Jonah 4 - Grace

Good morning. Today's reading can be found on page 929 of the church Bibles.

Jonah chapter 4, starting at verse 1.

Jonah 4 · chapter mention

But to Jonah, this seemed very wrong, and he became angry.

He prayed to the Lord,

Isn't this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home?

This is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish.

I knew that you were a gracious and compassionate God,

slow to anger and abounding in love,

a God who relents from sending calamity.

Now, Lord, take away my life.

For it is better for me to die than to live.

But the Lord replied,

Is it right for you to be angry?

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.

Then the Lord God provided a leafy plant

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.

But at dawn the next day,

God provided a worm,

which chewed the plant so that it withered.

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.

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.

But the Lord said,

You have been concerned about this plant,

though you did not tend to it or make it grow.

It sprang up overnight and died overnight.

And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh,

in which there are more than 120,000 people

who cannot tell their right hand from their left,

and also many animals?

This is the word of the Lord.

Good morning, church.

Like I said earlier, my name is Nathan.

I'm the trainee pastor here at West Kilburn.

And I mean this when I say this.

It is my great joy and privilege

to get to preach God's word to you today.

Let me start by saying this.

In the book of Acts,

we are shown a people that are commended

for the fact that they keep on looking at

what Paul is saying,

and then looking at God's word

to check that what he is saying is true and scriptural.

And so in that spirit,

can I encourage you,

keep Jonah open in front of you,

continue to check back in on it.

I will continue to refer to it.

But as we have our Bibles open at Jonah 4,

and as you might realize,

we're back in Jonah,

we did take a three-week break.

If all you can remember about Jonah 1 to 3

is the fact that there's some fish involved,

you're probably not on your own.

So we're going to do a little bit of a recap

first before we dive in to Jonah.

Here's a little recap.

So to start with,

Andrew took us through Jonah 1.

The wickedness of Nineveh,

this city,

has come before the Lord.

And so he calls on Jonah,

go to the great city of Nineveh

and preach against it,

says God.

But Jonah goes in exactly the opposite direction.

He flees away as far as he can go

from Nineveh.

And then a storm comes.

He knows it's because he has disobeyed God.

And by his own admission,

the only way to stop that storm

is to throw him overboard.

The men are hesitant,

and the men on the boat

didn't actually believe in Jonah's God.

But by the end of the chapter 1,

even they feared the Lord.

In the last verse,

he is thrown overboard,

and it says,

the Lord provided a huge fish

to swallow Jonah.

Steve then walked us

through Jonah 2 and Jonah 3.

In Jonah 2,

while in the belly of this fish,

he is pleading with the Lord,

Lord, help me,

save me from this.

I will proclaim your message,

what you told me to do,

if you would just help me here.

And so he is spat out of the fish

on a shore near Nineveh,

and he is on his way again.

God again charges him,

proclaim the message,

and in Jonah 3,

he proclaims that message.

He speaks five words

in the original language of Hebrew.

There are eight translated into English,

and these are the words.

Forty more days,

and Nineveh will be overthrown.

It's quite an unimpressive sermon,

but God is speaking,

and God is working through it.

The entirety of Nineveh

comes to repent,

to believe in who God is,

and turn away from their wickedness.

The king even sends a decree,

and now the entirety of Nineveh

is repenting

and mournful for their sin.

And Steve preached to us

about the joy

of a repentant heart,

and that's the end

of Jonah 3,

the repentant people of Nineveh.

So, God's word

has gone out to his people.

The people have repented,

and we see

one of the biggest revivals

ever recorded,

which is 120 people

turning away from their wickedness

and to God.

So all this awe-inspiring stuff happens,

and then comes Jonah 4.

The prophet has done his job.

He's proclaimed the message,

and now God seems to take aim

at his heart.

He wants to teach Jonah something

of who he is

and what he's all about,

and I think that should really speak

to us today.

And that's where we're going to dive in

to Jonah 4.

But before we dive in,

let me pray for us

as we start.

Lord, we thank you

for bringing us here together.

We thank you for your grace

and the grace shown

in the story of Jonah.

Lord, may you please edify us

with these words,

the words of your scripture.

And Lord, please speak.

Your servants are listening.

In Jesus' name I pray.

Amen.

Okay.

Here's a big idea

of this big passage

of Jonah 4.

God is gracious

and merciful

and we are so often not.

God is gracious

and merciful

and we are so often not.

That's the great big idea

of the passage,

but we're going to look at that

in about three different stages.

First is going to be

the stage of grief.

