Jonah's Merciful God

The book of Jonah, and I'd like to notice a few verses from chapter 2 and then again in chapter 4. The book of Jonah in the Old Testament. We are going to begin our reading in chapter 2 and verse 8. I'll give you a minute to find it. Toward the end of the Old Testament, Jonah is one of the minor prophets.

Jonah chapter 2 and verse 8. Jonah says this, they that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy. But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving. I will pay that I have vowed.

Salvation is of the Lord. And the Lord spake unto the fish and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land. And we should read in chapter 3. It says in the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time saying arise and go to Nineveh.

That great city and preach unto it the preaching that I will bid thee. And the end of this chapter says and God saw their works that they turned from their evil ways. God repented of the evil that he said he would do unto them and he did it not.

Chapter 4 then, we see that it displeased Jonah exceedingly and he was very angry. And he prayed unto the Lord and said I pray thee oh Lord was not this my saying when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish. For I knew that thou art a gracious God and merciful.

Slow to anger and of great kindness. And repentancy of evil. Now as we've heard from Exodus of the Passover story.

Likely for anyone that has gone to Sunday school they know all about Jonah and the great fish. But the fish isn't the star of this book. And really when it comes down to it Jonah isn't either.

Because as we've been looking at this what I have really appreciated is this. What is revealed here yes it is Jonah and his disobedience. Yes it is the Ninevites and their wickedness.

But more than all of that what is revealed or conveyed in this book is this. It is a person of God. It is the heart of God and the desire of God.

To paraphrase what Jonah says at the end of his prayer in the fish's belly. He says salvation is of the Lord. In other words it is in God's heart to save.

It is in God's heart to save. Maybe there are a lot of misconceptions when it comes to God. Who is God? What is God like? What does God do? Some people have this idea that God is a great cosmic grandfather.

And he loves everyone and welcomes everyone. And it doesn't matter how bad we are. He's always going to embrace us.

But that is not the God of the Bible. But then there are some people that think God is just a great judge. And the one that is just waiting for sinners to fail.

So he could punish them and judge them because of their sins. That is not the God of the Bible either. The Bible tells us that God is holy and God is just.

The Bible also tells us, as Jonah says, that God is merciful. He is gracious. He is slow to anger and of great kindness.

So there is a perfect balance in God between holiness and his love. His hatred for sin and his love for men and women that have sinned against him. So that is just what I like to consider from this very short book of Jonah.

You see, first of all, when we read of Jonah, we understand that he was a prophet. And he received a word from God. And God told him, go up to Nineveh.

That is in Assyria, the capital city of Assyria. And cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before me. But the very next verse tells us, but Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish.

Now, why is it that Jonah didn't want to go to Nineveh? Was Jonah afraid to travel? Well, it isn't that, because he was willing to take a trip in the opposite direction. Was it that Jonah was afraid that they were going to do something to him and that Jonah might die? No, because even as he is in the great storm in the sea, he is not afraid to be cast into the sea. Jonah isn't afraid of dying.

Actually, you'll see that Jonah was to die. So then what is happening here? Well, it is this that Jonah does not want to go to Nineveh because of the wickedness of that place. And we're going to come back to that.

But there's a lesson that is learned first. Speaking of Jonah, the man who disobeyed God. And God, of course, takes up dealings with Jonah.

And there's a great storm in the sea. In the boat that he is in, trying to escape in the presence of the Lord. And finally, they cast the sailors, cast Jonah into the sea to save themselves.

But the Bible tells us this, that God had prepared a fish. A great fish swallowed up Jonah. You see, even in this disobedient man, God saved him from drowning in the sea.

Because there was a fish that was prepared. Now, the experience that Jonah had wasn't very pleasant, if you read in chapter 2. Because he despaired of his own life. He was afflicted.

He was in a very uncomfortable place. In the deep, in the dark, and the seaweed wraps around his head. And he goes down to the depth of the sea, as it were.

Really, it is to the very gates of death, you might say. But it is in that place of despair that the Bible says that Jonah cried out to God. And God heard him.

And God spared him. Well, you might say, Jonah didn't deserve to be spared. Because he was doing exactly the opposite of what God told him.

Here is a man that was rebelling against God. He didn't deserve to be preserved. But that's exactly the point of the story.

That Jonah did not deserve the goodness of God, and yet God spared him. God saved him. God preserved his life.

And when he has to come to himself in this place. As he is fainting, as his life is ebbing away from him. He cries out to God.

And he understands that God hears him. And not only that, when he finally recognizes that if God desires to save that is the heart of God. Then verse 10 says, And the Lord spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.

God preserved a wayward, a rebellious man. Did he deserve it? Not in the least. But that's exactly the lesson that Jonah had to learn.

