Jonah 4
OGCEXAMINATION
CONSIDERATIONS
Why would God send a prophet of Israel to a great heathen city like Nineveh?
Do you think the literal meaning of Jonah’s name, dove, has any symbolical significance concerning his mission?
Is there sufficient evidence to establish the historicity of the experience of Jonah? What is the evidence?
ASSOCIATIONS
Associate the persons or events of column one with the correct person or event of column two.
1
2
Jeroboam II
capital of Assyria
Jonah
where Jonah was headed
Nineveh
coastal city of Palestine
Gath-hepher
the Pit
Tarshish
Jonah’s home town
Joppa
king of Israel
Amittai
dove
Sheol
father of Jonah
MEMORIZATIONS
Arise, go to _____, that great city, and _____ against it; for their _____ is come up before me. And God saw their _____, that they turned from their _____ way; and God _____ of the evil which he said he would do unto them; and he did it not.
CONTEMPLATIONS
Why would God be concerned with the wickedness of Nineveh?
Did Jonah really think he could get away from Jehovah by going to Tarshish?
Why did God cause the storm?
Were the heathen sailors really converted to God?
Is it possible for a man to survive being swallowed by a fish?
How did the fish transport Jonah to Nineveh, an inland city?
Why did Jonah attempt to run away? How did he explain it himself?
Why was Jonah angry when God did not destroy Nineveh?
How is Jonah a type of Christ?
IN EVERY NATION SERMON ON JONAH
Truly I perceive that God shows not partiality, but in every nation any one who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. Acts 10:34-35
INTRODUCTION
I.
WHO WAS JONAH?
A.
His name means, literally, a dove. He preached God’s peace to the Ninevites
B.
Jonah was a citizen of the northern kingdom, Israel, He lived in Gath-heper in the days of Jeroboam II
C.
Israel was, in spite of its affluence, corrupt and decadent and ripe for the judgment of God
D.
Jonah was a prophet of God; sent by God to preach to Israel (2 Kings 14:25); a contemporary perhaps of Elisha, Joel and Amos
II.
WHAT WAS JONAH’S MISSION?
A.
Jonah was, we believe, to preach God’s judgment upon the wickedness of Nineveh, and upon Nineveh’s repentance and God’s salvation, they became an object lesson for Israel, that, … in every nation any one who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to Him.
B.
THIS IS THE MESSAGE JONAH BRINGS TO US TODAY
God is no respecter of person
He hates and will punish wickedness wherever it is found
He loves and will reward righteousness wherever it is found
This three-fold message is to be delivered to the whole world through preachers
C.
Jonah’s experience became a prophetic type of the work of the Messiah in suffering death for sinraised from the dead to bring salvation to the world
III.
JONAH’S EXPERIENCE HAS ANOTHER LESSON FOR US
A.
God says Go!
B.
Man says No!
C.
The World, His Word can know
DISCUSSION
I.
GOD SAYS, GO!
A.
Through His word (Revealed Commands)
God’s word came to Jonah, how, we know not, probably directly
a.
God’s word had come to the Jews as a nation, earlier, that they were to be witnesses to the nations round about them of the one true God (cf. Deuteronomy 26:19; Deuteronomy 28:1; Deuteronomy 28:9-10)
b.
But in Jonah’s day the Israelites were so much like their heathen neighbors God commanded Jonah to go bring the nations to repentance as a lesson for Israel
c.
Jonah was commanded to go into urban evangelism in a foreign country! Nineveh was about the size of St. Louis (600,000 pop.; approx. 18 sq. miles in size); its inhabitants noted for their cruelty against enemies, culturally sophisticated.
d.
There was no doubt in Jonah’s mind that God had called him. It was not an emotional experience Jonah had to wonder about.
e.
GOD DID NOT LEAVE ANY PROPHET IN DOUBT WHEN HE CALLED THEM THROUGH HIS WORD! GOD’S COMMAND TO GO IS UNEQUIVOCALLY PLAIN AND IMPERATIVE!
God’s word comes to every Christian whose heart is sensitive and fully surrendered to His will, saying, Go!
a.
Go. and make disciples of all nations. Matthew 28:19-20
b.
Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature, Mark 16:16 ff.
c.
… what you have heard from me before many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. 2 Timothy 2:2
d.
GOD’S COMMAND TO GO IS UNEQUIVOCALLY PLAIN AND IMPERATIVE IN THE N.T. Men today are called through the gospel. God does not single out individuals today and speak to them audibly as He did to Moses, Isaiah, etc. BUT ALL CHRISTIANS ARE ENTREATED TO GO SOMEWHERE WITH THE GOSPEL!
B.
God says, Go Through His Ways
God said Go to Jonah through the storm, the testimony of the heathen sailors, the 3 days and nights in the belly of the great fish.
Sometimes God does not get our attention until He hits us between the eyes with the proverbial two-by-four of trial and tribulation.
It was Paul’s blindness on the Damascus road that called him to hear God’s voice; it was Paul despairing of life that made him trust in God (2 Corinthians 1:3-11), and his thorn in the flesh that kept him from boasting (2 Corinthians 12:7-10).
Alexander Campbell and other great Restoration preachers were called by God through trying experiences
Wes Tuttle and wife directed to God’s call to evangelize through tragedy in the family; Roy Rogers and his wife
When such a call comes through providential working of God in our lives, whether we answer correctly or not depends upon whether we know, understand and are willing to acknowledge that God does call in such a way!
Some recruits to specialized service find many trials in their way before they finally get to the place they have chosen to serve. BUT DO NOT BE DISCOURAGED, THIS IS GOD CALLING YOU IN HIS OWN WAY!
C.
God says, Go Through His Whispers to your Conscience
In a report by W. A. Cunningham, Eastern Christian College a few years ago, listing a report from every country in the world, there are 35 countries which would welcome U.S. missionaries, many of them where no missionaries have yet gone!
The longer we wait the more difficult it will be. Did you know that 19 of every 20 who become Christians do so before they reach the age of 25; after 55, only one in 300,000! YOUTH MUST BE WON!
Did you know 40 million people die each yearHOW MANY ARE LOST TO AN ETERNAL HELL?! Will God require their blood at your hands? 80 people die every 60 seconds! WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO SAVE THEM! ABOUT ONE HALF OF THE WORLD’S POPULATION HAVE NEVER HEARD OF JESUS!
1,000,000 Christians serve 100,000 churches of the 180,-000,000 people in the U.S.; 27,000 missionaries work among the other 2.5 billion in the world; 91% of the population of the world has only 6% of the full-time workers for the Lord!
WHAT DOES YOUR CONSCIENCE TELL YOU NOW! LISTEN TO IT! IT IS SAYING, WOE IS ME IF I PREACH NOT THE GOSPEL!
II.
MEN SAY, NO!
A.
Men say, Send someone elsenot me! Whether Jonah said, Why me? or not, we can only guess.
But whom else would God have sent in Jonah’s dayJeroboam II? the heathen sailors? THERE WAS ONLY ONE MAN FOR THE JOB, JONAH! JONAH PUT HIMSELF ON GOD’S LIST OF AVAILABLES WHEN HE ACCEPTED THE LORD AS HIS SAVIOUR!
Who else will God send today? The bartender? other non-Christians? nominal, worldly-minded Christians? JUST AS HE ASKED IN ISAIAH’S DAY, GOD ASKS TODAY, WHOM SHALL I SEND, WHO WILL GO FOR ME? The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are so few!
Even so, my friend, THERE IS ONLY ONE MAN FOR THE JOB, YOU! YOU PUT YOURSELF ON GOD’S AVAILABILITY LIST WHEN YOU ACCEPTED HIS SON AS YOUR LORD! Do not say, Send someone else, YOU DECIDED TO GO FOR HIM WHEN YOU CAME UNTO HIM!
Young people who have had all the opportunities of Christian training in their homes are the ones who cannot say, Send someone else!
Parents, whose children want to go, dare not say, Send someone else.
B.
Men say, Don-’t send me there, send me somewhere else! One thing is certain about Jonah, he did not want to go to Nineveh!
But God knew bestGod knew Jonah and God knew Nineveh, and God knew that Nineveh would repent at the preaching of Jonah
It was a case of running away from God.
