Unethical Godliness

Introduction

Assassination attempt on Hitler

Scripture Introduction

Called to Nineveh

Large Fish

Vomited out (compliance not obedience)

The people repent

Connection: Jonah struggles to understand how God’s justice and mercy can coexist. It can be frustrating to see wicked people escape punishment for their evil actions.

Take Home: We must appreciate God’s grace, mercy, patience, steadfast love, and forgiveness, even when they are extended to our enemies.

Message Focus: God's lesson to aid in Jonah's growth.

Disapproval of God’s Compassion 4:1-4

God’s Word to us is not like someone shouting to you, as you are inside a burning building that you are going to die if you don’t get out. God’s Word offers a way out of the building.

The law didn’t save anyone, but it did get them to safety until the fire department showed up to recuse them.

Jonah 4:1 “But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry.”

Jonah 4:2 “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.”

Notice the following attributes of God that are normally seen as a positive, are viewed in the negative when experienced by our adversary

Your beliefs are evident by how you respond not by what you profess.

Gracious & Merciful

Gracious: A heartfelt response by Yahweh when he gives to someone who has a need.

We tend to struggle with this also.

The person who took credit for your work and get a promotion

Merciful: Yahweh giving more than is deserved or required.

We tend to struggle with this also.

Christian swerving to splash a puddle on a Junior High kid walking

Slow to anger

Jonah struggles with God’s mercy as a denial of his justice.

The grace that inspired Jonah’s earlier praise is now his complaint when given to Nineveh.

Jonah 2:6 “. . . I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever; yet you brought up my life from the pit, O Lord my God.”

We tend to do the same thing.

Struck by lightning for what I said (doesn’t happen)

Why doesn’t God intervene?

Instant justice is not God’s will nor does it serve humanity’s interest.

What would be the point of doing anything if God always handled it.

Parent who always took over

Your choices would not matter. You could not make a difference. As Tom Gilson says, “We wouldn’t matter”. But God made us so our choices do matter.

But, Jesus did intervene. And He will fully eliminate evil with the consummation of all things.

Relenting From disaster

In this case, the nation spared would remain hostile to Israel

This can happen to us also.

Wipe out prophets, 1 Kings 21:25–29 “(There was none who sold himself to do what was evil in the sight of the Lord like Ahab, whom Jezebel his wife incited. He acted very abominably in going after idols, as the Amorites had done, whom the Lord cast out before the people of Israel.) And when Ahab heard those words, he tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his flesh and fasted and lay in sackcloth and went about dejectedly. And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, “Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring the disaster in his days; but in his son’s days I will bring the disaster upon his house.””

Jeremiah 18:7–10 “If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it. And if at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, and if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will relent of the good that I had intended to do to it.”

Illustration chart of how this works

Jonah 4:3 “Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.””

Before, Jonah viewed death as preferable to God’s mercy for Nineveh. Now he prefers death because God withdrew his mercy from him. Jonah is inconsistent when it comes to mercy.

Jonah’s wanting to die stems from him not being happy.

He is choosing isolation over trusting God’s work.

The Goodness of God’s Compassion 4:6-11

The perspective you use will change your evaluation.

Person who pulls out in front of you; excuses for you - mad at them

God is going to help us to think outside of ourselves.

Jonah 4:5 “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.”

Yahweh’s Object Lesson

Jonah 4:6 “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.

Plant- Symbolizes his merciful activity

When was a time you experienced God’s grace, mercy, slowness of anger, or forgiveness

Jonah 4:7 “But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered.”

When was a time your experienced a hard day.

Jonah 4:8 “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.”

Irony: First, it was better to die than to witness God’s mercy to his adversaries. Now, it is better to die than for him not to experience mercy from God.

In other words, Jonah was angry for God showing mercy. Now he is angry at God for destroying.

God appointed a scorching east wind v. 88

This storm was not for Nineveh but for Jonah

Jonah 4:9 “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.””

Do you do well to be angry for . . .?

Jonah 4:10 “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.”

Consider- you haven’t done as much as you think. Did you come up with the idea or did God give it to you? Was the success because of you or God?

Jonah 4:11 “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?””

God knows their story- God has knit them together in their mother’s womb; created them in His image; sustained them; Been with them through he good and bad.

Jonah had pity for himself. God for 120k+ persons.

God is helping Jonah understand the relationship between justice and mercy.

We should want others to be treated by God as we want to be treated.

120,000 persons

Jonah is no better than Nineveh. Jonah had hatred for all these humans in his heart.

God’s wisdom is poking (Ecc 12:11) Jonah to let him know he has a log in his eye (Mt 7:5).

How does the worth of a soul stack up against our desire for justice?

Do not know their right hand from their left

Deuteronomy 5:32 “You shall be careful therefore to do as the Lord your God has commanded you. You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.”

Nineveh did not have this special revelation. God took this into consideration when administering justice and mercy.

Do we offer forgiveness to others like we have received from God?

Also much cattle

Jonah only thought of himself. God's consideration always goes deeper than our own.

How did Jonah Respond?

Jonah recorded his experience. This seems to indicate he understood the lesson. So much, that he wanted others to profit, so he wrote it down.

Summary

We struggle with understanding the justice of God when it comes to his grace, mercy, patience, steadfast love, and forgiveness is offered to the wicked.

The lesson of Jonah are directed at us.

Have Pity

Do we want others to be treated by God as we want to be treated.

The Log in Our Eye

How does the worth of a soul stack up against our desire for justice?

They Don’t Understand

Do we offer forgiveness to others like we have received from God?

Potential Impact

As we come to recognize and appreciate God’s grace, mercy, patience, steadfast love, and forgiveness, we will naturally reflect these qualities in our own lives.

A Possible Next Step

Replace the time you spend complaining about others and use it to improve yourself.