This is the anger

that Jonah has

for the grace

that God has shown

to Nineveh.

The second is

the grace

that is God's character

in this passage

that he is a gracious

and compassionate God.

Then lastly,

the gift.

Out of that flow,

out of that grace

flows a gift

that God gives us

and that's what

we're going to look at.

But let me start

by saying this.

If you know me at all,

you will know

that I like some

pretty rubbish films.

Right?

I studied media

at A-levels

and I can assess a film

and tell you

that the cinematography

is good

or this, that, and the other.

I could probably tell you

what a good film is.

I just don't like them.

They seem a bit pretentious

and the story

is never that gripping

and I'm just not a fan.

I like some quite rubbish films.

One of those films

is Safe Haven.

If you've watched it,

you'll know

that I love this.

Any given moment

you ask me

what film do you want to watch, Nathan,

this is it

and it drives my family nuts.

But

what's beautiful

about this film to me

is that it's just

basically a romantic drama.

The plot line is

this woman is leaving

a bad relationship

in the city

and escaping

to this small old town

and she finds

the love of her life.

If that sounds familiar,

that's because it is.

It's basically the plot line

of every romantic film

or hallmark film.

But

it's just better

and I love it.

Here's the thing

about this film.

It starts and ends

with some quite dramatic

and intense scenes.

And I couldn't really

tell you much

about those scenes

because I just skip over them.

I don't really want to

come here for the intense stuff

and the intense drama.

I'm here for the nice

sleepy old town

that's chilled out

and a romantic film.

So I watched the middle.

It's complete bliss.

But

I mention all of that

to say

that I think

that's what

Jonah 4 is like

for us.

It's the start

and the end

of that film to me.

It's the bit

that's kind of overlooked.

It's the bit

we're least familiar with

in the story

of Jonah.

I got to university

I think

before I even found out

really

and I'd grown up

in the church

but that was the first time

I really found out

that Jonah 4 even existed

as a chapter.

Partially because

maybe it's just because

I focused on the exciting bit

when the prophet

is in the mouth of a fish

or maybe I didn't get taught it.

Who knows?

But I think it's overlooked

but there is so much

that we need to see in this

and that can speak to us.

So why don't we start

with the grief?

Let's start with grief.

I mean Jonah is really angry

and you don't have to wait

to see that.

That's right in verse 1.

It says,

but to Jonah

this seemed very wrong

and he became angry.

I mean the word there

for anger

is a sort of hot

raging anger.

By verse 3

he already wants to die.

He is furious

with what God has done

with forgiving

the Ninevites.

But why?

He's preached the message

and they've repented

and God has forgiven them.

So why is Jonah

angry?

Well a few clues

for what might be

making him angry here.

First is the wickedness

of the Ninevites.

The wickedness

of the Ninevites

is quite well known.

If there was a mode

of torture

at that point in time

the Ninevites

were probably involved

in doing it.

They treated their captors

and prisoners terribly

and historical accounts

are quite gripping

but really horrific.

They also engaged

in things like

child sacrifice.

I mean the book

of Jonah starts

by Jonah being told

to go to Nineveh

because his wickedness

has come up

before the Lord.

They are a wicked people

make no mistake

about that.

God knows about it

and yet he sends Jonah

and those are the people

that are forgiven.

And so Jonah's annoyed.

Those are the people

that could possibly

be forgiven.

That might be one reason.

The other side

of his anger

seems to be predicated

on this prevailing opinion

that the Israelites

that Yahweh

the God of Israel

while he had authority

over the entire world

his grace

his favor

his mercy

was only meant

to extend

to Israel

his chosen people.

So put those two together

and Jonah has this

expected favoritism

of the Israelites

combined with the wickedness

of the Ninevites

and he is angry.

He has made up his mind

this is very wrong.

And of all the possible

reasons for his anger

they all boil down

to this general thinking

from Jonah.

Jonah believes

that Nineveh

deserves judgment

and yet they have had

and received grace

and mercy from God.

Jonah believes

that Nineveh

deserves judgment

yet received grace

and mercy.

We see that here

don't we?

Just look with me

at verse two

I'm going to read

these verses out again.

It says

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.

Now Lord

take my life

for it is better

for me to die

than to live.

He doesn't hide

his cards does he?

The reasons

for Jonah

not wanting

to be in Nineveh

the main reason

is not that

he was afraid

of what the Ninevites

might do to him

these wicked people.

It was not because

it was a long journey

they just didn't want

to go on.

It's not because

he thought they might

reject the message

that the prophet

had to proclaim.

