Jonah 3:10-“When God saw what they did and how they
turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the
destruction he had threatened.”
Jonah 4:1-11 “But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he
became angry. He prayed to the Lord, “Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was
still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew
that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in
love, a God who relents from sending calamity. Now, Lord, take away my life,
for it is better for me to die than to live.” But the Lord replied, “Is it
right for you to be angry?” Jonah had gone out and sat down at a place east of
the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what
would happen to the city. Then the Lord God provided a leafy plant and made it
grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah
was very happy about the plant. But at dawn the next day God provided a worm,
which chewed the plant so that it withered. 8 When the sun rose, God provided a
scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint.
He wanted to die, and said, “It would be better for me to die than to live.”
But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?” “It
is,” he said. “And I’m so angry I wish I were dead.” 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?”
What an amazing story! Here’s a prophet of God who has been
instrumental in the greatest revival known to mankind- a whole city turned on 5
word- 40 days and Nineveh will be no more. Imagine this happening to you! You’d
be ecstatic! And here we see that in the
midst of this great spiritual outpouring, there is a prophet of God, responds
with anger. What an anticlimax!
We see the mystery of why Jonah ran away. He says, I knew
you are a gracious God and merciful, abounding in steadfast love. He knew God
would not destroy them if they repented. He is so disappointed that he asks God
three times to kill him. But God did not take his life. God loved the
ninevites, but also Jonah.
Jonah went out of the city and made a tent for himself. He
still wanted to see what would happen to the city. We see God’s mercy and kindness. He made a plant grow up and give Jonah
some comfort. Jonah is exceedingly glad about this plant. When dawn came up
the next day, the plant withered. There was
a scotching east wind and he was faint. Jonah has the refrain, kill me.
Jonah was sent in the midst of a dangerous people and he
proclaimed the word of the Lord and he was successful. But he was more
concerned with his self-interest than the heart of God. He was not happy for
the salvation of those who are enemies of Jews.
Exodus 34:6- “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and
gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness” When God
delivered the Israelites from Egypt, and Moses went away to the top of the
mount Sinai, the Israelites had made idols and God wanted to kill them. So
Moses pleaded with God and he relents. Then Moses remarks this. God is gracious to the weak humanity,
merciful to the guilty, slow to anger in the face of grevious sin, abounding in
love to the unlovely and relating from disaster to the one who repents. That is
our wonderful God.
Jonah was entrusted with the very words of God that could transform
cities. In the midst of that revival he was concerned about his own comfort.
Who would Jonah remind us of today? The church!
We can be people who are so happy we’re saved. But do we have the heart of God for God
out there? We were like that at one time and the mercy of God drew us to
repentance. Like Jonah who was so concerned about his own comfort, it can become
our preoccupation.
Titus 1:2-3 “in the hope of eternal life, which God, who
does not lie, promised before the beginning of time, 3 and which now at his
appointed season he has brought to light through the preaching entrusted to me
by the command of God our Savior,”
You and I have been entrusted with the word of God.
1 cor 1:21- God
chooses to save poepel through the foolishness of what has been preached. When we
proclaim the word, there is power to transform individuals and save cities. Are
we concerned more with the plant than the people? A church can get so
preoccupied with meeting the needs of the people. we are here for the lost.
2 Cor 5:11- “Since, then, we know what it is to fear
the Lord, we try to persuade others.” Verse 18- “All this is from God, who
reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of
reconciliation”
Imagine the church is like a ship- what kind of ship would
it be? A cruiseship where you have all
the comforts of the world? Or a warship? A warship is where are on amission
where we roll up our sleeves and get to work because we are on a mission.
Daniel 12:3- “Those
who are wise[a] will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who
lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.”
Matthew 12:30- ““Whoever is not with me is against me, and
whoever does not gather with me scatters.” There is no neutral. If we do
not gather, it is like being in the river, where if you don’t paddle in the
opposite direction, you are scattering, going away in with the river.
If we are not fishers of men, how closely are we following Jesus?
We see who God is in this story
God is sovereign. He
is in control of the fish, the plant, the worm to eat the plant, the sun to
shine and wind to blow. Let’s proclaim the gospel boldly because he’s in
control of everything in the world. We need to seek the kingdom. seeking the
kingdom is also about using out time and talents to reach the lost.
Have we become
complacent or do we have the heart of God for people? Let’s engage the world
around us!
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