Jonah 4:6
And the LORD God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd. And the LORD God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd.
The Lord prepared a gourd and made it come up over Jonah to be a shadow over his head and to deliver him from his grief and distress. This took place after Nineveh was spared, while Jonah sat outside the city waiting to see what would become of it. Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd because of the shade, comfort, and relief it gave him. His gladness was for the easing of his own discomfort.
The gourd was made an object lesson exposing that Jonah cared deeply for the plant that eased and benefited him and was concerned for his own ease, while he lacked compassion for the people of Nineveh whose lives had been spared and lost sight of them. He pitied the plant even though he had not made it grow, while God pitied the people of Nineveh and desired to spare them, a compassion Jonah failed to share. The plant was only a temporary gift, yet he pitied it while failing to care for human lives.
The verse thus illustrates selfish and personally focused sorrow, with Jonah concerned for his own feelings, distress, and humiliation rather than attending to God's mercy toward others. His distress over the outcome parallels the disappointment of those who proclaimed the approaching end, like Elder Morse after the expected event in 1844 did not occur. Even when the expected outcome did not occur, the message still fulfilled God's purpose, and the proper response is to trust God's wisdom and mercy and continue working for the repentance and salvation of others.