No

the main reason

wasn't any of those things.

The main reason

is because Jonah

knows God's heart.

He knows his character.

He knew that God

would show the people

grace and mercy

if they would repent.

And he didn't want that.

He wanted to see

them judged.

He was afraid

that God would be

exactly who he says

he is.

Gracious,

compassionate,

slow to anger,

abounding in love

and for Jonah

maybe the worst one

relenting

from sending calamity.

See Jonah is saying

what is the quiet bit

in his heart

out loud.

Jonah is screaming

in all of this

enough God.

This is why

I didn't want

to come here.

I knew you were gracious.

I knew

that you would make

some way for them

to turn back

and I don't want that.

They deserve judgment.

They are wicked.

God,

you're wrong

to offer them mercy.

They don't deserve it,

says Jonah.

And just as he wishes

his life away,

God comes to him

with a question

on which this passage

turns.

Is it right

for you

to be angry?

Is it right

for you to be angry,

Jonah?

Is it right

for you to be angry

that I called

120,000 people

to me

and they repented

and put their faith

in me?

Is it right

for you to be angry

at my grace

for these people?

Is it right

for you to be angry

at who I am,

gracious

and compassionate?

I think we all

may know

what the ideal response

here is from Jonah

but we don't see one.

Jonah doesn't say anything.

All we know

is that by verse 5

he is sat down

and is looking

at the city.

By all accounts

he is hoping

that they are destroyed,

judged for what

they are doing,

that their repentance

was futile

and actually

they are still

going to be judged.

That is the way

he comes into it.

God is about

to use an object lesson

to help Jonah out.

God is using

the leafy plant

that grows.

Look at me

at verse 6.

Then the Lord

God provided

a leafy plant

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.

But at dawn

the next day

God provided a worm

which chewed the plant

and so that it withered.

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.

This time

it's a plant

and yet again

he is furious.

Angry to the point

of death

and here comes

God again

it's the same question

but just this time

it's about the plant

says

is it right

for you to be angry

about the plant?

Before we even

get to his answer

to this

it shows us

his heart.

Do you see

his heart,

his priorities,

his values here?

There's two times

throughout this passage

that he has been angry

to the point of death.

Once over the repentance

of Nineveh

and once

over a plant

that gave him comfort

for a few hours.

So he has more compassion

for a plant

that he knew

for all of 24 hours

than for the 120,000 people

that would be lost

without God's grace

in Nineveh.

Do you see

his heart,

his priorities,

what he values

above everything else?

So what he values

is his comfort

and a plant

far more

than the lives

of people.

So the only time

he's actually been happy

at all

in this entire book

is in verse 6

when a plant comes

to give him comfort.

In verse 2

as he rounds

at God

about his character

what we see

is six different

references

in those couple

of sentences

to himself.

I, me

or my

are used.

His priority

is himself

and his comfort

and values

and he values

that far above

and beyond

the life

of the people

of Nineveh.

See here

it's really easy

for us to think

and just detach

ourselves from it.

To think we are

so far from being

like Jonah

yeah friends

we're far more

geared up to be

like him

than we think.

Maybe you're not

thinking our value

a plant

over 120,000 people.

See one of

Jonah's major issues

here is that

he has misplaced

his priorities.

His priorities

are not in order.

He's constantly

prioritizing his own

comfort and values

above the lives

of others

and that is

exactly the opposite

of the way

God sees it.

We're going to see

that as we continue

in this passage.

But maybe it will

help you to know

how this plays out

in my life

in how I

misplace priorities.

About a week

or two

well about two

weeks ago

me and Daisy

had a week off.

Knowing we had

a few busy weeks

ahead and a few

busy weeks behind us

we really were

looking forward

to this time off.

We're getting away

from London

getting to relax

and see some friends

and go away

and see some family.

But for various reasons

you can ask me

about after the sermon

we had to cancel

all that holiday.

We couldn't go away

and it was quite annoying.

You try and make

the best of it

we were still in London

we had a good time

but it felt

slightly disappointing.

And then at the end

of that week

my holidays are

drawing to a close

and it feels like

a bit of a shambles.

We wake up on Monday

and the washing machine

is completely closed.

It's completely broke.

It's gone.

And I,

and that was like

the camel that

broke the straw.

The back,

I didn't get that

analogy right.

You know what I'm saying.

But that was the thing

that sent me over the edge.

Right?

I'm annoyed.

The toaster is

completely gone.

And I realise

that all of this

is a bit of a

first world problem.

