The Great Book of Jonah- Part 3

The Great Book of Jonah- Part 3

Today we’re going to look at the last Chapter of the Book of Jonah. We all know the story of Jonah, who after being asked to go to this “wicked” city of Nineveh and preach against it, Jonah flees in the opposite direction! As he flees on a boat, a “great” storm arises, and after drawing lots Jonah is thrown overboard. The storm subsides and Jonah is swallowed by a “great fish”. After three days he calls out to God who saves him and the word comes to Jonah a second time to go to Nineveh and proclaim the message of God. 

Jonah 3:5/10 New International Version

5 The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth

…..

10 When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.

We pick up the story in Jonah 4

Jonah 4:1-4 New International Version

Jonah’s Anger at the Lord’s Compassion

4 But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry. 2 He prayed to the Lord, “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. 3 Now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.”

4 But the Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry?”

This chapter 4 has for me always been quite a difficult chapter to understand, in terms of why did Jonah behave in such a strange manner? Many people including myself have thought that maybe Jonah is just throwing a bit of a temper tantrum and feeling sorry for himself. But I don’t think that’s right.  Let’s just look at some of the reasons why he may behave in such a manner and see what we can learn from it.

As we going through these points think of verse1 (of this chapter)” But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry” and think when have you become angry in parallel circumstances.

1. Punishment- Some people believe Jonah became angry because the Ninevites were evil and deserved punishment, and now God was letting them off the hook! Do we sometimes think that there are peoples, or groups of peoples, or nations that deserve punishment and somehow continue to thrive- that do not deserve God’s favour or mercy

Jonah 4:5-11 New International Version

5 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. 6 Then the Lord God provided a leafy plant[a] 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. 7 But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the plant so that it withered. 8 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.”

9 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.”

10 But the Lord said, “You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. 11 And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?”

God shows concern even for those we don’t think deserve it! God shows concern even for those we consider our enemy! Even those we don’t like and have treated us badly, because He is a gracious God, abounding in love and mercy and forgiveness. God is a God of love… do you realise we could be someone’s enemy!... he still loves us and the Ninevites in our life! 

And the Lord says to us “Is it right for you to be angry?”

2. Pride- some people think Jonah was angry because he was just full of pride because here, he was preaching that the city would be destroyed in 40 days, and now nothing has happened! What are people going to think, and will ever take him seriously again?

 Are we more concerned about what God thinks we should do, or are we more concerned about what other people think we should do? 

In the end I personally don’t think it was a case of pride, after all Jonah had gone through a similar set of events before in 2 Kings 12 with Jeroboam. Also, Jonah knew God, and knew that God is sovereign. I’m not convinced it was a pride issue. But it can be for us!

3. Prejudice- some people believe that Jonah was prejudiced against the Gentiles. That God ‘s people were the Jews and God should not show mercy and concern for the Gentiles? Prejudice against different peoples, nations often arises from generalisation (eg Jews, good- Gentiles bad, or the other way round) which is a very big mistake we can make. God does not generalise- He even knows which ones cannot tell their right hand from their left. In other words He sees you as an individual and a special one at that!

I don’t think Jonah is prejudicial in any way because Jonah does not differentiate between Jew and Gentile in this book at all. But prejudice can be the cause anger in some.

4. Political- Now for me this does carry a bit of weight. But I think it will help a lot if we get a perspective of the timelines and what has happened in Israel’s history.

Here is a rough timeline I drew up to help me.

(See end of message!)

