Jonah 4

Jonah chapter 4 is where we are.

Jonah 4 · chapter mention

We are closing up, finishing up the series on Jonah today.

!

In an interview with lead singer of U2 Bono, Bono said,

!

I love it.

I'm not talking about people being graceful in their actions,

but just covering over the cracks.

Our topic this morning is grace.

As we close out this sermon series,

grace is clearly evident in this chapter,

in the story of Jonah.

And I'm not talking about, like Bono said,

the people being graceful in their actions,

but the act of God showing the undeserving,

those who have no right to or desire for grace.

God's grace has been evident in this story.

God being merciful and showing grace to the sailors

by ending the storm and not destroying them.

God being merciful and showing Jonah grace

by providing a big ship and not allowing him to die.

God being merciful and showing grace to the people of Nineveh

by not destroying them for their evil

that had, in chapter 1, come up against God.

Grace is a radical idea.

The definition that is thrown out a lot is unmerited favor.

If grace is unmerited,

as A.W. Pink said,

if grace is unmerited,

then none can claim it as their right.

If grace is unearned and undeserved,

then none are entitled to it.

If grace is a gift,

then none can demand it.

Can't claim it.

Can't deserve it.

Aren't entitled to it.

Can't demand it.

Grace is a radical idea.

In his book, Sovereignty of God,

he quotes an author,

doesn't give us the name,

and this definition is,

this statement is great in regards to grace.

To feed a tramp who calls on me

is unmerited favor.

But it is scarcely grace.

But suppose that after robbing me,

I should feed that starving tramp.

That would be grace.

Grace then is favor shown

where there is positive demerit

in the one receiving.

What a radical idea.

Our definition fails to truly define

all the weight of grace

and that grace carries with it.

Every moment of every day,

God shows you grace.

The air that you breathe right now.

The car that you drove in to get here.

The clothes that you have on.

The fact that driving down the road,

you're within four feet of oncoming traffic

and you didn't have an accident,

is grace.

Saving grace is what we find in chapter 3.

God's mercy and grace shown to Nineveh.

Not destroying them,

but them repenting

and God showing them grace.

Chapter 4,

we have sanctifying grace.

We have God perfecting Jonah,

teaching Jonah a lesson,

and God being graceful

and gracious to Jonah.

Saving grace is what causes us

to be born again.

Sanctifying grace is what God uses

to perfect His children.

And in this case, Jonah.

So let's read chapter 4

all the way through

and then we'll dive in.

Chapter 4,

But it displeased Jonah exceedingly.

What displeased him?

Verse 10 of chapter 3,

When God saw what they did,

how they named,

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.

So this is what 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 to Tarshish,

for I knew that You were

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,

for it is better for me

to die than to live.

And the Lord said,

Do you do well to be angry?

Do you have any right 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.

Now the Lord God 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

120,000 persons

who do not know

their right hand from their left

and also much cattle.

In the first chapter of Jonah,

God gives Jonah a mission.

Go to Nineveh,

preach to them

because their evil

has come up against me.

So we have God's mission.

We have God's plan for Jonah.

God desires Jonah

to go this direction.

And then we're shown

that Jonah immediately gets up

and runs the opposite direction.

So we have man's heart,

man's foolishness,

God's mission and man's heart.

Well, we've come full circle

after God has shown mercy

to Jonah,

after He's shown mercy

to the sailors,

after He's shown mercy

to Nineveh

and been gracious to them.

Chapter 4,

we see it again.

God's mission,

God's desire,

and man's foolishness.

We're full circle.

He's once again,

Jonah has once again

shown his true colors.

In this case,

after God has been gracious

and merciful to him.

There are four points

out of our text this morning

about grace.

I'll read them off

and then we'll go through them.

Grace is not justice.

Grace is not found

in temporal, physical things.

Grace does not fit

in our box or definition.

And grace is a gift

from the sovereign God.

So, first point.

Grace,

God's grace,

is not justice.

Verses 1-3.

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 to Tarshish,

for I knew,

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.

Grace is not justice.

In fact,

the antithesis of justice

is grace.

The opposite of justice

is grace.

See,

justice tells us

that each person

should receive

what is due him

or her.

my kids,

at the earliest,

maybe three,

were all about justice.