It is then that he discovers the heart of God is to save. The heart of God is to save a wayward man like Jonah. And even though he was preserved being swallowed by a fish.

God didn't send a shark. God didn't let Jonah drown in the storm in the ocean. He wasn't consumed in the fish.

And the fish didn't vomit him out in the middle of the ocean. In all of this it was a gracious dealings of God in the life of a man that rebelled against him. Oh, it was there when he despaired of his life that Jonah discovers the heart of the Lord is to save.

The verse that we read, verse 8, maybe it's a little bit hard to understand. They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy. Those that observe or reverence worthless idols.

What they are missing out on is mercy. If people only knew who God really is. How is it that people can rebel against God? How is it that people today can hate God and ignore God? If people only understood who God really is.

He is a God who despite the fact that we have sinned against him in many, many ways. Is a God who longs to show his mercy toward us. Something that cannot be found in dead idols.

The Old Testament tells us so sadly of this. Of people that worship idols. They have eyes that don't see.

They have ears but they don't hear. But more than that. They do not have hearts of love and compassion.

And that is a God of the Bible. That is a God that you and I like Jonah sin against every day. That we deserve to be judged by that God because of our sin against him.

And yet Jonah discovers this. It is God's heart to save. Why is it that Jonah did not want to go to Nineveh? Again, it wasn't because of the trip.

It wasn't because of the expense. It was because he said they do not deserve God's mercy. Well, we might say Jonah is right.

The Assyrians were known as people who were idolaters. Yes, as so many of those pagan nations. That they were proud.

Yes, they were proud. They were violent. They were wicked.

They were a threat to Israel. And actually the Bible tells us that they would come into Israel. And they would conquer Israel in the north.

And they come right up to Jerusalem. And God stops them. But a nation that was known for its violence and its wickedness.

An enemy of the nation of Israel. And Jonah says an enemy of God. And an enemy of God deserves to be judged by God.

Is Jonah right? Well, Jonah had to discover something for himself. That God's heart is for salvation. God's heart is not for destruction.

For the undoing of the wicked. And that is something that we need to understand. That heaven's desire is not the destruction of sinners.

But God's desire is for the salvation of men and women. And the reality is that men and women that despise God come under God's judgment. But not because it delights the heart of God.

But it's something that they bring upon themselves. Because they ignore Him. Because they reject Him.

As Jonah says, those that turn away from God, as it were. Are those that forsake the mercy of God. These people were so wicked that Jonah says they are not.

They're not worthy. They're not worthy. But that's exactly what God had to teach Jonah.

That Jonah was not worthy of God's kindness. Because he was a rebel. The Ninevites just the same.

And Jonah finally goes, as God speaks to him again. And he goes into the city. A city that was wicked.

Chapter 1 tells us that it was a great city. Their wickedness has come up before me. Yes.

Go into the city. That in 40 days Nineveh will be destroyed. In 40 days Nineveh will be overthrown.

Why? Because of sin. Because their sin that they were committing against God. Because of the things that they were doing.

That God was going to have to deal with them in their sin. But that isn't what God wanted for this people. If you could understand and appreciate it.

God's wrath is displayed when God is provoked to wrath. You go back to the beginning of the Bible. I'm thinking of the days of Noah.

The Bible tells us the wickedness of the earth was so extreme. But God tells something to Noah. God says, my spirit will not always strive with men.

That is why I have determined that the days of their life will only be another 120 years. And then they're done. What is God saying there? He is telling us that his spirit had constantly been striving with men.

That they had rebelled against their creator. That from the very first man that sinned, every one of his sons lived in rebellion against him. And the spirit of God was working and striving to convince men that they should turn from their sin and turn to God.

And then the day comes that God says, my spirit will no longer. That means that the spirit of God had been dealing with men. And the desire of God was to see them saved from the judgment that their sin deserved.

And it came to a point after 1600 years that God says, it's enough. But does that not show us then the patience of God? The kindness of God? That for centuries men had sinned and rebelled against their creator. And yet it took so long for God to finally say, enough is enough.

That's when it comes to judgment. The Bible is very clear that there is. Because there is wrath, beware.

The Bible tells us. But that isn't the heart of God, the desire of God to condemn it. You read another prophet in the Old Testament, it's the prophet Isaiah.

And you read these words that are often quoted when we preach the gospel. Let the wicked forsake his way. The unrighteous man has sought.

That's what God says. But what does the rest of the verse say? What is God calling people to do? It says, let the wicked forsake his way. And the unrighteous man has sought.

Let him return to the Lord. And he will have mercy upon him. To our God and he will abundantly forgive.

And the verse goes on to say, for my thoughts are not your thoughts. Neither are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than yours.

My thoughts and yours. What is the Bible saying? Jonah says the enemies of God should be destroyed. Our thoughts.

Someone does you evil. You do them evil. Justice must be done.

