Contradiction with Proverbs 11:17
Jonah 4:10 highlights God's compassion and concern for a plant, while Proverbs 11:17 emphasizes that merciful individuals do good to their own souls, suggesting a focus on personal beneficence rather than external compassion for objects.
Proverbs 11:17: The merciful man doeth good to his own soul: but [he that is] cruel troubleth his own flesh.
Contradiction with Ecclesiastes 3:1
Jonah 4:10 shows God's immediate response to Jonah's situation, whereas Ecclesiastes 3:1 mentions that everything has its time, implying a more measured, less impulsive divine intervention.
Ecclesiastes 3:1: To every [thing there is] a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
Contradiction with Matthew 5:45
Jonah 4:10 reflects God's specific care for a plant related to Jonah, while Matthew 5:45 teaches that God makes the sun rise and rain fall on both the just and the unjust, suggesting indiscriminate divine provision contrary to particular favoritism.
Matthew 5:45: That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
Contradiction with 1 John 3:17
Jonah 4:10 indicates a divine concern for a plant, whereas 1 John 3:17 questions how God's love can dwell in those who see their brother in need and show no pity, stressing human-focused compassion over concern for non-human entities.
1 John 3:17: But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels [of compassion] from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?
Paradox #1
The contradiction or conflict in Jonah 4:10 could be seen in the way Jonah cares more about a plant than about people. God points out Jonah's inconsistency in being upset over the loss of the plant, which he did not cultivate, while not caring about the fate of an entire city. This highlights the human tendency to be more concerned with personal comfort than with the well-being of others.