Men, even Christian men, want to do everything else under the sun, but preach the gospel.
Men, even Christian men, want to go everywhere except the place they are best suited for and where God is evidently leading them
Why? Selfishness! Laziness! MANY WILL NEVER HEAR THE GOSPEL BECAUSE MEN DECIDE AGAINST GOING TO THEM WHEN THE TASK APPEARS TOO DIFFICULT. THERE ARE NO CONVENIENCES THERE. THE PEOPLE WOULD BE UNRECEPTIVE
Peter said, Don-’t send me to the Gentiles, but God sent him and a great victory was won!
Paul said, Don-’t send me to Troas, but God did and a great victory was won!
God sent St, Patrick to Ireland as a slave-boy to prepare him for later missionary work there
Christ said Don-’t send me to the Cross, but God did, and your salvation was wrought
C.
Men say, Don-’t send me now, send me some other time Perhaps Jonah rationalized with himself, If God would only wait, I would go to Nineveh some day! BUT GOD SAID, NOW!
Moses said, Wait, God, I-’m not eloquent But God said, NOW, MOSES!
Jeremiah said, Wait, God, I am but a youth, But God said, NOW, JEREMIAH!
Esther said, Wait, God, for a more opportune time, But God said, NOW, ESTHER!
GOD’S TIME IS ALWAYS NOW. GOD’S DAY IS ALWAYS TODAY
This does not mean that we should forget preparation to preach the gospel. it does mean that we must go somewhere, everywhere opportunity permits, even while preparing for some particular field. WE CAN PREPARE AS WE GO AND WE CAN GO AS WE PREPARE!
God will not waitif you resist and refuse His call, you will be lost, like king Saul, or like Baalam, or the rich young ruler.
SAY NO! TO THE WORLD; SAY NO! TO SATAN’S ENTICING WHISPERS; SAY NO! TO SELF; BUT FOR THE SAKE OF MILLIONS OF LOST SOULS, DON-‘T SAY NO! TO GOD!
III.
THE WORLD, HIS WORD CAN KNOW
A.
Many will be Receptive:
Jonah probably reasoned on the docks of Joppa: I have preached for years in Israel with no success in getting my own countrymen to repent, how does God expect me to reach foreigners!
But Jonah was in for a big surprise! The whole city received his message from the king down to the lowliest slave.
Why? Probably two reasons: First, they were probably thoroughly disillusioned with their own sinful lives and ready for a message of hope; second, there was evidence in the person of Jonah himself of the truth of his message!
Thousands upon thousands received the gospel in the first century for the same two basic reasons
Thousands upon thousands are ready to receive the gospel today, I am convinced, because of the first reason, but they have not accepted it yet, because it has not yet been evidentially presented to them. Jonah did not play upon the emotions of the Nineviteshe appealed to the evidences available! Jonah knew why he believed and was able to tell the Ninevites why they should believe!
Campus ministers are finding many disillusioned young people who want something solid, true, abiding, factual. This has been the experience of Roy Weece at University of Missouri; of Alan Bemo with Chinese students on Taiwan; of Gordon Souder in Canadaall over the world.
There is a constant barrage of requests coming to Ozark Bible College, and of other Bible Colleges I-’m sure, for trained young people, both men and women, to go to the far-flung limits of our globe. Requests from other missionaries; requests from the peoples of other nations.
B.
Many will Repent
. the king arose from his throne, removed his robe, and covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes. and decreed that the whole city should do likewise
When God saw. how they turned from their evil way, God repented of the evil which he had said he would do to them; and he did not do it.
Almost whole cities repented when Paul preached
Millions were saved from the apostate Roman church by the courageous preaching of Martin Luther
Millions have been brought back to Biblical Christianity as a result of the faithful, sacrificial work of Restoration pioneers
Thousands have been won to Christ just recently by dedicated young people; Joe Garman, graduate of OBC in Korean evangelistic crusades won thousands to Christ; the Reggie Thomas team in Africa including 4 OBC students) won thousands to Christ in just the summer months of school vacation.
