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.

13. 11. John says, There cometh one after me, the latchets of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose (Mark 1:7; Matthew 3:11).

He is called the Holy One of God (Mark 1:24).

He is called the Bridegroom, and they the sons of the bride chamber (Mark 2:19-20; Luke 5:35).

John shall turn many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God; but He shall go before Him in the power of Elias to make ready a people for the Lord (Luke 1:16-17). He is called the Lord God.

The angel Gabriel to Mary, Thou shalt conceive. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest, of whose kingdom there shall be no end (Luke 1:31-33).

The angel said, The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: wherefore the Holy One that shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God (Luke 1:35).

Mary said, My spirit hath exulted in God my Savior (Luke 1:47).

He is called the Lord God of Israel and the dayspring from on high (Luke 1:68, 78).

The Lord's Christ (Luke 2:26). The Christ of God (Luke 9:20).

He is called the Lord God (Luke 4:12).

He that is not with Me is against Me: and he that gathereth not with Me scattereth abroad (Matthew 12:30; Luke 11:23). Blessed is the King that cometh in the name of the Lord; when He rode upon an ass into Jerusalem (Luke 19:38; John 12:13, 15).

The Son of man sitting on the right hand of the power of God (Luke 22:69).