So and so did this,

now you should punish them.

Or so and so did this to me,

you should punish them.

Or they got three

and I only got two and a half.

That's not fair.

People this weekend

are asking questions like,

how could an earthquake

of such a huge magnitude

hit Japan like this?

They don't deserve it.

Where is the justice?

Our world is framed

in justice.

You get what you deserve.

Even our capitalist economy

in the United States

is built on the idea of

if you work hard,

you work long hours,

you climb the ladder,

then you're given a reward.

Justice.

But justice can only go so far.

We are sinful creatures

with self-preservation

as one of our life values.

Dennis Holia,

a television host

for PBS

and other channels like that,

said,

expecting the world

to treat you fairly

because you are a good person

is a little like

expecting a bull

not to attack

because you are a vegetarian.

That's pretty good.

Let me put that

on my Facebook wall.

Expecting the world

to treat you fairly

because you are a good person

is a little like

expecting a bull

not to attack

because you are a vegetarian.

He's right.

Though justice

is what we try to live by,

it isn't always right.

In fact,

it fails more than

we care to admit.

In chapter 4,

Jonah's complaints to God,

Jonah being displeased

and being angry,

are rooted in justice.

God,

how evil have they been

to Israel?

How harsh and cruel

have they been?

They deserve destruction.

But God shows grace

when Jonah felt

justice needed to be delivered.

Jonah becomes angry

about this grace

that God showed Nineveh.

In fact,

Jonah literally hated

what God had done.

He hated it.

His cause for anger

and hatred

is chapter 3.

Isaiah 3 · chapter mention

I hate

that you've not

shown them mercy.

And Jonah believed

because of their past actions,

because of how cruel

they've been,

they deserved

destruction.

But see,

grace

is not based

on what we think.

Grace is not

based on justice.

Grace is based

completely

on God.

And praise God

for it.

Praise God

for His grace

and that He

is the author

and the creator

of that grace.

Now,

the funny thing is,

is Jonah's angry.

He's displeased.

Exceedingly displeased.

He hates

what God did.

And then he

tries to blame

God

for his sinful choices.

He tries

to blame God.

I ran

because I knew

you were going

to do this.

I knew

you were going

to be merciful,

so I split

because I know

better than you.

I knew

you were going

to pardon Him.

We kind of

laugh at that

and say,

what an idiot.

But don't we

do that though?

When sin

is in our lives

and either people

confront us

or ask us

about it,

we try to defend

our actions,

we sound irrational.

We sound like

babbling idiots.

sin.

See,

sin casts

blame on

everyone but

ourselves.

And it even

casts blame

on God

sometimes.

And Jonah

put blame

on God

for the choices

he made

because God

was going

to be merciful.

And Jonah

knew it.

Jonah is

crazy.

He even

says,

I cannot

live anymore.

I can't

bear to see

what you're

doing to

those people.

people.

I can't

bear,

it's not

like saying,

watching a

horror flick

and you

can't stand

to look at

something scary

happen.

Or

God telling

Lot not

to look back

because I'm

about to

destroy Sodom.

It's not

like that.

God is

doing something

great and

Jonah cannot

look.

Jonah wants

to die.

I cannot

look at

his grace

towards this

people.

I can't

handle it.

See,

Jonah not

only let

his view

of justice

through,

but he

also let

his racism

show.

God,

you cannot

be gracious

towards that

people.

They're not

even Jewish.

If you

were Jewish

and you

have been

taught from

your birth

that you

are going

to be,

you're a

chosen people

that through

Abraham you're

going to be

blessed,

blessed,

you would

probably think

the same

thing as

Jonah.

God,

how can

you be

graceful

to that

people?

Here was

God showing

grace.

Israel's

grace.

Israel's

grace towards

Nineveh.

At least

that's what

Jonah thought.

How dare

you,

God?

Like when

you're a

kid,

are you

sharing my

candy with

my brother?

Mom,

come on!

That's my

candy!

For us

though,

who believe

that God's

chosen people

are now

the church

or now

His church,

we can

easily fall

into this

same practice.

That person

over there

is undeserving

of God's

grace.

Or,

I'm certain

that God

is not

asking me

to go

talk to

that person.

Cannot

possibly be

the case.

