1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:1-3 (NIV)
16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (NIV)
1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Colossians 3:1-4 (NIV)
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20 (NIV)
4 But the LORD replied, “Have you any right to be angry?” 5 Jonah went 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 vine and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the vine. 7 But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the vine 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.” Jonah 4:4-8 (NIV)
Though Jonah knew that God was slow to anger, he still greatly desired for the Lord to execute His wrath swiftly – at least towards the Ninevites that is, certainly not towards him! Yet in our verses for today, we discover God being graciously kind and compassionate as well as slow to anger - not only with the Ninevites but also with His prophet. It reminds me of the Words in Titus 3:3-8:
3 At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. 4 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. 8 This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone. Titus 3:3-8 (NIV)
33 Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! 34 “Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?” 35 “Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?” 36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen. Romans 11:33-36 (NIV)
We discover in our text for today God seeking to reason with Jonah by asking His sulking messenger whether his anger was justified – a question that implied a negative response. The wording indicates God basically saying: “Is it morally good for you to burn with anger?” BTW, it is never a very good idea to angrily question what the God of all creation does. God certainly does not mind our asking Him questions regarding our circumstances rather it was the deserving, expectant, angry attitude of Jonah’s heart that was getting him into deep water. He expected God to explain to Him what He was up to as if he were on level ground to understand God’s ways. To be sure, this was simply not going to happen! Jonah couldn’t understand God’s ways even if He had clearly told him! And neither can we BTW! As a friend of my family used to say: “I can explain it to you, but I cannot understand it for you.” We do not see the end from the beginning as God does, nor do we see clearly – only but a poor reflection as in a mirror. God tells us in Scripture through the pen of Isaiah in Isaiah 46:8-10:
8 “Remember this, fix it in mind, take it to heart, you rebels. 9 Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. 10 I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please. Isaiah 46:8-10 (NIV)
Jonah certainly had no right to be angry. Indeed, no one has rights before God. We are all beggars at the foot of the cross – all of us are on level ground. I am reminded of God’s Words to his servant Job’s questionings of His actions at the end of Job after he had suffered greatly and continuously and was totally spent. Remember Job is the one whom God had called blameless. We discover now God calling Job into account in Job 38:2:
1 Then the LORD answered Job out of the storm. He said: 2 “Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge? 3 Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me. 4 Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? Tell me, if you understand. 5 Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? 6 On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone-- 7 while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy? Job 38:1-7 (NIV)
Then God proceeds with several chapters all filled with questions that Job had no idea how to respond to. God did not answer Job’s question rather God turned it around and asked Job questions – questions too hard for him to know. Indeed, in the end of all of God’s inquiries, Job had certainly realized his place and rightly confesses in Job 42:1-6:
1 Then Job replied to the LORD: 2 “I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted. 3 You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. 4 You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.’ 5 My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. 6 Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.” Job 42:1-6 (NIV)
God can take our pleadings but He is on the throne not us and His ways are higher and better than ours as they are always, always, working in and through us eternal glories that far outweighs the present “want” for now.
“It is natural for us to wish and to plan, and it is merciful of the Lord to disappoint our plans and to cross our wishes. For we cannot be safe or happy until we are weaned from our own wills and made simply desirous of being directed by His guidance. Although we understand this we seldom learn to put it into practice without being trained for a while in the school of disappointment. The schemes we form look so plausible and convenient that when they are broken we are ready to say, ‘What a pity!’ We try again, and with no better success; we are grieved, and perhaps angry, and plan another, and so on; eventually, in the course of time, experience and observation begin to convince us that we are no more able than we are worthy to choose correctly for ourselves. The Lord’s invitation to cast our cares upon Him, and His promise to take care of us, appear valuable; and when we have done planning, His plan in our favor gradually opens, and He does more and better for us than we could either ask or think. I can hardly recollect a single plan of mine, which if it had taken place in the time and the way I wanted would, humanly speaking, have proved my ruin; or at least would have deprived me of the greater good the Lord had designed for me. We judge things by their present appearance; but the Lord sees them in their consequences. If we could do the same we would be perfectly of His mind; but since we can’t, it is an unspeakable mercy that He will manage for us, whether we are pleased with His management or not; and it is regarded as one of His heaviest judgments when He gives any person up to the way of their own hearts, and to walk according to their own wisdom.” John Newton
A person should never angrily question what God does, even when it differs from what he expects or wants. God does not answer to us! It is always best to remember: To will what God wills bring peace to the soul.
