Disappointment with God
Text: Jonah 4
Core Idea: You and I need the mercy of God because we are hopeless on our own. We will never be able to make it out of this pit of darkness – which is why someone much greater than Jonah coming is good news to us. Then let’s anchor ourselves to Jesus who alone is the Rescuer of our souls – the Hope of the world.
INTRODUCTION
Well, we are going through the Book of Jonah – observing God’s gracious heart for the lost. And last week, we finally saw the fulfillment of the mission that God had given to Jonah in Chapter 1. And what seemed utterly impossible to Jonah became a reality in the most spectacular way possible – there was a citywide revival and the Ninevites went through a radical transformation of their lives. Then this would’ve been the perfect way to finish the story – a clear display of God’s mercy. But to our surprise, the story will go on. And here, in this last chapter, we’ll encounter a prophet of God who is plunged back into the depths of despair and disappointment with God. So, with that in mind, let’s open up our Bibles to Jonah 4. Let me read this for us.
1 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?” 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 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?”
Amen. This is the Word of God for you today.
Let me share three things from this passage:
· JONAH’S ANGER
· GOD’S LESSON
· GOD’S HEART
1) JONAH’S ANGER
As I said before, we observed something wonderful at the end of Chapter 3 – verse 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.” It was an occasion to celebrate God’s mercy and rejoice with the Ninevites for the salvation they had received – which is why no one would’ve expected this last chapter to begin this way. Verse 1, “But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry.” It should’ve left Jonah in awe of God’s grace. It should’ve moved him to worship. But sadly, what happened in Nineveh left Jonah in great anger because this seemed very wrong to him. In fact, the Hebrew literally says, “But this was exceedingly evil to Jonah.” What God saw as good, Jonah saw as evil. What pleased God displeased Jonah. Why? Because Jonah really wanted the judgment of God to fall on the Ninevites. The Ninevites have been the mortal enemy of Israel for many years. They were the reason why the Israelites were living in fear and despair. They were the source of their sorrow and agony. Then Jonah must have thought, “How could God remain patient with these brutal and wicked people? Why would He forgive them? How can He claim to be a God of justice and allow such evil and violence to go unpunished? They weren’t people to be pitied. They needed to be judged – they deserved to be destroyed.” So, to Jonah, this revival in Nineveh was not amazing. It wasn’t wonderful. In fact, Jonah saw it as something evil – and he became extremely angry. Do you see the irony in this scene? When God turned from His anger against the Ninevites, it made Jonah angry. What brought joy to God’s heart brought anguish to Jonah’s heart – the prophet of God.
Now, what’s even more shocking is that Jonah was trying to use his theology to demonstrate that his rebellion was somehow justified. Listen to his prayer in verse 2, “Isn’t this what I said? 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.” The last time Jonah prayed, he did so because God had saved him from the storm – and his prayer was filled with worship to God. This time, Jonah prays after God saved Nineveh – but his prayer is filled with complaints and disappointments toward God. He was basically saying, “Do You know why I got on that boat to Tarshish? It was because of You. I knew that You would forgive them because You are too compassionate. I knew that You would save them because You’re unnecessarily too merciful. Why would You be gracious toward the Ninevites of all people? You’ve gone too far, Lord.” This is incredibly shocking because not too long ago, he was the recipient of this mercy. He was forgiven. He was rescued. He had experienced the joy of salvation. And yet he couldn’t bear to see God treating his enemies the same way.