Ted Hurlburt, in a very candid article about Bible College training, entitled What About the Preacher Shortage? Christian Standard, Feb. 3, 1968, writes: Young people, the fields are white unto the harvest! The message of Christ will still be valid after the last -hippie-’ has had his long hair cut and after any other new fad has lost its momentary popularity. Bible Colleges need more studentsstudents longing to have their convictions of a saving Christ developed so as to effectively communicate His salvation to a dead, doomed, and damned world.
The Lord says to you as he did to Paul at Corinth: Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent, for I am with you,. for I have many people in this city. Acts 18:9-10
Yes, even the intelligentsia, the sophisticated-set, need the gospel and are willing to hear and repent Joplin Globe, Dec. 2, 1967, Pastor Preaches Gospel to Moonport Congregation. After extensive intimate talks with members of his -moonport-’ congregation. he concluded, -from what they told me that they needed basic, simple-’ exposition of Christian doctrine. While they were highly educated in electronics, etc.,. they were -biblically and theologically illiterate.-’ They wanted help in understanding the -person and nature of God-’ and in relating -His teachings and purpose to their own daily lives. -’ After five years at the Cocoa Beach church. he says he has found that the gist of his message needs to be the straight -good news of the gospel.-’
C.
Many will reject
The Bible is a book of history. It is candid, frank, accurate and realistic. It is not a philosophical-idealistic book of theories
Nineveh repented, but Jonah’s own people, Israel, went stupidly, blindly, rebelliously on its merry way to destruction.
This is what discouraged Jonah. Jonah was not a sadistic cold-blooded, monster whose consuming passion was to see innocent women and children slain by God. Fairbairn says, Jonah was downcast because the example of severity had been withheld, which he thought would operate so beneficially upon the minds of his countrymen and without which he seemed to have no means to attaining the great end and object of his life.
All of God’s efforts to bring Israel had failed thus far. Now God sought once more to move them from their downward plunge by working upon them through jealousy and shame while at the same time giving them an example of His mercy and love when repentance is shown. Jonah, like Elijah of old, was waiting for God to speak out of a whirlwind or with fire, but God spoke in a still small voice of forgiveness. The Jews expected Jesus to speak with judgment upon the Gentiles if He were the Messiah. PREACHERS HAVE A REPUTATION OF THINKING THEY KNOW BETTER HOW TO DO THINGS THAN GOD DOES!
So God teaches Jonah a lesson with the gourd. Jonah was distressed when it died because he needed it for shade. So, God needed to save Nineveh as an example of what He would do for Israel if she repented. God’s cause would suffer if Nineveh should be destroyed. SO, IN SPITE OF ALL MAN CAN DO AND IN SPITE OF ALL GOD DOES, MANY WILL REJECT. Many are called, but few are chosen.
Isaiah was told, when he had asked, How long, O Lord, Until cities lie waste and without inhabitant. Very few paid attention to Isaiah.
Jeremiah was so discouraged, he wished he had never been born, but there was a fire in his bones and he could not quit.
Moses, Samuel, Elijah, Peter and Paul. all had their moments of discouragement, their failures, their enemies, BUT THEIR VICTORIES FAR OUTWEIGHED THEIR DEFEATS, AND THEY KNEW THAT ULTIMATE VICTORY WAS ASSURED! They may lose a battle here and there but the war would be won!
Bill Junkins, former President of Midwest Christian College, writing about having left the ministry from discouragement and returning to the ministry wrote, Love your calling as a ministry sent to you by the Lord himself. It is the highest calling on earth. It is an invitation and challenge to walk with God where God walked when he visited our planet as our loving, serving, suffering Savior.
CONCLUSION
I.
JONAH, THE RELUCTANT PROPHET, TEACHES US:
A.
God Says, Go!
B.
Men say, No!
C.
The World, His Word Can Know
II.
LET THE HOLY SPIRIT SPEAK TO YOU THROUGH THESE WORDS OF HIS:
A.
How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? (Romans 10:14)
B.
For since in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. (1 Corinthians 1:21)
C.
Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men. For the love of Christ constrains us. So we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. (2 Corinthians 5:11; 2 Corinthians 5:14; 2 Corinthians 5:20)
MY FRIEND, THERE SIMPLY IS NO WAY FOR THE BILLIONS DOOMED TO AN ETERNAL HELL TO KNOW GOD AND BE SAVED, EXCEPT YOU BECOME A PREACHER AND TELL AS MANY AS YOU CAN!
