Jonah 1-4

Go ahead and open to the book of Jonah, if you will.

Book of Jonah.

Before we get into our text this morning, there is something that I felt needed to be addressed.

! It might be a little awkward, but I just thought this can't go without being spoken about.

So I just want you all to know, because many of you have asked me, many of you have come to me

throughout this past couple weeks since the last time I preached and have asked me,

did you actually say sweet Moses in the middle of your sermon?

And I just want to clear the air and say that that did come out of my mouth.

That just kind of happened.

So there was that.

I don't know what's going to fly out today, but if you think I said it, I probably said it.

So there you go.

But yeah, Jonah, we're going to be going through the whole book this morning,

which might sound like a lot, but it's actually not that much.

We're going to be starting verse one.

And before we get into the text, I just wanted to set a little bit of the historical backdrop to Jonah,

because it's important to understanding what is going on in this book.

So Jonah lived during the prosperous reign of King Jeroboam II in the northern kingdom.

So Israel during this time was split in two.

There was the northern kingdom, which was called Israel, made up of ten tribes.

And in the south, you had the southern kingdom, the kingdom of Judah, made up of two tribes.

So Jonah's in the north.

And for the northern kingdom, this was a time of material, earthly blessing.

They were really rich, really affluent, doing really well.

They boasted in their tall walls and their security, which you can read a lot about that in Amos.

But their sin was rampant.

And if you recall, we went through Daniel recently.

So this is pre-Daniel.

This is pre-exile, pre-punishment for their sin.

And the book of Amos, the prophet Amos, he's preaching in this time,

around the time that Jonah would have lived in the northern kingdom.

And Amos is calling out Israel for its sin.

Amos 4.1 records the word of the Lord, and God says of Israel during this time,

he says,

Hear this word, you cows of Bashan,

who are on the mountain of Samaria,

who oppress the poor, who crush the needy,

who say to your husbands, bring that we may drink.

The Lord God has sworn by his holiness that, behold,

the days are coming upon you, Israel,

when they, the Babylonians,

shall take you away with hooks,

even the last of you with fish hooks.

And you shall go out through the breaches,

each one straight ahead,

and you shall be cast out into Harmon,

declares the Lord.

So between Amos and many of the other prophets,

Isaiah, Jeremiah, and so on,

we know that Israel during this time

could be described as a time of false worship,

a time of debauchery,

a time of licentiousness,

false worship, adultery, drunkenness, pride,

and so on.

And recall as well that God's constant threat

to punish Israel

was initially going to be by the hands of the Assyrians,

not the Babylonians.

And this sets the stage for the book of Jonah

so we can read together,

starting in verse 1, chapter 1.

And I'm going to read this text

and kind of explain it

as we go through the entire book.

So lock in with me here.

But starting in verse 1,

Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah,

the son of Amittai, saying,

Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city,

and call out against it,

for their evil has come up before me.

But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish

from the presence of the Lord.

He went down to Joppa

and found a ship going to Tarshish.

So he paid the fare and went down into it

to go with them to Tarshish,

away from the presence.

of the Lord.

So now the word of the Lord came,

and when did it come?

It came to Jonah

during this time of sin in Israel.

All the pre-exilic prophets

preached to Israel and Judah,

appealing to them to repent

of their sin except Jonah.

Jonah was called to go to Nineveh,

which was the crown jewel city

of the Assyrian Empire,

the very empire

which Jonah's contemporaries

were prophesying

would destroy Israel.

And what was Jonah's response?

Well, he fled,

and not only did he flee,

but he fled in the opposite direction

of Nineveh

by choosing Tarshish

of all places.

And this is especially interesting

because throughout the Old Testament,

it's well-documented

that Israelites were afraid

of the sea.

So Jonah is choosing a route

that he'd have to cross the sea

to get to his destination.

And the reason they feared the sea

was multifaceted.

One was the sea creature Leviathan

mentioned in the book of Job.

Another was that the Philistines

likely attacked Israel from the sea

when they first made contact.

