Jonah chapter 4: 1-11. Lessons in love.
I recently watched documentary on the internet it we Louis theorux and he was spending some time with a Christian family from Texas who had formed a Church called Westboro Baptist church and part of their evangelistic strategy was to travel around America going to the funerals of war veterans all over the USA and stand with placards saying “Thank God for dead soldiers’ othe placards said God hates America others which said ‘God hates fags.’
What shocked me about it all was that there wasn’t one ounce of grace and love towards sinners in their message their was no opportunity for repentance it was a message without mercy, it offered no hope to sinners what so ever.
Now whether the TV production crew edited in such away as to depict them like this eccentric fringe group I don’t know?
But it reminds me very much of the heart of Jonah at this time as a nationalistic Jewish prophet for him God of Israel and not the world. There was nothing wrong in his preaching he obeyed God 3:3 It was a tough message 3:4 but one which caused a positive response 3:5. And God would show His immense compassion upon the city v10
Jonah like the family from Westbro Baptist Church didn’t want a positive response, he went to Nineveh 40 days and this place will be overturned....... It was all bad news from the lips of Jonah, he wanted judgement upon his enemies. And so it’s here in the heart response of Jonah we see a number of deep rooted problems, which Jonah needs to rectify and learn some lessons in love. And if were honest with ourselves we may need to also....
1. We need to work in partnership with God. 1-3
Jonah wasn’t always working together with God, he was a reluctant prophet who was singing from a different hymn sheet to God. After all God had said go to Nineveh – Jonah headed in the opposite direction for Tarshish.
Jonah actions remind me of the old Laurel and Hardy films where so often Oliver is doing one thing and Hardy the exact opposite as a result disaster strikes.
Laurel and Hardy films 1932 The Piano where they try to get a piano up a huge flight of steps after spending a whole afternoon trying to get it up the steps, once in the house they unpack the crate and begin to tidy up with Hardy placing the wood on one side of the room whilst Laurel picking Hardy’s pile and placing it on the other counteracting each other. You see it all the time in their films.
What God wanted and what Jonah wanted for the people of Nineveh were two different things. Just picture it over 120,000 people have just come to the Lord 4:11 and yet 4:1 He was greatly displeased and became angry v3 and wants to die because of what’s taken place.
I can’t ever imagine Billy Graham or DL Moody after one of their crusades when hundreds no doubt received Christ or when Whitfield / Wesley who were involved in field preaching saw great numbers coming to Christ actually were displeased, angry or wanted to die... Wouldn’t they be rejoicing in the Lord? So what’s the problem?
Jonah’s prejudices: Like the Westbro BC in Kansas Jonah has little love for others who weren’t like him , he even resented the very nature of God v2.
Ex 34:6 The Lord the Lord the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.
He knew God’s character but he couldn’t accept it v3-4 . A city he had hoped had gone up in smoke would turn in repentance to God. His heart was not in tune with the character of God. He needed to learn the vital lesson that shouldn’t God love the whole world as well as Jonah and Isreal?
If we are to reach out in partnership with him we too need get rid of all our self righteousness and prejudices we might have towards others, which will prevent us from reaching out in a God like way.
The greatest commandment taught Israel was to Deut 6:4 love God and to love their neighbour as they love themselves Lev 19:18 But to Jonah his neighbour didn’t exist outside of Israel.Jonah wasn’t willing to love his neighbour as God had intended he was full of prejudices which we see in the NT with Jesus.
Do you Luke 10::25- 29 Remember the expert of the law wanted to justify himself “ Who is my neighbour” The good Samaritan story The one who had mercy he couldn’t even bring himself to say Samaritan .
2 We need to forgive others like God forgives v1- 4.
God’s question v4 Have you any right to be angry?
Is a question poised at us as well? I wonder could there be hurt pain bitterness anger in our own heart about certain types of people: Maybe because of the colour of their skin - their status – their profession – their background – their habits – their criminal record – what they’ve done or said, maybe individuals in our own Church even our enemies can we resent them and hold prejudices. Gods compassion and mercy is towards them as well you know?
If were honest we can all put our hands up here. ....It’s no good holding onto prejudices because they will eat away at you and cause you to live an unproductive life for God a life that will grieve the Holy Spirit Eph 4:29 -32.
Jonah’s prejudices surfaced with anger v1 to the point he wanted to die , he was miserable
As Paul Decker said “Jonah had gone A.W.O.L once before, but this time he had gone Angry Without Love.”