God

wouldn't

show them

grace.

That is

Jonah.

That is

us.

God.

And that

is God.

There's

the picture.

Praise

God that

His grace

is not

founded

in

justice.

Jonah

was foolish.

Jonah

was a

fool.

But he

was not

dumb.

He

was not

dumb.

He knew

that based

on justice

alone,

Nineveh

deserved

destruction.

Like

Nineveh,

you and I

deserve

destruction

based on

justice.

Praise God

though.

Grace

is radical.

Praise the

Lord that

grace exists

and that

God gives

us grace

and mercy.

So if

grace is

not justice,

then a

Christian will

not look to

justice as

their measuring

stick.

So,

okay,

you did

this.

Let me

see.

Yeah,

okay.

Even it

out.

Let's

even it

out.

See,

what we

want to

do is

look at

everything

and measure

it with

justice in

mind.

But what

we should

be doing

as

Christians,

as

disciples,

look through

the lens

of grace

and see

what God

is doing.

And God

will be

glorified in

that.

So,

not only

is grace

not justice,

but God's

grace is

not found

in temporal

or physical

things.

This is

verse 5

through 10.

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.

Then the

Lord 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.

See,

Jonah goes

up to the

east of

the city

on a

hill to

have a

little pity

party.

He pouts

for what

God has

done.

He goes

to watch

and maybe

a little

hope that

that destruction

might still

come down,

just inkling,

gosh,

I hope

that God

just rains

down fire.

I'm

going to

sit and

watch just

in case.

And while

he's there,

he makes

the seat

for himself

out of

leaves and

tree branches

and sits

under the

shade.

And while

he's up

there,

God appoints

a plant

for him.

As verse

six says,

to save

him from

his discomfort.

God

certainly

showed

Jonah

grace by

providing

the plant.

But as

we read,

God also

showed

Jonah

grace by

having it

destroyed.

Jonah took

comfort and

joy,

not in

God,

but from

the plant.

Not in

the mighty

work of

grace that

God showed

Nineveh,

but he took

comfort and

joy in

the plant.

And when it

was destroyed,

he was angry

again and

wanted to

die.

Between

chapter four

and chapter

two,

we have

like this

bipolar

Jonah guy.

on one

hand,

he's

repenting

and he's

like,

God,

I'll do

whatever

you want

in chapter

two while

he's in

the belly

of the

big fish.

And then

chapter four

comes and

he's like

throwing stuff

against the

wall and

having these

tantrums.

And God,

God,

you're

horrible.

And then

he gets

this plant

that shades

him.

He's like,

oh,

this is so

great.

This plant

is wonderful.

I love

this plant.

This plant

just makes

me so

happy.

Because

grace is

based on

God,

because God

is the

author and

creator of

grace.

It's based

on him and

his doing

and not

on ours.

We must

not look to

things as

God's saving

grace.

Now,

they're acts

of grace.

God gives

him a plant.

But is

that saving

grace?

Is his

comfort and

his

joy in

the plant

or is

it in

God?

And in

our sinful

nature,

we're always

looking for

opportunities to

make us

better,

to make us

look great,

you know,

and make us

comfortable.

And whether

that's the

clothes we

wear or

the things

we drive or

the degrees

that we

get or

the people

we marry,

all these

things are

not bad.

None of

these things

are bad.

The plant

was given

by God,

was appointed

by God.

But Jonah

made it

bad by

finding his

joy and

his comfort

in it.

He made

an idol out

of something

that disappears

in a short

time.

And God

used it

to teach

Jonah a

lesson.

Jonah took

more concern

and joy for

the plant

than he did

for the people

of Nineveh

that he just

went through

and preached

to.

He took

more concern

for the

comfort of

the shade

in the hot

sun than

he did

for what

mighty work

God is

doing to

Nineveh.

The second

we look to

things or

people for

joy and

comfort,

we say to

God that

you are not

good enough

for my

praise.

This plant

or this

degree or

this house

or this

is better

than you

or this

children,

this quiver

is better

than you.

Jonah said

to God

with his

actions that

this plant

is better

than you.

Forget about

the ship

and the fish

God and

the opportunity

to join you.

Forget about

all that stuff

because you

did not do

what I thought

was best

and because

this plant

is so great,

this plant

is so great,

I worship

it.

