Outrage Alert! The Shocking Truth about My Offended Heart.
Notes
Transcript
Jonah 1:1-4, 3, 4:1-4
Jonah is a prophet who is called to deliver a warning of judgment to a rebellious nation. He runs from his calling at every turn, showing little faith in Yahweh. But eventually he goes to the city of Nineveh to deliver God’s message.
Despite Jonah’s warning having the intended effect—Nineveh turning in repentance to Yahweh—Jonah is furious with God for sparing the Ninevites.
Jonah stands out as a unique figure among the prophets. He embodies the concept of a resistant man of God to an extreme degree. He resists his divine calling even more strongly than Moses or Jeremiah. In a funny twist, he shares Elijah's desire for death, but only after achieving remarkable success in his role as a prophet!
What is outrageous and confronting in the story of Jonah is not just about a person’s reluctancy to obey God (preach the good news) but it's about Jonah’s distorted worldview where good is evil and where his enemies finding mercy is evil to him.
Jonah had specific expectations for God's actions, wanting them to align with his own perception. In Jonah's mind, he believed that God should have unleashed punishment and wrath upon the enemy, not mercy, as that's how Jonah saw God and what he believed should happen to other sinners.
Jonah's anger comes out of God's decision to show mercy to the repentant sinners in Nineveh, deviating from the destruction that Jonah had preached. It was Jonah's own misguided expectations that fuelled his anger and frustration.
Jonah is the villain of the story - not Nineveh, Assyria.
Jonah found himself in a mess because he failed to grasp the true nature of God's unwavering love, which ultimately led to his heart being offended and manifested in his rebellious actions.
Our rebellious actions deprives others the hope of God. (Jonah 1:1-6)
Our rebellious actions deprives others the hope of God. (Jonah 1:1-6)
1 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.” 3 But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord.
4 But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up. 5 Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his god. And they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep. 6 So the captain came and said to him, “What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call out to your god! Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish.”
It's quite interesting that everyone on the ship is praying, yet Jonah wants to sleep! The captain has to wake him up because he's (pretending) sleeping in the middle of a violent storm that can easily shipwreck them. But what's even sadder than Jonah's nap is that these men are desperately trying to avoid death. Jonah, however, is withholding the opportunity for them to have hope in the Lord's salvation.
Jonah doesn't want to share the message of God's mercy with them (sailors) because he doesn't want to extend that mercy to Nineveh either.
The people all around him were in desperate need of a solution.
27 Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due,
when it is in your power to do it.
People's rebelliousness is deeply unpleasant and causes pain in our world. That's what God is confronting in this situation. However, He doesn't dismiss it casually. God allows people to experience the consequences of the mess they've created as a sober reminder for consequences of actions, but it's not the final chapter.
Even our rebelliousness can be used by God to fulfil His purposes.
Isaiah 55:6-9
Our rebelliousness can blind opportunities for showing the same mercy as God does.
God is kind even to the ungrateful Luke 6:35
35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.
Our offended hearts disagrees with the character of God. (Jonah 4:1-4)
Our offended hearts disagrees with the character of God. (Jonah 4:1-4)
1 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. 2 And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. 3 Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” 4 And the Lord said, “Do you do well to be angry?”
Jonah couldn't see beyond his own self-interest, even though God was patiently trying to talk to him. All other characters in the story showed repentance except for the very person God called. Jonah aimed low just to save his own skin.
Jonah clearly knows the character of God and yet shows
An offended heart deceives us that life with God is not worth living.
The “Jonah” inside of us wonders...
“Why bother doing anything if God forgives everyone without consequence? If disobedience is not punished, then obedience becomes meaningless.”
we want man’s own kind of justice - “you done wrong, you deserve the consequence.” and this is true.
God has control over everything but from Jonah's perspective, it leads to unchecked sin and rewards for sinners like the Ninevites. “What’s the point!?”
We often feel more offended and outraged when God subtly confronts our own rebellion.
Jonah's only moment of happiness in the entire story is when God made a plant grow to provide him personal comfort while he sulks in his bitterness.
In 4:3, the author of Jonah inverts Moses model of the prophet who offers his own life in the place of God’s enemies. Jonah would rather die for his own interest instead of giving his life for God’s larger purposes in the world. Jonah seeks Eden-like shelters in order to evade their real responsibilities.
Sometimes, we find excuses to feel offended, allowing ourselves to soak in bitterness and conveniently forgetting to be grateful. Let's not overlook the importance of being thankful, especially for God's loyal love and everything He has done for us.
Jesus makes a reference to His death and resurrection as Jonah was in the belly of the fish for 3 days and 3 nights. This conveys that Jesus bore our offended hearts and rebelliousness all the way to His death that in His resurrection, Jesus gives those who believe in him a renewed heart that is abundant in gratitude and joy towards God.
A grateful heart recognises God’s grace producing reverence to Him.
A grateful heart recognises God’s grace producing reverence to Him.
This is what Jonah failed to be. One would think being swallowed by a great fish one has a perfect opportunity swallow their own pride - to reflect on what they’ve done wrong “how did I get here?” but not Jonah. His prayer if not, almost sounds like he was sulking, pleading to God to save him.
Jonah knew his scriptures - “to obey is better than sacrifice “ he prayed in the belly of the fish that he will go back to Jerusalem to offer up sacrifice when God saves his life.
