Ask Questions

11. How did Jehovah effectively use questions when counseling Jonah?

¹¹ When Jehovah was speaking to Jonah about his unreasonable anger, you may have noticed that He also asked questions. When Jonah, angry that Nineveh had not been destroyed, asked to die, Jehovah said: “Have you rightly become hot with anger?” Jonah did not answer. Hence, Jehovah allowed the bottle-gourd plant to grow and then die. Then Jonah was doubly upset. So Jehovah asked him: “Have you rightly become hot with anger over the bottle-gourd plant?” This time Jonah did answer: “I have rightly become hot with anger, to the point of death.” Now that the prophet had answered Jehovah, He went on to compare Jonah’s attitude toward a mere plant with His own attitude toward Nineveh, asking the clinching question: “Ought I not to feel sorry for Nineveh?” (Jonah 4:4, 9, 11) Thus Jonah was counseled to imitate Jehovah’s attitude toward the repentant Ninevites.

When Jonah was angry because Jehovah had spared the repentant Ninevites, God gave him a bottle-gourd plant for shade. Then, when the plant withered and Jonah complained, Jehovah said: “You, for your part, felt sorry for the bottle-gourd plant . . . Ought I not to feel sorry for Nineveh the great city, in which there exist more than one hundred and twenty thousand men?” (Jonah 4:5-11) Powerful counsel indeed!