Jonah 4

But the Lord said, "You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left - and also many animals?

Jonah 4:10-11

I remember this passage being one of the most complex to read. It's because at first i couldn't understand what the point was for God to grow that plant, and have that worm eat it, etc etc....basically Jonah's PO'ed at God's compassion at these people. he tells Him, that's the reason he didn't want to go in the first place, because they were so stubborn and sinful who ran away from God, but the fact that God was having mercy on them just bugged Jonah. he's so angry to the point where he tells God to just kill him.

but to show Jonah where God's coming from, God takes away the plant that was giving Jonah the shade. Jonah gets angry at the plant for dying, and complains to God again, but this time, God explains in the passage above. Jonah is to compare his anger at something that he never cared for to God's anger at His people whom He created and loved.

it was a simple illustration for Jonah and even for us today, that God's anger and love and compassion is a million times greater than our own.