Repent Now!

Jonah chapter 4

I. Jonah has completed the task he was called to do

a. The Ninevites responded

b. And God showed grace to them

c. So what is next?

d. Let’s look at chapter 4 verse 1

II. But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry. 2 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. 3 Now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.”

a. Jonah is unhappy with the events that took place

i. Not that he was in a fish

ii. Not that he went through the storm

iii. Not that he almost died

iv. But that God showed compassion.

b. Jonah then lays it out, he shares clearly that his fear was not of death or harm, rather, he feared God’s grace on evil doers

i. When someone repents and God then shows them grace, isn’t that a good thing?

ii. Yet Jonah, a prophet, decided this wasn’t something he wanted to see happen.

c. It would be easy for us to call Jonah crazy and think this is ridiculous, but pleas be cautious before you do so.

d. Often times, we talk a big game of forgiveness until we reach a certain point.

i. That point is different with everyone

ii. But when we see true acts of evil, or the effects of it, then seeking the forgiveness and the best for those who have been active in those evil things can be and usually is difficult for us to overcome.

iii. Don’t raise your hands, but I want you to think.

1. Has anyone ever wronged you or someone you love, then good things later happened to that person and it upset you?

2. This is a common feeling.

3. Don’t place yourself above Jonah on this, because we are better than no man.

e. Vs. 4

III. But the Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry?” 5 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.

a. God questions Jonah, is it right for you to be angry?

i. This is probably one of the hardest questions to answer about ourselves.

ii. When we are angry, it is hard to analyze our own thoughts and emotions to determine if they have merit or not.

iii. However, this is a question we should ask ourselves every time we get angry.

1. And answer that question honestly before we try to act on that anger.

2. For followers of Jesus Christ, I believe we are probably angry way more than we have legitimate right to be.

b. Vs. 6

IV. Then the Lord God provided a leafy plant[a] 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. 7 But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the plant 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.”

a. Jonah was watching and still hoped for God’s judgment to come down on them.

b. Then God provides a plant and destroys it.

i. God was teaching him a lesson that just simply went over their head.

ii. Jonah could no longer see God and His plans, he could only see his own circumstances

iii. He was upset and wanted to just die.

c. Vs. 9

V. 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.” 10 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. 11 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?”

a. God again asks Jonah, is it right for you to be angry about this?

i. Jonah then says again, I am so angry I wish I were dead.

ii. This is where God lays things out for Jonah

b. You cared about this plant which was here for a very short time and you had nothing to do with its growth

but you don’t care about Nineveh?

120,000 people, created in the image of God, Jonah would rather see die and go to hell.

he liked it when God cared for him and provided him with shade, yet, when God cared for sinners like these, Jonah wanted nothing to do with it.

And that is it. The end of the book

We are left to wonder, did Jonah stay angry

did he die as unhappy as he was at this point?

Did he repent and turn back to God?

I believe it is a good thing for us not to know.

not so we can speculate or try to determine for ourselves

rather, that we can understand that we, like Jonah, have an unfinished story.

Are you in a position where you have not been where you should be with God

Do you desire God’s goodness for you, but not for others?

Then in this moment, you can repent and turn to God

In the Gospel of Mathew, the Pharisees were demanding a sign from Jesus.

He told them that they would be given the sign of the Prophet Jonah

for as Jonah was in the belly of the fish 3 days, and three nights, the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth 3 days and three nights.

When Jonah came out of the fish, he carried a message of repentance to Nineveh.

When Jesus rose from the dead, He was the message of repentance to the entire world.

Run to that message

run to Him and repent today

turn away from your selfish desires and run to Him

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