More importantly, though,

the sea was viewed

as a symbol of hell,

a symbol of chaos.

And this is likely due

to the flood in Genesis.

And this is why

throughout the Old Testament,

you'll constantly see writers

refer to the sea

as the abyss.

And the significance of this

is that Jonah chooses

to go through this chaos,

this hell,

this place of taboo,

the abyss,

before he was willing

to obey God.

Now, some have interpreted this

by explaining what a cruel

city Nineveh was

and that Jonah was afraid

of what the Assyrians

might do to him

because they were just

the worst.

But that is not supported

by the text.

Rather, it seems that Jonah

was willing to go through

all this trouble

to avoid the will

of the Lord.

Already, we have seen

the author mention twice

that Jonah fled,

not Nineveh,

but he fled from

the presence of the Lord

in verse 3.

He's fleeing God.

Now, some of you

might be wondering,

doesn't Jonah know

that God is omnipresent,

meaning that God

is everywhere at all times?

You would think as a prophet

he would have this one down.

But apparently,

Jonah has forgotten.

And this is not surprising

during his time.

In his day,

every pagan nation

had this concept

of their gods

being restrained

to their territory.

This is why they always

make reference to battle.

Our gods prevailed this day

because the gods wanted

to gain a new territory.

And Jonah's time,

Israel was infested

with pagan religion,

so it's not a far stretch

to assume that he probably

confused himself,

to say the least,

that he probably thought

in some sense

God was restrained

to physical Israel.

But God does not

let Jonah go

and God is not

constrained by some border.

Picking back up

in verse 4 of chapter 1,

so Jonah's on his way,

he's fleeing the Lord,

and verse 4,

but the Lord hurled

a great wind

upon the sea.

And there was

a mighty tempest

on the sea

so that the ship

threatened to break up.

Then the mariners

were afraid

and each cried out

to his God.

And they hurled

the cargo that was

in the ship

into the sea

to lighten it

for them.

But Jonah had gone

down into the inner

part of the ship

and had laid down

and was fast asleep.

So the captain

came and said to him,

What do you mean,

you sleeper?

Arise,

call out to your God.

Perhaps the God

will give us a thought

that we may not perish.

And they said to one another,

Come,

let us cast lots

that we may know

on whose account

this evil

has come upon us.

And so they cast lots

and the lot fell

on Jonah.

Then they said to him,

Tell us on whose account

this evil

has come upon us.

What is your occupation

and where do you come from?

What is your country?

And of what people

are you?

And he said to them,

I am a Hebrew.

I fear the Lord,

the God of heaven

who made the sea

and the dry land.

Then the men

were exceedingly afraid

and said to him,

What is this

that you have done?

For the men knew

that he was fleeing

from the presence

of the Lord

because he had told them.

Again,

he's not fleeing Nineveh,

he's fleeing God.

In verse 11,

Then they said to him,

What shall we do to you

that the sea may quiet down

for us?

For the sea grew more

and more tempestuous.

And he said to them,

Pick me up

and hurl me

into the sea.

Then the sea

will quiet down for you.

For I know

it is because of me

that this great tempest

has come upon you.

Nevertheless,

the men rode hard

to get back to dry land,

but they could not.

For the sea grew

more and more

tempestuous against them.

Therefore,

they called out to the Lord,

O Lord,

let us not perish

for this man's life

and lay not on us

innocent blood

for you,

O Lord,

have done

as it pleased you.

So they picked up Jonah

and hurled him

into the sea

and the sea ceased

from its raging.

Then the men

feared the Lord

exceedingly

and they offered

a sacrifice

to the Lord

and made vows.

And the Lord

appointed a great fish

to swallow up Jonah

and Jonah was

in the belly

of the fish

three days

and three nights.

Now this section

is chock full

of irony.

So we have

these pagan

Gentile sailors

who were much

afraid of the storm

of God's working

while the Hebrew

Israelite

in the midst

of the storm

chooses to hide

in the inner part

of the ship.

