Jonah 4
What makes you angry? Do you get angry very easily? Anger is such an important emotion but it is also a very revealing emotion. It tells us something is wrong – the problem is it does not tell us if the thing which is wrong is outside or inside us. We get angry because something is not right. Anger has this deep spiritual and moral part to it. When we get angry we know it is something important to us. The problem with anger is we cannot tell easily if what we are angry about is not right with us or with someone else. We usually begin by assuming that what is wrong is wrong with someone else, outside of ourselves. But if we take the time to track the anger carefully we usually come to the conclusion that the wrong is actually within us – wrong information, wrong understanding or an underdeveloped heart. In this last chapter of Jonah we encounter Jonah in a fit of anger and I believe in this final chapter we come to the kernel of all our relationships with God this morning. Turn with me to Jonah 4.
You know the story to date – Jonah is called by God to go to Nineveh and preach that in 40 days God would bring judgment upon the people for wickedness and evil. Jonah instead heads for Tarshish because Nineveh was not the place he wanted to serve God. The Lord God causes a fierce storm to arise and the boat is almost lost. The sailors throw Jonah into the sea, the sea is calmed and just when it appears that Jonah is about to drown the Lord God sends a large fish to swallow him up and for three days Jonah languishes in the depths of the fish in the depths of the sea. On the third day, the resurrection day, he is vomited back on to dry land and he obeys the Lord God and goes to Nineveh. He journeys into the heart of the city and preaches that in 40 days time there will be a visitation of the Lord God. The people, of all strata of society, repent of their wickedness and evil and God relents on the coming judgment and punishment. Now we encounter Jonah.
Verses 1-3 Jonah’s Anger
You know if Jonah was a child you would have told him to stop sulking and to act his age. Look at verse 1 – Jonah is angry at the conversion of the people of Nineveh. How strange? He had been obedient to God in preaching to the Ninevites but he was angry that they had repented of their wicked ways and God had shown mercy to them. He was obedient outwardly but in his heart he was hoping that the Ninevites would not repent and that God would destroy them. His outward actions were betrayed his heart. How revealing verses 2 and 3 are. Isn’t it startling that Jonah can pray such a prayer to God? You know theologically his prayer is 100% correct. God is slow to anger and he is a compassionate God. God does show mercy and relent from bringing judgment upon those who repent of their sins and turn to him for forgiveness. Jonah is 100% correct in every part of that prayer but look at what comes before and after this section of his prayer.
Before – his attitude has not changed. He may have geographically obeyed but his heart is still in the land of disobedience. Can you identify with that? Jonah was physically in Nineveh but spiritually he was in Tarshish. Outwardly he was obedient but inwardly he was rebelling. Like the little boy who is ordered to stand by his teacher and he does but he tells her ‘in my heart I am still seated.’ Jonah, Jonah how could this be? How could someone bring God’s message of forgiveness to a people and then be angry when the people accept it? The truth is Jonah hated the Ninevites and his understanding of God, whilst theologically correct, was tainted by his nationalistic attitude. Jonah wanted God to only be the God of the Israelites.
After- Jonah wanted to die rather than admit that God was right and he was wrong. What a stubborn prophet. Jonah displays here his self-pride, his anger and his petulance. He really is the little boy who says: ‘if you don’t play my way I am going home!’ You know if it wasn’t so serious it would be comical – Jonah throwing a tantrum before God and sulking off out of the city.
But before we dismiss this and think to ourselves we would never get ourselves into such a position. Ask yourself – ever not read your bible in a fit of temper? Ever decided I am not going to church because of such and such? Ever thought in your head; “God, do you know what they did? No way do they deserve forgiveness.” Ever sulked over something in church fellowship? Ever taken offence because someone is forgiven? We are really not that different than Jonah on occasions.
You see Jonah’s prayer revealed his heart. Prayer does that. Prayer reveals your heart. Prayer reveals your priorities in life. You want to know your heart – listen to your prayers, not someone else praying. Listen to your heart when things do not go your way. Listen to your heart when God doesn’t do exactly what you think he should do or should have done. In these first three verses we hear Jonah’s heart reveal his priorities and attitude because God hasn’t behaved as he wanted or expected him to behave towards Nineveh.
Unlike God, Jonah has no compassion or mercy in his heart for Nineveh. His heart is one with a pharisaical spirit in residence. Although he had a right understanding of God (verse 2) and he was obedient in going to Nineveh yet his heart had not changed. He did the right thing. He preached the right thing. He knew the right things about God. Yet his heart was wrong and when the pressure was on, when his heart was put to the test the truth came spilling out of his mouth in anger. The result is that if Jonah cannot live his own way and if God will not behave as he expects him to then he doesn’t want to go on living. Jonah is not willing to change his attitude towards the Ninevites. His prejudices are so ingrained that he would rather die than give them up.
