Let's start today by simply rereading Jonah 3. We need to get sucked back into our story, and there's no easier way to do it, than to just read it (NRSV updated):
3 The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, saying, 2 “Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you.” 3 So Jonah set out and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly large city, a three days’ walk across. 4 Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s walk. And he cried out, “Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” 5 And the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth.
6 When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. 7 Then he had a proclamation made in Nineveh: “By the decree of the king and his nobles: No human or animal, no herd or flock, shall taste anything. They shall not feed, nor shall they drink water. 8 Humans and animals shall be covered with sackcloth, and they shall cry mightily to God. All shall turn from their evil ways and from the violence that is in their hands. 9 Who knows? God may relent and change his mind; he may turn from his fierce anger, so that we do not perish.”
10 When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them, and he did not do it.
This chapter ends with something that maybe shocks us. When Yahweh saw the Assyrians' repentance, He changed his mind. He turned from being angry, to not being not angry. He turned, from planning judgment, and death, to letting them live.
But even though we were maybe surprised God is willing to do this, if you were one of the book's original readers, the shock wouldn't be that God changed his mind. You would know, from your own Israelite history, that God doesn't enjoy bringing evil on people. He prefers to bless; he prefers to show grace and mercy. And God looks for reasons not to judge (Ezekiel 18:23). Or to stop judging (Deuteronomy 30:1-6).
So the fact that God changed his mind about bringing evil wouldn't shock you. That's just good OT theology.
What would shock YOU, is that God changed his mind about Ninevah. You would never have expected the king of Ninevah to repent. Your own people hardly ever repented-- why would Assyria be any better, when they know nothing about Yahweh-- when they don't have the shared history, the promises, the covenant, the Torah? Israel had advantages in every way, and yet so often did nothing with them. What are the odds that idol-worshipping Gentiles would repent, and turn to Yahweh?
So that's how chapter 3 ended. But our story still has this enormous loose thread we would love to see wrapped up.
What is it that we still don't know?
We still don't know why Yonah ran. We've seen God's mercy toward people this entire book when they call upon him and repent. Yahweh was merciful toward the sailors in chapter 1. He was merciful toward Yonah in chapter 2. And we saw last week, that Yahweh was merciful toward the Assyrians in chapter 3.
Why would Yonah run from the Elohim of the heavens, Maker of sea and land, when He has proven to be so
merciful when people cry out to Him?
We are very quickly running out of Jonah to read, so if we are going to get our answer, it's going to have to be here.
Our story continues this week, Jonah chapter 4, verse 1:
(1) And it was displeasing to Yonah a great evil,
and it was hot for him,
When Yahweh changed his mind and actions toward Ninevah, Yonah's immediate reaction is anger. He's furious about this.
Verse 2:
(2) and he prayed to Yahweh,
and he said,
"Please, Yahweh! Was this not my word while being in my homeland?
That is why I first fled to Tarshish,
because I knew that you a God of grace/kindness and compassion,
long of anger and great of loyalty,
and One who Changes the Mind concerning evil,
The author of Jonah kept this hidden from us the entire book, so we find ourselves shocked again. Why did Yonah run? Yonah ran from Yahweh because he knew God. He knew that Yahweh doesn't enjoy bringing evil on people for their disobedience. He knew that Yahweh always looks for reasons not to do this (Ezekiel 18:23). And the last thing Yonah wanted, was for the Assyrians to be saved from the evil.
And so, since Yahweh has done this, Yonah has one last request he makes of Yahweh. And he asks this as nicely as he possibly can. Verse 3:
(3) and so then Yahweh, take, please, my life from me,
because better/good is my death than my life.
Everyone in the Bible understands that your own life, is not yours to take (1 Kings 19:4). Your life belongs to Yahweh. He is the one who gives you breath. He is the one who gives you life. And so you cannot kill yourself, no matter how miserable you are. No matter how badly you want to die. If you want to die, you go to God, and ask him to do this for you.
This where Yonah finds himself. He needs to die. Seeing the Assyrians repent, and God change his mind about the evil he promised, has been total agony for him. He cannot bear this. And so he says, "Please, Yahweh. Take my life, please, from me."
