The Jonah Dilemna

THE JONAH DILEMNA

Are you really willing to do whatever God calls you to do?

Personal Illustration: I was raised in northern Missouri in the 1960s and 70s. I never met or knew a hispanic person in my adolescence. After going to bible college and moving to Texas, things were quite different. I got a job at a Sears warehouse in Dallas, Texas. On the fifth floor, I was the only white boy working with a group of mexicans. All the time, I felt that they were putting all the hard work on me and talking in spanish so I could not understand. I grew to resent them and had bad feelings. Later, we were invited to take a missions trip to Mexico. It took the grace of God, but He changed me and gave me a love for these people that I had disdained. Now we have been ministering to spanish speaking countries for more than 30 years. I am proof that you can recover from resentment.

Nineveh was the metropolis of the Assyrian empire. Assyria had already made havoc of Israel for some time. They had succeeded in virtually wiping out two of the tribes of Israel.

The last thing that Jonah wanted to do was to go and prophesy (preach) to these people. Even when it appears that God wants him to announce and pronounce judgement upon them (v.2).

I am sure that Jonah knew that God was merciful, but this prophet was only wanting vengance upon these Assyrians.

Jonah resented the idea that God would even want someone to go to Nineveh to offer them an opportunity for salvation.

It is believed that Tarshish was the farthest location in the opposite direction of Nineveh that one could go on a boat fare.

God was willing to go to great extremes to convince Jonah to go do His will.

The Lord sent a great wind.

The mariners called on their gods and Jonah tried to ignore his God.

Jonah gets the idea that he can become a martyr, if these mariners will throw him overboard. He would rather die than preach to those heathen of Nineveh.

It is interesting to see how God Responds to Jonahs' Antics

I. Patience --God never gets in a hurry and He never gets nervous. He waits.

II. Preparation

Look at what God prepared to get the attention of Jonah.

A Wind --1:4

A Whale --1:17

A Worm --4:7

Another Wind --4:8

III. Pardon

In spite of Jonahs' stubbornness, God forgives him and gives him another chance.

You see, God wanted Jonah to do right just as much as he wanted the people of Nineveh to do right.

Jonah ended up in the belly of the whale. God would not let him die, but rather, dealt with him until he submitted unto the plan that God had in mind.

I surmize that Jonah had vowed previously that he would do whatever God bid him to do. In the belly of the fish, he promised to fulfill his vow. It was then that the fish vomited him out upon dry land.

Jonah went to Nineveh and preached his message. It only contained 5 words in Hebrew.

Jonah 3:4 And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.

The last word of this message "overthrown", literally means to turn over or turn around.

From the king all the way down to the animals, they fasted and repented, and God gave them a "turnaround".

The prophet Jonah becomes irate. This is why he didn't want to preach to them. He did not want his enemy saved. He wanted them dead.

One more time God gives Jonah an object lesson. A gourd grows and shadows the head of Jonah to give him some relief from the sun. Then He sends a worm to whither the gourd. Then a vehement wind.

Jonah only responds with bitterness.

The last verse of the book speaks of 120,000 (possibly small children). Those not able to discern between their right and their left hand. God also mentions cattle. It is amazing how different the viewpoint of God is from the viewpoint of mankind.

The Lord ends with a question that goes unanswered by Jonah. Maybe it is a question for us to ponder.

Do you resent it when God has mercy on your enemies?

Let us learn to run the right direction when God calls us to His service.

When Resentment Reigns, it Really Ruins

If you do not Repent and Recover, then you can expect the following:

1. It will Destroy your Peace

2. It will Divert your Purpose

3. It Diminishes your Productiveness

4. It Distorts your Perspective