Jonah says heaven says this. Save my enemies. Those that turn from their wickedness.

Those that forsake their waywardness. Can turn to a God who is longing to forgive. Not a God who is longing to judge.

The heart of God is solved far beyond ours. In our minds we say vengeance, justice, righteousness must be done. And God says, forgive them.

Save them. Show mercy upon them. For those, yes, it is a requirement just as seen in the city of Nineveh.

When those people understood the righteousness of God. That if we continue on as we are, we will know God's judgment. They stopped where they were.

They stopped in their tracks. They said, let us turn from our wicked ways. To see maybe God will forgive us.

You see, what they didn't know was the God that Jonah knew. They heard that God is going to judge. But when the king makes a proclamation.

Turn everyone from the wickedness that you're doing. Maybe God will repent from what he has declared. And what was the answer of God? No, it's too late.

Let your enemies. Oh, the Bible tells of a God who is gracious. Jonah said they don't deserve to be forgiven.

God says they do. What about you and I? You and I deserve heaven. You and I deserve to know our sins forgiven.

Do you and I deserve any of the kindness of God? We're God's enemies, just the same. But the heart of God says, forgive them. The heart of God says, save them.

The heart of God says, deliver them. The heart of God says, preach to them so that they turn from their wicked ways. And Jonah sees how God is so willingly spared the Ninevites.

And this is what I said. This is why I didn't want to go. Because you are God who is gracious and merciful and slow to anger and great of great kindness.

What a shame that God doesn't destroy his enemies. Jonah had to learn the heart of God is for salvation. God saved a disobedient land like me.

God can surely save the wicked people of Nineveh that have turned. What about you in the meeting tonight? Are there any sinners here? Is there anyone that truly deserves God's wrath? Let me tell you, the heart of God is to save you. But the reality is this, for those that do not turn from their sin, that do not recognize what they truly deserve from God, they will ultimately come under the judgment of God, but not because God desires it.

Again, going back to Isaiah chapter 55, it says, My ways are higher than your ways. My thoughts are higher than your thoughts. For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and does not turn thither, does not go back, it waters the earth, making it bring forth buds, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater.

That is God. He sends the rain to bless the earth, so that it might grow for people to have bread to eat. He says in the exact same way, So is my word, the word that goes out of my mouth.

It will not return to me, Lord. It will accomplish that for which I have sent it. Why did God send his word to Nineveh to condemn Nineveh? No.

Was that Nineveh? No. The grace of God. And they were spared.

They were spared because of the God who is gracious, merciful, slow to anger, and great in kindness. And friend, what about you in the meeting this evening? Do you not appreciate that there is a God who longs to save you? That there is a God that is not willing that you should perish? That there is a God whose desire is that all men would be saved? You see, when it comes to Jonah down in that fish's belly, and all of the misery that he knew, it was because of his disobedience. And yet he could cry out, and God heard him.

It makes me think of someone else that knew the waves and billows of God's wrath, but not because of his disobedience. Not because of his rebellion against God, but the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. The one who went to dark Calvary knew the wrath of God against sin.

That all of God's waves and billows passed over his sinless soul. Why did God do that? Why was it that the one that did not know sin be made sin? Why was it that his life would be poured out as an offering for sin? It was because God was dealing with sin in that place, in despair, in darkness. And there's a cry that is not answered.

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Brought down to the very depth. Not as Jonah in figure, because Jonah never died, but here is one who descended into death itself. God's beloved son.

Why did he suffer? Why was he marred? Why was he so belittled? God was going to deal with our sin that you and I might be saved. God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. The enemies of God might be delivered.

The words of the Lord Jesus are taking him to crucify him. Father, forgive them. Who? The people that hated him.

The people that wanted to see him suffer. The people that wanted to see him die. The people that were his enemies.

The heart of God is for salvation. How sad it is that there are people that will ignore, despise, reject God. And every single person that makes their way down to hell is passed by an open door.

In imitation that says, hold everyone that thirsts. God has done everything that was necessary to deal with the problem of your sin. That you might be delivered from it.

And the longing heart of God and the word that is sent is to bless. It is not a word to condemn. The gospel is preached that sinners might turn from their sin to the God who is longing to embrace them.

As Luke chapter 15 tells us, of a son who turned from his sin and from his waywardness. We came to the father's house. What did he find? A father who said, away.

No. It's a father whose arms were open wide. Because God's heart is a heart of salvation.

That's what Jonah had to learn. That's what the Ninevites discovered. That salvation is of the Lord.

That God saves his enemies. Oh, that there would be someone in the meeting tonight that discovered I am God's enemy. Well, that's why he sent his son.

The just suffered for the unjust. To bring me to God. That Christ suffered once for my sins.

Because salvation is of the Lord. That God wants to save me.