Verse 5,

Jonah is still

ignoring God.

Ironically,

the prophet Jonah

whose job it is

to encourage people

to call out

to God

in repentance

is being commanded

by pagans

to call out

to his God.

Even these pagans

recognize that

this storm

is divine judgment

and that they

will perish.

Verse 6,

Proverbs 16,

33 says,

The lot is cast

into the lap

but its every decision

is from the Lord.

And we saw

that these pagan men

who did not know God,

who did not worship God,

it would seem

that these pagans

were familiar

with Proverbs

or other Old Testament

passages

that speak

on casting lots.

In verse 7,

we see them

cast lots

to determine

on whose account

the storm

has come upon them.

And the lot

fell on Jonah

and the pagans

knew that Jonah

was guilty

and that Jonah

was the reason

for the storm.

So they question him

and his response

is such garbage.

What does he say?

He says,

you know,

they want to know

who are you,

what's your occupation?

He says,

I'm a Hebrew.

That's his first response.

I'm a Hebrew.

He's very proud

of his national heritage,

his identity

as one who

fears the Lord.

And which Lord?

The Lord that is better

than the pagan's God

because this Lord

is the creator

of land and sea

and the God of heaven.

Verse 9.

So that's kind of smack talk.

We might not catch

that in English

but, you know,

pagans had no problem

accepting that Yahweh

was real.

What they had a problem

with was that

he was the only God

and that he was

superior to their God.

So by saying

God of heaven,

Jonah's saying,

my God

is greater than your God.

But his response

is garbage.

I mean,

it's theologically sound,

it's theologically true,

it's biblical.

Jonah clearly has

this understanding

in his head

but not in his heart.

Otherwise,

he would be obeying

the Lord

and not trying

to run from him.

To truly fear

the Lord

is to have wisdom,

Proverbs 1.7.

And if Jonah was wise,

he would obey God.

And here's more irony.

After it becomes

plain who Jonah is,

the pagans become

exceedingly afraid

because they recognize

that Jonah is fleeing

the presence of the Lord.

Verse 10.

And they fear the Lord

more so than

the prophet Jonah.

They have more wisdom

than Jonah.

And in verse 11,

the pagans ask a question.

They want to know

how can they appease God?

They want to know

how to end the storm

and God's wrath.

And Jonah provides

the answer.

He offers himself up

to be thrown

into the sea.

Now,

many have interpreted

this as a typology

of Christ,

a symbol of Christ.

You know,

that he came

and died for many

so that we might

be spared.

And this kind of

sounds like what

Jonah is doing.

But I do not think

this is the case.

So just note that

for now.

We're going to come

back to that

in chapter 4.

But for now,

notice even more

irony in this passage.

Jonah did not

travel to Nineveh

to preach a message

of repentance

as God had instructed.

Clearly,

Jonah did not care

about the Ninevites

enough.

as a Hebrew,

he's supposed to be

a blessing to the nations

and he's not doing that.

He's not fulfilling that.

He doesn't care about them.

Yet in verse 13,

even though Jonah

confessed his guiltiness,

the pagans

rode hard

to try to save him

before throwing him

into the sea.

He offered himself up

and they still,

nonetheless,

tried to save him.

They rode hard.

And the sailors

called Jonah

innocent

in verse 14,

even though he clearly

is not.

And after praying

to the God

of the Hebrews,

the pagans

wisely discern

that the will

of the Lord

is for Jonah

to be cast

into the sea.

They say,

For you,

O Lord,

have done

as it pleased you.

They know

who is in control,

unlike Jonah.

They have more mercy

for a foreigner

than Jonah does.

And the pagans,

not Jonah,

continue to fear

the Lord,

verse 16.

They sacrificed to him

and they made vows to him.

And Jonah was swallowed up

by a great fish

for three days

and three nights

before anything else

happened.

So notice that

up to this point

in the narrative,

Jonah has done

not one single thing

that is righteous,

that is commendable,

that is God-honoring

or obedient.

