Fear and Loathing in Nineveh pt 4

(Read Jonah 4:1-11

Jonah 4:1–11 ESV

But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. 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. Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” And the Lord said, “Do you do well to be angry?” Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, till he should see what would become of the city. Now the Lord God appointed a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant. But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered. When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint. And he asked that he might die and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.” But God said to Jonah, “Do you do well to be angry for the plant?” And he said, “Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die.” And the Lord said, “You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night. And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?”

We finally see why Jonah ran from God in the first place. He ran because he knew that God was gracious and loving, and he wanted nothing to do with the grace that God wanted the people of Nineveh to receive. Jonah was angry because of God’s grace. This is both shocking and sad, to see someone who is upset over the grace of God being put on display. However it gets worse after Jonah rants about God’s grace, he tells God to take my life from me, for it is better that I should die, than live. Jonah was so mad about God’s grace, that he could not take living in a world where the people of Nineveh are saved, he literally would rather die than see them come to salvation.

“I’m so angry I could die” sounds like something an angry child might say. It does NOT sound like the words of a faithful prophet! None the less it’s true. Jonah, despite being faithful, is coming across extremely spoiled.

Jonah even camped outside the city, to see what would become of the city. Jonah was still holding out hope the city would be destroyed, even after seeing them all come to repentance Jonah still wanted to see them endure disaster.

Here we have an example of a faithful prophet so angry that a group of people repented, that he would rather wait and see if they mess up, rather than help grow their faith. It actually goes a step further, Jonah was HOPING they would mess things up. Remember this is a faithful prophet.

Jonah does most of the talking in this passage as he’s got a lot to say about his situation. God doesn’t speak much, however when he does, he simply asks Jonah 2 questions

God first asks Jonah if it was right for him to be angry about the people of Nineveh repenting. Jonah doesn’t answer God’s question

God would later ask Jonah if it was right for him to be angry that God killed his shade plant. Jonah answers this question, he answers with an emphatic yes. Jonah is more concerned with the well-being of a plant than he is a city with over 120,000 people, and many animals.

It’s extremely clear that Jonah is not only acting a bit spoiled, but he is suffering from a hardened heart. Really Jonah chapter should serve as a cautionary tale. It warns us that really faithful dedicated people can still suffer from a hardened heart. Jonah is the type of person who probably would have made a good pastor, a good elder, or any other type of church leader. However Jonah was still showing all the signs of a hardened heart. This can be a dangerous problem. If a hardened heart isn’t addressed, the consequences could be disastrous, just ask Pharoah. The question this story should lead us to ask is this; do we have hardened hearts? Jonah’s situation is a good litmus test for this question.

Are we angry at the idea of salvation and grace being offered to a certain person or group of people?

Do we have enemies in our lives we secretly hope never find Jesus?

Are there people with ideological differences whom we are ok with the fact they may reject Jesus because they deserve what’s coming to them

Are there people who we are almost excited about being judged for their sin?

These are all pretty intense examples, however there are seemingly more harmless symptoms of a hardened heart as well.

Does the idea of a certain person or group of people make you scoff and say “That’s never going to happen” if it does remember, you aren’t scoffing at the people in question. You are scoffing at the power of salvation and grace.

If the answer to any of these questions is yes, or even maybe, you are in the same boat with Jonah, and we’ve already established that’s not a good place to be.

How do we avoid that boat? How do we avoid being devoted good Christians with hardened hearts? In order to answer that question, we are going to compare the story of Jonah with a well-known New Testament parable. The parable of the prodigal son. Luke 15:28-32

Luke 15:28–32 ESV

But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’ And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’ ”

The older brother was like Jonah. Grace was extended to a person whom he felt didn’t deserve it, and he was angry. The father in the story pleaded to his son as God pleaded to Jonah. You have always been with me, but is it not right to celebrate when the lost is found? This is the question we must ask ourselves. Shouldn’t we celebrate when the lost is found? The longer we think about this question, the more we’ll realize the degree of separation between us being saved and us still being lost in our sins is short. We could easily still be lost in our sin.

This is definitely true in the case of Jonah. Remember how the book of Jonah started? Jonah was told to go to Nineveh to preach the word of the Lord, and what did Jonah do? The scripture says he fled from the presence of the Lord. If you remember back to our first sermon in Jonah we talked about how this phrase “fleeing the presence of the Lord” was an idiom which the Hebrews would use to describe someone who was in full rebellion against God. Do you know who else was in full rebellion against God? The younger son. In the span of 4 chapters, Jonah fills the shoes of both brothers in this story.

Jonah was once the lost rebellious sinner, just as the younger son was. Jonah’s rebellion led him to hit rock bottom as also was the case with the younger son. After hitting rock bottom Jonah came to his senses and proclaimed that wonderful truth “Salvation comes from the Lord”

However after making this remarkable turn around, Jonah forgot the grace that was shown to him. Because of this he became angry at the idea of grace being shown to those he deems unworthy. It’s at this point Jonah fills the shoes of the older brother.

Filling the shoes of both brothers is perhaps the biggest symptom that our hearts are hardening. It’s so easy for us as Christians fall into the same trap Jonah did, and we either don’t realize it, or worse, don't care when it happens.

So how do we avoid this hardened heart?

Remember Jonah’s words “Salvation comes from the Lord” It’s his to show or withhold should he desire. God spoke these words to Moses, It will show mercy to those I show mercy, and I will show compassion to those I show compassion.

Remain self-aware. If you remind yourself you were once the younger son, it’s much harder to become the older one.

Recognize the challenge. Sometimes it’s hard for us to hope that certain people find Jesus. It’s much easier and convenient to be hostile to the idea of their salvation. However convenience will stunt our ability to grow in God’s love. To quote fitness guru Fred DeVito “If it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you”

Pray that God gives us the ability to be changed and challenged by his grace. Because the story of Jonah reminds us we need both. Let us always remember “Salvation comes from the Lord”