THE WHITE MAN’S BOOK OF HEAVEN
In the fall of 1832 five Indians traveled to St. Louisin search of the White Man’s Book of Heaven. They had heard about it from explorers and traders. It took them seven months to reach their destination.
When they arrived they were received by General Clark and entertained for the winter. However, two others died during the winter months, leaving only two of the original five. In the spring, when they were ready to leave, General Clark gave them a banquet. During the banquet one of them gave a farewell address. Finally, the two survivors started back to their tribe, but one perished on the way and only one of the five ever saw his tribe again. Following is the touching speech that was made at the banquet by the Indian who had traveled so far in search of the White Man’s Book of Heaven, *only to be shown images and burning candles and never once a copy of the Bible.
I came to you over the trail of many moons, from the setting sun. You were the friends of my fathers, who have all gone the long way. I came with an eye partly open for my people who sit in darkness. I go back blind to my blind people. I made my way to you with strong arms through many enemies and strange lands that I might carry much back to them. I go with both arms broken and empty. Two fathers came with us. They were the braves of many winters and wars. We leave them asleep here by your great water and wigwams. My people sent me for -The White Man’s Book of Heaven.-’ You took me to where they worship the great Spirit with candles, but the Book was not there. You showed me the images of the Great Spirit and the pictures of the good lands beyond, but the Book was not among them to tell us the way. I am going back to my people in the dark land. You make my feet heavy with gifts, and my moccasins will grow old with carrying them, and yet the Book is not among them. When I tell my poor, blind people, after the more snow, in the Big Council that I did not bring the Book, no word will be spoken by our old men or by our young braves. One by one they will rise up and go out in darkness and they will go a long path to other hunting grounds. No white man will go with them and no White Man’s Book of Heaven will make the way plain. I have no more words.*
What a fearful catastrophe! What a terrible denunciation! Would to God there had been a Christian with a copy of the Bible, who could have met the need of the Indians, sent as they were by the Spirit of God. What, I wonder, will the people of St. Louis of that day have to say when they stand before God? But now may God speak to our hearts, lest we, too, fail Him. May we do what we can to give The Book of Heaven to those who do not have it. Remember, a thousand tribes still wait in darkness and midnight gloom for the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. How will we excuse ourselves if we, too, fail Him in this dark day and hour?
But, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel. and they shall afflict you (Amos 6:14).
With the Assyrian campaigns into the west under their king, Shalmaneser III (859-824 B. C.)whose commanding figure we see heredisaster loomed ahead for Israel and Judah. I set out from Nineveh and crossed the Tigris is how this monarch begins his account of his first campaign against Damascus. In the fighting which led up to the Battle of Karkar in 853 B. C. King Ahab of Israel, who took part in the Syrian coalition against Assyria, had his first encounter with Assyrian troops. FROM: THE BIBLE AS HISTORY IN PICTURES
By Werner Keller - Wm. Morrow Co.
Jonah 4:1-3
GOD’S MESSENGER RUNNING AHEAD OF GODTHE DISPLEASURE OF JONAH
TEXT: Jonah 4:1-3
1
But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry.
2
And he prayed unto Jehovah, and said, I pray thee, O Jehovah, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I hasted to flee unto Tarshish; for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness, and repentest thee of the evil.
3
Therefore now, O Jehovah, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live.
QUERIES
a.
Why would Jonah be displeased that thousands of people were saved?
b.
Why would the graciousness of God lead him to flee to Tarshish?
c.
Why did he think it better to die than to live?
PARAPHRASE
But God’s withholding of His wrath against Nineveh was very displeasing to Jonah. Jonah was grieved and vexed and prayed, saying, Lord! isn-’t this what I said back in Palestine before I ever came to Nineveh? This is exactly why I ran off toward TarshishI knew that You are gracious, merciful, longsuffering, overflowing in Your lovingkindness and that you would forgive and withhold Your punishment. On account of this, O Lord, I beg You, take my life. Because my mission is a failure, I would rather be dead than alive.