Everything he has said

and done

has been done

in disobedience.

And yet,

here are Gentiles

who progressively

recognize God

more and more

throughout the narrative.

These Gentiles

seem far more useful

to God

and honoring to God

than this disobedient

prophet named Jonah.

So let's continue

reading chapter 2,

verse 1.

Then Jonah prayed.

So after three days,

after three nights,

Jonah prayed

to the Lord his God

from the belly

of the fish,

saying,

I call out to the Lord

out of my distress

and he answered me.

Out of the belly

of Sheol I cried

and you heard my voice.

For you cast me

into the deep,

into the heart

of the seas

and the flood,

that's judgment language,

the flood

surrounded me.

All your waves

and your billows

passed over me.

Then I said,

I am driven away

from your sight,

yet I shall again

look upon

your holy temple.

The waters

closed in over me

to take my life.

The deep surrounded me.

Weeds were wrapped

about my head

at the roots

of the mountains.

I went down

to the land

whose bars

closed upon me forever,

yet you brought up

my life from the pit.

O Lord,

my God.

When my life

was fainting,

I remembered

the Lord.

So he had forgotten

the Lord.

I remembered

the Lord

and my prayer

came to you

into your holy temple.

Those who pay

regard to vain idols

forsake their hope

of steadfast love.

But I,

with the voice

of thanksgiving,

will sacrifice

to you

what I have vowed

I will pay.

Salvation belongs

to the Lord.

And the Lord

spoke to the fish

and it vomited Jonah

out upon the dry land.

So finally,

after three days

and three nights

of Jonah sitting

and doing nothing

inside the belly

of the great fish,

he finally prays.

He's stubborn.

In verses one

through three,

we see Jonah

recognize

that he is the object

of God's judgment.

Jonah hates

his circumstance.

Again,

more irony.

Jonah wanted to flee

from the presence

of the Lord

and so the Lord's

punishment for Jonah

was that Jonah

was,

verse four,

driven away

from God's sight.

He got what he wanted.

Now this might be

new to you,

but I want to suggest

that this prayer

is not an actual prayer

of true repentance.

Jonah expresses lament

over his circumstances

in verses two through six,

not his sin.

There is no mention

of his wrongdoing

and disobeying God.

There is no mention

of his sin

for not going to Nineveh.

There is no mention

of him expressing

a need for heart change

regarding the Ninevites.

He doesn't say,

God,

soft in my heart

so that I might love

my enemies.

He doesn't even

acknowledge it.

In fact,

there is no mention

of Jonah wishing

things were different

whatsoever

except for his

circumstances.

Jonah's prayer reveals

that he is eager

to return to Israel.

Twice he mentions

the temple,

verse four and verse seven.

Nowhere does he express

a desire to go

to Nineveh.

Rather,

he simply asserts

that he will keep a vow

in verse nine,

which he likely gave

to save his own skin.

In many ways,

this entire prayer

can be summarized

by saying this.

Jonah recognized

God's sovereignty

and realized it was foolish

for him to go against it.

And two,

Jonah recognized

that whether he liked

it or not,

he will submit to it

voluntarily or involuntarily.

And Jonah's prayer

reminds me of Esau.

Hebrews 12,

16 through 17

sheds light on Esau.

The author of Hebrews

says,

like Esau,

who sold his birthright

for a single meal,

for you know that afterward

when he desired

to inherit the blessing,

he was rejected,

for he found no chance

to repent.

Though he sought it

with tears.

The author of Hebrews

is not saying

that Esau genuinely

sought to repent

of his sin.

Rather,

the author of Hebrews

is saying that Esau

wanted to repent

of his circumstance.

Esau wished

he had not given up

his birthright

and he cried

over his inability

to regain it,

to change

his circumstance.

repentance.

And this is just

like Jonah's prayer

which is lacking

many of the elements

of a true

repentant prayer.

In Psalm 51,

we don't have time

to go there,

but that is a great

example of what

genuine repentance

looks like.