In verse 4, we get Yahweh's response:
(4) And Yahweh said,
"Is it rightfully hot for you?"
Yahweh wants to know, is it right for Yonah to be angry? This heat he's feeling, this anger-- is this right?
The book doesn't tell us Yonah's response. We don't know what Yonah said. So what does that do to us? What is does, is force us to slow down, and answer the question.
What do you think?
Is Yonah rightfully angry? Would it be better if Yahweh didn't show mercy-- if he didn't change his mind about the evil he promised to bring on people?
What do you think? (For real, pause. think about it)
So we don't know Yonah's answer, but we do know what he does next. Verse 5:
(5) and Yonah went out from the city,
and he sat east of the city,
and made for himself there a booth,
and he sat under it in the shade,
until he would see what would happen with the city,
There are times in life when we find ourselves hoping something will work out, against all odds. You know something is nearly impossible, but you tell yourself, this will somehow turn out okay.
Yonah knows that Yahweh has changed his mind about Ninevah. He knows Yahweh isn't going to bring evil down on it. And yet... Who knows? Maybe God will change his mind again, and send fire after all. And so Yonah makes himself comfortable, and just hangs out where he can watch the city.
Verse 6:
(6) and Yahweh Elohim appointed a plant,
and it came up over for Yonah to be a shade over his head,
to save him from his evil,
and Yonah rejoiced over the plant a great rejoicing,
This is not the first time Yahweh "appointed" something in the book of Jonah. The first time was when Yahweh "appointed" the great fish to save Yonah.
So here, when Yahweh appoints a plant, we find ourselves thinking, this is for Yonah's salvation. And it is. We are right.
Yahweh gives this plant to do 2 things: (1) to be a shade over Yonah's head, and (2) to save Yonah from his evil.
Your English Bibles are going to translate the second reason for the plant differently. If you're reading the ESV, it says, "to save him from his discomfort." But there's a little footnote there, and if you follow it down, it says, "or, to save him from his evil."
The Hebrew word for "evil" can be used to describe misery, or disaster, or wickedness. It's a flexible word.
What does it mean, that the plant will save Yonah from his evil?
If we return back to verse 1, this is what we read:
(1) And it was displeasing to Yonah a great evil,
and it was hot for him,
Yonah is absolutely miserable because of Ninevah. And one way to think about the plant, is that Yahweh sends it to relieve his suffering. This is basically how the NIV translates it. And this isn't wrong, by itself. Yahweh sends the plant to relieve Yonah of his suffering. Nothing seems quite so bad, when you are under a shady tree. It's more like he can pout about Ninevah, from the shade, rather than being straight up angry.
But the NIV isn't the whole story. We are supposed to hear a word play here. There is more to this.
When Yonah thinks that Ninevah should be destroyed, after Yahweh has decided to show them mercy, Yonah is showing an evil attitude. He's committing an evil deed. And Yahweh sends the plant, to save Yonah from his evil.
How can a plant save Yonah from his wickedness? That's weird, right?
We will just have to keep reading to get our answer-- but notice how Yonah feels about the plant.
"and Yonah rejoiced over the plant a great rejoicing,"
Yonah is as [greatly] thrilled about the plant, as he was angry about Ninevah.
The story continues, in verse 7:
(7) and the Elohim appointed a worm when dawn came up for the next day,
and it struck the plant,
and it withered,
(8) and then, after the sun rose, Elohim appointed a scorching east wind,
and the sun struck on the head of Yonah,
and he grew faint,
and he asked his soul/life to die,
and he said,
"Better/good is my death than my life."
Chapter 4 began by describing the heat of Yonah's anger. Yonah was HOT about what Yahweh had done. Now, Yahweh brings his own heat. He sends a worm to kill the plant, and takes away the shade. He sends a scorching east wind. And he has the sun absolutely beat down on Yonah.
And when Yahweh does all of this, Yonah finds himself saying, for the second time, "Better is my death than my life." He had rejoiced when he had the plant. Life was good; life was worth living. But without the plant, he's better off dead.
