The Tragedy of Missed Opportunities
Jonah 1-4
Introduction
One of the first stories we learn as children is the story of Jonah and the Big Fish. But the story about Jonah that we remember is seldom the whole story.2. Jonah is one of the minor prophets, only 48 verses long. It is not a book about a fish (only mentioned 4 times). It is not a book about a city (mentioned 9 times). It is not a book about a prophet. It is a book about God (mentioned 23 times).
1. Jonah Can Be Summarized in Good and Bad Ideas!
Good Idea: Be A Person God Can Call Upon (1:1-2). Most of what we know about Jonah is not good. God saw something in him that caused him to ask Jonah to take on this missionary task.
Bad Idea: Try running away from God (1:3). We are three verses into this story and we already see the character of Jonah.
Good Idea: Take a Nap When you’re Tired (1:4). Jonah was exhausted from running away from God. He must have been tired because he slept through a violent storm.
Bad Idea: Volunteer to be thrown overboard (1:7-17). Some suggest he understood this to be suicidal request. Instead of death, he was swallowed by giant fish.
Good Idea: When in Belly of Fish, Repent! (2:1-9) People often make decisions to follow God in tough times.
Bad Idea: Get Vomited up on a beach (2:10) No need to explain. Everything came out ok.
Good Idea: Preach Condemnation like you believe it (3:1-4). Jonah preached condemnation and wrath of God with enough energy that they heard and repented. Even their cows were in sack cloth!
Bad Idea: Complain when people repent (3:5-4:3) Jonah was unhappy that they escaped God’s wrath. God sent a vine to give him shade (4:4-8). This is the only moment in the book when Jonah seems happy. God sent a worm to eat up the vine. Jonah doubled down on his right to complain (4:9-11).
God rebuked Jonah and the story ends without resolution. There are many sad things about this unhappy story. Jonah missed out on several excellent opportunities because of his attitudes.
- THE TRAGEDY OF MISSED OPPORTUNITIES -
He Had The Opportunity To Know The Compassionate Heart of God (4:2, 11)
God refers to Ninevah as a ‘great city’ - a place where there were thousands of people he cared about. How we depend on the compassionate heart of God! John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
He Had The OpportunityTo Turn An Entire City to God (3:5-10).
The wickedness of this city cannot be overstated! Ninevah was the capitol of Assyria. The Assyrians were infamous for their cruelty in war. The only sin mentioned about them was violence (3:8). Inscriptions have been found in which Assyrian kings boast of their cruelty. Jonah hated them. We can make a difference when we share the compassion of God with a broken and hurting world! We have to guard against hating people we dislike or who are not like us - Jonah had no care for them … but God wanted to turn them around. The Gospel is Good News that God will turn aside his wrath, forgive us, and save us if we believe Him!
He Had The Opportunity To Prove What God Could Do With One Unworthy Person
If God could turn Ninevah around with a prejudiced, self-centered, reluctant prophet like Jonah, then what can he do through us? Apostle Paul called himself the “chief of sinners” and then said that this was to demonstrate that God could use us even when we are unworthy. We have opportunity not because we are worthy but because God is at work. We might think God couldn’t use us because of our past or our bad ideas … But He Can! Every great thing that has ever been accomplished through the efforts of humans in the Kingdom have been accomplished through imperfect people who had lots of bad ideas in their lives. The only exception was Jesus! Had Jonah embraced this relationship we would be reading a different story today.
He Had The Opportunity To Understand His Own Heart and Life.
What did Jonah learn about himself from this episode? His desperate opposition to God’s will? His utter lack of dependability. His supreme lack of sympathy toward other human souls. His hot temper and violent words? We always need to examine ourselves and be aware of areas where we need to grow.
Conclusion
Jonah made a lot of bad decisions and experienced the tragedy of missed opportunities. There really isn’t anything to admire about him - the lessons of his life spring from the negative aspects. We can fall into those same mistakes as well.
If you haven’t made first steps into the Jesus Life through faith, repentance, and baptism … consider your willingness to to align yourself with God!
Those who have made that step also have to continually examine their lives to grow deeper in our alignment with God’s will.
Pray that we never pass up an opportunity to know the heart of God, turn others to God, let God work through us, understand ourselves, and partner with God! This song is your opportunity!