SUMMARY
Jonah feels his mission is a failure when Nineveh is not destroyed, He cannot go back and preach to his wicked countrymen with any forcefulness because God is merciful, Jonah would rather be dead.
COMMENT
Jonah 4:1-3. IT DISPLEASED JONAH EXCEEDINGLY. THEREFORE. TAKE. MY LIFE FROM ME. There are about as many different opinions as to the cause of Jonah’s anger as there are commentators. We prefer Professor Fairbairn’s evaluation. We just cannot bring ourselves to characterize Jonah as a man so full of hate that his primary vexation is due to a cold-blooded desire to see hundreds of thousands of heathen slain. Fairbairn says, Jonah was disconcerted and downcast because the example of severity had been withheld, which he thought would operate so beneficially upon the minds of his countrymen and without which he seemed to have no means of attaining the great end and object of his life. Hugh Martin, in The Prophet Jonah, says, In Jonah’s judgment the sparing of Nineveh would eclipse the honor of God, destroy the credit of his ministry, and harden the hearts of his countrymen.
The people of Israel in Jonah’s day were in a state of terrible degeneracy and profligacy. All the efforts of God, sending them prophets, had thus far failed to bring them to their senses and repentance. So the Lord, before abandoning them finally to their fate, sought once more to move them from their downward plunge, by working upon them through feelings of jealousy and shame while at the same time giving them an example of His mercy and loving-kindness when repentance is shown. For this purpose God did with Nineveh what He did not usually do with other heathen nations. Living in the age of ease, comfort, luxury, during national ascendency of Jeroboam II when the people were almost totally libertine, Jonah preached in vain month after month, year after year. All the while his own countrymen and neighbors despised everything he was attempting to do on their behalf. It is no wonder Jonah, like Elijah of old, after waiting month after month for some fearful, sudden, decisive turning-point to come in the form of wrath from the Lord, would feel discouraged by the thought of the Lord’s mercy. When he thought of this at his first call it would cause him to despair of any thing effectual being accomplished toward bringing his own countrymen to their senses. Then after his own experience in the sea monster’s belly, he might stand in the midst of Nineveh and imagine that in forty days he would at last obtain the very example of the wrath of God upon sin that he hoped would come and that he could take back to Israel and persuade them to turn from their sin. It requires no stretch of the imagination, then, to see what a disappointment it was for him to see Nineveh spared, and the very weapon snatched from his hand by which he hoped to prevail against the sin of his countrymen. Jonah was not so much concerned with his own reputation nor so full of hate and vengeance that he would have taken some fiendish delight in the slaying of thousands of people; but he loved his own people so intensely, and was so firmly persuaded that an act of severity was required to shake them from their false security he was grieved and frustrated. Instead of having the vantage point of a tremendous illustration of God’s wrath upon sin he felt his whole purpose in life had been defeated and there was nothing left for him but to die. Neither Jonah nor Elijah were right. Both of them were out of harmony with God’s will. Both of them misunderstood God’s plan and had only a partial view of His purposes and therefore made hasty, carnal judgments as to how God should govern. The lesson for us is that God’s way is still the best; for He sees the end from the beginning, and directs all with infinite skill and unerring wisdom. If we could alter the plan of God it would not be for the better but for the worse. We must take the attitude of Habakkuk who, when he could not understand why God would use a heathen nation to punish the covenant people, said, I will take my stand to watch, and station myself on the tower, and look forth to see what he will say to me. behold. the righteous shall live by faith.
QUIZ
Why do you think Jonah was displeased with God’s mercy on Nineveh?
What other prophet had the same concept of how God should govern?
What lesson should we learn from this?
Jonah 4:4-10
GOD’S MESSENGER RUNNING AHEAD OF GODTHE DEMONSTRATION BY JEHOVAH
TEXT: Jonah 4:4-10
4
And Jehovah said, Doest thou well to be angry?
5
Then Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shade, till he might see what would become of the city.
6
And Jehovah God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to deliver him from his evil case. So Jonah was exceeding glad because of the gourd,
7
But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd, that it withered.
8
And it came to pass, when the sun arose, that God prepared a sultry east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and requested for himself that he might die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live.
9
And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death.
