How Do You See God?

Jonah chapter 4. There's only four chapters in Jonah and today we're on the last chapter.

Jonah 4 · chapter mention

We're preaching through the gospel according to John. We finished all the way through John 16,

but once a month or so we pop back to the Old Testament and we've worked through the book of

Ruth. Now we're working through the book of Jonah. And it's been a delight and it's also amazing to

see the same gospel, the same message throughout all of God's word. So we're going to read all of

Jonah chapter 4 as our sermon text today. We'll really begin one verse before that.

Jonah 4 · chapter mention

As I read God's word today and as you follow along, remember this is God's inspired, inerrant,

infallible, clear, and sufficient word. This is God's very own word for you who are his people.

If you receive his word today in that way, then when I'm done with the reading of the word, I'll say

this is the word of the God and we'll respond, thanks be to God.

Jonah chapter 4, but let's start one verse prior. So Jonah chapter 3 verse 10.

Jonah 4 · chapter mention Jonah 3:10

When God saw what they did, that's the repentance of the Ninevites, how they turned from their evil way,

God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them and he did not do it.

Jonah 4 verse 1.

Jonah 4:1

But it displeased Jonah exceedingly and he was angry and he prayed to the Lord and said,

O Lord, is not this what I said when I was in my country?

That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish, for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful,

slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and relenting from disaster.

Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.

And the Lord said, do you do well to be angry?

Verse 5.

Jonah went out of the city and sat on the east of the city and made a booth for himself there.

He sat under it in the shade till he should see what would become of the city.

Now the Lord God appointed a plant and made it grow up over Jonah that it might be a shade over his head to save him from his discomfort.

So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant.

But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant so that it withered.

When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind.

And the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint.

And he asked that he might die and said, it is better for me to die than to live.

But God said to Jonah, do you do well to be angry for the plant?

And he said, yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die.

And the Lord said, you pity the plant for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow.

Which came into being in a night and perished in a night.

And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left.

And also much cattle.

This is the word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

You may be seated.

The Bible says that the grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of the Lord endures forever.

Beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, how do you see God?

How do you see God?

As I pray for illumination that the Lord would speak through his word, ponder that question.

How do you see God?

Let's pray.

Oh God, you are the creator and sustainer of everyone and everything.

You are eternal, infinite, and unchangeable in your power and perfection, goodness and glory, wisdom, justice and truth.

And nothing happens except through you and by your will, as the catechism says.

I pray, Lord, today that by the power of your spirit through the ministry of the word, you will open our eyes to see you, God, for who you truly are.

That you will be glorified in our lives, we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

In the Chronicles of Narnia, Lucy is learning who Aslan is.

Lucy is the little girl.

Aslan is the great lion, the creator, and the king over Narnia and over the whole world.

And Mr. and Mrs. Beaver are the ones who get to introduce Lucy to the idea of who Aslan is.

Lucy is curious, so she asks, is he safe?

The beaver says, of course he isn't safe.

He's wild, you know, not like a tame lion, but he's good.

He's the king, I tell you.

Great literature has two types of characters.

One is called a flat character.

The other is called a round character.

They're set up to be contrasts one with the other.

A flat character can be summed up in one to two sentences.

A flat character has traits that are consistent.

And a flat character is stable and more predictable.

The flat character serves to point a flashlight or a spotlight at a different character.

And that's the round or the complex character.

So with Narnia, you have Lucy who's a flat character.

She's spotlighting Aslan.

Lucy is consistently kind toward her siblings.

Lucy consistently rests, putting her hope in Aslan to come and save them.

But Aslan is not a tame lion, you see.

But he is the king and he's good.

We know from all of scripture that God is unchanging.

All of his attributes are unified in his essence.

But God does not reveal himself in a flat way.

Jonah seems to want a flat God.

The book of Jonah shows us God is so much bigger, Jonah.

God cannot be summed up in one to two sentences, can he?

Many of God's attributes are paradoxical.

And God often surprises you.

How do you see God, dear Christian?