And to top it off, he prayed in verse 3, “Now, LORD, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.” Translation: “Over my dead body this will happen. I would rather die than to see Nineveh forgiven – than to see them receive a second chance.” In one sense, he was giving God an ultimatum. Jonah wasn’t threatening to take his own life, but he was asking God to take his life. In other words, he was asking God to choose between the Ninevites and him. He was basically saying, “It’s either me or them. You can’t have both of us. I won’t let You have both.” Reading this, I couldn’t help but wonder, “What is wrong with Jonah? How can he say something like this? How can he be so selfish and so self-righteous after all that he has experienced and witnessed? How can a prophet of God of all people look at what God has done and mark it as evil? Why isn’t he amazed at the grace that has been provided for him and the grace that has swept across Nineveh?” It just didn’t make sense to me. He honestly sounded like a child who is stubborn and entitled – which is why it would’ve been completely understandable if God said, “Are you serious? After all that I have done for you, you’re going to complain – again? Are you that foolish? Do I have to yell at you for you to finally get it? How long do I have to sit here and listen to your whining? Enough is enough. You stood in My way enough. I can’t handle this anymore. I’m seriously done with you. If you really want to die, fine – that’s exactly what you’ll get.” That would be scary. But thankfully, God didn’t treat Jonah as he deserved. He didn’t punish Jonah or rebuke him – but He simply asked him a question.
Verse 4, “Is it right for you to be angry?” This is how I imagined this scene. Jonah is being counseled by God in a closed room. And he’s screaming and crying in anger – laying out all that was on his heart. But God remains quiet – listening to him patiently. And when Jonah is finished, God leans forward and just gently asks, “Do you really think it’s right for you to be angry in this situation? I want you to think about this carefully. Think about all that I have done for you. Before you react this way, before you say anything that you’ll regret, before you do something that’s out of line, take a deep breath and reflect on this a little more.” In other words, God was giving Jonah another opportunity to examine his heart, repent, and submit to His plan. Jonah selfishly didn’t want God to be gracious, compassionate, slow to anger, and abounding in love toward the Ninevites – but here was God being exactly that toward Jonah. No wonder God is called Wonderful Counselor (Isa. 9:6).
What does this mean for us? We should take this story as a warning to guard our own hearts. I wish that I couldn’t relate to Jonah. I wish that we had nothing in common. But sadly, we do. There are countless moments in my life when I was disappointed and angry with God, when I felt like the wisdom of God didn’t seem so wise, when I felt like the love of God didn’t seem so good. Too many times, I cried out to God, “Why did You let this happen? Why can’t You make this happen? Don’t You see that I’m hurting? Don’t You care that I’m broken in every way? Why won’t You do something? How come he’s doing well after all that he has done? Why wouldn’t You punish her for what she did to me?” And sadly, I don’t think I’m the only one here who could relate to Jonah. All of us are prone to wander. All of us are prone to make life all about our needs and our desires. And all of us are prone to call it evil, something that God considers to be good. It’s easy for us to be harsh against Jonah but we must recognize that we are Jonah. This story has been included in the Bible because God wanted to guard our hearts against the sins of self-righteousness and entitlement – to protect us from thinking that we know better than Him. Then let me ask you, “Are you tempted to think that God got something wrong in your life today? Are you tempted to think that God isn’t doing something right? Are you upset because you can’t understand why you have to pay the cost – and not him/her?” In fact, let me be even more specific, “Just like Jonah, is there anyone you would rather see punished than forgiven? Is there anyone you have a difficult time forgiving? Is there anyone you would never want to see at our church – as in you don’t mind if God saves them but you don’t want them here, around you?” If so, God may be asking you, “Is it right for you to be angry? Is it right for you to think this way?” Brothers and sisters, it’s scary but it is possible to celebrate God’s grace and treat others with a spirit of legalism or keep a record of wrongs. It’s possible to serve God with passion and zeal but be judgmental toward certain people. It’s possible to desire a growing friendship with Jesus but be completely ignorant of the people around us. This is what God wants us to see through the story of Jonah. We must guard our hearts.