10
And Jehovah said, Thou hast had regard for the gourd, for which thou hast not labored, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night:
QUERIES
a.
Why does God ask Jonah twice if he does well to be angry?
b.
What kind of booth did Jonah prepare for himself and why?
c.
What is the lesson to be learned from the gourd?
PARAPHRASE
And God said to Jonah, Are you right in being grieved because I have spared Nineveh? But Jonah went out and built a little lean-to on the east side of the city and camped under its shade. He wanted to wait to see if God would not bring judgment upon Nineveh after all. And when the leaves of the little shelter withered in the heat, the Lord prepared a gourd vine to grow up quickly and spread its broad leaves over Jonah’s head to shade him. Jonah was very happy that the vine was there to shade him from the hot sun. God also prepared a worm! And the next morning the worm killed the gourd vine and it withered and dried up and gave shade to Jonah no longer. So when the sun began to bear down in the heat of the day God also caused a scorching east wind to blow on Jonah and he grew so hot he became very weak to the point of fainting and actually wished to die. He said, Death is better than this! But God said again to Jonah, Are you right in being so grieved over the withering of the gourd? Jonah replied, Yes, I am right in being grieved enough to die. And God said, You are grieved in your soul over the gourd vine because you had need of it in the direst way. You cannot claim the gourd as your right because you did not create it, or plant it, or cultivate it. And the gourd vine is, at best, only a plant which has withered and died.
SUMMARY
Jonah succumbs to discouragement. God gives him an object lesson. God is about to show Jonah how inconsistent his thinking is.
COMMENT
Jonah 4:4-5. DOEST THOU WELL TO BE ANGRY?. JONAH WENT OUT OF THE CITY. TILL HE MIGHT SEE WHAT WOULD BECOME OF THE CITY. God asks, Are you certain that your concept of how I should deal with the Ninevites is correct? are you certain that My dealing with them as I have is grievous? It would seem that God is giving Jonah opportunity to think, perhaps to pray, and learn a new lesson about God’s purposes and ways. The Lord plants the idea in Jonah’s heart that he may not be doing well in being grieved.
But Jonah could not yet believe that the Ninevites would be allowed to resume their former course of peace and prosperity without a strong demonstration of God’s wrath. And, as we have said before, this lingering concept in the mind of Jonah was not due to any maliciousness or bloodthirstiness. Even when he knew the people had repented he might have considered some form of punishment still perfectly compatible with God’s righteousness and justice. Many have still felt the consequences of their sins long after they have repented (cf. David, Moses, etc.). After all, Jonah took his revelation of God’s nature from the Old Testament and not from the New. And there is a difference! Fairbairn says, These considerations appear to me perfectly sufficient to account for a state of mind in Jonah such as might induce him, without any disobedience to the will of God, so far as that had yet been made known to him, to go and erect a booth at some distance from the city, where he might wait in anxious expectation to see what would become of it. All of Jonah’s knowledge of how God dealt with sin, especially heathen wickedness, was learned from the O. T. What Jonah needed still to learn, and what God had not yet shown him, was the largeness of the mercy to be extended to Ninevehthat it amounted to an entire remission of the threatened penalty. To teach him this, to show him it was reasonable and just on the part of God, yea, even of urgent necessity in the best interests of those whom Jonah loved so dearly, his own countrymen, Jonah’s temporary shelter from the burning sun was turned into a school of discipline.
This booth which Jonah built was a temporary, small, lean-to affair, built usually of palm leaves, or at other times with any type of leafy tree branch, which would afford shade from the searing desert sun.
Jonah 4:6-8. JEHOVAH PREPARED A GOURD. JONAH WAS EXCEEDING GLAD. BUT GOD PREPARED A WORM. AND IT SMOTE THE GOURD, THAT IT WITHERED. GOD PREPARED A SULTRY EAST WIND. JONAH. FAINTED, AND REQUESTED. THAT HE MIGHT DIE. God knows exactly how to correct Jonah’s mistaken concept of the Divine purpose for Nineveh’s salvation. Jonah needed something that would graphically turn his thoughts from the channel they were in to ideas of God’s purpose which had never entered his imagination, For this purpose God permitted him to go construct his frail booth near the city and to experience there for a time inconvenience and discomfort. Then suddenly God brought over Jonah, without any exertion on the part of Jonah at all, the shadow of a broad foliage by the growth of the gourd vine. Then, just as suddenly, God made him feel again, in an even more intense way, the scorching sun and parching wind, by causing a worm to destroy the gourd vine. Jonah suffered a mild sunstroke and fainted from the exposure and said he would have found death itself a happy release.