We have seen that God would demonstrate compassion and forgive the Ninevites as they responded to the preaching of Jonah. Yet Jonah might have been in partnership with God in the body that he was carrying out Gods will but is spirit wasn’t in partnership with God at all , unlike God he wasn’t prepared to totally forgive his enemies. As he went up onto the hill ,he wanted Nineveh to go up in smoke.. .. He wasn’t prepared to forgive his enemies v5.
Do you have prejudices? Do you have bitterness or anger in your heart? Are there people who have said and done things to you which have hurt you? Is it always going round your mind? It’s taken away you joy in the Lord? Don’t hold onto it you need to let go of it otherwise it will rip your Christian walk apart.
Total forgiveness: Jesus calls us to pray for forgiveness not only for ourselves but for those who have sinned against us Matt:6: 12, 14-15 and to do it daily. It will release you, you can be a Christian here today but still holding onto anger – bitterness – have unforgiving spirit about something or someone over years and you need to be released from it. Total forgiveness is the key. Rather than forgive, we become like Jonah, we take the place of God ourselves and we judge Mat 7:1 Do not judge or you to will be judged. God will judge ultimately, it is God’s prerogative and not ours. We are called to forgive as we have been forgiven by God.
Jesus CALLS EACH ONE OF US to forgive others , to love others, to pray for others, for those we love and for those who have hurt us and pray for their blessing.
No greater example is of the one greater than Jonah our Lord upon the cross, who forgave his murders and sought God’s blessing upon them. Luke 23:34 “Father forgive them,” do not hold this sin against them” ... Isn’t Jesus here practising what he preached Matt 5:44 “ But I tell you love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” And so should we if we are to learn valuable lessons in love.
Evangelist D.L. Moody, the ‘Billy Graham’ of the nineteenth century, had a sharp temper that he learned to control-usually. One evening moody was conducting two- evangelistic services back-to-back. After the first service, as Mr. Moody was standing near the door welcoming the new crowd, a man approached him and delivered a highly offensive insult of some sort. Moody never told what the insult was, but it must have been contemplative, for in a sudden fit of anger, Moody shoved the man and sent him tumbling down a short flight of stairs. The man was not badly harmed, but Moody’s friends wondered how the evangelist could now possibly preach at the second service.” When I saw Moody give way to his temper,” said one observer, I said to myself, ‘The meeting is killed.’ The large number who have seen the whole thing will hardly be in condition to be influenced by anything more Mr. Moody can say tonight.”
But Moody stood up, called the meeting to order, and with a trembling voice spoke these words: “Friends , before beginning tonight I want to confess that I yielded to my temper, out in the hall, and have done wrong. Just as I was coming in here tonight, I lost my temper with a man, and I want to confess my wrong before you all, and if that man is present here whom I thrust away from me in anger, I want to ask his forgiveness and God’s. Let us pray.” Instead of being a lost cause, the meeting seemed unusually touched that night, with many people deeply and eternally impressed with the Gospel” (Getting Anger Under Control 81,82).
A spirit of forgiveness amongst us is vital if we are to work in partnership with God Matt 6: 12, 14-15. Seek Gods’ forgiveness forgive those who sin against you, be released by forgiving others of their sins against you and be released of your own internal sins by confessing it all before God in a place of solitude 1Jhn 1:9 – As we let go of our judgemental attitudes and prejudices towards others as we daily forgive one another and ourselves we will be liberated and blessed in our partnership with God and other will be too.
But For this take place in our lives God may well give you some object lessons in life to bring you round to his way of thinking and acting and that might well be painful.
3. God poignant object lessons in life. V5-11
Firstly this section is a flashback because we all ready know that God is going to spare Nineveh from v1-4.
This period is from the preaching in Nineveh and the after the 40 day period when Jonah heard from God that Nineveh will be spared. This particular section is filled with objects lessons for Jonah because he has a immature spirit - he has got the backbone - but he fails in his heart responses towards God and others the lessons come in the shape of a vine, the worm and the scorching wind
CH Spurgeon wrote “ Jonah here is like a little child going back to kindergarten school where the child like spirit of Jonah had to go. He needed to be taught by object lessons. ” Treasury of the Old Testament 624
In the 21st century many people live out their lives devoid of God as though God isn’t there but we must learn to understand that without God there is no life , there is history without God. God is the author of life as the apostle Paul said in Areopagus in Athens Acts:17:28 For in Him we live and have our being. God is sovereign and in control we don’t depend as God’s people on lady luck or blind chance but draw strength in knowing that God is behind it all Rom 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him.
In everything God is preparing us : Everything that takes place in our lives Good and bad is for a purpose, there are object lessons: God is here with us ... In all Jonah’s circumstances his running away the storm – His surrender - the fish to vomit out of the deep and here through the - the vine – the worm – the wind God was behind it all. Do you look at your Christian life as something separate on a Sunday (the ministry) and then the others six days as separate, well think again because God is ministering 7 days a week in all your situations.
