Sermon Tone Analysis

Jonah 4 – preached @ FCC 10~/5~/08

Lay Reading – Hebrews 1:1-4

 

Just a quick review this week and then we’ll get into Jonah 4.  The book of Jonah was written roughly 3000 years ago by the prophet Jonah.

A couple of the key themes we find in this book are God’s sovereignty – the fact that he is in control, and the belief that God cares for all people, even sinful people like the wicked Ninevites, and even disobedient people like His follower Jonah.

In Jonah 1 we saw Jonah get called by God to go and preach repentance to Nineveh.

Jonah in his disobedient prideful bigoted mind thought that wasn’t the best plan for his life, so he hopped on a boat going 2000 miles in the opposite direction.

Rather than let Jonah run off in his sin, God gets Jonah’s attention by nearly sinking the boat he was on with a great storm.

The sailors on that boat all become followers of God, and they throw Jonah overboard to save their own lives.

Chapter 1 closes with a great big fish swallowing Jonah.

Chapter 2 was Jonah talking with God in prayer from inside the fish.

Jonah tells us how was about to die, and realized that he could only be saved by God.

He cried out to God, and God answered his prayer.

Jonah repented of his sinfulness, and at the close of chapter 2 the fish vomited Jonah onto dry land.

In Chapter 3 Jonah makes his way to Nineveh, where he walks up and down the streets preaching a simple message – “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned.”

Nineveh hears this warning, and the entire city repents from the king on down to the livestock.

As we start in verse 4, remember that at the end of last week all of Nineveh had repented, put on sack cloth for clothes, and begun fasting with the hopes that God would not destroy them and their city.

Because the Ninevites hadn’t been worshipping Jonah’s God, the One True God, they were uncertain at this point whether or not God would relent.

That brings us to today, Chapter 4 of the book of Jonah.

Why don’t you grab a Bible and follow along as I quickly read this chapter to you.

Pages 917 and 1438 in your pew Bibles.

JNH 4:1 But Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry. 2 He prayed to the LORD, "O LORD, is this not what I said when I was still at home?

That is why I was so quick to flee 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.

3 Now, O LORD, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live."

JNH 4:4 But the LORD replied, "Have you any right to be angry?"

JNH 4:5 Jonah went 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.

6 Then the LORD God provided a vine and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the vine.

7 But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the vine so that it withered.

8 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."

JNH 4:9 But God said to Jonah, "Do you have a right to be angry about the vine?"

    "I do," he said.

"I am angry enough to die."

JNH 4:10 But the LORD said, "You have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow.

It sprang up overnight and died overnight.

11 But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well.

Should I not be concerned about that great city?"

 

Let’s look at verse 1 – “But Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry.”

For those of you note takers here today, here’s something to write down – getting angry at God doesn’t work.

EVER!

Now under line that.

How many people here today have gotten angry at God for something?

I know I have.

Here’s what I’ve learned from that – it is futile.

It’s pointless.

I can be as angry at God as I want and it doesn’t make me right, and it isn’t going to change God’s plan.

It’s like the preverbal beating your head against a wall.

It doesn’t work, and you only end up hurting from it.

Here God just rescued an entire city from destruction, from their sinfulness.

What would’ve been the proper response?

Praise the Lord!  Praise the Lord!!  Right?!?

But rather than praising God, Jonah gets angry.

Jonah is missing out on the beauty and the blessing of 120,000 or so people being saved by God.

Do you see that?

In our anger, in our unrighteous anger we become blinded.

So blinded we miss out on the great things God is doing in the world.

We’re angry because a spouse died, or a child rebelled, or someone got sick, or we lost our job or any of the other countless things we get angry at God about.

Basically, we didn’t get our way.

We didn’t get to call the shots.

We didn’t get to play god.

And that is Jonah.

And we are Jonah.

How’s that being angry at God worked for you?

My guess is, not too well.

Here’s another one for you note takers – in big bold letters write down these four words – I AM NOT GOD!  Right?!?

So Jonah is angry at God.

 

Verse 2

“Jonah prayed to the LORD, "O LORD, is this not what I said when I was still at home?

That is why I was so quick to flee 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.”

Jonah is gut wrenchingly honest here.

While I don’t think it is good to be angry at God, I do think it is good to be honest with Him when we are.

Jonah comes right out and says it – I’m angry because I hate these people, and I knew You would save them if You gave them a chance.

Jonah was a prophet to Israel.

He was painfully familiar with the stories of Israel’s sinfulness throughout the Pentateuch – the first 5 books of the Bible.

Jonah knew all too well the sinfulness of God’s chosen people, how many times they had turned their backs on God, and how many times after they repented that God took them back and gave them another second chance.

Jonah’s God is the God of second chances.

Our God is the God of second chances.

When we, the believers, are repentant of our sins, God through Jesus Christ forgives us of our sins.

When sinners repent, God relents, and that was what Jonah was afraid of.

Thankfully for all of us, God knows what He is doing.

Verse 3

“Now, O LORD, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live."

Jonah’s temper tantrum doesn’t stop at just being angry at God.  Now Jonah is saying I’d rather be dead than to live in a world where my enemies are followers of Yahweh, followers of God and my God is merciful to my enemies.

Here we see Jonah’s true colors really come out.

This hatred, this bigotry against the Ninevites has been seeping out throughout the story, but here it is plain and clear.

It was bad enough that Jonah didn’t want to help God save them, and then actively disobeyed God.

But now he worsens things by showing how deep and dark his hatred really is.

Jonah should be rejoicing, but is instead so selfish and prideful and hate-filled that he would rather be dead.

Nowhere are we taught as God’s people that it is good to hate.

We are to hate the sin, but not the sinner.

Jonah’s rage has blinded him, and it is a truly sad tale.

Verse 4

“But the LORD replied, "Have you any right to be angry?"

Jonah – what right do you have to be angry?

God rebukes Jonah for his sinfulness, but as we see in the rest of the story, Jonah ignores this rebuke.

Verse 5

“Jonah went 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.”