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John 4:2. Are these not my words, even the verbs, that still exist on my earth? For this reason, first flee to Tarshish. I knew this, I saw that You showed great patience to Israel. For You are merciful and generous, long-suffering and abundantly merciful, and repent of evil. That’s why I gave myself up to flight, then, betrayed by the storm and the whale, I begged You to bring me back to life again, but now I ask the opposite. John 4:3. Master Lord, take my soul from me, so that I may die rather than live. I prefer death to life in shame; I am ashamed and embarrassed because so many people call me a liar. But the good Lord answers and says to the Prophet: John 4:4. Are you very sad? Symmachus translated this more clearly; for he said: “Are you rightly saddened?” and the other translators said: “Have you done well to be sad?” That is: consider within yourself, do you have fair reasons for despondency? Here God commands the Prophet to seek consolation in sorrow from within his reason; and at the end of the prophecy, both his unreasonable grief exposes him and shows the fundamental reason for his determination. John 4:5. Having left the city, Jonah sat down straight from the hail, and made himself a tabernacle, and sat under it in the canopy until he saw that there would be hail. It was before, and the Prophet placed it after. For having spoken about the repentance of the Ninevites, he decided in connection with this to speak both about God’s love for mankind and about his own sorrow that resulted from this. And here he talks about what happened during all this, namely, that after his sermon he left the city, and, having erected a tabernacle, waited for the prophecy to be fulfilled. And this clearly happened before his sorrow; because, upon fulfilling the appointed days, seeing that the city had suffered nothing, he offered his sorrowful prayer to God. However, God also prepares another consolation for him, and brings him consolation with some kind of pumpkin, which, by the will of God, immediately emerged from the ground, grew, spread its branches widely, and gave itself a shadow. John 4:6. And the Lord God commanded the pumpkin. It is not the voice of God that is signified by this, but it is shown that what pleased God became, and the plant appeared. So he said above: “God commanded the whale” (Jon. 2:1), saying that this happened not by voice, but by the command of God; because the Prophet calls the will a command. So blessed Jonah received joy instead of sorrow. But God did something later: before the morning, some worm damaged the root of the pumpkin, and when the sun rose, it withered. And after that, the rays of the sun began to hit the Prophet’s head stronger than usual. John 4:8. And God commanded the burning heat of the wind, and strike the sun on the head of Jonah. The Prophet again became cowardly and expressed a desire to die rather than live. But He who cares for the sinners and Provides for the righteous again asked the Prophet: is he really extremely sad about the pumpkin? When the Prophet admitted this and said that he preferred death to this sorrow; God says to him: I leave it to you to be the judge. Therefore, consider whether it is right for you to grieve over a pumpkin that you did not work at all on, because you did not plant or water it; in the morning it grew, and the next day it became the prey of a worm and the heat of the sun, and I cannot show mercy to such a city when it came into being from Me? John 4:11. And there live in it as many as twelve people, who did not know their right hand, below their own hands, and how many of them were killed? Therefore, having considered this, marvel at the love of mankind, for which there are good reasons. What was said: “not knowing your right hand lower than your hand,” others accepted as an expression of the simplicity of the Ninevites; but it seems to me that this means that among the inhabitants there are many of them. The very purpose of what God has spoken leads us to this thought. Even if, God says, we should not have accepted the repentance of sinners, then we should at least have had some pity for so many thousands of people who, due to their youth, do not yet know what the right hand is and what the left hand is? And besides this, there were countless livestock in the city, which were not subject to any punishment for sins. Therefore, God added a word both about cattle and about immature age; because neither one nor the other was subject to legal punishment for sins. This is the end of the prophecy. And we will glorify our good Master, Who, not even though the sinner dies, “but turns to him and lives” (Ezek. 18:23), sometimes allows holy men to grieve, and against their desire shows mercy to others. So, when the great Elijah withheld the rain, God became like a kind of intercessor before the slave, saying: “Go, and appear to Achaab, and I will give rain on the face of the earth” (1 Kings 18:1). Therefore, taking advantage of such benevolence, let us show in ourselves a disposition corresponding to good deeds, and we will live according to His divine laws in order to reap their good and desired fruits, by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. With Him glory to the Father with the Holy Spirit, now and always and unto ages of ages! Amen.