Jonah ran away from God's call because of his unforgiveness toward the Ninevites, who were brutal enemies of the Israelites. The Lord sent a large fish and a little worm to teach Jonah a lesson. The worm may have been more successful than the whale. In the midst of God's jokes, He leaves us with the question: "Is our unwillingness to evangelize rooted in unforgiveness?"

Key word    UNFORGIVENESS
 
Key verse    "This is why I fled at first to Tarshish. I knew that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger, rich in clemency, loathe to punish." —4:2
 
Command verse    "Jonah began his journey through the city, and had gone but a single day's walk announcing, 'Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed,' when the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast and all of them, great and small, put on sackcloth." —3:4-5
 
Promise verse    "Then the Lord said: 'You are concerned over the plant which cost you no labor and which you did not raise; it came up in one night and in one night it perished. And should I not be concerned over Nineveh, the great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons?' " —4:10-11
 
Difficult verse    "But the Lord sent a large fish, that swallowed Jonah; and he remained in the belly of the fish three days and three nights." —2:1
 
Surprise verse    "But the next morning at dawn God sent a worm which attacked the plant, so that it withered." —4:7
 
Prayer: Father, may I repent of unforgiveness before I run away from You and refuse to tell others that I love You.