A Gourd, A Worm, An East Wind

JONAH 4:6-8 “A GOURD, A WORM, AN EAST WIND”

A) A little fellow sit listening to his Sunday School teacher talk about Jonah

being swallowed by the whale.

* She asked, “Can anyone tell me the lesson behind Jonah being swallowed?”

* The little fellow raised his hand and said, “You can’t keep a good man down.”

B) Sounds good, but the problem is that Jonah is not being very good in

Chapter 4.

* In Jonah 1:1-3, it all started when he bought a ticket to Tarshish, the opposite

way that God told him to go.

* If you have a ticket to [your] Tarshish, you better get rid of it now.

C) He found out that the Lord has a way to break a person.

* Jonah’s life was filled with several twists and turns after hearing the call to go

to Nineveh.

* Initially making the decision to flee from God, Jonah soon discovered such an

endeavor was impossible.

D) His rebellion wasn’t fatal, but it certainly was difficult and horrifying.

* Following three days and nights within the belly of the great fish, the Lord

spoke to the whale, and it vomited Jonah out on the dry ground.

* No doubt, this got his attention, and he wisely decided to make his way to

Nineveh in obedience to the Lord.

E) Unsure of how the people would respond .......

* Jonah was surely surprised at their reaction to his message of repentance

in the face of impending judgment.

F) Hearing such a warning, the people of Nineveh, including the king,

repented of their sin and turned to God.

* It would appear that Jonah could have returned home with joy and satisfaction,

praising the Lord for his grace and mercy, but he didn’t.

G) However, Jonah’s story doesn’t end there.

* Rather than being thankful for all God had done, Jonah becomes angry and

pouts about the results of his preaching in Nineveh.

* He wasn’t concerned for the people in Nineveh, and he was quite upset they

had responded favorably toward the Lord.

H) Chapter 3 finishes open ended ... We find Jonah pouting about the events

in Nineveh, facing a stinging rebuke from the Lord.

* At times we respond in obedience to the Lord’s will, but we aren’t always pleased

with what He is doing in our lives or the lives of others.

* We need to guard against an attitude like Jonah’s.

I) He went to Nineveh and preached, but he was angry all the time – v.1.

* As a matter of fact, he is mad about everything, especially mad that a whole city

had repented and God did not deal with them harshly as He said He would.

WHO WAS JONAH SO ANGRY WITH AND WHY?

A) He was hopping mad at God because God didn’t kill the people of Nineveh.

* Jonah tells the Lord that this is what he knew would happen – This is why he ran

away in the first place.

* What you see here is a man throwing a first-class pity party.

B) Jonah didn’t get his way and he wants God to know that he is upset.

* His hurt and anger is so deep that he even attempts to take it out on the Lord.

* We maybe aren’t as bold, and may not actually speak like this to God, but I am

sure, we all have had similar thoughts and emotions.

C) Sometimes we too get angry when God reacts in a way that we hoped He

wouldn’t, or chooses to move in a way we thought should be different.

* Just in case you didn’t know it, your arms are too short to box with God.

* Just because He doesn’t order life like we think it should be ordered, we had

better be careful when we decide to line up against God.

D) Nobody likes life and what it brings all the time .......

* But those who love the Lord the deepest are those who remember that God

always knows best and He always does what’s best for His children.

* There are a few reasons as to why Jonah was so mad:

E) One: A mark of a true prophet was that his prophecies always came

true – And if they didn’t, the prophet would die – Deut. 18:20-22.

* Jonah had said that the Ninevites would be overthrown – Jonah 3:4.

* If this did not happen, then Jonah would be looked upon as a false prophet.

F) Two: Jonah hated the people of Nineveh.

* Nothing would have pleased him more than seeing them all destroyed by God.

G) It appears Jonah was still hopeful their repentance wouldn’t last and that

God would eventually bring judgment.