How do you see God?

I believe as we walk through this last chapter of Jonah,

when you see God for who he truly is,

something will happen to you and to me.

As we see God for who he truly is,

the true condition of our heart gets exposed.

This was true for Jonah.

When God shows you who he truly is,

the true condition of your heart is exposed.

When God shows you who he truly is,

the true condition of your heart is exposed.

A couple observations on this.

The Lord revealed to Jonah,

in redemptive history,

these events actually happened in a real city,

a real capital of the Assyrian Empire.

God used those events in redemptive history

to reveal to Jonah who he truly is.

So God acts in history to reveal himself.

So we read in Jonah 4, verse 1,

Jonah 4:1

it displeased Jonah exceedingly,

and he was very angry.

The verb displeased,

it displeased Jonah exceedingly.

That verb is used in the Bible in connection to the eyes.

One example is Proverbs 15, 3,

the eyes of the Lord are in every place,

keeping watch on the evil and the good.

So you're seeing it,

you're taking it in,

and you're determining,

is this pleasing or not?

We see here two things that Jonah saw

that displeased him greatly.

Number one,

Jonah saw the Ninevites turn

and repent.

Number two,

Jonah saw God show mercy

by withholding punishment.

So what displeased Jonah

is really a reference to chapter 3, verse 10.

Take your eyes there in your Bible.

Jonah 3, 10,

when God saw what the Ninevites did,

how they turned from their evil way,

God relented of the disaster

that he said he would do to them,

and he did not do it.

And so we get the reaction of Jonah

in response.

In the Hebrew,

the literal translation,

according to the experts I learned from,

is this.

Jonah determined that it was evil,

and it burned in him.

That's his response.

That's what God revealed

was inside of Jonah.

God forgave the Ninevites.

Jonah could not.

God displeased Jonah.

From Jonah's perspective,

Nineveh is evil, God.

And if you are just,

how could you not punish evil?

So Jonah thinks that God's mercy is evil.

Now this little story has so much irony.

Irony is another literary device.

So kids,

irony is when a character's contradiction

or you could say in this case,

their hypocrisy,

it's very obvious to us,

the reader,

but the character himself is blind to it.

It's ironic to everyone else.

We see it.

God put the right words

in the mouth of Jonah,

even though he's angry at God.

Look at what Jonah says in verse 2.

God says the right things about God.

God is a God that is merciful,

slow to anger,

and abounding in steadfast love,

and relenting from disaster.

So Jonah's words are the correct theology,

and Jonah is quoting what God has told his people in numerous places.

One of those is Exodus 34,

Exodus 34:6

verses 6 and 7.

But Jonah does not like who God truly is.

That's the real problem here.

Jonah is displeased with who God truly is.

How do you see God?

It doesn't get any easier for us

in the New Testament, does it?

One example is Romans 9, verse 18,

Romans 9:18

which says that the Lord has mercy

on whomever he wills,

and he hardens whomever he wills.

How do you see God?

The Lord revealed to Jonah in redemptive history

who God truly is.

The Lord reveals to you and me

in redemptive history

who he truly is.

Second observation is that

Jonah's response to who God truly

reveals himself to be,

it exposes the condition of Jonah's heart.

So Jonah's response

exposes the condition of his heart.

In verse 2,

Jonah prayed unto the Lord

and he complained, saying,

this is what I said

when I was back in my country.

It's why I fled earlier to Tarshish.

Verse 3 says,

I beseech you now, O Lord,

take my life from me,

for it is better for me to die

than to live.

Well, in Jonah chapter 2,

Jonah 2 · chapter mention

Jonah prayed,

thanking God for sparing his own life.

Now in chapter 4,

Jonah prays,

asking for God to take his life.

God, if you're a God

who tolerates the sin

of this wicked people,

how can you be just?

Jonah can't handle

what God has revealed himself

to truly be.

Well, we have to ask the question now,

who has the right to be angry?

whose honor is so great

to show wrath

and whose judgment

is so perfect

to be able to be displeased

in this way

with what they see.