Now,

after praying the prayer,

there is no clear

acknowledgement

that God viewed

this as genuine

repentance.

The closest thing

we get to that

acknowledgement

is verse 10

where God spares

Jonah from dying

in the belly of the fish.

And I know that

some of you may not

be convinced

of my interpretation

just yet,

that Jonah did not

actually repent

in his prayer.

But we'll continue

with that theme

as we read,

picking back up

in chapter 3,

verse 1.

And I think you'll see

more clearly

why I'm convinced

of this.

So picking back up

in chapter 3,

verse 1.

Then the word

of the Lord

came to Jonah

the second time,

saying,

Arise,

go to Nineveh,

that great

city,

and call out

against it

the message

that I tell you.

So Jonah arose

and went to Nineveh

according to the

word of the Lord.

Now Nineveh

was an exceedingly

great city,

three days'

journey in breadth.

And Jonah began

to go into the city

going a day's journey,

and he called out,

Yet forty days

and Nineveh

shall be overthrown.

And the people

of Nineveh

believed God.

They called for a fast

and put on sackcloth

from the greatest

of them

to the least

of them.

And the word

reached the king

of Nineveh,

and he arose

from his throne,

removed his robe,

covered himself

with sackcloth,

and sat in ashes.

And he issued

a proclamation

and published

through Nineveh,

by the decree of the king

and his nobles.

By the decree of the king

and his nobles,

let neither man

nor beast,

herd nor flock,

taste anything.

Let them not feed

or drink water,

but let man

and beast

be covered

with sackcloth,

and let them

call out mightily

to God.

And let everyone

turn from his evil way.

Repent

is what he's calling for.

Let everyone

repent.

And from the violence

that is in his hands,

repent.

Verse 9,

Who knows?

God may turn

and relent

and turn from

his fierce anger

so that we may not perish.

And when God

saw what they 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.

Now this is

the happiest moment

in the book of Jonah

by far.

The city legitimately

and sincerely

repented

of their sin.

Verse 5,

they believed God

and fasted.

The repentance

in the city

was so great,

so widespread,

it even had

legal and governing

implications

as the king called

from mourning

and fasting.

Verses 7 through 8.

And I love

verse 9,

The king does not

even know

with certainty

if God would

forgive Nineveh

and relent

of their coming doom.

But by faith

he and his city

repented.

Now why

wouldn't the king

know that God

would forgive them

of their sins?

Hadn't Jonah

preached a gospel

message of hope

to Nineveh?

But looking back

at verse 4,

it seems the only

thing Jonah

wanted to say,

the only thing

he could bear

to say to these

pagan Gentiles

was,

yet 40 days

and Nineveh

shall be overthrown.

He probably had

a little smirk

on his face

when he said it.

It strongly indicated

that these were

the only words

in Jonah's

entire message.

He never calls

for repentance.

He never explains

that God

is a forgiving God,

slow to anger,

abounding,

steadfast love.

He never explains

any of that.

He just lets them

know that they're

all going to be

destroyed soon.

And this is why

the king asks,

who knows?

Jonah knows,

but Jonah

hasn't said a word.

Isaiah 55,

Isaiah 55:10–11

verses 10 through 11

says,

for as the rain

and the snow

come down from heaven

and do not return

there,

but water the earth,

making it bring forth

and sprout,

giving seed to the sower

and bread to the eater.

This is God speaking.

He says,

so shall my word be

that goes out

from my mouth.

It shall not return

to me empty,

but it shall accomplish

that which I purpose

and shall succeed

in the thing

for which I sent it.

The word of the Lord

is powerful

and it can save

despite even the worst

of messengers.

God's word is so powerful

in this city

that its authority

triumphs over the hearts

of individuals,

the decrees of kings

and even rebellious

message carriers.

Truly nothing can stop

the will of the Lord

and so far in the story

we have seen miracle

after miracle

of God working

to bring about

his will.