See,

we do

this though

with more

evidence of

grace shown

to us

than what

we see

in Jonah's

life.

See,

God through

Jesus Christ

has taken

your sin

and my sin

so that we

can be counted

righteous.

He died

so that we

would not

have to

die.

And yet

we covet

things that

are temporary.

We worship

things that

don't last.

See,

grace,

saving grace

is not

found in

temporal

or physical

things.

It is

found in

Jesus Christ

who is

eternal

and never

changing.

So,

if grace

is not

found in

temporary

things,

then a

Christian

will look

to Christ

for their

security

and identity,

not in

their stuff,

achievements,

or circumstances.

Jesus Christ

the

stuff,

the plant,

is so

tangible.

We can

see it.

We can

touch it.

We enjoy

the shade

of that

tree.

We enjoy

the pleasures

of that

car or

that lifestyle

or whatever

it is.

But we

find our

comfort and

joy in it.

We find our

identity and

security in it.

We've made

a good thing

a bad thing

and turn

it into

a God

thing.

And that's

what Jonah

does with

the plant.

A plant

that God

even appointed

for him.

Even said,

hey, I'm

going to

take care

of you,

even though

you're

throwing a

hissy fit.

I'm going

to put this

over your

head and

I'm going

to shade

you.

So,

God's grace

is not found

in temporal

or physical

things.

God's grace

does not fit

in our box

or definition.

Verses

7 and 8.

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.

God appointed

a worm

and a scorching

east wind

to make Jonah

uncomfortable.

Now,

I know

what you're

thinking.

These two

acts don't

really fit

very well

in our

view of

grace.

How can

something

negative

happen

and we

call it

grace?

But this

chapter is

the summation

is God's

lesson,

the conclusion

of God's

lesson for

Jonah.

It started

in chapter

1 when he

told him

to go

to Nineveh

and it

ends

in verse

11

chapter 4.

He

destroys

the thing

that Jonah

felt good

about

that he

took

comfort

in.

Just

because it

doesn't agree

with us

logically,

just because

we don't

understand it

or doesn't

make us feel

a certain

way,

doesn't mean

that it's

not God

showing grace

to you.

See,

God showed

grace to

Jonah by

teaching him

a lesson,

by teaching

him more

of who

God is,

how merciful

he is,

how his

mission isn't

just to the

people of

Israel,

how it's

to more

than that.

God's

grace is

not based

on me

or on

you,

as I've

said,

but it's

based

completely

on him.

For us

to say,

surely this

isn't God

because it's

negative and

I don't

like it,

is naive

and arrogant

of us.

We're

quick to

throw out

Romans 8

28,

and we

know that

for those

who love

God,

all things

work together

for good,

for those

who are

called

according to

his purpose.

Do we

really believe

this?

Or is it

just full of

words that

mean nothing

to us?

See,

that's why a

story like

Jonah is in

here.

Not to

say,

look what

God can

do with

a big

fish,

but to

say,

look what

God can

do even

in taking

away a

plant,

or even

in showing

mercy to

an evil,

cruel nation,

city,

or,

look,

God can

control the

wind,

and can

control a

big fish,

and can

control a

plant.

Verses

10 and

11,

do we

really believe

828?

Because

verse 10

and 11

is God's

final lesson,

God's

conclusion of

this lesson.

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?

Do you

really have

any reason

to be sad

or angry,

Jonah,

about the

plant that

does not

last?

And that

has very

little value?

And how

should I

feel about

the people

that I

created in

my own

image?

Should I

just ignore

them because

that's what

you want

me to

do?

His basic

point is

look at the

people of the

world as I

see them.

Look at the

people of the

world through

grace as I

see them,

not as you

see them.

Have a

kingdom view.

God will

use what he

deems

appropriate to

perfect you,

to

sanctify you

for your

good and

his glory.

glory.

He's

working in

your life

now.

Bad things

happen,

but he's

using those

bad things

to make

you more

like him,

to make

you more

like Christ.

So if

grace does

not fit in

our box,

then a

Christian will

have faith

to trust

God completely

in good

times and

in what we

see as

bad.

Trust God

completely.

fourth point,

grace is a

gift from

the sovereign

God.