2) GOD’S LESSON
Verse 5 – even though God came to Jonah with patience and compassion, Jonah just ignored God. He just went out of the city and made a shelter for himself where he waited to see what would happen to the city. Now, what was he waiting for? He was waiting to see if God would change His mind and execute justice against the Ninevites. Remember, he just gave God the ultimatum – “Either kill me or kill them.” Then he was hoping that God would choose him over them, that the judgment of God was just being temporarily delayed, that the wrath of God would rain over them after all. But God was not about to change His mind and He also wasn’t ready to give up on Jonah. So, He seized this opportunity to give Jonah an object lesson – to teach him that he was no different from the Ninevites. Verse 6, “Then the LORD God provided a leafy plant 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.” This is the first time we see Jonah happy in the whole book. He wasn’t happy when God first called him to go to Nineveh. He wasn’t happy when the storm came. He wasn’t necessarily happy about the fish. He obviously wasn’t too happy about God’s second call for him to go to Nineveh. And he certainly wasn’t happy when he was used by God as an instrument of grace to transform the whole city of Nineveh – witnessing the conversion of more than 120,000 people. Jonah wasn’t impressed. But here he was, very happy because he found shade. This should leave us speechless. He’s a prophet of God, for goodness’ sake – and yet his greatest moment of joy came when he was cooled by the leaves of this plant. Then before we move on, let me quickly ask you, “What brings you your biggest joy? Are your greatest moments of joy attached to the moments of comfort, moments of personal ease, moments of personal success? Or are your deepest and fullest joys attached to the work of the Kingdom of God?” Be honest – what makes you very happy? The truth is that we can experience the sanctifying grace of God and witness the awesome power of God at work in our lives yet find greater joy in the comfort of home, greater joy in the endless entertainment we find on the internet, greater joy in a momentary business success, or greater joy in a good meal. Don’t get me wrong – these are good things. But when they bring greater joy to our hearts than being with God and serving the people of God, it may be a sign that we are out of tune with God. We really aren’t that different from Jonah – even as we carry out God’s mission, we can be incredibly self-absorbed, comfort-seeking, and resentful of the pain that comes with it. Just like Jonah, we can find soul-satisfying joy in worldly things rather than the Giver of life. But thankfully, God wasn’t done with His lesson.
Verse 7, “But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the plant so that it withered. When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint.” Think about what it says there – “God provided a worm.” Our God is not just a God of grand moments of history. He’s not just a God of big waves and huge fish. He’s also the Lord of worms. He’s sovereign over all things – both big and small. There’s nothing that’s outside of His sovereignty. Now, God did this not to punish him for his sins but to save him from his sins. This wasn’t just a demonstration of His sovereign power but also His sovereign grace. Through this object lesson, God wanted Jonah to see that he was no different from the Ninevites – that he too was a sinner needing to be rescued, that he was utterly dependent on the provision of God. He wasn’t entitled to more things than the Ninevites – and he certainly didn’t deserve more blessings than them. But sadly, Jonah didn’t get it. He was just so frustrated by the fact that the sun was too hot that he said in verse 8, “It would be better for me to die than to live.” This is the second time just in this chapter that Jonah talks about wanting to die, but unlike the first time, he sounds more discouraged here, almost as if he’s giving up. If the first time was more like, “Either kill me or kill them,” the second time was more like, “I’m done. I can’t take this anymore, God. Just take my life.”
Then what can we learn from this? How can we guard our hearts against this sin of entitlement? We must continue to preach the gospel to ourselves every single day to remember that we’re desperately in need of His grace. If we think that God somehow owes us something good, then we’ll never be content, never be grateful, and never be humble. Instead, we’ll always be frustrated, bitter, and grumpy. In fact, we’ll never learn to be gracious toward others – we’ll just be resentful when God blesses others. Then let me ask you, “When you see God blessing someone with things that you wanted to have for a long time, how do you react? Do you say, ‘God, why them? Why do they get that blessing – and not me’? Or do you say, ‘God, I’m so thankful that You are a good God. Continue to bless them as You have mercy on me. Remember me as well, Lord’?” It’s scary to see that our faith can degenerate into something so self-righteous and so judgmental when the core message of the gospel is that we’ve been given what we don’t deserve. We’re the sons and daughters of grace – which means that we should be the tenderest, most compassionate, most patient, most loving, and most gracious of all communities. Then my prayer for you is that you’ll continue to anchor yourself to the gospel every single day so that you’ll remember that we are a recipient of this amazing grace – that even though we don’t deserve His love, He has mercifully made us His own through the death of Jesus Christ. Today, come and tell Him, “God, rescue me and lead me because I’m lost without You.”
