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.
* He sat there, stewing in his bitterness, angry that judgment had not yet fallen
on Nineveh.
AND THREE: JONAH WANTED GOD TO KILL HIM
A) Because he didn’t get his way and because he had to endure embarrassment,
he wanted to give up on life itself.
* After Jonah is confronted about his anger, he doesn’t change his mind.
B) Instead, he climbs a hill outside the city, builds a hut, folds his arms and
sits down to wait – He is probably hoping the Lord will change His mind.
* Jonah doesn’t get his way about Nineveh and he doesn’t get his way about dying
so he just starts to pout.
C) There are lots of people just like Jonah in the church.
* For some reason life has not gone as they had it planned – Their response is not
humble submission to the will of the Lord – No ... They just quit on Him.
D) It doesn’t say much for your love for Him .......
* Or for your devotion to His will when your disappointments translate into
disobedience and desertion on your part.
* I promise you that if you decide to go to war with God over His will, He is going
to win that battle every time ... Now let’s get into my message .......
E) God uses 3 object lessons to teach this prophet some things.
* 5 times in the book Jonah it tells us that God prepared something.
* 1. A storm in 1:4 ... 2. A great fish in 1:17 ... And the three things listed in
Chapter 4:6-8 ... A gourd, a worm, and an east wind – Let’s look at them.
(1) THE GOURD – v.6
A) God Responds In Tenderness Toward The Prophet – He extended grace
to Jonah, even when his heart was obviously not right with God.
* The Lord graciously allowed a vine to grow over the prophet’s hut that produced
a gourd to give him shelter and comfort.
B) Isn’t it a blessing to know that even when we walk outside the will of the
Lord, the Lord will still look after us and bless us?
* How many times has He continued to bless and use you even when you were out
of His will?
* Thank God for His grace – Rom. 5:20 “But where sin abounded, grace did much
more abound:”
C) God prepared the gourd to comfort him – God is the God of all comfort.
* Jonah didn’t deserve it ... We don’t deserve anything He has done for us either.
* We don’t deserve health, wealth, spouse, children, church, etc. – We have them.
* It was exactly what he needed, and it came at the right time.
(2) THE WORM – v.7
A) God Responds By Teaching About Priorities.
* Just as Jonah was beginning to enjoy the vine and the gourd, God sent a worm
to destroy the vine – And Jonah gets even angrier.
B) This time, God sets the record straight.
* He reminds Jonah that Jonah cared more about a vine than he did the souls of
the people of Nineveh.
* People made in the image of God and people who would have perished had He
not intervened. (Every time I read this I get under conviction – Why?)
C) Because I see the same attitude in my life all the time.
* We tend to get upset about things that simply don’t matter.
* Think about the last thing that made you mad – You got it?
D) Now, ask yourself this question: What will it matter in 1-2 years?
* Friends, the only thing that really matters as we pass through this life is finding
God’s will for ourselves and walking in it with all our strength and power.
E) People are going to hell and we are worrying about vines or comforts.
* Our priorities need to be refocused and narrowed until they want only what He
wants in all of life.
F) That would please Him, and it would get His work done in the world.
* Eph. 6:5-6 “Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to
the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ;
Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will
of God from the heart;”
* Heb. 13:21 “[God] Make you perfect in every good work to do his will,”
DO YOU SEE THE PURPOSE OF THE WORM?
A) The worm took away the comfort.
* Not one time did Jonah thank God for the Gourd ... We better thank him.
* A worm is a small thing, but it will take away our comfort.
B) Worms can be seen or unseen but still eat away at your comfort.
* God prepared the worm then sent the worm to devour the vine and the gourd.
* God is in the middle of our losses and we ought to praise Him for giving us what
He did and for the time we had it.
C) A man was in charge and tended a large rose garden and handled each
one with care.
* One morning he went to check on his roses and one of his prized roses had
been cut – He grew furious.
* He demanded of all the workers to own up to who cut his prized rose ... One spoke
up and said, “The master came and cut and took it.”
D) Makes all the difference when the master takes our comfort.
* Don’t curse the worm, God sends it in our lives for our own good.
(3) AN EAST WIND – v.8
A) The word vehement means powerful, strong, hard.
* A terrible tragedy or trouble may come your way.
* The gourd had to go, and the wind had to come.
B) v.9 “And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well? ... The answer was NO.
* God was teaching Jonah a great lesson – Look at v.10-11 .......
C) Don’t get upset over what was taken or didn’t turn out like you thought
it should.
* Thank God for the gourd and the time you had it.
* God is still in control and hasn’t forgotten you.
CLOSE:
A) Let me ask, what has your attention this morning?
* Jonah didn’t care about the eternal destiny of the people on Nineveh.
* All he cared about was his reputation as a prophet and the foolish prejudices he
carried with him through life.
B) He learned, or at least we hope he did, that God’s will in this world is all
that really matters.
* Isn’t it time we put aside all the things that cloud our vision of His will?
* Isn’t it time we put aside our hurts, our desires, and our wills so that we might
be better able to do His will in the world?
C) Jonah suffered because he didn’t care about God’s will.
* What do you care about today?
* If anything is more important to you than doing the will of God, then I invite
you to leave your “booth” and come to Him in humble obedience.
