Jonah and A Vine, a Worm, and a Scorching East Wind
Introduction: Let me begin by telling you a story about a little girl that pretty well sums what I’m talking about here. A little girl was reading on an airplane when the man beside her noticed her storybook, entitled, "Jonah and the Whale." The man asked if the little girl believed the story. So, after saying hello, he asked her to tell him about her book. She said the book was about Jonah, and how he was swallowed by a whale. The man said, "You don’t really believe that do you?" The little girl replied, "Yes, I believe the story of Jonah is true." "You mean you really believe that a man can be swallowed by a whale, stay inside him for three days, & then come out of there alive?" The child said, "This story is in the Bible & we studied it in Sunday School today!" Then the man asked, "How can you prove that the story about Jonah is true?" She thought for a moment, and then said, "When I get to Heaven I’ll ask Jonah." The man smiled, proud of his superiority & asked, "What will you do if Jonah’s not in heaven?" The girl thought for a moment then replied, "Well, if he’s not in heaven, you ask him!"
(Tim Richards- sermoncentral)
This morning we turn to the book of Jonah. Its amazing how many lessons can be pulled from such small books of the Bible. We will have to come back to some of the others at a later time. But one thing we all know about Jonah, if you have any type of Bible knowledge at all, or perhaps even if you don't, is that when we hear the name of Jonah we straightaway think of what? . . .
A whale. It is almost a synonym for his name, even though his name means “a dove,” you would think it means whale for as much as we associate the two. As Thomas Carlyle said “The problem is we spend our time wondering what's going on inside of the whale, rather than wondering what is going on inside of Jonah.”
Background: Jonah had many faults but He was a true prophet of God. He was called to rebuke and warn Ninevah (Israel's cruelest enemy at the time) that destruction was coming, but instead of obeying the LORD, Jonah ran to Joppa got on a boat headed to Tarshish, because He didn't want those 'idolaters' to be saved. His attitude was - “let them be destroyed, and let their sins carry them to hell they deserve it!” Jonah had the same spirit of the Pharisees and the older brother in the parable of the prodigal son; who grumbled when his younger brother received grace and the Pharisees grumbled when Jesus ate with the publicans and sinners. Jonah grumbled that the heathen would receive God's mercy and be forgiven. Jonah was a hard man. A man with a hide of a rhinoceros and a backbone of steel but what he had in integrity he lacked in compassion. The LORD sent a great storm where the sailors knew Jonah was running from God (1:10) and Jonah knowing his fault told them to throw him overboard, which they did then God sent a great fish (not a whale) to swallow him and Jonah was in the fish 3 days and 3 nights (Jesus refers to this Matthew 12:40) Jonah changes his attitude. It seems spending 72 hours in the slimy heat of a fish's belly apparently will do that. Jonah then repents and the great fish spat him out on dry land and the LORD tells Jonah who is now eager to obey the Lord to warn Ninevah and he warns the city: “Forty more days and Ninevah will be overturned.” They believe and repent and God saw that they repented and Jonah 3:10 says “When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened.”
Now you would think that Jonah, after all he had been through, would be happy that their lives, just like his own, was spared and that God used his warning to bring them to that happy place of repentance. But in the following verse we read “But Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry. He prayed to the LORD “O LORD, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee 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.” Jonah 4:1-2
Jonah was a selfish and foolish man. Many men who are called into the ministry will run from the call to preach because they don't see any good being done by it, but Jonah ran because He knew good WOULD be done by it. Jonah was a very strange prophet. What kind of prophet would dread the success of his own ministry? Yet Jonah did. He complained to God “I knew you were going to do this! I just knew that if I warned the Ninevites of destruction. They would repent and because you are so gracious and loving and forgiving, you would turn from your anger and forgive them all!” Can you imagine a preacher telling God “God I don't want to preach the gospel, because I know that you are just going to forgive them, and save them, and bless them, and answer their prayers . . . and I don't want to be a part of that!” How can someone begrudge someone for being kind and nice to other people? Jonah pours out words of praise as if they were evil. “You know God you are just a pushover, you're just too nice. Let the Ninevites get what they deserve!” Strange, Jonah didn't mind receiving mercy but He didn't want the Ninevites to receive it. Not only is this selfish, but ungrateful and disrespectful.
He was very remorseful when he was in the belly of the great fish but once he was on the comfort of land he was very spiteful. Before we judge Jonah too harshly, how often are God's children quick to beg for help in desperate times and then forget him once those times have passed? How often do we feel we are entitled to kindness and don't think we should be kind to those we deem not worthy of it?
Jonah was so upset that Ninevah would receive mercy because that meant He would be proven to be a false prophet and his credibility ruined. He was thinking of his credibility and not the lives of hundreds of thousands. He couldn't have that, so he says in verse 3 “Now, O LORD, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.”