A Christian should never look at your life as though God has just left you to your own devices instead God is behind it nothing happens with Gods permission nothing .. Our whole should rather be looked as object lessons to make you more God like they are called object lessons in love.
Consider the life of Joseph to son of Jacob, rejected by his brothers thrown into a pit sold into slavery Sold again to Potiphar, yet accused of rape, thrown into Jail by false accusations, In prison he interprets dreams, yet is not pulled out when asked and is forgotten until remembered by the cup bearer when Pharaoh has a dream, become the 2nd highest authority in Egypt as he interprets the dream makes provison with storing food, His brothers visit as a result of a famine : and a family is reunited and Joseph through his experiences and his brothers begin to grow into the men of God he wants..
Gen 50:15- 20 Joseph saw God’s purpose not only that did you notice His brother thought that Joseph might bear a grudge, when Jacob had died because of what they did v15 look at Josephs response 19 -21 Am I in the place of God you intended to harm me but God intended it for good
2 a) God is in our comforts v6 God provided a vine
Here we see that God provides a vine for Jonah’s comfort even when Jonah was not right with God and yet the goodness of God is evident to him. God could see he was in discomfort and God provides a vine to grow up and cover Jonah.
We are so apt to be hard about such a person who bring their discomfort upon themselves if truth be known we might say “He’s made his bed let him lie in it” You could say that about Jonah going up on the hill to sulk and wait for the judgement of God. His heart wasn’t right with God.
Yet God still cares even though his heart isn’t in tune with God. God provides that comfort in the form of a vine... This tells me that there is so much we need to be thankful to God for in our daily lives- that even when we are not walking in step with God and we bring things upon ourselves... God is still tender with us and brings those things into our lives which are a comfort and help .It might be a job opening, a healing, a listening ear, a praying friend, a companion to share our life with. Are we thankful in our comforts?
2 b) God is in our sorrows v7 God provided a worm
But God also provides a worm to eat the vine this tells us that God is in our sorrows, losses and bereavements .... God was teaching Jonah a valuable life lesson through it all and at times God will us our losses to teach us some valuable lessons about ourselves and God.
2c). God is in our trials v8 God provided a scorching east wind
God brought all this upon Jonah not the devil, to teach Jonah a valuable lesson that we all need to be more like Him.
3. God is preparing us through our experiences to be more like Him. V9 -11.
The object lesson with the concern of the vine is put in contrast with Gods concern for the 120,000 people in Nineveh. Shouldnt God care about these people?
Sometimes God will put us through unusual experiences so that we might better understand him and also better know ourselves. Through our experiences with one another in our families in our communities, God is at work, He is changing us:
like a Potter with a lump of marred clay moulding us and shaping us on the wheel of life, so that the purpose of the potter may be accomplished, moulded and kilned and finished so that once lump of dirty clay has finally become the finished article fit for the master potters use.
God wants his people to be useful to be more Christ like, not to be those absorbed in their own self interest or self pity but to learn through the comforts the bereavements and trials that come our way so that we might be more able to assist others in their losses and trials
God desires his people to become like Him moved with compassion in this world, to experience His heart beat for this world: For God so loved the World that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life Jhn 3:16.
He paid the highest price: He gave himself for others, to the point of death upon a cross, He went through our hell and it was for those who rejected Him those who despised Him and yet He was moved with compassion. Jonah needed to learn and we too do to be less absorbed with ourselves but be absorbed with the love of God for this world.
Maybe you’re not Christian this morning yet your angry with God because of your circumstances in your life right now and you feel that life is pointless and you have been dealt a duff card. You need to see it from Gods perspective the God who is in everything the God of life – the God of history. Is the very God is in your troubles don’t hand it over to blind chance, don’t hand it over to the devil. God permits even his folly and brings good out of it. The experiences you are going through will ultimately be for your good if you yield your life to Him. God didn’t love Jonah any less than the Ninevites and He doesn’t love you any less either. He loves You too!
I wonder are you prepared to stop quarrelling with God? Because LETS FACE IT nothing good comes from quarrels. Come to Him End the debate close the book, clinch the deal . Surrender your life to Him in the midst of your circumstances receive total forgiveness. Because it was signed sealed and delivered by his blood upon the cross . Let the Spirit of God come into your life and sanctify you in your troubles.
These are today’s lessons in love, lets embrace all that we need to learn with a submissive and willing spirit. God Bless Aubrey Vaughan.