I searched the prophets

and I searched this time period

in the Old Testament

for the words angry

and anger.

And it's very limited to God,

the Lord seeing sin

and having a response of anger.

And it's also limited to kings.

The kings get angry.

So you see what Jonah is doing.

He's putting himself

in the place of a sovereign king.

He's making himself God.

One example is Isaiah 57, 15.

Who is it that can be angry?

In Isaiah's words,

it's the one who is high

and lifted up,

who inhabits eternity,

whose name is holy.

That God says,

I was angry

and hid my face

at sin.

But you can almost picture

that serpent,

just like the worm

that slithers to eat the plant

as it did in the garden.

The enemy,

God's accuser,

slithers in and says,

Jonah,

how could you love

a God like that?

How could you want to live

as a prophet

for that type of a God?

The accuser

wants to always put God

in the defendant's seat.

And to puff Jonah up

as the judge.

A creature

angry

at the creator.

See,

from the outside,

there's no judgment coming.

There's not going to be

a great show.

Jonah goes up to the hill

to watch this happen.

There's nothing to see

on the outside.

What God is revealing

is something

on the inside

of Jonah.

He has a sickness

of the heart.

And God

saved Jonah's life

physically.

Now he needs to save

his soul

spiritually.

And maybe that's the case

for you and I.

Maybe it takes

discomfort

or an unmet expectation

for God to show

that we have

some internal

bleeding going on.

That the great physician,

God himself,

needs to operate

and to restore

and heal you

on the inside.

Charles Spurgeon said,

Many a man

has died

from internal

bleeding

and yet there has

been no wound

whatsoever

to be seen

by the eye.

We know that God

doesn't look at

the outward appearance

like man.

God looks at

the condition

of my heart,

the condition

of your heart.

So this is gracious

of our Lord.

When God shows you

who he truly is,

he's revealing to you

the condition

of your heart

so that he can

operate on it,

so that he can

heal you.

We've seen how

when God shows you

who he truly is,

the true condition

of your heart

is exposed.

Next,

I want to show

how God reveals

the true condition

of your heart

for a purpose.

He does that

in order to minister

to you.

That's what he does

with Jonah

the rest of the chapter.

So God shows you

the true condition

of your heart

in order

to minister

to you.

Notice how God

responds in turn

to Jonah.

Jonah's there angry

as if he were the God.

But God is not

angry at Jonah.

The Lord meets

Jonah with patience

and with fatherly

instruction.

I've got four

observations on how

God ministers

to angry Jonah.

Number one,

God ministered to

Jonah through

personal counsel

with a soul-searching

question.

Isn't this God's

pattern?

He comes to his

people and he

asks you the

questions that make

you search in your

soul.

Look at verse 4.

The Lord said,

Doest thou well

to be angry?

Jonah,

you're determining

what is good

and bad.

You're determining

what should be

pleasing or

displeasing.

Now look at your

heart, Jonah.

Is this good?

Is this pleasing?

There's no response.

There's just

followed by action.

The action shows

the stubbornness

of Jonah's heart.

Look at verse 5.

So Jonah went

out of the city

and sat on the

east side

of the city.

That's the far

side of the city.

He made his way

all the way across

all of Nineveh.

And there's nothing

to buffer him

from the elements

that lie in the

desert beyond.

And there Jonah

made for himself

a booth

and he sat

under it

in the shadow

till he might

see what would

become of the city.

One person

described Jonah's

condition as he

sits under this

little tent he

made for himself

to watch

as sulky

despair.

Jonah's

negotiating

with his own

life before

the Lord.

Destroy them

or destroy me.

He's pouting

in protest.

He thinks

maybe my anger

will stir up

some anger

in God

to do what

I think

is right

for God

to act

justly.

The beauty

of God's

word is

we have

even more

situational

irony here.

His hypocrisy

is just

exposed

and set up

as the main

theme here.

He goes up

to the hill

and what does

your Bible say

he builds

for himself?

What's it

called?

A booth.

He builds

himself a booth.