Then in verse 4 we read “But the LORD replied, “Have you any right to be angry?” The King James says “doest thou well to be angry?” But I think the New American Standard says it best “Do you have a good reason to be angry?” This shows the kind of patience God has, he could have killed him at once – like Ananias and Sapphira but he just leaves it for Jonah to consider and think about.
Transition: While Jonah goes out of the city where he has a good view of it, He makes a shelter and waits to see what will happen to Ninevah. What we read next are three provisions that God makes for Jonah while he waits, and each one has it's own lesson.
I. God Provided a Vine for Jonah's Consolation
“Then the LORD God provided a vine and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the vine.” v. 6
Jonah sat outside the city waiting and hoping to see if God would change his mind and destroy the city. Yet, in the middle of Jonah's anger and frustration, God graciously provides a gourd vine with broad leaves to grow up over his crude shelter which apparently didn't have much shade, to keep him warm during the cool of night and cool during the heat of the day. God is generous and compassionate to us even when we least deserve it. God cares even when his servants are angry with him, angry with his decisions, and angry with their fellow man.
God provided some comfort for Jonah and the NIV says Jonah was very happy about the vine. The King James renders it exceeding glad. It comes from the Hebrew word vai-yis-mach, which means 'rejoice' or 'be glad'. The New Living Translation misses the meaning entirely saying he was “very grateful.” No he was not grateful. Which is part of the lesson we should learn here. He was very happy but he was not very grateful. No where do we read that he was grateful to God for the comfort he received. Exceedingly glad does not mean exceedingly grateful. He was extremely happy with the Vine; maybe he thought this was a sign that God was going vindicate his prophecy of destruction, but he was not extremely grateful to God for the vine he provided.
Jonah pivots from greatly displeased to greatly happy. Those who are easily angered are also easily pleased. Like a child who screams because he doesn't like the shirt his mother put on him, but suddenly begins laughing once she hands him a toy. Jonah was volatile in his passions. He would fly off the handle one minute and tell God to kill him and then jump for joy because of a gourd vine gave him some comfort.
We should be happy about our comforts because they are comforting, but we should be more happy with the one who gave us our comforts. We can't make our comforts our God. We must be careful not to take too much pleasure in our creature comforts as if that is all there is to live for. There is more to life and more to living than mere comforts. This is the day that the LORD has made - lets rejoice and be glad in it. In its peace, its grace, its pardon, its mercy, its righteousness, and in its salvation!
Transition: God provided Jonah a vine for his consolation, and in the next verse we read how God provided a worm for his irritation
II. God Provided a Worm for Jonah's Irritation
“But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the vine so that it withered.” v. 7
Its funny how such a small things can be so irritating and cause us so much discontentment. It doesn't take much to cause our creature comforts to wither. God can use the small things as well as the big things to try our patience and teach us lessons, whether its a small worm or a great fish, both can be used to accomplish God's purposes. Lice and flies were as much a plague to Pharaoh, as was the three days of darkness and the death of their first born. But they all had a part in leading the Hebrews out of Egypt. God makes a vine for our shade and then he makes a worm to cause it to wither. The God who gave also took away and Jonah should have praised God in both, yet, he praised him in neither. We should be comforted in the fact that when our comforts are gone that the Lord himself will never leave us nor forsake us. Sometimes I wonder if this isn't the core reason for many irritations to remind us of how small they are and who it is that is really the most important in our life.
We can major so much in the minors that we miss what's really important. Some people think there is no worm that can ever eat into their comforts, but trust me, God can and will provide one. Some may think they will live in ease for the foreseeable future like the man who built bigger barns to store all of his crops and thought he could eat, drink, and be merry. But God said to that man “You fool tonight you will die and who will own everything you've stored away?” All you worked so hard to keep will go to someone else, and what good was all your labor. It better to consider God and others than ourselves, that is what God will judge us by. Jonah, first thinks only of his own credibility, “how is this going to effect me?” and now he gets angry because his comfort is gone. Jonah considered only himself and that is a poor quality for a man called to do the work of God.
Jonah should see how irrational he is being about a vine and how his joy was misplaced from the outset. He was exceedingly happy with a vine and is exceedingly irritated now that its died and yet a whole city is spared and he is no compassion for them.
Transition: His irritation was going to become tribulation. God provided the vine for his consolation, and the worm for his irritation and now a scorching east wind for his tribulation.
