JONAH

Jonah Chapter 4

• Jonah 4:1 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry.

I don't want to be critical of Jonah in this study but only to help us not to make the same mistakes and have the same attitude. We must remember his reluctance to preach in the first place. I don't believe Jonah was scared to go to Nineveh. I believe he ran from God because he didn't want to preach to the people that were so evil they tortured and killed some of his own people. It is not easy to pray and care for the souls of evil people that have been guilty of hurting those you love. Loving one's enemies is hard. It takes the spirit of God to turn that attitude around and cause us to have love and compassion instead.

For believers in Jesus Christ though, this is the calling Jesus called us to do after His resurrection and ascension back to heaven. "Go into the entire world and preach the gospel to all nations, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you." God wants to save rather than destroy. Destruction of a nation is His last resort.

• Jonah 4:2 And he prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.

This is so interesting to study. Jonah knew God would change His mind and not destroy Nineveh.  That is why he fled when asked to go preach to those people. Jonah hated them but he knew God wanted to save them. 

I remember seeing a photo of the terrorists who were beheading some Christians that refused to deny their faith in Christ and accept Islam. I was angry. I wanted a bomb dropped on them. Then I looked at the one who was the leader of the terrorists and had compassion on him, and began to pray for his salvation and repentance. "Hey, where did that come from? That wasn't me." Those guys are deceived and think they are doing their god a service. They think they are right in forcing their way on everyone else. They don't know of the mercy of love of the real creator who would rather save than destroy. This doesn't mean we allow anyone to get by with murder as I explain in the next paragraph.

Does having mercy and desiring the salvation of those that are evil mean that we are to be passive and never fight back to try to stop terrorists?  Absolutely not. We have to have law and order to keep innocent people safe. That is ordained of God. God is all for good government. Police and soldiers have to kill unfortunately in order to have peace. There is a time for that, but God still sends His prophets, preachers and teachers. He wants to save if at all possible. In saying this though. He has to send judgment if people do not repent because if He doesn't evil will continue forever.

• Jonah 4:3 Therefore now, O LORD, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live.

Poor Jonah. He would rather die than not see Nineveh destroyed. He was human and although he didn't want God to save Nineveh, perhaps also he didn't want his prophecy to not come to pass once he gave it forth. That would be a weakness any of us would have. We declare a prophetic utterance and then it not happen because people repent, that makes us look like a false prophet.

• Jonah 4:4 Then said the LORD, Doest thou well to be angry?

Here is where we see God's care for Jonah as well. He is a good God.

• Jonah 4:5 So Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would become of the city.

Looks like Jonah is still hoping for destruction and that his anger at God might change God's mind.

• Jonah 4:6 And the LORD God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd.
• 7 But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered.
• 8 And it came to pass, when the sun did arise, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and wished in himself to die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live.

First of all God prepares a gourd. Whatever this plant was it was large enough to provide shade and relief for Jonah as he sat and watched what would become of the city. Then God allows the gourd to be destroyed as a lesson to Jonah. Jonah began to suffer and desire his own death because of the sun and wind that beat down upon him after the gourd perished.

• Jonah 4:9 And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death.

It was great that Jonah had such a close relationship with God that he could speak back and forth like he did. That is available to all of us today by coming to Jesus Christ for our salvation. God provides a wonderful Holy Spirit baptism for all who believe and desire to receive forgiveness of sin and be filled with the spirit of God. All this is provided by child like faith in Jesus who made the way for us to be reconciled to God. Like in the days of Nineveh though. We must turn from sin and come to Jesus in faith to be saved from sin. Then we can ask to be baptized fully in the Holy Spirit.  

Before Christ they had to look forward to the day that Christ would come to make the final sacrifice for sin but they still had to repent of sin. Today we look back to the time Jesus gave His life for our sins but to be saved and inherit eternal life, we too must repent (turn from) our sin.  Repentance is still part of true salvation.

• Jonah 4:10 Then said the LORD, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night:
• 11 And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than six score thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?

God cared for the animals too that would have been destroyed if the whole city was destroyed by fire and brimstone like Sodom and Gomorrah was. 

In reading and studying these passages about God's mercy and love for His creation, we must not forget that although He prefers to save, there is a day that He has to say, enough and bring judgment instead. The choice is up to us.  DC