That's a temporary

dwelling,

a little

tabernacle.

What we saw

in the Gospel

of John,

do you remember

what we saw?

The Feast

of the Booths.

And this is

what God has

told his people

to do.

Booths were

these temporary

little tabernacles

that God had

instructed his

people to build

on one of

their annual

feasts.

And it was

to symbolize

how God

dwells with

his people

and how his

people are

sojourners.

They should be

nimble.

They should be

able to stay

on the move.

And it was

a symbol

of God's

gracious

covenant

coming to

a people

who were

slaves

and now

he dwells

with them.

He tabernacles

among his

people.

Now there's

more to the

Feast of Booths.

It actually

got a second

name.

And this

comes from

Zechariah 14,

16 and other

places.

Listen to

this.

All the

nations

that have

come up

against

Jerusalem

shall go

up year

after year

to worship

the king

who?

The Lord

of hosts

and to

keep

the feast

of booths.

All the

nations were

to gather

and worship

the God

the Lord

of hosts.

It was

the feast

of the

nations.

Do you

see the

irony?

God's

heart for

the Ninevites,

the Assyrians,

the bad

guys.

That's what

God is

showing Jonah

with his

little booth

that he set

up.

Jonah,

I'm speaking

with you.

I am with

you.

Those who

you view

as your

enemies,

the feast

of booths

is for

them to

come and

worship

me.

The second

observation

is that not

only did

God minister

to Jonah

through this

personal

counsel of

a question,

the Lord

also ministered

to Jonah

through his

providence.

God

appointed

physical

means to

teach Jonah.

Notice

how back

in chapter

1,

Jonah 1

Jonah 1:17

verse 17,

the Lord

appointed

a great

fish.

And now

in chapter

4,

we get

three other

things that

the Lord

appointed.

In chapter

4,

verse 6,

the Lord

appointed a

plant.

In verse

7,

the Lord

appointed the

worm.

And in

verse 8,

the Lord

appointed that

vehement

east wind.

A couple

insights to

really paint

this picture

for us.

What was

this plant

perhaps?

Well,

Jerome in the

300s

thought most

likely this

is a

castor oil

plant.

He wrote

that it's

still cultivated

in our

gardens today.

It is

quick-growing,

beautiful,

tall,

with broad

leaves and

a soft,

succulent

stalk,

and only a

slight injury

of which

will cause

the plant

to die.

And the

Lord

appoints

this

vehement

east

wind.

The

Hebrew

word is

hiroko.

It's a

hot wind

coming out

of those

deserts,

and it

can get

up to

60

miles

per hour.

And this

is northern

Iran.

It's

similar to

those winds

that many

of you have

come from

California or

Nevada.

You know

those winds

that have

caused those

wildfires

to spread

almost exactly

the same

conditions.

In the

book of

Nahum,

who was a

contemporary

of Jonah,

that

Sirocco

east wind,

it was

used as

an image

of God

and his

coming

judgment

upon the

people

of Israel.

In Nahum

Nahum 2:1–8

chapter 2

verses 1

through 8.

Do you see

the situational

irony?

And do you

see how

the Lord

is appointing

all the

means to

show Jonah,

Jonah,

I'm the

one who

is bringing

judgment on

all who

rebel against

me.

Just like

I brought

this wind

upon you,

I can bring

my judgment

to Nineveh.

I can bring

my judgment

to Israel.

Just as

you had

comfort because

of a plant

that I made

to grow,

I can remove

your comfort

and I remove

the comfort

of Israel.

I am God,

I will save

whom I will

save.

Salvation

belongs to

the Lord.

Is this

how you

see God?

The songwriter

got it so

right when he

said,

What e'er my

God ordains

is right.

He never

will deceive

me.

He leads

me by the

proper path.

I know

he will not

leave me.

I take

content

what he

has sent.

His hand

can turn

my griefs

away.

So patiently

I wake

his day.

The Lord

appointed

all of these

physical things

to teach

Jonah a

spiritual

reality.