Verse 4 – what a telling question? The gentleness in the question is aimed at turning away Jonah’s anger. It is meant to bring him to his senses. Jonah – why would you be angry? It is not against you that these people have sinned? Jonah, you were going to Tarshish and now having come to Nineveh why are you angry when these people heed your message and repent? In Deuteronomy 32.25 we read these words spoken by God; “Vengeance is mine…” Jonah had no right to be angry against Nineveh. He was not the one sinned against or offended against. No one but God had the right to be angry in this situation. Do you know this is such a deep question we ought to ask it of ourselves when anger assails our hearts. Often the anger is hiding something much deeper and much more painful than the presenting issue. God knew this to be true of Jonah – how often is it true of us?
Verse 5 What a reaction from Jonah. He makes no attempt to answer the question put to him by God. He takes no time out to ponder and examine his own heart instead he resorts to type – running away. He ran away in chapter one and he hasn’t learnt anything from the salutary lesson of chapter 2 – he decides to ‘leave God’s presence’ for the second time. He turns his back on God, for the second time, and he leaves the city of Nineveh. He just quit. Isn’t that the last resort when you don’t get your own way? ‘I am going home. I don’t want to play anymore’ and off you stomp. Here is Jonah, the prophet, throwing a tantrum at God and marching off. What did he think? Did he expect God to run after him and plead with him to come back? Isn’t that what we expect when we behave in such a manner? Do we expect God to go after Jonah? Do we expect God to come after us when we walk away in a huff? I think Jonah did because his heart is so full of pride and anger at this moment. He was not prepared to take time out to examine his own heart, his own attitude in light of what he knew to be true about God. What about you? When anger assails your heart and life are you prepared to take time out to examine it according to God’s word?
Look at what Jonah does next. Having isolated himself by leaving the city he proceeds to build a shelter and settles down to see what would happen to Nineveh. Why? The people, from the king down to the lowliest servant, had repented and God’s wrath had been turned away. What was Jonah waiting on? I believe he was waiting for the people of Nineveh to go back to their old ways. He had become a spectator waiting for them to fall and then he would pounce with those loving words ‘I told you so! See!’ Jonah was waiting for Nineveh to go back to wickedness so that the anger of God would fall and he could be vindicated. He hadn’t learnt anything from his journey so far. Again let us bring it a little closer to home. What about you? Do you just sit back and wait until someone falls and then pounce with those words ‘I told you so?’
The old saying ‘a leopard never changes its spots’ is a lie when it comes to people who have come to Christ. That is not to deny that people do not fall away or back into sin – the parable of the Sower explains that to us. Jonah was hoping their repentance was not genuine and he was waiting to be vindicated. Could that describe your attitude this morning?
Recently my twin brother recited a set of tables to me and I pointed out that he had gotten one wrong. He smiled and said to me ‘Alan, you couldn’t tell me I got 9 right you had to tell me I got 1 wrong. What are you going to tell Taylor when she does the same?’ Can I tell you that really hit home. How often I point out faults before I point out the right in people’s lives. It is necessary to do both but the problem is Jonah, and I, only want to point out the faults. What about you?
Verses 6-8 God’s Response.
Jonah has built himself a shelter from the heat of the sun but it is inadequate and whilst he is asleep God causes a vine to grow over the shelter. There is a double meaning in this sentence that we miss in the English translation. The Hebrew word for ‘to shade’ and ‘to save’ come from the same root word as ‘discomfort’ and ‘evil/wickedness.’ The double meaning for Jonah, which the Hebrews hearing this story would have caught, is lost on us in the English. God says to Jonah ‘as I send the vine to shade you from physical discomfort I am also saving you from your sin.’ God was saying to Jonah this vine growing over your head to shade you from the sun is actually a visible sign to you of my saving you from your evil and wickedness. How ironic? Jonah had been sent to tell the Ninevites to repent of their evil and wickedness and now he is the one in need of rescuing from the anger of God. The vine is sent by God to remind Jonah of God’s grace. How quickly Jonah has forgotten the grace of God which saved him from the deep. How quickly we also forget the grace of God in our own lives and refuse to acknowledge it in others.
You know at the end of this verse we read that Jonah was very happy about the vine. It is the only time in these 4 chapters that we read that Jonah was happy about anything. But he is happy for the physical comfort that the vine brings. Once again he is self-centred and content. So long as God is doing things for Jonah, the way Jonah wants, all is well.
