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COMMENTARY ON JONAH, CHAPTER FOUR Jonah felt a great distress, and was troubled. He prayed to the Lord, saying, O Lord, were not these my words when I was still in my country? This was the reason I took the step of fleeing to Tarshish, that I knew you are merciful and compassionate, long-suffering, rich in mercy and relenting in the case of evils. Now Lord and Master, take my life from me, because it is better for me to die than to live (vv.1–3). INCE GOD is compassionate (593) to those who avert the effects of wrath by repentance, even when the time had passed for the decreed outcome, and what had been foretold was due to occur and yet none of the expectations had come to pass, the blessed Jonah was extremely distressed . It was not because the city had escaped destruction—the attitude of a wicked and envious man, unbecoming a saint—but because he gave the impression of being a liar and a braggard, idly alarming them, speaking his own mind and not at all what came from the mouth of the Lord, as Scripture says. Some other commentators think that the prophet was distressed for other ineffable reasons, claiming that since he knew that the call went out to the mass from the nations whereas Israel had completely forfeited hope in God, he was very dejected as the fulfillment drew near, and was gloomy, as it were, at the loss of his kith and kin.1 It is he himself, however, who abjures this position, admitting openly that he left for Tarshish (though apprehended after showing reluctance about his mission) on account of the clear realization that the Lord was kind and compassionate, relenting in the case of evils. Since this is what you are like, he says, in fact, why did you idly bid me proclaim overthrow to them? Human173 1. Jer 23.16. 174 CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA ly speaking, he was mean-spirited, insisting that he used those words even in the land of the Jews, and he begged to meet an early death, raising no little protest, as it were, about God’s way of doing things. His attitude was unstable, unworthy of a saintly mind; if no one in his right mind upbraids medical personnel for applying beneficial remedies to wounds, how would it be right for you (594) to criticise the God who knows everything and gives thought to healing for our minds that is fitting and truly useful? After all, he is a healer of spirits, who allays the ferocity of our passions, sometimes with hardship, sometimes with the good effects of his clemency. The Lord replied to Jonah, Are you very distressed? Jonah left the city and sat down opposite the city; he made himself a tent there and sat under it until he saw what was going to happen to the city (vv.4–5). Far from allowing the prophet’s mind to fall victim to depression, he lent vigor to him in his weakness, as it were, kindly but helpfully accusing him of being distressed. In my view, you see, he was suggesting nothing else by his inquiry, Are you very distressed? as if to chastise him both for being distressed and for failing to understand the purpose of the divine judgments. The days had already passed when the threats should have been realized, as I said, and furthermore divine wrath was still not taking effect; so he understands that God had shown mercy, and not everything had gone as he had hoped. He believed that because of their decision to repent they were given a postponement of the disaster , but that the effects of the wrath would occur if they did not display works of repentance commensurate with their sins. After all, why should three days’ effort benefit people who were buried in every form of wrongdoing and guilty of such dreadful sins? It was probably with thoughts like this within him that he left the city, waiting to see (595) what would happen to them. He expected, in fact, that it would perhaps be shaken and collapse , or be burnt to the ground like Sodom. Instead, it was his house that was ruined, the shelter he had built himself. The Lord God gave orders for a pumpkin vine, and it rose above Jonah’s head to give shade over his head to shelter him from his troubles. Jonah was very happy...

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