Before we

move to the

next point

of ministry,

I want to

point out

that the

Lord has

given us

physical

appointed

means by

which he

shows us

grace as

well.

He has

given us

his word.

Our Bible

translator last

week challenged

us we need

to read

God's word.

And he

prays God

that we

are a

congregation

that loves

to read

God's word.

The sound

of God's

word in

our language

coming in

through our

ears ministers

to our

mind and

our soul

in ways

that we

can't even

explain.

It is a

means that

God has

appointed and

he ministers

grace.

When we

pray,

we're told

in the

Bible to

pray for

one another.

These are

physical

things we

do.

We

actually

go into

one another's

living rooms

or front

porches and

we pray for

one another.

This is a

physical action

we do in

response to

our covenant

God and

he ministers

as we pray

for one

another.

When we

take the

Lord's

supper or

we get to

see a

baptism,

these are

physical

means he's

appointed that

proclaim a

spiritual

truth.

We're going

to eat

these with

our bodies,

with our

tongues,

we're going

to taste

and smell

and be

reminded of

the spiritual

reality.

You see how

God has

always

appointed

means to

teach his

people and

to minister

to us.

So what's on

us is to

make the

most of

what God

has appointed

and provided.

Make the

most of

that.

Well,

number three,

not only did

God minister

through those

appointed means,

but God

ministered to

Jonah with

a lesson

from the

lesser to

the greater.

God's

glory as

the biggest

heavy thing

we can

possibly

conceive of.

God

used this

plant to

teach

Jonah,

who God

truly is as

well,

to open

his eyes

to a

clearer

picture of

the true

God.

God.

The Lord

basically

says,

Jonah,

these people

have an

eternal soul.

This plant,

I made it

grow and I

can take it

away.

Now these

souls are

eternal.

This plant

grew up and

died in the

night.

These souls,

they will be

condemned

unless I

bring my

salvation to

them,

Jonah.

So your

response,

Jonah,

take your

eyes off

the lesser.

Put your

eyes on

that which

is greater.

That's what

he's calling

his people

to do

through the

lessons.

And Jonah

remains

hard-hearted.

We see

that in

every response

that Jonah

gives.

He pushes

himself lower

and lower

again and

that's how

the book

ends.

But it's

revealing to

us that

what God

is looking

for is the

heart response.

In chapter

two,

Jonah was

thrown into

the troubled

seas,

the waters

were what

were troubled.

Now in

chapter four,

it's his

heart that

is troubled.

As someone

wrote,

look on

thyself as

in a mirror

and you

will see

what a

boisterous

sea the

soul is.

And God's

word, it

does that for

us.

It becomes

like a

mirror, as

James wrote.

When we

see our

reflection in

the mirror,

we see how

troubled we

are.

And only the

presence of

the Lord can

steady our

souls and

bring that

peace that

we need.

Notice how

the Lord

applies this

lesson to

reveal himself

to Jonah in

verse 11.

The Lord

says,

should not I

spare Nineveh,

that great

city, wherein

there are more

than 120,000

persons.

What's more is

that these

persons cannot

discern their

right hand from

their left,

and also much

cattle.

see these

people, God

said in

verse 11,

they can't

discern.

That term

means to

distinguish or

to discriminate.

That term is

used in

Ezekiel 22

and also

44 to

describe one

of the

tasks of

priests,

which was to

teach the

people to

discriminate

between clean

and unclean.

These people

need the law

of God.

They are

lost.

It doesn't

mean the

Ninevites are

morally guiltless

before a just

God.

Judgment is

threatened to

them unless

they repent.

But it does

mean that they

are trapped

in their sin.

They are

helpless unless

God will

initiate their

salvation.

The Lord is

telling him,

Jonah, in

this great

city there are

souls.

These souls

don't know what

they're doing.

Don't you

see my

heart for

these souls?

And even

the cattle,

I'm the

great creator,

God says,

and I

desire that

none should

perish.

How do you

see God?

Well, one

last way that

God is

ministering is

to the

people of

Israel by

giving them

this book

of Jonah.

