The Games of Grace

Jonah 4:1-10 - The Games People Play Doug Partin - The Christian Church - Oct. 18, 2020 As we studied through Jonah I have found myself resonating with his experiences. When he resisted God's word, it made me consider those times when I have done the same. When he was in the belly of the fish, it made me reflect on those times when I had to learn to depend upon God. When he faithfully proclaimed the word to the Ninevites, it made me reflect on whether I am as faithful in handling the word of the Lord as He was. When the Ninevites spread the word to one another, it made me question if I do so with those I know with the same sense of urgency. And when they repented, as a nation, it made me wonder if our nation would ever do such a thing. Individually, yes, but as a nation? And in this last chapter which reveals the games that Jonah tried to play with God in hopes of getting his own way, it makes me wonder whether I do the same. The first thing that we are told in this chapter is that Jonah wasn't happy, in fact he was not only displeased, but quite angry. The word translated angry, "khaw-raw," meant to glow, like the coals of a fire - to glow with heat, to blaze and burn; but when it is used to describe a person, it signified the emotional heat that radiates when the thing that you did not want to happen, and could have stopped from happening, happened nonetheless because someone else wouldn't let you be in charge. There are a lot of people indicating that they are "politicked off." They feel that our nation is a mess, and if only they, or the candidate they support was in charge instead of the current ones, then things would be so much, much better. And they are ticked off about it, and with anyone who doesn't agree with them. But interestingly, when I googled "They should have let me be in charge," I primarily found sites about parenting and how to deal with children who want to be in charge and are angry when their parents don't fall in line. Instead of articles about politics. I was once told that there are three things that you don't bring up in polite conversation: politics, religion, and money. But during an election year, most people are talking about all three of them, and they are doing so while they are heated up about them. Even those talking about God or His way seem to be angry. And instead of convincing anyone about anything, the anger seems to be entrenching people in their opposition to one another. But still, wouldn't things really be better if you were in charge, and everyone did what you thought was right? Communicating when you are glowing with indignation to the person that refused to let you have your way is rarely a good idea. Just google "How to communicate when you are angry" and you'll get list after list of effective ways to do so, and most of them will begin with finding some way to calm yourself down before saying anything to anyone, especially if you have to communicate via email or text. Fortunately, Jonah didn't have to worry about those modern means of being misunderstood. But unlike his prayer in chapter 2, which was a humble cry for mercy, his prayer in chapter 4 is more like a record of his outburst of anger. Jonah felt like he knew what was best. He told God, "If we'd have used my plan we wouldn't have this problem." The problem was that the Ninevites repented and God relented. Which implies that when Jonah was walking through the city delivering God's word, he wasn't doing anything to encourage the Ninevites to repent. They decided to do that all on their own, and it's a good thing that they did. Jonah told God that he knew that this mess was going to happen and he tried to keep it from happening by taking himself out of the equation. He felt that God was just too kindhearted to treat the Ninevites as they really deserved. Like the prodigal's older brother, Jonah didn't feel that bad behavior should be rewarded. You remember the elder brother. He was the one who stayed home and worked the farm. He was the one who was faithful and diligent. But he was also the one who felt like his good behavior should have been rewarded. Not once had his father ever thrown him a party, not even a little one, and when his deadbeat of a brother who had squandered his entire inheritance showed up, he was given a huge party. Didn't they realize that the only reason they were making it with only half of their former wealth was because of the elder brother's hard work? He was unappreciated, and the elder brother was so upset about the celebration of the prodigal's return that he stayed away from it entirely. Even when his father went out to him and pleaded with him to join the festivities, he refused. (Luke 15:25-32). Given Jonah's attitude, it seems that he would have felt that the Pharisees were right. Jesus should have known what sort of woman was making a scene by weeping at His feet. Washing them with her tears and anointing them with perfume. He should have put an end to it right then and there. He should have had nothing to do with a sinner like that. Her choices didn't deserve to be overlooked because she was sorry about them now. She had hurt a lot of people, including herself. (Luke 7:33-39) Jonah would have thought that the sons of thunder, James and John, were right about wanting to call down fire from heaven to teach the Samaritan village a lesson for refusing them lodging as they passed through on their way to Jerusalem. They needed to be taught a lesson like Sodom and Gomorrah, but Jesus told them, "You do not know what kind of spirit you are of; for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them." (Luke 9:51-56) And Jonah would have felt that the workers who came at the end of the day