Sermon Tone Analysis

Good morning, Gateway!

Scripture

Pray

Intro

God is less interested in our achievements than he is our character.

A few weeks ago I was really honest and vulnerable with you all, saying I was having some struggles putting together a sermon for this Jonah series, so I consulted a commentary on my bookshelf at home, and that commentary was Baby’s First Bible Stories.

We read the Baby’s First Bible Stories version of Jonah, and it resembles a lot of Jonah stories we hear in America.

Jonah runs from God, God is mad, so he sends a fish, Jonah asks for forgiveness, obeys God.

The end!

And if the Bible is just a divine rulebook giving us reminders to stop sinning so much, that would make sense for Jonah to be like that.

But as we wrap up Jonah this morning, and our sermon series “We Are Jonah” we come to the chapter in Jonah, chapter 4, which is often neglected.

In fact, it is completely removed from Baby’s First Bible Stories.

Why?

Why does Jonah just end in Jonah 3? As we read in Jonah 4, we have to ask, didn’t God get what he wanted out of his prophet?

Jonah preached the message.

Nineveh responded.

What more does God want?

Pray

We are continuing in our year of Biblical Exploration, as we are going from January thru December in a 30,000 foot level overview of the Bible, seeing how it is not a rulebook shaming us into obedience, but it is a unified story that leads to knowing Jesus and growing in Jesus.

Would you mind reading some scripture out loud again with me?

How many of you read Jonah as a kid?

That’s awesome.

So did Timothy, and Paul says, “Timothy, and all of you…Jonah is there to make you wise…so that you know you need a Savior and that Savior is Jesus.”

We’re reading the Bible as a church family to be reminded over and over and over again…I can’t do this life on my own.

I need Jesus.

And we get that even in this Old Testament story about a middle eastern guy getting swallowed by a whale shark.

Or whatever.

Let’s start in verse 1 of chapter 4.

Ask the person next to you, “Why is Jonah so mad?”

In Jonah chapter 3, Jonah is a new man.

He’s come out of the belly of the fish, he’s gone through the waters of baptism, and he finally obeys God and goes to preach God’s word to Nineveh.

He seems to not fully obey God, he only goes one day in to a city that’s three days long, and he gives a horrible sermon.

Doesn’t even say God’s name, which is usually a pretty big indicator that your sermon is bad.

I don’t care how many funny stories I tell, if I get done with a sermon and don’t say “God” or “Jesus” or “Holy Spirit” you can say, Chris that was bad.

Yet, Jonah’s horrible sermon gets extraordinary results.

The Ninevites - including their king - repent from their evil way, fast, and respond to God.

God sees their repentance and doesn’t unleash his wrath on them.

So why is Jonah mad?

It literally says it was evil to Jonah.

The salvation of the Ninevites was abhorrent to him.

Jonah wanted the Ninevites to die.

His life would be better if they were gone.

Don’t say it out loud…but is there someone in your life that if tomorrow they were not there…at work, on your Facebook thread, in the White House, in your neighborhood…you think your life would be better?

We can relate to Jonah’s emotion, right?

Jonah 3 was about God’s relationship to the nations who don’t know him.

He loves them and wants them to turn to him.

But Jonah 4 is now going to be about God’s relationship with his people.

What does he want from them?

Verses 2-4

God’s Heart & Jonah’s Heart

Jonah 3 gave us the worst sermon ever (which was the title of last week’s sermon, by the way) and Jonah 4 gives us the worst prayer ever.

What is going on here?

There are two intentional Old Testament references here.

Two Old Testament References

Adam and Eve’s first two sons were Cain and Abel.

Genesis 4 gives us the story of these two brothers.

Do they like each other?

No. Why?

For some reason, Cain and Abel bring offerings to God.

God accepts Abel’s offering, but this is what he says to Cain.

This question of God to Cain is just like God’s question of Jonah.

God chose to bless someone else, and this makes Cain and Jonah, very mad.

And just like Jonah, Cain flees from God’s presence, where does he go?

It’s the title of a great John Steinbeck book....East of Eden.

Where will Jonah go in a few verses?

East.

The second connection is Exodus 34.

Jonah directly quotes from Exodus 34, which is the passage the Old Testament quotes the most.

What’s going on?

In Exodus, God saves the Israelites from Egypt, delivers them through the watery sea monster of the Red Sea, and brings them out to Mt Sinai and makes a covenant with them.

But Israel disobeys by worshiping a golden calf instead of God.

And God is very mad, but Moses intercedes on their behalf and God relents from the disaster of which he said he would do to them.

God then tells Moses what he’s like in Exodus 34:5-7

The comedic irony of Jonah 4 is that Jonah is mad at God for the very thing that allows him to be alive today.

If God were not gracious, merciful, slow to anger, he would’ve wiped them out back in Ex 34.

But because he is gracious, merciful, abounding in love, he forgave the Israelites.

But it ticks Jonah off that God would extend that love to someone else.

Jonah’s anger is irrational.

God wants to party over the Ninevites, Jonah wants to sulk.

God wants to think clearly about this, Jonah is not thinking well.

Who’s read Moby Dick?

It’s 9,000 pages long, but Captain Ahab is irrationally set on hunting the great white whale Moby Dick, even though everyone around him tells him not to.

They think he’s crazy.

But anger and revenge and bloodlust has completely distorted his judgment.

What does God want from Jonah? God knows his prophet’s heart is messed up.

God wants more than just right action from Jonah.

He wants to share his heart with him, and right now that’s just not happening.

Powerful question?

How will God pursue the heart of his prophet?

With a parable.

The Parable

I went to the Daffodil parade this year, and I didn’t get very good seats because I got there late.

A lot of people there.

Jonah went early to what he expected would be the main event.

He was ready to watch Nineveh burn.

Jonah is going east just like Cain in Genesis 4. Cain ran from Eden…the place God gave his people to experience his love and grace.

Jonah runs from God’s mercy and grace and does what…builds a booth.

Why a booth?

The Israelites celebrate a Feast of Booths, where they act out God’s salvation from Egypt.

And they make these huts out of leafy branches - kind of like little Edens to say “God thank you for choosing to save us.”