III. God Provided a Scorching East Wind for Jonah's Tribulation
“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.” v. 8
If the footmen weary you what twill the horses do? Jonah was angry that Ninevah was spared, he was angry that the vine that gave him shade withered up and now a scorching Hot wind is blowing on him from the east. A proverb says “a wind from the east is neither good for man or beast.” That seems to be the case here for Jonah. The gourd vine that once protected his head from the heat of the sun is shriveled up and now a scorching east wind is blowing against his shelter and against him. This is adding injury to insult. It seems that once one trial is over, here comes another one. They seem to piggy back on top of each other. One trouble rides in on top of another. You may see one hornet but you know there is a nest somewhere nearby. I remember I had a car wreck and then I had a seizure in the hospital and as soon as I got out of the hospital I had a panic attack. We joke about how tribulations seem to come in threes. I don't know about the number but its true that tribulation often come in waves, one huge wave hits the shore but the fury of the storm isn't over, here comes another crashing down and then another devastates what little was left. And we pray “Who could possibly bear this? Why does this have to happen to me?”
We sometimes say “I thought when I got out from this trial I would get into a more comfortable place. The truth is that the only comfortable place is in Heaven. There is no paradise on earth – there is no sandy beaches that don't have hurricanes, torrential rains or scorching Hot winds. You can only enjoy the comfort of the vine for a moment before something small like a worm or great like a hot wind can take it away. Strange how such little things can trouble us, and bother us, and annoy us and irritate us and then when a true trial comes, we may beg for the days of that irritation to return. It will seem so small in comparison to the tribulation of the moment.
If you are like Jonah, who has no reason to complain, but desires to complain don't be angry with God when He give you the desire of your heart and provides you something to complain about, not because he is ruthless and cruel but because we are arrogant and ungrateful and need to learn something through our trials. You heard me say Wednesday that without resistance there is no strength. Trials make us stronger. What I mean is, trials make the sanctified believer stronger. “All things work together for the good THAT LOVE the Lord and are CALLED according to his purpose.”
But if a hard man is unwilling to submit to God, then Trials themselves may make some men even worse than they were before. You can have a thousand trials and never learn, or grow, or be any better because of them. Know this, there is NOT ONE trial that we go through that doesn't have a purpose. The best thing to do is to ask God what we should learn from it. The answer however, doesn't usually come quickly, it is months if not years later that we can reflect on how it worked out for our benefit and for God's glory. Some things may even remain a mystery until we see the LORD himself. Sometimes we suffer double trouble so that we can be doubly used or doubly blessed. Job had twice as much after his trials than he had before them. And after the incredible blessing of surpassingly great revelations, Paul's thorn kept him humble. It all had a purpose for their benefit and God's glory but some people are too impatient or selfish to learn these lessons.
In verse 9: “But God said to Jonah, “Do you have a right to be angry about the vine?' “I do,” he said. “I am angry enough to die”
Twice God asks Jonah if he had a good reason to be angry and twice we read that Jonah said he was angry enough to die. Jonah was called to be used by God to save a city, he himself was saved from a storm, and then saved from the belly of a great fish, and temporarily saved from the discomfort from the heat of the sun but now he complains about the death of a vine.
Where are his priorities? Where is his heart? When asked if he had a right to be angry he said “I do.” The well known Christian apologist, Ravi Zecharias said that the English mitigates Jonah's response. In the original Hebrew, Jonah said it with an expletive: when God asked if he had a right to be angry, He said “Yes. Damned angry!” This is a prophet? Speaking to God? Stubborn men must be dealt with stubbornly! People with a hard nature must learn the hard way! Diamond cuts diamond and Iron sharpens iron so God's purpose may be accomplished. Who knows what mysterious ways God will use to correct and teach you. We should ask ourselves do we have a good reason to be angry? To be angry so often? To be angry for so long? To be angry for the good of others? To be angry at such a small things? To be angry at the slightest discomfort? We read God's last word in the last two verses of this book:
“But the LORD said, “you have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up over night and died over night. But Nineveh has more than 120,000 people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?” Jonah 4:10,11
Many scholars believe that the “120,000 people” not knowing their right hand from their left is a reference to children under two years old. We see God cares for the children. In almost every way, they are the best among us. Their innocence, their potential, their humility etc. God may spare America for the sake of the children. He even cares for the cattle. He cares for all of his creation, including the Ninevites and God is trying to get Jonah to learn this. It is our hope that he did.
Conclusion: But lets consider the fact that Jonah is the author of his own book. He is reflecting back with anointed honesty and Holy Ghost inspiration. Surely he writes this with some conviction and embarrassment.
I listen to the testimony of those in Teen challenge who step forward and tell amazing yet embarrassing stories of what they did before their born again experience. But they can laugh about it, like Ebeneezer Scrooge could laugh about his former stubborn and hard-hearted ways before the three ghosts of Christmas set him straight. I hear a testimony of those who once loved to live in revelry, violence, drugs, and drunkenness and they can reflect back on it with a smile, not as a person that misses those days but as a person who sees what a fool they were then and are not too proud to laugh about it now. Those who forgive little, love little.
It's our hope as it is with the prodigal's older brother that once the father pleaded with him and explained why it is good to be happy and rejoice when a lost person is found and when the repentant receive mercy, that Jonah did exactly that.
