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Concerned For
What's Right
Jonah 4:1-4:11
So many of us in
the church grew up with the story of Jonah and the great fish that we
never really get to the fourth chapter. And that’s such a shame because
it is the climax to one of the greatest stories in the Bible. As we have
seen over the past three weeks Jonah did not want to go to Nineveh. In
fact, it would have been just perfect for Jonah if the Ninevites were
all struck dead by God. It would just be perfect if God would wreak
vengeance on those tormenters of Israel. The Ninevites had slaughtered
the Israelites. He wanted payback. And that is what he preached “Forty
more days and Nineveh is destroyed!”
Notice his message was negative and with no good news. He knows God is
angry with them, and he wants them to receive justice. That Jonah is
angry, goes without saying...but the Ninevites responded to God, they
believed God and repented with all seriousness with prayer, fasting,
sackcloth and dust. When God saw what they did, that they had turned
from their evil ways, God had compassion and did not destroy them. Mercy
triumphed over judgment! The awesome grace of God was beautifully
displayed.
So God was no longer angry with Nineveh; but someone else in the story
remained angry, Jonah. Here he is…the one who knows personally the grace
of God. He had just been rescued from his own grave, the belly of a
great fish, and even proclaimed "salvation comes from the Lord," yet he
couldn’t really stomach what he confessed.
But before we go any further, let’s get a good understanding of the
situation here. The story about Jonah is not about Jonah.
We might think this is a story about Jonah and the whale, or about
Jonah’s rebellion; or about Nineveh’s repentance.
The story about Jonah is not about any of those things. The story of
Jonah is about the very heart of God.
God is passionate for all people.
God possesses a passion for all that do not know Him. God has a passion
for all the people of the world, even those that are wicked and reject
Him. This is what we find in Jonah 4, God’s passion for all people.
God’s passion for all people is shown in His Compassion
You know anger can be so unreasonable. It has been said: “Speak when you
are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret.” Anger
always fails us. And this is certainly true for Jonah.
Jonah’s reaction to the repentance of Nineveh is different than what we
might have expected. We would expect Jonah to be leaping with joy, full
of thanksgiving. Instead, we find he has the worst case of the blues
imaginable. He, clearly, is not interested in Nineveh’s repentance. As
far as he is concerned, there are some things that cannot be forgiven. A
people that mutilate bodies, burn children, and offers heads as trophies
deserve God’s fiercest judgment.
So Jonah complains about God’s perfect character. Jonah’s rationale
borders on the ludicrous. His rationale simply goes like this, “I knew
it! This is why I ran away. I was afraid they would repent and you would
have mercy. They don’t deserve it!” Jonah knows it because of God’s
self-description in Exodus with Moses in Exodus 34:6-7
“The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger,
abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and
forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.”
So Jonah tries to justify Himself. He realizes that God is not going to
destroy them as he has proclaimed, and as far as he is concerned, the
Ninevites deserve to be destroyed. His ironic argument is that he,
Jonah, is the consistent one. The problem is that Jonah wants to lock
God into his own theological box.
He wants to control God into his belief system, but this is a technique
that has never worked.
When Robert G. Ingersoll was delivering his lectures against Christ and
the Bible, he usually drew large crowds. One night after an inflammatory
speech in which he severely attacked man’s faith in God, he dramatically
took out his watch and said, "I’ll give God a chance to prove that He
exists and is almighty. I challenge Him to strike me dead within 5
minutes!" First there was silence, then people became uneasy. Some left
the hall, unable to take the nervous strain of the occasion, and one
woman fainted. At the end of the allotted time, the atheist exclaimed
derisively, "See! There is no God. I am still very much alive!" After
the lecture a young fellow said to a Christian lady, "Well, Ingersoll
certainly proved something tonight!" Her reply was memorable. "Yes he
did," she said. "He proved God isn’t taking orders from atheists
tonight."
God doesn’t take orders from anyone, even Jonah. And this frustrates
Jonah to the point that he asks for death. If God is not going to do
what he feels that the Ninevites deserve, he might as well die. Though
Jonah deserves it, there is no thundering rebuke. There is just a
gentle, thoughtful question, “Have you any right to be angry?”
While Nineveh prays for deliverance; Jonah hopes for destruction. Jonah
goes outside the city, builds a private retreat and becomes a spectator.
Now, this is not what He was called to do, but I believe his thinking
went like this: “Once a Ninevite, always a Ninevite … God you’re being
too hasty in this blanket forgiveness. Just give them a little time and
they’ll hang themselves. You’ll see…”
Jonah knows these people. Their true selves will eventually show through
and God will see he was right all along.
Instead God goes to incredible lengths to communicate to Jonah.
God provides an additional shelter to Jonah’s. It is a kind of vine with
broad leaves and it is a comfort for Jonah. For the first time in this
narrative, Jonah is happy. He is absolutely delighted. He is perfectly
happy to be the beneficiary of God’s concern. It is a wonderful relief!
But just as soon as God provides the vine, he also provides a worm that
destroys the plant. Then the sirocco of the desert comes, a blasting
wind out of the east with 110 degree temperatures. Jonah is scorched and
dehydrated. And once again Jonah is angry…and ready to die.
