of Nineveh there are more than 120,000 people who cannot tell right from wrong, and many cattle are also there. Don’t you think I should be concerned about that big city?

Actually we can draw a line here, and call it “finito”: the only such ending with a question mark in the Bible. Yes, the story is really about God’s abundant compassion.

But there is one curious thing that wouldn’t have escaped your eyes: the king of Nineveh’s ruling regarding cattle. Recall reading in Chapter 3: 7 -8 . None of you or your animals may eat or drink a thing. Each of you must wear sackcloth, and you must even put sackcloth on your animals.

Personally I find this difficult to fathom. What evil did the cattle commit? Then again, is it only about heads of cattle or also domestic pets. Imagine me calling Cocoa our cat, giving her a burlap drape and turning off her supply of food and water.

“Me (ow)” me no understand!