In chapter 1,

verse 4,

God hurled a great wind

upon the sea

to stop Jonah's travels.

In chapter 1,

verse 7,

God made the lot

fall on Jonah

to get him overboard.

In chapter 1,

verse 15,

God stopped the storm.

In verse 17,

he appointed

and controlled

a great fish

to swallow Jonah

yet kept him alive.

In chapter 2,

verse 10,

God made the fish

vomit Jonah out.

In chapter 3,

verse 10,

God made the hearts

of Nineveh repent

and made them

weep over their sin

and mourn.

We will see even more

of God's rule

over nature,

man,

and beast

in chapter 4,

but already

we have ample evidence

to say

and to see clearly

that God is sovereign

over all his creation.

Jonah was right

in verse 9

when he said

salvation belongs

to the Lord.

Verse 9 of chapter 2,

sorry.

And the Lord

will deliver

his people

even in the most

unlikely places

with the most

unlikely people

despite the most

disobedient

and hypocritical

messengers.

Now,

I've said that

Jonah's prayer

was not a prayer

of true repentance

and we have seen

hints of that

throughout the text

thus far.

But this final chapter

I think

is going to really

expose the full

ugliness of Jonah's

sin

and also

his motive.

Some of you

have probably

been wondering

if Jonah isn't

afraid of the Ninevites

then why is he

resistant to preaching

in Nineveh?

What makes him

so bent

on avoiding

Nineveh?

And we'll read

the rest of our text

picking back up

in chapter 4

verse 1.

So Jonah's

responding to the

repentance

that just

occurred in

Nineveh.

So verse 1

chapter 4

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 yet

in my country?

That is why

I made haste

to flee for 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?

Jonah went

out of the city

and sat

to 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.

And the Lord

God had appointed

a plant

and made it

come 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

a hundred

and twenty

thousand

persons

who do

not know

their right

hand

from their

left

and also

much cattle.

Jonah

has got

to be

the worst

missionary

and yet

most successful

missionary

of all time.

He witnessed

to a city

of what

some think

was actually

six hundred

thousand

in number

that's because

they take

that hundred

and twenty

thousand

number

and say

that means

children.

Regardless

it's a big

city

and they all

repent

and yet

he was

exceedingly

displeased

and angry.