In verse 9, Yahweh uses the plant to try to teach Yonah. He's not ready to kill Yonah. He wants to show Yonah mercy. He wants to use the plant to save Yonah:
(9) And Elohim said to Yonah,
"Is it rightly/goodly hot for you over the plant?
and he said,
"Rightly it is hot for me up to death,"
Without that plant, life is not worth living. So Yonah says, absolutely. It's completely right for me to be angry about that plant. He's not going to back down about this.
Verse 10:
(10) and Yahweh said,
"You had compassion over the plant,
that you did not toil over it,
and you didn't cause it to become great,
which came into being in a night and perished in a night,
(11) And I-- Should I not have compassion over Ninevah the great city,
that there are in it more than 12 myriad people,
who didn't know between their right hand and their left hand,
and many animals?"
If Yonah had compassion on the plant, when he did NOTHING for it, and it lived a single day, how should Yahweh feel about Ninevah? Yahweh is the one who toiled over the city. Yahweh is the one who caused it to become great. Should Yahweh not show compassion on a city he worked so hard over? Do you slave over something, only to destroy it when you're finished?
In verse 11, Yahweh says there are more than 12 myriad people who don't know their right hand from their left.
Probably, Yahweh here is talking about children here (using Deuteronomy 1:39, Isaiah 7:15 as a parallel). The adults of Ninevah had all made their choice-- they knew right from wrong, and had chosen evil. But the children? There were thousands of children, who had yet to make their own choice. Should God not show mercy to more than 12 myriads of children?
And, on top of all of that, should God not show mercy to a city with so many innocent animals?
And that's how the story ends.
The story ends, making US answer the question Yahweh left for Yonah.
So what do you think? Should God give a city a chance to repent, when it's filled with thousands of innocent children, and animals? And when they repent, should God be willing to change his mind about the evil he was going to bring on it?
For real, what do you think?
Did Yahweh do something wrong in showing mercy?
Maybe you find yourself thinking, this is obvious. Why make such a big deal about this?
You know how you're supposed to answer. The book of Jonah has boxed you into a corner. You know that you are thrilled when God gives you time to repent. You are thrilled when God shows you mercy. You are thrilled that God has saved you. Or, at least, you know you're supposed to be thrilled about all this. You know the answer you're supposed to give. And so you're happy to give the Sunday school answer here. Absolutely, it's a good thing that God changes his mind about evil. It's a good thing that he's slow to anger, not wanting anyone to perish.
But what if we consider your lives, instead of your speech? When God looks at your life, what does your life say, about how you feel about God showing mercy to others? How do you feel about God offering salvation to others?
Most of you, if you look at your lives, are perfectly happy about your salvation. You remember what your life used to look like apart from Jesus. You were evil. You lived an evil life. And God took you out of that, and did what for you? He forgave your sins. He gave you freedom from sin. He gave you his Holy Spirit. He brought you into his family. He made you his child. Are you grateful? Absolutely. You thank God for what he did for you.
Most of you, if you look at your lives, are also perfectly happy that God saved everyone else in your church. You're grateful for your friends at church. You're thankful for your pastors. The bottom line is, you like your church. You're grateful for it.
In fact, your lives quite possibly say that you're perfectly happy about the way this church looks. Your lives say, God has saved enough people. He's shown mercy to enough people. And so you are focused, maybe, on just hanging on to what you have. Maybe you think it's time to build a moat around the church, and protect what you have.
I have been a part of churches like this. They play a defensive war. They play a war of comfort. And one day, the people look around as a congregation, and they say, "Oh no! We are all old! And there's hardly anyone left! When did that happen? When did our church become a dying church?"
At that point, if it happens to you, you'll maybe start panicking, and thinking about evangelism. But you aren't reaching out because you value God's mercy. You are reaching out, because you know you can't pay for the pastor and the electricity if you don't. And when you reach out, it's more about filling seats, and the offering plate, than God's mercy.