“Let's never forget that some of God's greatest mercies are His refusals.” Elisabeth Elliot
Again, God always, always has our best interest at heart even if we do not readily perceive it or our emotions feel it.
I am reminded again of the correct response of blameless Job, who, in a matter of moments, progressively lost all that he had – even his ten children. We find in Job 1:8-22:
8 Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.” 9 “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. 10 “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. 11 But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.” 12 The LORD said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.” Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD. 13 One day when Job’s sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, 14 a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby, 15 and the Sabeans attacked and carried them off. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!” 16 While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The fire of God fell from the sky and burned up the sheep and the servants, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!” 17 While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept down on your camels and carried them off. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!” 18 While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, “Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, 19 when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!” 20 At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship 21 and said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.” 22 In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing. Job 1:8-22 (NIV)
Job’s response here is amazingly stellar. Certainly it appears this saint of old lived his life with open hands – not grasping what God had put in them. He trusted in the goodness of God even in the direst of circumstances. Even when he could make no sense out of the situation. Indeed, his circumstances were so intense and horrible that we discover the following reaction from his friends who came to encourage him. This passage reflects the best thing these friends did for him in his anguish. After that, their actions were downhill all the way! We see in Job 2:11-13:
11 When Job’s three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, heard about all the troubles that had come upon him, they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and sympathize with him and comfort him. 12 When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognize him; they began to weep aloud, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads. 13 Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was. Job 2:11-13 (NIV)
Now back to our story! The Prophet Jonah certainly had had good theology, but it never made it down from his head to his heart to his hands. He was so distraught over God’s actions of staying His mighty all-powerful hand towards the Ninevites that he was just furious and fit to be tied! What do we do when we are in a Jonah state of mind? Just annoyed, furious, depressed, anxious or whatever over all that is going down in our lives. When things are not going at all as we had planned and we just want to flee or give up or just flat out go home to be with the Lord. I am reminded the Psalmist words in Psalms 42:5-6:
5 Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and 6 my God. My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon--from Mount Mizar. Psalms 42:5-6 (NIV)
And in Verse Eight:
8 By day the LORD directs his love, at night his song is with me-- a prayer to the God of my life. Psalms 42:8 (NIV)
I submit to you, for your consideration, the following three habits to consider – accomplished through the power of the Holy Spirit of course - when we find ourselves in the midst of these low states of emotions. We will call them: Our Frame, Our Focus, and Our Fix. This is following Paul’s directives in Scripture found in Colossians 3:1-4:
1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Colossians 3:1-4 (NIV)
Our Frame: Consider if you are tired or hungry or suffering physical pain. Our beings are made up of body, soul and spirit and when one is out of whack it oftentimes makes the other two follow suit. To be sure, our bodies can scream out and take all our attention. Chronic pain and depression can cause helpless feelings as well as we oftentimes seek to pull ourselves up by our own power or strength – and that is simply not going to happen. We are to get through these times by the Power of the Holy Spirit which indwells every believer in Jesus. I am reminded of God’s kind treatment toward Elijah after he had had his Mount Carmel experience. He went from the mountaintop to the valley in zero point nine seconds!!! Many of us can say Amen to that! Particularly when it comes to spiritual matters. Remember our bodies are simply jars of clay. And when our bodies are off kilter, our minds often thinks things are hopeless. Remember, nothing is hopeless with God. We find in 1 Kings 19:3-7:
3 Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4 while he himself went a day’s journey into the desert. He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, LORD,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” 5 Then he lay down under the tree and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” 6 He looked around, and there by his head was a cake of bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again. 7 The angel of the LORD came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” 8 So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. 1 Kings 19:3-8 (NIV)
God sweetly supplied His prophet with sleep and sustenance and on that he was able to travel forty days and forty nights to the mountain of God.
Our Focus: Where are our eyes? Are they on our circumstances or are they on the Savior of our circumstances? Are they on our own strength or on God’s Omnipotent Power? Scripture tells us to fix our eyes on Jesus, this will enable us not to lose heart when we are in circumstances not of our choosing. The writer of Hebrews states:
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:1-3 (NIV)
Asaph also had almost slipped until he got his focus right and looked up. We see in Psalms 73:
1 Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. 2 But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold. 3 For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. 4 They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong. 5 They are free from the burdens common to man; they are not plagued by human ills. 6 Therefore pride is their necklace; they clothe themselves with violence. 7 From their callous hearts comes iniquity; the evil conceits of their minds know no limits. 8 They scoff, and speak with malice; in their arrogance they threaten oppression. 9 Their mouths lay claim to heaven, and their tongues take possession of the earth. 10 Therefore their people turn to them and drink up waters in abundance. 11 They say, “How can God know? Does the Most High have knowledge?” 12 This is what the wicked are like--always carefree, they increase in wealth. 13 Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure; in vain have I washed my hands in innocence. 14 All day long I have been plagued; I have been punished every morning. 15 If I had said, “I will speak thus,” I would have betrayed your children. 16 When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me 17 till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny. 18 Surely you place them on slippery ground; you cast them down to ruin. 19 How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors! 20 As a dream when one awakes, so when you arise, O Lord, you will despise them as fantasies. 21 When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, 22 I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you. 23 Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. 24 You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. 25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. 26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. 27 Those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you. 28 But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds. Psalms 73:1-28 (NIV)
Our Fix: What do we dwell on when we are in a Jonah state of mind? What do we fix our minds on? Is it our problems – how we can get rid of what we do not want or get what we do want? Do we fix our eyes on our own purposes and plans or on God’s perfect Truth? Often in our distress we need to be reeled in and reminded of the simple yet profound Truths of God’s Word. The promises of Scripture serve as a balm to the weary soul and as the sweetness of honey to the mouth. To be reminded that God loves us, that He cares for us, that He is molding us into the image of His Son, that He knows the intensity of the heat and that He sustains us and keeps us standing even when the fiercest storms blow – all calms the weariest of souls. Jeremiah wrote in Jeremiah 15:5-8:
5 This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD. 6 He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives. 7 “But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. 8 He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” Jeremiah 17:5-8 (NIV)
He also adds in Jeremiah 29:11-14B:
11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back from captivity.” Jeremiah 29:11-14B (NIV)
We would do well to have some go-to verses stored in our hearts for times when we get overrun with emotions, pain and heartache. It is invaluable as Jesus has promised we will have tribulations – not if. God lovingly wants to care for His children – especially in the wildernesses of our lives. As you lean and depend upon Him He will ever prove Himself faithful.
“God is honored when we approach his words as those that revive the soul and rejoice the heart, as those that are more to be desired than gold and sweeter than honey. The summary and culmination of Psalm 119’s unashamed tribute to God’s word is this: great reward. He means for us to experience his words as ‘my delight’, as ‘the joy of my heart’, as ‘the delight of my heart’, as ‘kindling for the fires of our joy.’ God gives us his own life-giving words to steady our souls and the souls of others.” David Mathis
Back to our story! Jonah was so distraught with emotions that he did not even reply to God’s question. Instead he left the city and built a crude shelter, perhaps from tree branches and just sat down in the dust in its shade. This was apparently giving Jonah a clear vantage point of the city. Perhaps he was hoping that God would answer his plea and judge the city anyway. Our Prophet was simply unable to imagine that God would not carry out His justice on a people so deserving as the Ninevites! He refused to accept that God would extend mercy and compassion to people other than Israelites. He had made up his mind that God would not show them mercy – and he couldn’t have been any further from the Truth. His actions appear like a sulking child. Obviously he had forgotten that he, who also deserved death for disobedience, was mercifully delivered by God.
For the second time in this Book, Jonah abandoned his place of ministry, left the city, and sat down in a place east of the city where he could see what would happen. Without answering God, the petulant Prophet stomped angrily off, clear out of the city. He missed so many opportunities by being childish and selfishly sulking. He could have taught the Ninevites so much about the One True God of Israel, yet he preferred to wallow in self-pity, pouting because he wasn’t getting his way. Much akin to the Prodigal’s older brother in the parable, he wouldn’t go in and enjoy the feast. What a tragedy it is when God’s servants are a means of blessing to others but miss the blessing themselves! God wants His Word and His ways to land in the hearts of His people meaning it is His desire for our wholehearted devotion and a willing mind. This is because the way to the mind is through the heart. In his heart, Jonah had a pre-conceived bias against the Ninevites preventing his heart to beat mercy as the Lord’s did. Both reason and affections are crucial to loving God rightly. God’s way to our understanding (mind) is through our affections (heart). Those who do not find their delight in the Lord will seek it in other places.
“I saw more clearly than ever, that the first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day was, to have my soul happy in the Lord.” George Muller
“Unless some unusual obstacle hindered him, he (Muller) would not rise from his knees until sight had become savoring.” George Muller
Next we discover God, being slow to anger, again attempting to reason with His prophet. This time God gave him a visual lesson. He erected an object of Jonah’s affection – his creaturely comforts - and contrasted it with the object of His own concern - the souls of people. Remember John 3:16-17 and 2 Peter 3:9 speak God’s heart towards the lost:
16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:16-17 (NIV)
9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9 (NIV)
Now we discover God rebuking Jonah again, but in this instance, not through a storm rather by exposing the selfishness of his likes and dislikes. As a sulking child over the fate of Nineveh, he withdrew, went out of the city, sat alone, and remained silent. He witnessed the Ninevites repent and reform and he was not happy about it. The forty days were now coming to an end, or had come to an end, and Jonah hoped that if Nineveh was not overthrown, then some other judgment would come upon them that would be enough to save his reputation. So he made himself a booth of the boughs of trees to wait and watch. God knew that Jonah was very uncomfortable sitting in that booth he constructed so He graciously provided a vine (gourd) and caused it to grow large leaves that would protect Jonah from the hot sun. How very kind of God as the Prophet had so foolishly caused these problems for himself. Jonah was sitting in his shelter, fretting over the cold of the night and the heat of the day and God looked on him with compassion, as a tender mother looks on her contrary child. God’s actions, of course, pleased Jonah and made him very happy to be more comfortable. It was a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his self-imposed grief so that, being physically refreshed, he might be better protected from the anxieties in his mind – basically so that he could think clearer. As we have stated, when we are in discomfort, it is hard for us to think clearly. Jonah was exceedingly happy over this gourd. A small toy will sometimes pacify a bad-tempered child, as the vine pacified Jonah. But God had a teaching lesson for our Protagonist in this and the next morning, He prepared a worm to destroy the vine, his now treasure. And Jonah again became unhappy. With the sudden loss of provision that God had made for his refreshment his trouble returned. Sometimes our comforts spring forth like flowers and are soon cut down. We must not look upon God’s little mercies and comforts expectantly or deservingly – as He both gives and takes away for our good. Rather we are to hold them with open hands and grateful hearts. God did not send an angel to uproot Jonah’s vine, but a worm to strike it. He also prepared a hot wind to make the Prophet feel the lack of the gourd. It was a vehement scorching east wind which drove the heat of the rising sun violently onto Jonah’s head and he was therefore exposed to the sun and the wind – and he was miserable! Here is the Biblical affirmation that God controls every element of His creation and can and does use any element in it for His own purposes. I am reminded of the story of the Exodus and what God tells Moses prior in Exodus 3:16-22:
16 “Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers--the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob-- appeared to me and said: I have watched over you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt. 17 And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites--a land flowing with milk and honey.’ 18 The elders of Israel will listen to you. Then you and the elders are to go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Let us take a three-day journey into the desert to offer sacrifices to the LORD our God.’ 19 But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels him. 20 So I will stretch out my hand and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders that I will perform among them. After that, he will let you go. 21 And I will make the Egyptians favorably disposed toward this people, so that when you leave you will not go empty-handed. 22 Every woman is to ask her neighbor and any woman living in her house for articles of silver and gold and for clothing, which you will put on your sons and daughters. And so you will plunder the Egyptians.” Exodus 3:16-22 (NIV)
And it went down just as God said!
The combination of the hot sun and the smothering desert wind made our protagonist want to die even more. It appears that those who love to complain should never be left without something to complain about that there foolishness may be revealed and corrected and, if possible, healed.
Ironically, Jonah was selfishly glad for his own comfort but not for the Ninevites’ relief from judgment. As He had done in the depths of the sea, God was reminding Jonah of what it was like to be lost: helpless, hopeless, and miserable. Jonah was experiencing a taste of hell as he sat and watched the city. He who so foolishly caused problems for himself, was now wanting to die. Again the prophet was so discomforted—first by Nineveh’s repentance and now by the loss of the shade from the vine—that he was ready to give it all up.
A simple test of character for us is to ask ourselves, “What makes me happy? What makes me angry? What makes me want to give up?” Jonah was “a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways” – as James 1:8 tells us. One minute he is preaching God’s Word, but the next minute he is disobeying it and fleeing his post of duty. While inside the great fish, he prayed to be delivered, but now he asks the Lord to kill him. He called the city to repentance, but he wouldn’t repent himself! He was more concerned about creature comforts than he was about winning the lost, about his reputation over the salvation of others. Ironically, the great fish, Ninevites, the vine, the worm, and the wind have all obeyed God, but Jonah, His Prophet, still refuses to obey, and he has the most to gain.
These are Beth’s personal notes, due to this fact sources are not often stated.