in Jesus' parable, should not have been given the same amount as those who worked the entire day. That just wasn't fair. (Matthew 20:1-16) From a strictly human perspective, grace causes problems. I mean, when Jesus rescued the woman caught in adultery, he didn't ask her to make amends with those she had already hurt, only to go and sin no more, and who knows if that's what she really ended up doing. It's more likely that she made her escape and never changed her ways, right? She should have been held accountable. So, let's not judge the Pharisees with rocks in hand too harshly, they were just trying to keep that sort of thing from happening again. If she got away with it, others would try to do the same. But grace is God's defining characteristic, and He wants it to define His children's behavior as well. So, it really was a good thing that Jonah wasn't in charge. I came across the story of when an outspoken agnostic, whose name was Robert Ingersoll. He was delivering his lectures against Christ and the Bible at a university. He was a captivating speaker and this usually assured him of a large crowd. One night during an inflammatory speech in which he severely attacked man's ignorant belief in the Savior, he dramatically took out his watch and said, "I'll give God a chance to prove that He exists and is the Almighty. I challenge Him to strike me dead within 5 minutes!" First there was silence, then people became uneasy. Some left the hall, unable to take the nervous strain of the occasion, and one woman fainted. At the end of the allotted time, Ingersoll exclaimed, "See! There is no God. I am still very much alive! After the lecture a young fellow said to a Christian lady who had also attended, "Well, Ingersoll certainly proved something tonight, didn't he!" To which she replied, "Yes, he did, He proved that God isn't taking orders from agnostics, or anyone else for that matter." God was in charge, but Jonah wasn't happy about it. His first "game" failed, so he tried the, "I'm taking my ball and going home, and if you decide to change your mind about things, I'll come back and play again" game. Like a toddler in the grocery store who wants some of the candy that is conveniently displayed at child eye level, and whose parents have told them no, Jonah threw his best temper tantrum. Then, he waited to see if it had any effect on what God would do. And while he confidently waited, he made himself a front row seat for the fireworks show that he was certain would light up the sky. He even made a shelter for himself, to shade himself from the sun, and then settled in to wait. A couple of times during this chapter, we are told that Jonah actually pleaded with God to take is life, as that, he said, would be better than watching God make a muck of things by bestowing indiscriminate grace on undeserving people. But God wasn't taking orders from Jonah. Instead, God was patient with Jonah. Toward the end of this chapter we are told that God caused a plant to miraculously sprout up and shade Jonah from the scorching sun. Evidently, this was much better than Jonah's shelter, and he enjoyed it very much. Then God appointed a worm the next morning to attack the plant and it withered away. Then God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on Jonah, and though he still had his own shelter, it wasn't enough. He nearly fainted because of the heat. He begged God to take his life. Death, he said, would be better than having to endure his miserable circumstances. And yes, it really was God's fault. As He had early, God spoke to Jonah about his anger. Asking Jonah if he had any real reason to be angry. Jonah felt that he had every reason to be angry. He felt that his anger was completely justified. He felt that it was a righteous anger. And he felt that it was how God should be feeling as well. But God is slow to anger, and that is a very good thing. He was patient with Jonah, because He loved him. God knew that Jonah wasn't devoid of compassion, but it was buried deep beneath his own self-importance. God pointed out to Jonah that he had felt compassion for the plant that grew and withered, even though he had nothing to do with it. It wasn't much, but it revealed that he could show compassion. God wanted Jonah to think about it. He had cared about what had happened to a plant, just as God was caring about what happened to people. Granted, they were people "who didn't even know the difference between their left and right hand;" that is, they didn't really understand the difference between right and wrong. Instead of being angry at them, it was right for God to have compassion on them. When you hear about people making choices, and advocating lifestyles that are in direct contrast with God's ways. Should we respond to them in anger? Or should we feel compassion for them? When it is pointed out to us that we are behaving poorly, trying to get our way instead of God's way, as God did with Jonah; we should hope for God's grace, because we need it. We need God to respond to us out of His unfailing love. We need Him to be patient with us. And we should hope that He responds to everyone else the same way too. As Jesus followers, we are to be known, not only as those who accept His truth about right and wrong, but who offer grace to those who need it, and who can love as He loves. We are to be known for "erring" on the side of grace. But far too often, we are known for our lack of compassion. Prayer: God, we are thankful for your grace and compassion. We are thankful that you are slow to answer and abundant in loving-kindness. Thanks for relenting instead of bringing about the calamity we deserve. Amen. May we see and respond to the world with God's unfailing love