He didn't get his holiday.

I know.

But I'm ticked off.

I'm really annoyed.

I take myself off

to a different room.

I'm doing some

household chores

trying to just pray

that this day gets better.

My nice,

relaxing weekend

or week

is off in shambles.

And I just felt

this little thought

perk in my head.

He goes,

that's a lot like Jonah,

isn't it, Nathan?

Now,

I've been prepping

this sermon

for a while

and so this was

in the back

of my head.

Annoyed

and sad

at my relaxing

and my comfort

being disrupted.

In that moment,

I felt like

God was convicting me.

Holding up a mirror

from Jonah 4.

And it's not

that it was wrong

for me to be annoyed.

Those are some

annoying things

and if you're

annoyed about them,

that is okay.

But I just felt

God convict me

and said,

when was the last time

you were this

passionately prayerful,

this passionately annoyed

or this passionately angry

at the fact

that so many

around you

do not know Jesus yet?

Your priorities

are your comfort

and the weekend

of relaxation

that you got taken away

rather than

the people

around you.

And it's one instance

and one example

of where our priorities

are shaped the wrong way

but I bet

I'm not the only one

where our priorities

are not always right.

They're the wrong way route.

See, we are far closer

to Jonah

in having our priorities

wrong than we would

like to admit.

So here's my question

for you.

Are your priorities

in line with God

and does your life

show that?

Are your life decisions

the big decisions

you make in life

and the small alike

are they marked

by the gospel mission

of Jesus Christ?

To reach people,

to care for people,

to show his compassion

to others.

Is your calendar set up

to make time

to care for people,

to pray for others,

those around you?

Christians in this room,

God calls you

to die to yourself

each day

and live for Christ,

prioritizing his ways

over and above

your own comfort.

So lovingly,

I think it's right

that we ask ourselves,

how are you doing

with that?

How are you doing

with that?

But we've seen

the bitterness

and the wrong place

priorities of Jonah,

but now we see

God's heart.

As Jonah responds,

saying,

it is right for me

to be angry

with what you've done

with this plant,

God.

We see verse 10

and 11,

God show his heart.

Look with me

at those.

But the Lord said,

you have been

concerned about this plant

though you did not

tend to it

or make it grow.

It sprang up overnight

and died overnight.

And should I not

have concern

for the great city

of Nineveh

in which there are

more than 120,000 people

who cannot tell

their right hand

from their left

and also many animals?

God's response

to Jonah

is one of love

and care

for the people

of Nineveh.

People who are lost

do not know

their right hand

from their left.

God is saying,

Jonah,

their sins are many,

yes,

but each one of them

is a man

or woman

or child

made in my image.

Each one I have sustained

and I have grown

from birth until now.

Each one is unique

creation of mine.

Should I not be concerned?

Should I not have

compassion for them?

God is adamant

and passionate

about the people

of his creation

and not just

his chosen people

in Israel

and that's what

Jonah is finding out.

He is passionate

about the entirety

of his creation.

Look down with me

at verse 6.

It starts by saying,

then the Lord God

provided a tree.

The words Lord

and God

are used together.

They're used separately

in the rest of the book,

Lord or God,

but they're used together here.

The first word Lord

in Hebrew here

is the word Yahweh.

That is the personal name

that Israel have

for their God,

Yahweh.

So Lord is Yahweh

and the second word God

in Hebrew

is Elohim.

That word is used

to refer to God,

especially in Jonah,

as the God

of the universe,

the God

of everything

that exists.

See,

in saying both together here,

the writer is putting

them together,

Yahweh Elohim.

He is God

of both Israel

and the universe.

He is God

of everybody

and he is compassionate

about everybody,

not just Israel,

but the entire world.

And as he sees people

living in wickedness

in Nineveh,

his grace is on them.

He sends a prophet

to them

to share a message

that brings them

to repent

and allows them

to be forgiven.

And as we come

to our last point,

the gift,

we look at the,

looking at the character

of God,

does any of it

sound familiar to you?

One with concern

and compassion

for the sinners.

One who makes a way

for people

to be forgiven.

One that holds

our grace

and love

for each

and every

one of us.

That God

sees the wickedness

and suffering

of his people

and sent someone

to save them

to save them.

It's Jesus,

isn't it?

That's Jesus.

God sent Jesus

to and for us.

See,

there is a whole

load of wickedness

in the world

around us today,

just like in Nineveh.

I don't think

I really need

to convince you

of that.