God’s passion for all people is shown in his patience
If anybody has a right to be angry, it is God! This is where Jonah is
confused. He has no right to be angry. But if anyone has a right, it is
God…
In the Mishna We read a story about Abraham who was sitting outside his
tent one evening when he saw an old man, weary from age and journey,
coming toward him. Abraham rushed out, greeted him, and then invited him
into his tent. There he washed the old man’s feet and gave him food and
drink. The old man immediately began eating without saying any prayer or
blessing, so Abraham asked him, "Don’t you worship God?"
The old traveler replied, "I worship fire only and reverence no other
god."
When he heard this, Abraham became incensed, grabbed the old man by the
shoulders, and threw him out of his tent into the cold night air.
When the old man had departed, God called to his friend Abraham and
asked where the stranger was. Abraham replied, "I forced him out because
he did not worship you."
God answered, "I have suffered him these eighty years although he
dishonors me. Could you not endure him one night?"
It is God who hates sin, destructive evil, and violence, more than we
ever could. And yet, He exercises patience, providing opportunity for
those to repent and seek Him.
This is Jonah’s problem, he is not seeing the world as God sees it. And
Jonah is not seeing himself as God sees him.
Instead, Jonah values a plant, but disdains a whole nation. He is angry
about the death of a plant over which he never had any control. He is
absorbed in a self-centered pettiness while watching a lost nation on a
one way track to destruction. As far as he was concerned, mercy was all
right for him to receive, but not for that city. So while God was into
reconciliation, Jonah was into retaliation. Man has always been full of
revenge while God has always been full of Mercy and Grace.
God’s passion for all people is shown in His concern
It is God’s testimony that the people of Nineveh were in moral bondage
The description of a people who cannot tell their right hand from their
left is an colloquial expression about a person who doesn’t know the
difference between good and evil. It is God’s description of one’s
inability to make moral judgments.
Paul reflects this thinking well in Ephesians 2:1-3
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you
used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler
of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who
are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying
the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and
thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.
The Ninevites were held captive by supernatural evil. So though the
Ninevites were of little worth to Jonah, they were of enormous worth to
God. God even asks Jonah to have a little compassion on the cattle if
that is all he can muster.
The story of Jonah ends in the presence of God. Jonah is not to be our
last thought. The book leaves us in the presence of God. We are face to
face with His love and compassion. The writer reveals God and lays down
his pen. “Should I not be concerned about that great city?” The book
ends with a question that has no written answer. But…an answer is
expected by you and me!
Jonah’s lesson about God’s compassion is a humbling lesson. We assume
God loves us more than our enemies. We think to ourselves, “Well, at
least we are not as bad as them. God must be really pleased!” As soon as
we fall into that type of thinking, we misunderstand the heart of God.
We don’t see others, or ourselves for that matter, in the way God does.
This certainly was Jonah’s problem. Jonah did not know God well enough
to grieve over sin as God grieves over sin. He did not know God well
enough to rejoice at the repentance of the sinner.
People are in trouble. They are lost. They are all around you. Is that
your concern, as it is God’s?
God wants more than mere obedience, He wants us to value what He values:
PEOPLE. The story of Jonah demonstrates that God isn’t satisfied with
mere compliance.
He wants us to understand His character.
He wants us to share His viewpoint.
He wants us to reflect Him.
He wants us to love all people.
As we close this morning I need to get a little personal. Are there
people that you resist loving and caring for because their values,
beliefs, or lifestyle contradict yours?
Who are our personal Ninevites, our enemies?
Are they those who don’t believe in God?
Are they homosexuals?
Are they people who are pro-abortion?
Are they people who have different political beliefs?
Are they Alcoholics?
Are they Divorcees?
Are they a different Color?
And if the Lord said to arise and go to any one of those groups, would
it be difficult to obey him?
Do we ever get so committed to our predictions of what some people or
groups deserve that we take on the responsibility in thought or action
to program their punishment?
It is God’s will to move the believer toward the unbeliever. This means
each one of us! This is why we are spending this year talking about our
responsibility to be light to the unbelievers God has put in your life.
That’s why next week we are inviting W.T. Allison to come and proclaim
the Gospel message.
When Henry Ford purchased a large insurance policy, the Detroit news
papers reported the fact, since the amount was so large and he was so
prominent. The story was read by one of Ford’s old friends, who I
happened to be in the insurance business. The old friend went to
confront Ford to see if the story was true. When Ford assured him that
it was, the friend asked him why the policy was not purchased from him,
since he was a personal friend and had been in insurance for many years.
Ford’s reply was, "You never asked me."
How many of our friends can say to us, "You never asked me," as to our
sharing Christ with them?
God’s concern is people. And He uses you and me to reach them. Do you
share God’s concern? Do you have a passion for people?
Church we must be willing to act on God’s passion even if you find His
calling difficult, perhaps even distasteful. The people that you
struggle over are no more and no less God’s concern than you are.
We must reflect God’s passion because there are people lost all about us
and their rejection of the Creator breaks His heart; it should break
ours as well.
And we must share God’s passion. Today let God move you toward the
unbeliever, and as He does, tell the good news of God’s passion for
them.
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