3) GOD’S HEART
Despite Jonah’s continual rebellion, God comes to him once more as the Wonderful Counselor. He asks again in verse 9, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?” He was basically saying, “Why are you so upset that I have taken away the plant? Did you labor in any way for it to grow? Of course not – but I did. I caused it to grow and perish overnight. Then why are you so concerned about this plant? Jonah, this momentary comfort has gripped your heart so much that you’re making everything about you. Don’t let your sin lead you astray.” But despite God’s gentle confrontation, Jonah still stubbornly responded, “It is [my right, God]. And I’m so angry I wish I were dead.” I really don’t understand how Jonah could say these things but he openly confesses that it’s more important for him to be comfortable than for the Ninevites to be saved. Here, Jonah’s self-centeredness is on full display – which sets the stage for God to have the final word in verse 10, “You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. 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?” I don’t know about you but when I was reflecting on these words, I couldn’t help but feel like God’s heart was broken for Jonah. I don’t know why but it felt like God was pleading with Jonah to see what He sees. “Jonah, don’t you see that My heart is broken for Nineveh? Your heart goes out to this little plant that grew and perished overnight. Then how much more would My heart go out to these people whom I have created? They belong to Me. They matter to Me. But they’re completely lost, and they’re headed directly toward their destruction – which is why I want them to find Me. I want them to taste the joy of salvation – which is why I have sent you. Why can’t you see this, Jonah? Why isn’t your heart broken for what breaks Mine?”
And with that, the book abruptly ends. We don’t find out how Jonah responded – it just ends with a question mark. Now, this is intentionally done because the author is asking the readers the same question, “Is your heart broken for what breaks God’s?” It was an invitation to examine our own hearts and realign ourselves back with God. Then that’s exactly what we should do as well – and to help you do that, let me give you just five sets of questions to reflect on.
i. Are you tempted to think that your way is better and wiser than the will of God? Are you tempted to think that God has gotten something wrong in your life? If so, why?
ii. Are you tempted to settle for the comforts of your life instead of going to people and places that are foreign to you? Are you willing to be uncomfortable for the sake of His glory? If not, why not?
iii. Are you able to celebrate the blessings of others – even those who you think are undeserving? Is there anyone you would prefer not to receive the mercy of God?
iv. Is the grace of God in your life empowering you to be gracious to those around you? Is the mercy of God enabling you to be generous to others with money, time, and energy?
v. Do you have great concern for the lost in your life? Does your heart reflect God’s heart of compassion for the lost or Jonah’s heart of selfishness and self-righteousness? To whom is God sending you today?
Brothers and sisters, just as He did with Jonah, God may be pleading with you. Don’t ignore His plea. May your heart break for what breaks His.
Let me end our time together by reminding you that someone greater than Jonah has come. Jonah fled from God’s will; Jesus came to do God’s will. Jonah despised his enemies; Jesus loved His enemies. Jonah went outside the city to wait and hope for God’s wrath to fall on the Ninevites; Jesus went outside the city to die and absorb God’s wrath that we so richly deserved. Jonah built a shelter to protect himself; Jesus hung on a cross with no shelter, no protection, and no shade so that we might be sheltered, so that we might be forgiven of our sins.
CONCLUSION
Lighthouse family, Jesus Christ is the better Jonah. Then let’s anchor ourselves to Him today. Let’s lean on Him as we follow in His steps. And let’s go and tell others about Him for He alone is the Rescuer of our souls – the Hope of the world.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1) Are you tempted to think that your way is better and wiser than the will of God? Are you tempted to think that God has gotten something wrong in your life? If so, why?
2) Are you tempted to settle for the comforts of your life instead of going to people and places that are foreign to you? Are you willing to be uncomfortable for the sake of His glory? If not, why not?
3) Are you able to celebrate the blessings of others – even those who you think are undeserving? Is there anyone you would prefer not to receive the mercy of God?
4) Is the grace of God in your life empowering you to be gracious to those around you? Is the mercy of God enabling you to be generous to others with money, time, and energy?
5) Do you have great concern for the lost in your life? Does your heart reflect God’s heart of compassion for the lost or Jonah’s heart of selfishness and self-righteousness? To whom is God sending you today?