If you turn on

your news

or flick through

Instagram

or maybe just

walk out your door

and live a little,

you'll see the

brokenness

and wickedness

of the world

around us.

Bitterness,

hatred,

envy,

and generally

wickedness

fuel wars,

hateful politics,

broken relationships,

and so much more.

The gravest

of our sins

is not the individual

things necessarily

that we do

or don't do.

They absolutely

matter and are sinful.

But rather,

it's the fact

that we have turned

away from God

and his ways.

The wickedness

of our world

is a symptom

of us turning

away from God.

The Bible says

we have all

sinned and fallen

short of the glory

of God.

We have all

deserved punishment

just like the

Ninevites did

for our sin.

And that sin

separates us

from God

and the creator

that we were

meant to know

and love forever.

And who does he

send to save us?

He sends Jesus.

God himself

came to this earth

to save us.

Tim Keller

talks about

Jonah 4

and the links

to Jesus.

He talks about

them as

the God

of the Ninevites,

God figuratively

weeping

as he sees

the wickedness

of the Ninevites.

And so

this is one

of the quotes

he says about

Jesus.

He says,

he,

Jesus,

is the weeping

God of Jonah 4

in human form.

See,

the same God

that weeps

over the wickedness

of Nineveh

and brings them

back to him

is the same God

that weeps

over us

and in his

compassion

sent Jesus.

All of that

is the reason

why Jesus

lives a perfect

life,

died on the cross

for you and me,

taking all our sins

on him

and rises again

having defeated

death and sin.

He didn't just

see the Ninevites

way back when

and offer a

flailing,

failing,

and angry prophet.

He sees you

and me,

ones that are

sinful and need

forgiveness

and he sent

Jesus.

so that if we,

like the Ninevites,

are sitting in here

having repented

of our sins,

he is still

that gracious

and compassionate

God,

abounding in love

and says,

live in the freedom

that your sins

have been forgiven

in Jesus.

See,

we've seen the heart

of Jonah

and imperfect

and grieving

God's grace.

We've seen the heart

full of grace

and out of it

the gift that flows

of Jesus for us.

And I just want to end

with two things.

There are so many

things that we could

take away,

be convicted of

and all of those

things and be

worshipful of.

Here's two things

I want to end on

that might be

very practical things

that we can apply

in our lives.

First,

let's remember

God's compassion

for others.

God's compassion

for others

is so deep

and wide

that it extends

far beyond

your friends

and family

and far beyond

the walls

of our church.

We want to be

like Jesus,

not like Jonah.

We want to show

our concern

and compassion

for the people

in front of us.

Whether that's

your Muslim neighbor

that goes out

to pray each Friday

or the co-worker

with no particular

belief and a lot

of apathy

or maybe it's

the curious agnostic

searching for answers

or maybe

it's the person

who hates churches,

hates organized religion

and doesn't really

like you all that much.

See,

no matter who

the person is,

God is concerned

for them.

He has compassion

for them

and he wants them

to know him

and his forgiveness

through the gospel.

It is their greatest need

and it is ours too.

And so this week,

why don't we remember

God's compassion

for others

that we see

in Jonah 4,

their need for him

and why don't we long

to pray for them

and share the gospel

with them.

Secondly,

why don't we continue

to worship God

his grace?

This is not for us

this zone is not

for us to go home

and just do a ton of things

but rather that we would

worship God

for his grace to us.

See, the quickest way

for us to become

more like Jonah

and less like Jesus

is to miss God's grace

in our lives.

Jonah disobeys God

from start to finish

and yet God is gracious.

When he went the wrong way

into a storm

thrown into the sea,

God graciously

provides a fish.

When he hates God

for forgiving

the Ninevites,

God graciously

gives him shade

and he graciously

provides a worm

to take that shade away

that he might teach

Jonah some of the

heart of God.

See, Jonah wants

judgment for others

but refuses to acknowledge

the grace that God

has had to have

on him

in his own life

for all of his sin.

And I see that

to be true in me.

I want to see people

punished for their sins,

punished for their crimes

and I want to have

gracious forgiveness

for mine.

But we are a people

forgiven,

sustained and carried

by the grace of God.

So let us not forget

that grace

as we go out

that God has had

on us

and may it fuel us

to be gracious

to others too.

Let me pray for us

as we end.

Lord, we thank you

for being a gracious

God to us.

We thank you

for sending Jesus

without whom

we would be

just like the Ninevites,

lost and wicked.

Lord, we pray

that you would continue

to work in us

to see us

be gracious to others

as we see our own

need for your grace.

In Jesus' name

I pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.