In chapter

four, God

shows his

sovereignty over

creation again.

Chapter one,

he did.

Chapter two,

he did.

Chapter four,

he did.

Over a

worm, over

a plant, over

an eastern

wind.

God has

flexed his

sovereignty

muscles.

And not

to show,

look how

strong I

am, or

look how

powerful I

am, but

to show us

that he is

sovereign, that

he is in

control.

God who

hurled a

wind at

Jonah in

chapter one,

who made

the sea, a

storm like

the sailors

had never

seen before,

who provided

a fish for

Jonah, a

big fish for

him to live

in three

days.

That's

crazy.

For him

to say,

fish, I want

you to spit

them out right

there.

And for the

fish to do

that.

And in

chapter four,

to provide a

plant, to

provide a

worm to eat

that plant,

and then

provide a

scorching east

wind to make

Jonah

uncomfortable.

Grace is

an act from

the sovereign

God.

The one

thing that we

see clearly

about Jonah

in this

story, and

how we

really do

relate, is

that Jonah

doesn't deserve

the grace that

God shows

him.

He doesn't

deserve any

of it.

Even in

the middle

of receiving

it, he

throws this

tantrum.

Even in

the middle

of being

defiant, God

provides a

fish for

him.

As we

know from

other

scriptures,

like Ephesians

2, grace,

and like that

definition, is

favor shown

where there is

positive

demerit in

the one

receiving it.

So grace

is given to

those who

don't deserve

it.

God.

And the

only one who

can show

this type

of grace

is sovereign

God.

One who

is never

surprised, who

rules over

all and has

everything in

his control.

That God is

the God who

can give

grace.

And God

makes this

point again

in verse

10 and

11.

And I

just read

it.

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.

As we

read verse

10, we

see that

God is

God is on

one hand

saying,

Joni, you

didn't do

any of

these things

and communicating

to him, but

I did.

I'm the

one who

made the

plant grow.

I'm the

one who

labored

in creating

it.

And then

verse 11,

of course,

follows verse

10.

I did

these things

and I

created the

people of

Nineveh in

my image and

I will show

them grace,

whether you

want me to

or not.

God's grace,

His sovereignty

and His mercy

are all on

display in

this book.

It is no

longer a good

story.

It is no

longer a

flannel board

Sunday school

happy story.

God's mercy

is displayed.

God's grace

is given.

And God's

sovereignty is

throughout the

book.

book is a

lesson for you

and for me

about the

God who

has shown

us mercy.

On

Yom

Kippur,

the day of

atonement,

the highest

holy day of

the year

in the Jewish

religion.

At the

last moments

of the day,

a Jewish

leader will

read the

book of

Jonah out

loud for

everyone to

hear.

They listen

to how the

sea is moved

by a mighty

wind hurled

by God.

They listen

to God

saving Jonah

from death

by appointing

a big

fish.

They listen

to God

showing mercy

and grace

to the people

of Nineveh.

They listen

to Jonah

not wanting

a pagan

people to

be the

beneficiary

of God's

grace.

They listen

to the

prophet

throw a

pity party

for himself

and they

listen to

God give

his final

words to

Jonah by

saying,

I will

have mercy

on whom

I have

mercy

and I

will have

compassion

on whom

I have

compassion.

When the

reading is

over,

everyone

listening to

the story,

everyone

all together

will say,

and we

are

Jonah.

No one

can outrun

God.

No one

can outthink

God.

And no one

can decide

where his

mercy and

grace will

be given

for he

is

God.

We

are

Jonah.

Jonah,

deserving

of death,

punishment

for our

sinful

nature,

and at

the mercy

of the

Lord.

We

are

Jonah,

fools

who way

too often

look to

our own

needs and

desires and

forget the

needs of

those around

us.

We

are

Jonah,

and when

things don't

go as

planned,

throw a

pity party

over

things that

we don't

even

control

or have

control in

their

appearance.

and of

which

last but

a day

and

disappear.

We

are

Jonah,

we

are

Nineveh,

and we

are the

sailors,

and we

are at

the mercy

of a

merciful

God

who is,

as

Jonah

tells us

in

verse

2,

who is

gracious

and

merciful,

slow

to

anger,

and abounding