Jonah 4:9-10. DOEST THOU WELL TO BE ANGRY FOR THE GOURD?. THOU HAST REGARD FOR THE GOURD, FOR WHICH THOU HAST NOT LABORED. God is leading him slowly but surely to an ever higher plan concerning the Divine behavior. In other circumstances it would have been a matter of little significance to Jonah what happened to the gourd vine. Situated as he was, however, depending for his comfort, and in a sense, also for his life on its ample foliage, its sudden destruction necessarily came upon him as a terrible tragedya calamity. This is exactly the relationship God would have him consider concerning Nineveh. Nineveh, a city that feared the name and obeyed the voice of God, God had need of it in this time of extreme necessity in the case of Israel. God’s cause would suffer by its annihilation.
If there had been any hope of the people in Israel being still brought permanently to repentance by some great example of the wrath of God, God would have known it and brought it to pass. But this hope could no longer be entertained. Everything of this sort had already been tried with Israel and still their hearts waxed hard and cold.
QUIZ
Why did God allow Jonah to leave the city and sit and wait?
Why might Jonah still cling to the hope that the city would be destroyed?
What was God’s purpose in shading Jonah with a gourd vine and then taking it away?
Jonah 4:11
GOD’S MESSENGER RUNNING AHEAD OF GODTHE DECLARATION OF JEHOVAH
TEXT: Jonah 4:11
11
and should I not have regard for Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than six score thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?
QUERIES
a.
Why would God want to have regard for wicked Nineveh?
b.
What is the meaning, cannot discern between right and left hand?
c.
Why mention cattle?
PARAPHRASE
And God said, Should I not then be just as concerned for the preservation of Nineveh as you were for the gourd vine. You needed the vine and I have urgent need for Nineveh to be preserved. In addition to this there are more than 120,000 innocent children and dumb animals abiding in that city.
SUMMARY
God reveals to Jonah His purpose in sparing Nineveh.
COMMENT
Jonah 4:11. SHOULD I NOT HAVE REGARD FOR NINEVEH. God must use other means than a demonstration of His wrath upon Nineveh if He is to bring any heartfelt repentance to the calloused Israelites of Jeroboam’s day. He must call their jealousy into action, (cf. comments on Jonah 1:1-2). God seeks to arouse Israel, by the example of this heathen nation spared due to repentance, to the startling consideration that the favor of God was bestowed on those of every race who work righteousnessand of the possibility that the kingdom of heaven might be transplanted to a people more spiritually prepared to receive it! Yes, the Lord at this time peculiarly had need of Nineveh in its penitent state; the cause of righteousness in the earth could ill afford to spare so singular a witness to the truth; the spiritual good of Israel itself in particular required it.
This singular demonstration of God’s mercy and forgiveness and salvation would also furnish hope for the faithful remnant later in captivity. This concept which the Lord sought to impress even on Jonah personally in his own experience in the sea, and which was taught again in the experience of the gourd, provided for all the faithful among the future exiles a sure ground of consolation and hope. There would be hope for them even in what might seem to be despair and grief, And so ends this remarkable history of a remarkable prophet of God. There are some significant lessons to be learned from this account.
Beware of letting our ideas of the results of God’s work interfere with carrying out His present will for our lives.
Beware lest we belittle what can be or what is accomplished for God by our ideas of the significance or insignificance of the place of service.
Wherever and whenever God is pleased to manifest His grace and goodness it is our obligation and privilege to acknowledge and rejoice in that manifestation.
God’s ways are not our ways. God does not change; man must change!
QUIZ
What was the ultimate purpose in sparing Nineveh?
What hope would the sparing of Nineveh give to the Israelites of the captivity?
How did God compare Jonah’s grief for the gourd to His concern for Nineveh?