God

ministers

through the

life of the

prophet Jonah.

God taught

Jonah through

the plant.

The plant was

a little

picture lesson.

But Jonah's

life was like

the plant.

Jonah himself

was the

picture lesson

for all of

Israel.

Jonah stands

as a

representative of

the people of

Israel in this

story.

It's to get

their attention.

Do you

remember how

Ezekiel had

to do all

the different

sign acts?

Like dig

holes in his

walls of his

house?

Like we're

trying to

escape exile?

You know,

shave your

head because

you're going

to be kicked

out of the

land?

Well,

Jonah's

life is a

sign act

for the

people of

Israel.

Why does

the book of

Jonah end

this way?

It's

purposeful.

The Holy

Spirit did

this for a

purpose.

Why do we

end on this

click finger

which is,

I don't know

how Jonah

responded.

And it's to

teach us.

But what's

the lesson?

Before I tell

you what I

think, let me

tell you this

other insight.

Yom Kippur

is the name

of the great

day of

atonement.

The great

day of

atonement,

it ends

with the

reading of

all things

the book

of Jonah.

And the

lesson is

this, people

of Israel,

God has

provided through

the scapegoat,

through the

sacrificial goat,

he's provided a

picture of your

atonement.

But finish with

the book of

Jonah, which

calls you to

respond with

the heart of

God, not only

to save you,

but to save

all the nations.

From those

fishermen on the

coastlands, to

the Ninevites,

the most wicked,

despicable people.

This is who

atonement is

truly for.

There are only

two books that

end with a

question that

just hangs

there.

And it's

interesting how

both of those

have to do

with the

Ninevites.

It's Jonah,

and the second

one is Nahum.

Nahum ends

with a note of

judgment.

For example,

the Lord is

slow to anger

and great in

power, and the

Lord will by

no means

clear the

guilty.

Nahum's a

contemporary of

Jonah, and he's

calling God's

judgment on the

Ninevites.

And though God

spares the

Ninevites in

this story with

Jonah about

40 years later,

so not 40 days,

but 40 years

later, the

Ninevites are

conquered by the

Medes and the

Babylonians.

So God is

just, and his

justice never

fails.

But Jonah ends

with a note of

compassion upon

this great

worldly city.

And so you,

the reader,

and I, we

must ponder the

meaning.

We must decide

now what action

to take.

We don't get

Jonah's response

to be able to

sit at a distance

and analyze him.

We are the

ones who are

called upon to

respond.

How do you

see God?

We want to

know, did Jonah

learn this mercy

from God?

Brian Estelle,

who helped me

so much through

this book, a

Hebrew scholar,

he wrote,

quote, in some

respects, that

question is moot

because it puts

you and me, the

current readers,

as well as Jonah

and Israel of

old, in the

position of having

to respond to

God.

Will you, my

people, learn

my mercy?

This lack of

closure teaches

us that I am

Jonah, and

you are Jonah.

The question

lingers for you

and me today,

will you learn

God's mercy?

Not only does

the Lord minister

to Israel through

this wonderful

little book of

Jonah, and not

only was Jonah a

representative of

hypocritical Israel

whose judgment was

coming soon,

Jonah is also a

contrast or a

foil for the

great prophet, the

Lord Jesus

Christ.

How do you see

God?

If we go back to

Narnia, one year

of time passes in

London time, which

is 130 years in

Narnia time.

Lucy's back in

Narnia now, a year

older, and when she

sees Aslan, she

says, Aslan, you

seem bigger.

Is it because you

have gotten older?

And Aslan says, no,

because I don't age,

but it's because you

have aged.

Aslan tells Lucy,

every year you

grow, you will

find me bigger.

The book of Jonah

reveals to you and

me that God is so

much bigger, and it

points us to the

biggest, greatest,

most clear

revelation of who

God truly is.

We saw in the

book of Jonah how

God appointed a

great fish.

The Lord appointed

a plant.

The Lord appointed

a worm.

The Lord appointed

a vehement east

wind.