Verses 7-8 but Jonah is about to learn a lesson from God and the vine. Overnight God destroys the vine and the means of shade from over Jonah’s head. When the morning sun rises and the heat of the day comes Jonah realises what has happened whilst he was asleep. Isn’t that always the case though? It is while he slept that the protection, the shade, of the vine (God’s protection) died away. How often whilst we sleep spiritually is the shade of God’s protection removed and only when the heat of the day hits do we realise. Jonah displays his usual petulance at this turn of events. Once again he states that he would rather die than live under such circumstances. Poor old Jonah – how often he would rather die than live in a world where he was not in control. Know anyone like that? Jonah really does insist on making a drama out of every situation. Why? Obvious is it not? Jonah’s purpose is to draw attention to himself. Jonah’s preoccupation is with himself. He is not concerned Nineveh and certainly not God’s will or purpose.
Verses 9-10 can you believe Jonah’s arrogance in response to God’s question? He is not humbled in the slightest with the very obvious fact that he had nothing to do with the growth of the vine or the protection it afforded. His anger has so clouded his judgment that he is willing to try and justify his anger to God. You know isn’t this chapter just a wonderful picture of the stages we go through in our anger and the irrationality of it in the end? Poor Jonah, now arguing with God. Once again ‘I wish I could die.’ How many times has Jonah said that in this chapter? Then God points out the ridiculousness of Jonah’s anger by pointing out that Jonah had nothing at all to do with the vine’s planting, watering, growth or decay. In fact it was all of grace and nothing at all to do with the work of Jonah’s hands. He had built a shelter for shade and do you notice God had only removed the vine and not the shelter. The shelter obviously didn’t provide enough shade or protection for Jonah but it was what he had built of his own hands. Amazing how, having tasted the grace of God in the shape of the vine, the work of his own hands is now not enough for Jonah. How foolish Jonah looks to us now. But stop right there for a moment. Ask yourself; ‘Am I any different this morning? Do I take for granted the gracious provision of God in my life? Am I angry with God when it is removed? When sickness comes? When difficulties arise? Am I angry with God then?’ Jonah’s anger revealed once again how self-centred he actually was. His anger revealed how is heart was more focused on his comfort than the will of God for Nineveh.
Verse 11 now God reveals the extent of Jonah’s preoccupation with himself. God points out that Jonah is more concerned with a vine and the shade it provided him than with the eternal destiny of the 120,000 inhabitants of Nineveh. God points out to him that these people know nothing of right and wrong (their right from their left) in eyes of God. This people, before Jonah came, were ignorant in their sins and destined for judgment in their sins. Their eyes had been opened by Jonah bringing the Word of God to them and yet Jonah is not concerned about them at all. Friends there are important lessons for us all to take on board here this morning.
You can bring the message of God’s salvation to people without actually caring for them as people – but that is not God’s way or will. Jonah brought the message God had told him to but he did not love the people of Nineveh. He obeyed out of duty but not out of love and the truth is God would rather we serve him out of love than out of duty. God wanted Jonah to be concerned for the people of Nineveh but Jonah would have preferred they perished. What about you? Concerned, genuinely concerned for the people’s eternal destiny? Or is it only lip service to the gospel without love for the people you are called to minister to?
Secondly God confronts Jonah with his own self-centredness. What about you? Do you this morning need to heed the warning of Jonah about being self-centred? What about that hard inner core of your ego that has never been given over to God’s control? Have you died to self or do you (maybe unknowingly till now) see God as recruited on to your side to help make this life a lot more comfortable? Have the painful experiences of life (the storms, the depths, and the vine’s removal) broken that hard inner shell of self and surrendered it to God and his will? When the crises has past are we stilling willing to be obedient to God’s Word and will?
For some here this morning that is the greatest challenge from this passage – the challenge to your own self-centred individualism and this morning. It’s easy to fall prey to the ‘tantrum mentality’ in the Christian church. How often we huff and sulk because our will is not done. How easy it is to walk away and become a spectator hoping, even agitating, for it all to end in ruins because it is not how we want it to happen. God says to you if you don’t repent of this self-centredness then I will remove the vine from the shade of your life and open your eyes painfully to that need.
Finally – do you notice how the story is left open ended? We never know the end – did Jonah change? Did he go back to Nineveh? Did he change to love God with all his heart and strength? Did he finally care about the Ninevites? I think it is deliberately left open ended because the truth was for Jonah, and for us, it was to be, and is, a continuous battle to move from self-centredness to God centred obedience. Only you and I can write the ending of this application in our lives. The challenge is do you actually want to?
Amen.
