In this fourth chapter of the Book of Jonah, (Jonah 4), the prophet Jonah has a strange reaction to his success. He's angry, and sulky. He thinks he knows better than God does. What is this story about?

Rev. George McCurdy, in his exegesis of this chapter, offers a summary in his Study Guide for the Book of Jonah, which is available for free as a .pdf, for your use. Below, we've excerpted part of his summary, and edited it for use in this context.

The people of the Jewish church in Jonah's time didn't want to reconsider their belief in their "most-favored-nation status." They challenged the Lord. They couldn't understand why He wanted to save their enemies in Nineveh.

Despite the hard lessons in chapters 1 and 2, and his success as described in chapter 3, Jonah still thought he knew better than the Lord. He thought that God was being too soft and loving -- too forgiving -- and that He needed to come around to Jonah’s tougher view.

Jonah got so angry and vengeful that he preferred to die rather than approve of the Lord’s way to save the Ninevites. His self-love wanted shade -- protection for its concepts. The Lord needed to bring such thinking to an end; the worm brought about death to the gourd from within. The Lord then sent a vehement east wind, that represents a blowing away of the stagnant thinking of the church.

The Lord's heavenly sun shone upon Jonah, but he felt faint. Here, Jonah's insistence on his own troubling view of things made him uncomfortable with the Lord’s view. The Divine guidance offered him a way to learn to enjoy the success of his neighbors as his own, but he wouldn't take it.

For us, then -- what? This story is telling us that we can't just keep the truths of the Word for ourselves; we have to go to Nineveh and share them. And then, if people start to hear them, and use them to turn their lives around, we can't allow ourselves to get resentful that the Lord accepts their repentance and forgives them. It's a very human reaction; think of the disciples vying to be first in the Lord's command structure (Luke 9:46), or the brother of the prodigal son (Luke 15:28-29), or the workers in the vineyard who had worked all day for a denarius (Matthew 20:10-12). But... it's not a good reaction. The Lord doesn't admire it in Jonah, and doesn't admire it when it crops up in our minds, either.

Rev. Martin Pennington recommends several explanatory passages from Swedenborg's theological writings:

"Shade or shadow means the perception of good and truth lies in obscurity." (Arcana Coelestia 2367)

"A vine is spiritual good (the spiritual church)". (Arcana Coelestia 217)

"A worm represents falsity gnawing away and tormenting one." (Arcana Coelestia 8481)

"'And the sun grew hot' in the contrary sense means self-love and love of the world." (Arcana Coelestia 8487)

And... here's a link to an interesting (audio) sermon on this chapter, by Rev. Todd Beiswenger.

109. To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, signifies that he who receives in the heart shall be filled with the good of love and with heavenly joy therefrom. This is evident from the signification of "overcoming," as being to receive in the heart (of which in what follows); also from the signification of "eating," as being to be appropriated and to be conjoined (See Arcana Coelestia 2187, 2343, 3168, 3813, 5643); and from the signification of "the tree of life," as being the good of love and heavenly joy therefrom (of which also in what follows). "To overcome" is to receive in the heart, because everyone who is to receive spiritual life must fight against evils and falsities which belong to his natural life; and when he overcomes these he receives in the heart the goods and truths which belong to the spiritual life. To receive in the heart is to receive in the will and love, for "heart" in the Word signifies the will and love (See Arcana Coelestia 2930, 3313, 7542, 8910, 9050, 9113, 10336). To receive in the heart, then, is to do these from the will or love; this is what is meant by "overcoming."

[2] "The tree of life" signifies the good of love and heavenly joy therefrom, because "trees" signify such things as are with man in his interiors, which are of his mind [mens] or disposition [animus]; "boughs" and "leaves" signifying those things that are of the knowledges of truth and good, and "fruits" the goods of life themselves. This signification of trees draws its origin from the spiritual world; for in that world trees of every kind are seen, and the trees that are seen correspond to the interiors of the angels and spirits which are of their mind; the most beautiful and fruitful trees to the interiors of those who are in the good of love and thence in wisdom; trees less beautiful and fruitful to those who are in the good of faith; but trees bearing leaves only, and without fruits, to those who are only in the knowledges of truth; and horrible trees, with noxious fruits, to those who are in knowledges and in evil of life. To those, however, who are not in knowledges, and who are in evil of life, no trees appear, but stones and sands instead. These appearances in the spiritual world really flow from correspondence, for the interiors of the minds of those there are by such effigies presented actually before their eyes. (These things may be better seen from two chapters in the work on Heaven and Hell; first, where the Correspondence of Heaven with all things of Earth is treated of, n. 103-115; and the other, where Representatives and Appearances in Heaven are treated of, n. 170-176, and in what follows there, n 177-190.)

[3] It is from this that "trees" are so often mentioned in the Word, and by them are signified the things with men that belong to their minds; and from this it is also that in the first chapters of Genesis: two trees are said to have been placed in the garden of Eden, one called "the tree of life," and the other "the tree of knowledge." "The tree of life" there signifies the good of love to the Lord, and heavenly joy therefrom, which were with those who were then of the church, and who are meant by the "man" and his "wife;" and by "the tree of knowledge" is signified the delight of knowledges apart from any other use than to be accounted learned and to acquire repute for erudition solely for the sake of honor or gain. "The tree of life" also signifies heavenly joy, because the good of love to the Lord, which is specifically signified by that tree, has heavenly joy in it (See in the work on Heaven and Hell 395-414, and in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 230-239).