I can't

imagine him

at like

a Baptist

mission

board

meeting

where

everybody's

like

oh we

had twenty

baptisms

this week

and him

you know

like

to be

upset

I mean

my goodness

and this

right here

this is

solid

evidence

that his

heart

has not

truly

been

turned

he still

did not

want to

see the

Ninevites

saved

notice this

Jonah did

not flee

the Lord

because he

was afraid

of Nineveh

but rather

he fled

the Lord

because he

knew God

would save

Nineveh

that they

would become

his brothers

and sisters

in Christ

to borrow

from the

New Testament

verse 2

and he

prayed

to the Lord

and said

oh Lord

is not

this what

I said

when I

was yet

in my

country

this is

why I

made haste

to flee

to Tarshish

for I

knew

I knew

that you

were a

gracious

God

and merciful

I've

never heard

of anybody

complain that

God's

gracious

and merciful

so

we

answered

the

question

of why

Jonah

fled

the

presence

of the

Lord

he

did

not

want

to

go

to

Nineveh

and see

them

receive

grace

and so

then we

get

asked the

next question

why

wouldn't

Jonah

want

Nineveh

to be

saved

and many

today would

interpret this

as pure

nationalism

or some

type of

racism

or some

combination

of the

two

that shouldn't

surprise us

we live

in a

day

where

you

can't

buy

syrup

without

people

assuming

racial

prejudice

and

background

but

that's

the

interpretation

many

make

today

but I

think

Jonah's

anger

his

displeasure

is much

deeper

than these

things

though

they

might have

played

a role

possibly

but I

think

ultimately

Jonah

was

questioning

God's

commitment

to keep

his

covenant

with

Israel

so again

recall the

historical

context

and place

yourself

in Jonah's

shoes

is the

only way

I can

be

sympathetic

towards

him

he lives

in a

time

when

Amos

and

Hosea

are

condemning

Israel

and

prophesying

coming

judgment

that

judgment

was

prophesied

to come

by the

hands

of

the

Assyrians

the

Ninevites

and now

your God

has

stubbornly

says

I'm

a

Hebrew

excuse

me

I

misread

now

your God

is

commanding

you

to go

and preach

a salvific

message

to your

enemies

while God

is also

sending

prophets

to condemn

your country

your people

Israel

this is why

Jonah

has a lot

of this

nationalistic

language

as some

interpret it

right

this is why

he says

I'm a

Hebrew

in chapter

one

this is

why

he longs

to return

to the

temple

in chapter

two

this is

why

he constantly

refers

to his

country

in chapter

four

because

Jonah

feels

as though

God

is turning

his back

on Israel

for the

sake

of

another

people

Jonah

is jealous

and he's

consumed

with his

identity

as a son

of Abraham

a son

of Jacob

and a son

of Isaac

his entire

identity

as a Hebrew

is likely

losing its

foundation

in his

mind

he doesn't

like that

God is

about to

judge

Israel

and he

doesn't

like that

God is

about

to save

Gentiles

and so

Jonah expresses

four times

that he would

rather die

verse 3

8

and 9

in chapter

4

four times

I would

rather die

it's better

for me

to die

I'd rather

die

than live

and this

is why

Jonah

wanted to

be tossed

in the

sea

in chapter

one

because

he thought

if he

was dead

then he

would not

see Nineveh

repent

we are

literally

reading him

unravel

and God

rhetorically

asked Jonah

in verse

four

do you

do well

to be

angry

and the

obvious

answer

being no

he does

not do

well

but Jonah

is still

not giving

up hope

he sets

a booth

up outside

Nineveh

hoping to

see

Nineveh

fall into

sin

and as a

result

experience

God's

wrath

verse 5

he's very

hopeful

God still

shows great

mercy and

grace to

Jonah

by trying

to teach

him something

by appointing

a worm

a plant

right

this is a

little lesson

for Jonah

and God

removes that

shade

and asks

Jonah

do you

do well

to be

angry

and this

time

Jonah

responds

yes

I do

well

to be

angry

angry

enough

to die

so Jonah

is exceedingly

glad

over his

shade

for temporal

comfort

while being

exceedingly

distressed

angry

mad

for God

sparing

Nineveh

from

eternal

torment

his mind

is so

warped

his thoughts

and feelings

so imbalanced

his heart

so cold

that he

fails to

value

things

rightly

he values

the plants

so much

that he

pities

it

perishing

yet

has no

care

whatsoever

for Nineveh

and this

is God's

challenge

to Jonah

he essentially

says

do you not

expect me

a gracious

and merciful

God

who created

every person

including

the Ninevites

to pity

that great

city far

more than

you pity

that little

planet

and after

all it is

a city

of 120,000

people who

do not know

their right

hand from

their left

and again

as I said

earlier

some think

that as

children

some think

that is

referring to

people who

lack

moral wisdom

one or the

other I'm

not sure

but the

point

remains

people who

are in

need of

help

and that

is how

the book

ends

so in

closing

application

I'll

explain this

ending a

little bit

God gives

his last

question to

Jonah

and we

never see

the response

and the

intention of

the author

I think

is to leave

us the

readers

attempting to

answer the

question

do we

love our

enemies

enough

that we

would want

to see

God save

them

and keep

in mind

Jonah is

written for

the Israelites

the Israelites

are the ones

reading the

book of

Jonah

this is a

rebuke

against

Israel

and I

don't know

about you

but when I

read that

question I

feel personally

challenged

especially this

week

like many

of you

I've

watched the

news in

Afghanistan

with disbelief

frustration

and frankly

the temptation

to look at

the Taliban

the way

Jonah looked

at Nineveh

and I had

to ask

myself