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.

82. REPENTANCE.

1. Do repentance and be baptized (Acts of the Apostles 2:38).

Do repentance and be converted that your sins may be blotted out for you (Acts of the Apostles 3:19).

To give repentance to Israel and the remission of sins (Acts of the Apostles 5:31).

Paul said to the Athenians that God commanded all men everywhere to repent (Acts of the Apostles 17:30).

That those who have once earnestly repented and tasted of the heavenly gift, etc., and then fall away again, cannot again be renewed unto repentance (Hebrews 6:4-8).

Various things about repentance (Revelation 2:5, 16, 22; 3:3, 19).

Except ye repent ye shall all perish (Luke 13:3, 5).

The joy of the angels over one that repents (Luke 15:7, 10): and of the lost son who repented (verses 11 to the end).

From the Prophets

That worship and prayer are vanity unless they purify themselves from evils, and what they are when purified (Isaiah 1:11-20).

Is not this the fast? to loose the bands of wickedness? Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: thy justice shall go before thee; the glory of Jehovah shall gather thee. Thy light shall rise in darkness, and thy thick darkness be as noonday. Jehovah shall lead thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, so that thou shalt be as a watered garden, and as a spring of waters. And thou shalt delight thyself in Jehovah (Isaiah 58:6, 10-11, 14).