[4] That "trees," which are so often mentioned in the Word, signify the interiors of man which belong to his mind and disposition, and the things that are on trees, as leaves and fruit, signify such things as are from these interiors, can be seen from the following passages:

I will give in the desert the cedar, the shittah tree, ¹ and the myrtle, and the oil tree; I will set in the wilderness the fir tree, the pine, and the box tree (Isaiah 41:19).

The establishment of the church is there treated of:

The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine, and the box tree together, to deck the place of My sanctuary (Isaiah 60:13).

All the trees of the field shall know that I, Jehovah, humble the high tree, exalt the low tree, dry up the green tree, and make the dry tree to bud (Ezekiel 17:24).

Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour the green tree in thee, and every dry tree (Ezekiel 20:47).

The vine is withered, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, all the trees of the field are withered: joy is withered away from the sons of men (Joel 1:12).

When the angel sounded, there followed hail and fire, which fell upon the earth; and the third part of the trees was burnt up (Revelation 8:7).

Beltshasar ² saw in a dream a tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was great. The leaves thereof were fair, and the flowers many, and in it was food for all (Daniel 4:10-12).

(Because "trees" in general signify such things as are with man and constitute the interiors of his mind, and so also the spiritual things that are of the church; and because both are of various kinds, therefore there are so many kinds of trees mentioned, each signifying something different. What the various kinds signify is shown in the Arcana Coelestia, as what is signified by the "oil tree," n. Arcana Coelestia 9277, 10261; what by the "cedar," n. 9472, 9486, 9528, 9715, 10178; what by the "vine," n. 1069, 5113, 6375, 6378, 9277; what by the "fig," n. 217, 4231, 5113, etc.)

[5] Moreover, the things that are on trees, as leaves and fruit, signify such things as are with man; "leaves," the truths with him, and "fruits," the goods, as in the following passages:

He shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and shall spread out his roots by the river; his leaf shall be green; neither shall he cease from yielding fruit (Jeremiah 17:8).

By the river flowing out from the house of God, upon the bank on this side and on that, ascendeth the tree of food, whose leaf falleth not off, nor is its fruit consumed; it is renewed in its months, because its waters issue out of the sanctuary, whence its fruit is for food, and its leaf for medicine (Ezekiel 47:12).

In the midst of the street and of the river (flowing out from the throne of God and of the Lamb), on this side and on that, was the tree of life, bearing twelve fruits, yielding its fruit every month, and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations (Revelation 22:1, 2).

Blessed is the man whose delight is in the law; he shall be like a tree planted by the streams of waters, that bringeth forth its fruit in its time, whose leaf also doth not wither (Psalms 1:3).

Be not afraid, for the tree shall bear fruit, the fig tree and the vine shall yield their strength (Joel 2:22).

The trees of Jehovah are satisfied, the cedars of Lebanon which He hath planted (Psalms 104:16).

Praise Jehovah, ye fruit trees, and all cedars (Psalms 148:7, 9).

[6] Because "fruits" signified the goods of life with man, therefore it was commanded in the Israelitish church, which was a representative church, that the fruits of trees, like men themselves, should be circumcised, concerning which it is thus written:

The fruit of the tree serving for food in the land of Canaan shall be uncircumcised; three years shall they be uncircumcised. But in the fourth year all the fruit thereof shall be holy, praises to Jehovah. And in the fifth year shall ye eat [of the fruit thereof] (Leviticus 19:23-25).

Because the "fruits of the tree" signified the goods of life, it was also commanded:

That in the feast of tabernacles they should take the fruits of the tree of honor, and the boughs, and be glad before Jehovah, and thus should keep the feast (Leviticus 23:40, 41).

For by "tabernacles" were signified the goods of heavenly love, and holy worship therefrom (See Arcana Coelestia 414, 1102, 2145, 2152, 3312, 4391, 10545); and by the "feast of tabernacles" was signified the implantation of that good or love (n. 9296). Because "fruits" signified the goods of love which are goods of life:

It was amongst the blessings that the tree of the field should give its fruit, and among the curses that it should not bear fruit (Leviticus 26:4, 20).

So also it was a command that when any city was besieged:

They should not lay the axe to any tree of good fruit (Deuteronomy 20:19, 20).

From all this it can be seen that "fruits" signify the goods of love, or what is the same, the goods of life, which are also called "works," as likewise in these passages in the Evangelists:

The axe lieth unto the root of the tree; every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit shall be hewn down and cast into the fire (Matthew 3:10; 7:16-21).

Either make the tree good and the fruit good, or else make the tree corrupt and the fruit corrupt; for the tree is known by its fruit (Matthew 12:33; Luke 6:43, 44).

Every branch that beareth not fruit shall be taken away; but every branch that beareth fruit shall be pruned, that it may bring forth more fruit (John 15:2-8).

A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came seeking fruit thereon, but found none. And he saith unto the vine dresser, Behold, for three years I come seeking fruit from the fig tree, and find none; cut it down; why should it make the ground unfruitful? (Luke 13:6-9).

Jesus saw a fig tree by the way; He came to it, and found nothing thereon but leaves only; and He said, Nevermore from thee shall there be fruit. And immediately the fig tree withered away (Matthew 21:19; Mark 11:13, 14, 20).

The "fig tree" signifies the natural man and its interiors, and "fruits" signify his goods (Arcana Coelestia 217, 4231, 5113); but "leaves" signify knowledges (Arcana Coelestia 885). From this it is clear what is signified by the fig tree's withering away because the Lord found on it leaves only and no fruit. All these passages are cited that it may be known what is signified by the "tree of life in the midst of the paradise of God," namely, the good of love proceeding from the Lord, and heavenly joy therefrom.

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