Jonah’s unwillingness to look at the mirror in sober judgement connects the same reality for me and you, “save me God and I’ll offer a sacrifice to you - just save my job and I’ll sacrifice my time to serve you, save my marriage and I’ll come to church every Sunday.” as if he owes us - like King Saul offering a sacrifice coz he just wanted to get over and done with the waiting situation he had. He probably thought once he makes the sacrificial offering God will owe him the victory over his enemy.
We convince ourselves that “our sacrifices” is being reverent to God.
But the Spirit of God reminds us...
16 For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;
you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
Psalms 51 is about when Nathan the prophet went to David, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. David realises the evil he did and confessed it before God. He likely remembered Samuel the prophet’s rebuke to Saul (1 Sam 15:22) realised that God is not going to honor any sacrifice he makes if he does not repent.
God doesn't just want us to go through the motions of obedience with our actions alone. What truly matters to God is that our hearts and minds are fully engaged, that we are deeply moved by His loyal love, even towards those who don't deserve it—just like me, producing joy and reverence to Him.
3 To do righteousness and justice
is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.
God takes pleasure in seeing our actions because they reflect our gratitude towards Him. God delights in our thankfulness. Moreover, it’s God’s providence (prepared for good works Eph 2:10) to help us realise that we are in Christ.
22 And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving,
and tell of his deeds in songs of joy!
15 Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. 16 Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.
28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe,
The story of Jonah acts as a mirror, reflecting our own flaws and rebelliousness while God's loyal love and mercy are on display. The author wants to connect the reality that we will never fully appreciate God’s saving grace without fully recognising our own rebellious heart.
When have you been angry with the Lord about unfulfilled dreams or missed expectations?
How would you feel if a believing friend rebuked you about missing opportunities for sharing your faith?
When was the last time you felt an immense gratitude towards God because you received an undeserving gift?
When we are honest about our own flaws and rebellious hearts, the gospel of Jesus Christ compels us to the core to be grateful that his loyal love and mercy, that is not exclusive to me but he also extends it even to my enemies, and is still patient with the "Jonah" within each of us. It should humble us and fill us with immense gratitude that this is who God is.
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
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Those who are spiritually mature don't try to change the message of the gospel to fit their own mistakes and wrongdoing.
Going to Tarshish
Tarshish has two main associations:
An exotic, distant nation
The name appears for the first time among the sons of Japeth (Gen. 10:4) among the distant island nations (with Elisha, Kittim, Dodanim).
A place of gold and precious gems
The name also refers to a precious stone that, according to Ezekiel, endowed the garden of Eden with its majestic splendor (Ezek. 28:13).
When these associations are combined, Tarshish is a pseudo-Eden that appears throughout the Bible as a source of wealth and resources that people use to create their own versions of Eden, which then subjects them to judgment. 1 Kings 10:22, 22:48
Tarshish plays the role of a pseudo-Eden, a place for precious stones that is exploited by human scheming (ships and trade routes). The destroyed ships of Tarshish become an image of God’s defeat of humanity’s search for Eden life on their own terms.
Jonah flees to Tarshish just as all biblical characters attempt some kind of “return to Eden” by their own power and scheming.
Jonah is portrayed as selfish and slow to understand the reality of his situation while the sailors are depicted as spiritually aware and more in tune with Jonah’s God than Jonah is!
Jonah’s hypocritical confession in 1:9 shows that he is totally unaware of the contradiction between his actions and his words.
The irony is that Jonah confessed to believe in the “God of the heavens,” yet it is the sailors who actually understand the implications of such a belief. They recognize the storm as God’s purpose and a result of his power over the sea.
Why doesn’t Jonah just cry out to Yahweh like the sailors did to their gods? Why is he making them “repent” on his behalf?
Is this a moment of noble self-sacrifice? Or is this another moment of Jonah’s selfish lack of awareness?
Would he rather die than try to save the lives of others, much less his own?
“The mercy of God is remarkable—for my enemies and for me—when I struggle with the fact that he loves my enemies. ”
Jonah’s character, played the role in communicating the divine word (not so willingly), fundamentally misunderstanding the bigger picture of God’s purpose, and responds in a self-oriented way.
Jonah, the character who reluctantly took on the task of conveying God's message, had a deep misunderstanding of God’s greater plan and responded with a rebellious heart focused on his own interests instead.
“In chapter 4, the evil is Jonah’s distorted world where good is evil and where his enemies finding mercy is evil to him. Yahweh wants to deliver Jonah from that mindset, and the plant is somehow going to act as the vehicle for God’s attempt to do that.”
It wasn’t because he was afraid but because he knew that God is so kind and merciful. Jonah actually quotes God’s self-description from Exodus 34:6 and throws it back in his face as an insult. He knew that God is compassionate and would find a way to forgive those horrible Ninevites. You can almost hear the disgust in Jonah’s voice before he cuts off the conversation and prays that God would just kill him on the spot. He’d rather die than live with a God who forgives his enemies.
Jonah failed to see beyond his own life circumstances, despite the fact that God patiently invites him into a conversation (two times!).
Jonah couldn't see beyond his own self-interest, even though God was patiently trying to talk to him.
“What Paul makes really clear is that, on the cross, we see God killing off the thing that’s killing us, precisely so that humanity can become what it’s called to be. But we’re not passive in the process. We have to choose.”
Jonah does not flee because God is a wrathful God, but because He is a merciful God.
What makes Jonah so mad? God’s favor shown toward other people and God not bringing the kind of justice that I think he ought to bring.