And we read in

Hebrews 1, verse

Hebrews 1:1

1, how at many

times and in many

ways God spoke by

the prophets, but

now he has spoken

to us by his

son.

Listen, whom he

has appointed, the

heir of all

things.

He, the Lord

Jesus Christ, is the

radiance of the

glory of God.

He is the exact

imprint of God's

nature.

How do you see

God?

God.

God.

Acts 22, verse 14

Acts 22:14

says that God

appointed you,

believer.

God appointed you

to know his will

and to see the

righteous one

and to hear his

voice.

The Lord revealed

to Jonah in

history who he

truly is.

God.

And the Lord

reveals to you

who he truly

is by sending

his own son,

God the son,

in the flesh,

into human

history so that

you can see

God in Christ.

Jonah was to

take the word of

God to the wicked

world, but instead

he traveled far

away.

But our Lord Jesus

Christ, who is the

word of God,

he traveled into

the wicked world

to dwell close

by among you.

See God in

Christ.

Jonah felt no

pity, we're

told.

But over and

over and over,

nine times I

counted in the

Gospels, when

Jesus saw the

people, he had

compassion.

And the word

is to be moved

from the depths

of his being,

with deep

compassion for

those souls.

Jonah's

disobedience

earned death

for himself

in deep

hellish darkness

at the bottom

of the sea.

But Christ's

obedience earned

for his elect

from all the

nations, eternal

life in his

kingdom of life.

See God

in Christ.

God's

justice.

Jonah went

outside the

city to watch

the condemnation

of the wicked.

Jesus went

outside the

city to be

condemned in

the place of

the wicked.

See God

in Christ.

Jonah was

unsubmissive to

God's showing

grace.

Jesus submitted

himself as the

substitute to show

God's justice.

Jonah,

whose name

again ironically

means dove

or peace,

he prayed

death

for enemies.

Jesus,

whose name

means God

saves,

he prayed,

Father,

please forgive

them.

See God

in Christ.

God's

Jonah did

not remember

God's

mercy to

him.

Jesus

remembers

your sins

no more.

Hebrews 8,

12.

See God

in Christ.

Jonah

dishonored

God

as though

the just

and merciful

creator did

not know

what he was

doing.

Jesus

honored his

father to

save you

and me,

his killers,

praying,

Father,

they don't

know what

they are

doing.

Jonah

said,

God,

if you

don't

destroy

these

sinners,

then let

me die.

Jesus

said,

let me

die that

these

sinners

may live.

love.

I love

the hymn.

I was

listening to

it this

morning and

the connection

is perfect.

Jesus,

I am

resting,

resting.

You are

the brightness

of my

father's

glory,

sunshine

of my

father's

face.

I am

finding out

the greatness

of thy

loving

grace

more

each

year.

God

reveals

your

great

need

and

his

great

grace

so that

you will

see God

in Christ.

Respond

to who

God truly

is by

confessing

what

Jonah

prayed

from the

belly

of the

fish.

Salvation

belongs

to you,

Lord,

alone.

God

will

save

whom

he

will

save

and

see

the

depth

of

God's

mercy

to

save

you

and

me.

Ask

him

to

put

more

of

that

same

mercy,

compassion,

pity

inside

of you.

We need

it.

We can

only love

if he

first

loves

us

and

fills

us

with

that

kind

of

love.

Our

Lord

Jesus

Christ,

he

is

the

full

revelation

of

the

true

God.

Respond

to

God's

mercy

today.

See

God

in

Christ.

Let's

pray.

From

Acts

14

38.

Lord,

we trust

the promise

that as

many as

were appointed

to eternal

life will

believe.

And when we

believe,

we will

rejoice and

we will

glorify you,

God.

You alone

are worthy.

Thank you,

Father,

for sending

your Son that

we can see

who you

truly are,

to see

your grace

and your

love

lavished

on sinners

like us.

Help us

to receive,

Lord,

once again

today,

your great

gift of

love,

through Jesus

Christ,

our Lord,

we pray.

Amen.