Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction:

Anger is a difficult emotion to control.

I think there is something about anger that we like.

We feel empowered.

Adrenaline starts flowing through our veins and we feel like we can accomplish anything.

Our pride usually swells and all of the sudden we become like God in our own eyes.

We see ourselves as righteous and the other person as the transgressor.

We see ourselves as right and the other as wrong.

Compassion is different.

Especially when it involves our enemies.

Compassion takes on a humble attitude and values the other person more than yourself.

Ephesians 4:32 says it well:

The word tenderhearted means compassionate as well.

True compassion comes from a place that realizes that we are all sinners and in need of forgiveness.

When someone sins against us or is an enemy of ours, true compassion sees them as someone in need of the same forgiveness that we were in need of when we were saved by Jesus.

This is an impossible place to come to without Jesus Christ working in our hearts.

The very thought of loving our enemies and having compassion on them seems outlandish.

Yet, that is exactly what Christ commanded.

Today, we are going to see Jonah struggle through anger while God shows compassion to his enemy Nineveh.

I pray that we can learn from God’s life lesson for Jonah today.

Let us pray.

Prayer

Today we are going to discuss how we should respond to the Lord’s mercy and compassion on others - especially those we may see as our enemies or adversaries.

The first is:

I.

You Shouldn’t Resent the Lord’s Mercy and Compassion (1-5)

We see Jonah’s true colors come back in verse 1.

We are told that it displeased Jonah here.

This word displeased is actually a stronger word that we see in English.

Jonah actually says that he thinks what God has done is evil - or very evil when taking into account the word exceedingly as well.

I’m sure just the thought of Jonah saying that God did evil makes us all want to brace ourselves for the wrath of God about to be poured out on this rebellious prophet of the Lord.

Interestingly and mercifully however, God continues to allow Jonah to live!

What is it that God has done that Jonah refers to as evil?

It is referring to chapter 3 verse 10 where we see that God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to Nineveh.

This mercy of God displeased Jonah.

Jonah goes so far as to be angry with God.

He argues that he knew this is what would happen and that is why he fled in the first place.

Jonah starts railing against God and quotes a frequently cited verse in the Bible in verse 2 here.

It comes from Exodus 34:6:

Note that Jonah does put a little spin on this by adding the phase relenting from disaster at the end of his rough quote from Exodus.

I want us to pause for a second here.

Note that the same mercy that saved Jonah’s life when he deserved death and that led to a wonderful prayer of praise in chapter 2 is the same mercy that Jonah resents now.

The mercy that let him as a sinner off without death is now being offered to his enemy and he is angry because of it.

I am sure we can see a double standard here.

It is really easy to see this double standard in Jonah’s life.

But what about yours?

Do you struggle when God is merciful to others?

Especially when it is that certain man or woman or boy or girl?

Young people - do you struggle when that kid down your street who is disrespectful and unkind gets the bike that you spent all summer saving up for and they just got it for no work at all?

Or even bigger - you get that older used car you have been saving up for and working so hard for while your neighbor down the street who is mean to you gets a brand new Mustang convertible even though he has never worked a day in his life!

Adults - do you struggle when that fellow employee gets the promotion you got 5 years earlier than you did.

You know they aren’t even a kind person and don’t give their job nearly as much energy as you do.

Or how about the time you got your speeding ticket forgiven and received a warning and were overjoyed but when your enemy has the same thing happen you sound the alarm that there is corruption in the police force and you demand justice to be served!

These feelings come from a heart of sin.

They come from a heart filled with hatred toward someone around us. 1 John 4:20 gives us a tough word regarding this:

This verse lets us know that we cannot hate our brother and love God at the same time.

Friends we have to deal with this struggle with God’s power and ask Him to give us compassion to those who may have wronged us.

We must move past our feelings of hatred or resentment and move forward in love and compassion even for those who hate or persecute us.

Let us emulate God here and not Jonah.

Let us not resent the mercy and compassion of the Lord.

Moving forward to the next couple of verses:

Jonah’s anger at God’s action has gotten so out of hand that it has caused him to wish he were dead.

As Douglas Stuart says in his commentary:

“Rescue was all right for Jonah, but not for that important enemy city.

A world in which God forgives even Israel’s enemies is a world Jonah does not wish to live in.”

Douglas Stuart

I find it incredibly interesting that when we get to verse 4 that God has completely ignored Jonah’s request to die.

He goes straight toward Jonah’s heart.

Do you do well to be angry?

We see God being incredibly merciful to Jonah again here.

He didn’t answer back with lighting from heaven.

He didn’t reign fire down on his head.

He asks a probing question that is meant to get Jonah to think more deeply about his sin.

Jesus did this so often in the Scriptures.

People would say certain things and ask questions, but Jesus would always go after the heart.

God is consistent throughout the Scriptures in this way.

Kevin Youngblood, in his commentary on Jonah shows a consistent symbolism in the Scriptures regarding the direction east.

Oftentimes, the direction east was a sign and symbol that the person was not doing what was right.

Adam and Eve were banished east of the garden (Gen 3:24), Cain settle east in the land of Nod after killing his brother (Gen 4:16), the builders of the tower of Babel were moving eastward when they stopped to built the monument to their fame (Gen 11:2), and Lot when he separated from Abraham traveled east toward Sodom (Gen 13:11).

Now we have Jonah going east of the city and making a booth for himself.

The author wants us to know that Jonah is going the wrong way.

Instead of taking God’s question in verse 4 and reflecting on it and allowing the Word of the Lord to change his heart - he hardens his heart and sets up shop to hope that his argument with God would somehow manipulate God to destroy this enemy city.

Sadly, Jonah keeps resenting the Lord’s mercy and compassion.

Instead of resenting, you should...

Scripture References: Ephesians 4:32, Matthew 5:44, Exodus 34:6, 1 John 4:20; Genesis 3:24, 4:16, 11:2, 13:11

II.

You Should Receive the Lord’s Mercy and Compassion (6)

Here we see God sovereignly working again.

In verse 6 we see some grace from God yet again upon Jonah as He provides a plant to provide shade for Jonah as he rests there.

Apparently, the booth or temporary dwelling that Jonah had built in haste wasn’t very good at keeping the sun off of him because this plant that the Lord appoints provides much relief for Jonah.

The area surrounding Nineveh wasn’t the best place to find great timber and building materials!

In fact, Nineveh had to import such building materials.

So we can assume that his booth was somewhat underwhelming.

Interestingly, now Jonah goes from exceedingly angry and displeased to exceedingly glad.

I think one could infer here that Jonah might be thinking that God’s grace in this plant means that He is agreeing with Jonah and just might destroy Nineveh after all.

Since God is showing grace to him then God must be pleased with him.

My friends, let’s stop right there and apply this to our own lives.

There is a philosophy and worldview called consequentialism that is ruining our nation today.

It is also ruining our churches.

The classic definition of this term is this per the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: