Jonah, Revisited
In his disobedience, Jonah is given a second chance by God. I think this is one of the most ironic things
about the book of Jonah. Here God
clearly doesn’t turn away from Jonah but rather gives him a second chance. But Jonah is not grateful for the
opportunity. He is obedient; but we have
nothing in the rest of the story to indicate that he receives this second
opportunity well. In fact, we have the
whole end of the story to indicate that he receives this opportunity poorly.
Yet, the Ninevites receive Jonah’s message brilliantly! As soon as they hear Jonah’s prophecy in
their midst they call for repentance.
They call for sackcloth to be worn.
They call out for a fast. The
king even sits in ashes! We see Jonah
nearly despise the fact that God gives him an opportunity while the Ninevites
seem to be willing to grasp at any chance they can get!
Isn’t it interesting how the people of God struggle with sin as
much – perhaps even more – than the rest of the world? There is no reason for those who are in God
to adopt a holier-than-thou approach to life.
We wrestle with sin and an ungrateful attitude towards God just as much
with the next guy. And we should know
better!
Ninevites
Of course, I don’t want to over-glorify the Ninevites,
either. Yes, they repent. Yes, they call a solemn fast. But we know from history and the rest of
God’s Word that the repentance isn’t lasting.
They continue to be cruel. They
continue to oppress beyond what is reasonable for conquering nations. We know the Assyrians invade Israel and God’s
beckoning but go way too far with their power.
We know that God brings up Babylon to be the judge against Assyria
because of their corruption. The
repentance we see here appears genuine at the time, but it is fleeting.
The other part of the story that I love is the comment of the king
with respect to God. “Who knows?” says
the king. “God may turn and relent so
that we may not perish.” This is almost
word for word the reaction to God that we see in Joel 2:14 and 2 Samuel 12:22. None of us can know the mind of God. None of us can know for certain what God has
purposed – especially when it comes to the consequences for our own
sinfulness. But one thing we can say is
that the only proper response once we are convicted of our sinfulness is to
repent.
God may see our repentance and remove all of the consequence. God may see our repentance and know for our
own good that we have to deal with some of our consequence. God may know that we have to deal with all of
the consequence. But the proper response
to God is always in repentance.
Jonah is Displeased
When God does turn, Jonah is displeased. As a child, I always assumed that Jonah was
displeased because he thought God made him out to be a liar. I thought Jonah was concerned about his image
and the fact that what he prophesied didn’t actually happen. Oh, how I didn’t grasp the depth of the
darkness that lies within the human heart!
Yes, Jonah is upset that the judgment didn’t happen. But it has nothing to do with his
reputation. Jonah is angry because he
knew God would spare them if the Ninevites repented. As the Lord turns from anger Jonah turns to
it. As he says with his own mouth, Jonah
is angry because the Lord is gracious.
Jonah is angry because God shows mercy on the enemy.
That last sentence struck me when I wrote it. Clearly, Jonah has failed to remember how God
defines “enemy.” We are all sinful. We are all in need of God’s grace. We are all enemies of God. If Jonah got his wish and God only gave
punishment to His enemies we would all be in trouble! This is why God asks Jonah if his anger is
well served.
Notice that Jonah does not reply to God. Instead of answering God, Jonah goes out and
pouts. He is the one who walks
away. How sad it is that Jonah came all
this way to see the Ninevites turn towards God while he turns away from God {even if both of these turnings are probably
temporary}.
So God appoints a plant to grow that Jonah might have shade. Jonah enjoys the shade, but the next day a
worm attacks the plant and the plant dies.
Jonah curses life and asks God to die.
Again God talks to Jonah, and this time Jonah responds. Jonah makes it clear that he has every right
to be concerned about this plant that had no knowledge of his own
existence. Jonah did nothing for the
plant except to enjoy the shade that it provided.
God then turns the tables on Jonah. Essentially, God says to Jonah, “If you can
be concerned about a plant that knew nothing of your existence, then I can be concerned
about a city of 120,000 people who know nothing of my existence.” This is absolutely powerful.
I wonder, how might God be concerned about the many cities around
the world that know nothing of Him? Am I
any more concerned about those cities than Jonah was concerned about
Nineveh? How often am I like Jonah:
worried about the small and miniscule blessings in my life when God is worried
about the scope and breadth of a world that doesn’t even know Him?
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