Jonah’s Reaction

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Intro

This week we will be finishing up our series on Jonah. We started talking about how he ran, then we spoke about how Jonah was Rescued, last week we spoke about Nineveh’s response, and this week we will be looking at Jonah’s reaction.

Jonah’s Anger

So as we start to look into the fourth chapter on Jonah, and as we see what his reaction is, You may be surprised about his first response. We can see Jonah’s reaction toGod saving the city of Ninevah was anger. Now if you are like me I have some questions like why would he be angry? God just used you to save a city, that should be awesome, but no he was angry.

Jonah 4:1–3 NIV

But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry. He prayed to the Lord, “Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. Now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.”

So now we see a little bit more insight for why Jonah ran from Nineveh. He ran because he did not want to see the people of Nineveh saved. He wanted to see God’s wrath poured out on them, and he knew that if they repented and turned from their ways then God would have mercy on them. So in his mind if he never goes then they would not have the opportunity to repent.

So we see that Jonah got angry but one thing that we can take out of this is the fact that we can see a theme continuing in the book of Jonah that just because you or I may have messed up it doesnt mean that God is through with us. Thankfully God is a God that is not quick to anger, and is abounding in love. So what does that mean. Well that means that you and I will mess up many many many times over the course of our lives, however God is still willing to forgive us.

It reminds me of a song from Stellar Kart titled Second Chances

(Laugh) No. No matter what you did Or might do again Following all the worthless trends You know he's waiting patiently From now until forever Brokenhearted and confused Feeling like you've been abused The second chances never end From now until forever There will always be second chances And you'll always be on you're first try There will always be second chances And you'll always be on you're first try

I feel like this song is a great reminder of God’s love for each and every single one of us. I also think it is fitting that we were going through the book of Jonah leading into Easter, because it is a great reminder of what Jesus has done for all of us by going to die on the cross so that we can have our second chance.

Just like Jonah was given a second chance when he ran from God each and every single one of us has been given a second chance from when we have run from God in our own ways, and Jesus paid for that second chance by dying on the cross for you and me.

God’s Response

So we saw how angry Jonah God, but lets take a look at what God’s response was to Jonahs Anger. Remember God had already given Jonah a second chance by sending a big fish to swallow him so you would think that Jonah would be grateful for everything that God had done, and yet he repayed God for his second chance by being angry that God gave someone else a second chance.

Jonah 4:4–6 NIV

But the Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry?” Jonah had gone out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. Then the Lord God provided a leafy plant and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the plant.

So we can see that God straight up asked Jonah? Why are you angry. What right do you have to be angry? but we dont really see Jonah’s response here. I think partly because Jonah was too ashamed of what his answer would be. I dont know that for a fact but Ill be honest I remember before I got saved when I felt like God was calling me a liar and I didnt really want to respond. Because I knew He was right.

So we see God called Jonah out, but then he gave Jonah a plant, maybe a small tree we dont really know what it was, but it apparently grows really quick because Jonah was able to sit under it and have shade pretty quickly. But lets look at what happens after God gave the plant to Jonah

Jonah 4:7–11 NIV

But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the plant so that it withered. When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, “It would be better for me to die than to live.” But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?” “It is,” he said. “And I’m so angry I wish I were dead.” But the Lord said, “You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?”

So we can see that God sent a worm to eat the tree. Now this is kind of where I can imagine God sitting back talking to Jesus like hey Jesus watch this. Its gonna be funny. Im gonna give him a shady plant, and then have a worm eat it. Kind of reminds me of something off of Impractical jokers right. Everyone snickering and laughing meanwhile Jonah is sitting there getting more and more angry to the point where Jonah says he is so angry he wishes he were dead.

Then God again points something out to him. He reminds Jonah you were so angry about this plant, so concerned about it and yet you did nothing for it to grow. You didnt plant it, water it, or even take care of it yet you care for this plant more than you care about the 120k people in Nineveh. Welp

That one must have stung. God reminding Jonah that he cared more about a plant than the lives of all of the people that had been saved.

The Wrap Up

So what can we take out of the book of Jonah? First we can see that God is just waiting and wanting to give you a second, third, fourth, or fifth chance. You just have to be willing to turn around and follow Him.

Second we can be reminded that God is protecting us even when it may not seem like it. Just like it probably didnt feel like God was protecting Jonah in the belly of the fish.

And finally we can see that God has plans for us inspite of our mistakes. Remember it doesnt matter how messed up we get. We are never too messed up to be used by God. I hope that is an encouragement to you. I hope that this story of the book of Jonah helps you to realize that God has plans for you, and even the people that seem like the farthest away from God. The people that seem like they are running from God as fast as they can. Who knows, they could be the people that God uses to turn a whole nation around. So dont count them out. And dont be surprised when God asks you to do something hard. Be willing and hang on because its going to be a fun ride.