At this point in Jonah’s life, the Kingdom of Israel had split under Rehoboam (after Solomon) into the Northern part with 10 tribes known as Israel and a Southern part known as Judah with the two tribes, Judah and Benjamin. Nineveh was part of the Assyrian empire and an enemy of Israel and of course next in line was Judah.  So here is Jonah in about 760BC trying to preach to and save the city of Nineveh, who he felt were an existential threat to Judah. In many ways he was correct, Israel did fall to Assyria in 722BC and the 10 tribes of Israel were lost. But Judah was not invaded by Assyria. Eventually after about 150 years after Jonah preached against Nineveh, the Babylonians defeated the Assyrians and destroyed Nineveh ((612BC). Not long after this Judah fell to Babylon and went into exile. So, Jonah must have felt by saving Nineveh he would be single handedly destroying Judah in the process. And maybe this is why Jonah felt so angry at having played a role in the saving of a part of the Assyrian empire which potentially destroy Judah. The irony was that he was saving Judah. The 10 tribes of Israel were lost but the tribes of Judah and Benjamin in the Southern Kingdom were retained with the Babylonians.

So, to summarize, when sometimes we get angry in situations that we think are just so unfair and wrong, keep in mind there is another perspective that is very different from ours, that of God’s.  Generally, we do not know all the circumstances, but God does. So, ask yourself next time- are we right to be angry?

There is another related concern in the saving of the Ninevites that seems to be a bit of a stumbling block for many, that is, who does God save?  Some people believe that life is like a lottery, like God looking up names in a telephone book saying, I’ll save, him and him and her…… This comes from the thinking that God calls us and we have nothing to do with it. Some people say, no that’s not true, it’s an individual choice. So why does God save people like the Ninevites? 

There is a great analogy I heard. Picture a lifeguard on the beach and there are two swimmers who have been caught in a rip about to swept out to sea and drowned. As there is only one lifeguard, what are his options?

1. He swims out and chooses the one that is not thrashing around too much and brings him back to shore, allowing the other swimmer to be swept out to sea. That is, he chooses which one to save. One is saved the other lost. Or…

2. He can encourage both of them to try a little harder, swim a little to the right or left and hopefully they will choose to listen and be saved. Maybe one will listen and be able to do it and be saved. Or 

3. There is a third option, to throw out two life buoys with a rope encouraging them to take hold of the life buoy to be saved.  The offer is made and some will accept and some will reject but all are offered the life buoy.  The offer to save is made to all by God, but we have to take hold of it. This is what the Ninevites did.

So historically what happened to Nineveh in the end? They were saved from the wrath of God but within a few generations they were back to their evil ways. Nahum and Zephaniah prophesied against Nineveh and within years of their prophesy Nineveh was totally destroyed

Nahum 3:1-7 New International Version

Woe to Nineveh

3 Woe to the city of blood, full of lies, full of plunder,
    never without victims!
2 The crack of whips, the clatter of wheels, galloping horses
    and jolting chariots!3 Charging cavalry, flashing swords
    and glittering spears! Many casualties, piles of dead,
bodies without number, people stumbling over the corpses—
……

5 “I am against you,” declares the Lord Almighty. “I will lift your skirts over your face.
I will show the nations your nakedness and the kingdoms your shame.
6 I will pelt you with filth, I will treat you with contempt and make you a spectacle.
7 All who see you will flee from you and say, ‘Nineveh is in ruins—who will mourn for her?’
    Where can I find anyone to comfort you?”

Zephaniah prophesies against them

Zephaniah 2:13-15 New International Version

13 He will stretch out his hand against the north  and destroy Assyria,
leaving Nineveh utterly desolate and dry as the desert.
14 Flocks and herds will lie down there, creatures of every kind.
The desert owl and the screech owl will roost on her columns.
Their hooting will echo through the windows, rubble will fill the doorways,
    the beams of cedar will be exposed.15 This is the city of revelry that lived in safety.
She said to herself,  “I am the one! And there is none besides me.”
What a ruin she has become, a lair for wild beasts! All who pass by her scoff
    and shake their fists.

God gave Nineveh a chance; they took it, but did not pass it on to the next generation. There is a parallel in our times. The life buoys have been thrown out, but will we take hold of them? The consequences of not taking hold of it are dire for our nation. Remember

2 Chronicles 7:14 King James Version

14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Nineveh failed- let us not fail.