I've also been in several churches where the pastor, and some of the members, look at the empty seats on a Sunday morning, and they are unhappy about this. They aren't digging a moat. No. They have visions of becoming a megachurch. In these churches, you hear things like this: "Imagine, if we could double the number of people that attend here. Imagine, if we had to go to two or three services, or had to add on the building. Wouldn't that be amazing?" These pastors know, in their hearts, that they are destined for greater things. Their preference would be that this church--your church-- would become big. But they are usually happy to "move up" to a bigger church if opportunity comes knocking.
And so here, again, evangelism is not about God's mercy. It's not about good news. It's about being big. It's about being the greatest church in town. It's about being able to brag about this church. We aren't bragging about God; we are bragging about ourselves (or wanting to).
The reality is, that there are very few Christians who actively, intentionally share the good news about King Jesus to other people. And there are even fewer, that share the good news because they've decided it's a good thing that God gives people time to repent. That it's a good thing that God wants to show mercy and compassion to sinners.
So what's the solution to this? I could try to guilt you about this. I could nag you. I could ask you to write down names of people to share the good news with. But I won't. I reserve the right to do that some other time, absolutely, but this morning, I'm not going to do that.
What I'd like to do, instead, is take a step back, and help you think about why you don't share the good news. Why do your lives say, it's not really a good thing that God has shown mercy to the world. It's not really a good thing that God has given the world a chance to repent.
If we stick to the book of Jonah, I think there's three possible reasons. There are maybe other reasons you don't share the good news. I'm not saying it's only these three. But these are three to think about:
(1) You're like the sailors, or the people of Ninevah. You're not really part of God's people. You're not really a Christian. You've never experienced God's mercy. You've never accepted the good news about Jesus, as good news. So you sit in your pew, and every once in a while, you hear sermons where the teacher ends up talking about evangelism. And you just kind of shrug your shoulders, and wait for me to stop talking. You won't share the good news. And I don't blame you. You haven't accepted it yourself. Maybe you're still trying to decide if it's good news.
(2) You're like Jonah in chapter 1. You don't value God's mercy and salvation. Maybe there was a time in your life when you were genuinely grateful to God, for giving you time to repent. For showing you mercy. But at some point, you got distracted by life, or your work, or your family, or the world, or something. And your faith is a very small part of your life. Your thoughts about God, and what he has done for you, and what he wants, are restricted to Sunday morning.
If you no longer really value the salvation God offers, then it's not good news for you. Why tell people about God's mercy, and blessings, if you don't recognize how amazing they are? Good news is only shared, when you understand that it's good news. And so you aren't at a place in your life, where sharing the good news comes naturally. Not at all.
(3) You're like Jonah in chapter 4. You're happy God saved you. But you don't care about other people, nearly as much as God does. God toils over his creation. He has worked very hard, very painfully, to make this world into what it is. He hasn't given up on it. Instead, He sent his Son Jesus to die for the world, so that people's sins could be forgiven-- so that people could be freed from slavery to sin.
So this is how God views the world. God sees a world filled with evil people. People who live as his enemies. But God longs to show them mercy. God longs to show them salvation. Our God doesn't want anyone to perish.
When you look at the world, you are supposed to see people the same way God does. You are surrounded by people who are living on the clock. Someday, God's judgment will come on them. Someday, this window of opportunity will end for them. God's preference, is to show mercy. God's preference, is to show grace. God loves the world. But God insists that people repent. He insists that people give their allegiance to King Jesus alone.
And so the question, really, is if you feel the same way about people as God does. Do you value people the way God does? Do you care about what happens to them?
For real.
Do you?
So these, I think, are three common reasons why Christians don't share the good news. Maybe, you aren't really a Christian. Maybe, you don't value God's mercy and salvation. Or, maybe, you don't care about people the way God does.
I will leave it up to you, to decide if any of these are true for you. But know this: God genuinely loves the world.
And God loves showing grace and mercy to those who repent, and give their loyalty to him and to his son.
So the book of Jonah is a great story. Truly. But it's also supposed to be unsettling. It should leave you uncomfortable. God wants to show-- not just you, but the entire world-- mercy.
And so there's really only one question I find myself asking, at the end of the book:
Who will be Yonah? Who will tell people about our merciful God?
