Plant, Worm, Wind: God Appoints the Lesson

Jonah waits outside the city hoping to see what will happen. God “prepares” or appoints a plant for shade, then a worm, then a scorching east wind. The same verb used for the great fish links all four appointments. Where this fits in the story: creation functions as God’s teaching instrument. Jonah experiences extreme joy over the plant and extreme misery when it disappears, preparing the final comparison between compassion for a short-lived plant and compassion for a city full of life.