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Tag: Nineveh

The Lord’s Lesson for Jonah – Jonah 4:1-11

April 19, 2022 /
Jonah

This post is adapted from a sermon I recently preached. You can listen to the sermon here (forgive the audio and video quality).

An Overview of Jonah

Introduction to Jonah

How do you view God?

Maybe you think that God is watching your every move and looking for an excuse to smite you.

Maybe you view God as a grandfather that overlooks anything you’ve done wrong and sweeps it under the rug.

Maybe you view Go some other way. The important question to consider is this: does your view of God come from your experience or the Scriptures?

In chapter four, we get a glimpse into the character of God and His care for His creation.

There are four main scenes in Jonah:

  1. Jonah and the sea – Jonah runs from God’s will (1:1-16)
  2. Jonah and the fish – Jonah reluctantly submits to God’s will (1:17-2:10)
  3. Jonah and the city – Jonah reluctantly fulfills God’s will (3:1-10)
  4. Jonah and the Lord – Jonah questions God’s will (4:1-11)

Sermon Text – Jonah 4:1-11 (click to read the text)

There are two sections in Jonah 4.

In verses 1-4, we see Jonah’s angry prayer to the Lord. In verses 5-11, we see the Lord’s lesson for Jonah.

Jonah’s Angry Prayer to the Lord (1-4)

But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. (Jon 4:1)

The fact that God had relented of his wrath upon the Ninevites (Jon 3:10) “displeased Jonah exceedingly and he was angry.”

Jonah is really upset that God spared the Ninevites. He hated these people and wanted God to bring judgment upon them.

2

And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. (Jon 4:2)

Verse 2 tells us that Jonah fled to Tarshish because he knew God’s character. Jonah gets this language from Ex 34:6-7, which is the Old Testament text that is most used to describe God’s character.

Here is some context of Ex 34:6-7:

Ex 32 – Moses had spent 40 days with God on Mount Sinai and had received the 10 Commandments, written by the very finger of God.

While Moses was meeting with God, the Israelites fashioned the golden calf and began to worship it. God threatens to pour out His wrath and Moses intercedes for the people.

In Ex 32:14, we read, “And the LORD relented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people.”

Moses came down from Mount Sinai and had the Levites run through the camp with their swords out. That day, 3000 people were killed.

Moses then mades His way back up Mt Sinai to once again meet with the Lord.

As Moses was on the mountain, the Lord provided new tablets of stone with the 10 Commandments written on them and then He proclaimed these words:

Ex 34:6-7

The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”

Jonah knew the Scriptures. He knew that the Lord was merciful and had extended mercy to Israel so many times. He also knew that God would be kind enough to show mercy to the Ninevites if they repented.

3

Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” (Jon 4:3)

Because the Lord did show mercy to the Ninevites, Jonah prays that the Lord would take his life. Jonah says it is better for him to die than to live.

4

And the Lord said, “Do you do well to be angry?” (Jon 4:4)

The Lord gently corrects Jonah: “Do you do well to be angry?”

Jonah had rebelled against God and was shown mercy (Jon 2).
The Ninevites had rebelled against God and were shown mercy (Jon 3).

When the Lord showed Jonah mercy, He was grateful. He offered a long prayer of thanksgiving (Jon 2) because he was spared from death.

When the Lord showed the Ninevites mercy, Jonah was angry. He prayed in his anger that he would die. Think about this: Jonah is speaking to the author of life, who should be the only real source of meaning in his life, and he is asking to die, because he doesn’t think his life is worth living.

Jonah is speaking to the author of life, who should be the only real source of meaning in his life, and he is asking to die, because he doesn’t think his life is worth living.

Have you ever been there?

Perhaps your life wasn’t going as you thought it should and you just asked wanted to die. Friends, this attitude is ungodly and suggests that God is not sovereign, wise, or good.

Jonah believed that Nineveh’s repentance was not in the best interest of Israel. His love of country had trumped his obedience to God. If your love of country leads you to wish for the spiritual condemnation of others, then you have made your country an idol.

Jonah was angry that God would show mercy to the Ninevites.

One of Jonah’s problems was that he saw himself as morally superior to the Ninevites.

It’s easy for us to compare ourselves to others. We think that we deserve God’s mercy, but “these people” do not. It’s easy to look down and condemn “greater” sinners, while believing we are good (see the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector in Luke 18:9-14).

Jesus warned in Matthew 7:1-6 that we should not see the spec in our brother’s eye without taking the log out of our own eye. Jesus said we will be judged according to how we judge others (Matt 7:2).

How many of us hate the moral downgrade that has happened in our country but at the same time do not hate the sins that live in our own hearts?

We condemn homosexuals but let our children and grandchildren live in fornication under our roof. We give them devices that they use to look at porn.

We condemn transgenders but we fail to fulfill biblical gender roles in the home and in church. Women are not submitting to their husbands and men are not leading their families to serve Jesus.

We wish we could vote out corrupt politicians, but we refuse to confront unrepentant sin in the church. Church discipline is almost extinct in American evangelicalism.

Ironically, it is so easy for us to judge Jonah without examining ourselves. It is as easy for us to judge others as it was for Jonah to judge the Ninevites.

The story of Jonah is something that we all need to learn and to remember every day. We are all sinners (Rom 3:23). We are all in need of God’s mercy and grace. It’s easy to look down on someone else, but the fact is that without Jesus, we would all be in hell along with the worst sinners than come to our minds. Until we understand the depth of our own sin, we will never appreciate God’s grace or have a true love for lost sinners. Until we understand the depth of our own sin, we will never appreciate God’s grace or have a true love for lost sinners.

Until we understand the depth of our own sin, we will never appreciate God’s grace or have a true love for lost sinners.

In vv. 1-4, we see Jonah’s angry prayer to the Lord.

In vv. 5-11, we see the Lord’s lesson for Jonah.

The Lord’s Lesson for Jonah (5-11)

Notice the parallel structure of Jonah between chapters 1-2 and 3-4:

The parallel structure of Jonah

The end of Jonah is the only section of the book that doesn’t have a counterpart. Thus, Jon 4:5-11 is the object lesson of the book and leaves us with a question that the author wants us to ponder.

5

Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, till he should see what would become of the city.

Jonah went out to the east of the city and made a booth for himself. A booth is a shelter of branches that gives some shade. Jonah sat in his little booth in the shade, waiting to see what would happen to the city.

It seems that Jonah was hoping that God would in fact send his wrath upon the city. Jonah wanted Nineveh to go up in smoke like Sodom and Gomorrah. So, Jonah waited in the heat under the shade of his booth.

Once again, Jonah is oblivious to his own hypocrisy. When Jonah was disobedient to the Lord, He was grateful for God’s deliverance through the fish (Jon 2). But when it came to the Ninevites, whom he perceived to be more sinful than himself, He had a front row seat to what he hoped would be the fireworks of God’s wrath.

It’s been said that in Jonah is similar to both brothers in the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32). In chapters 1-2, Jonah is the prodigal who is in rebellion against his father (God). In chapters 3-4, Jonah is the older brother, who is angry that his father (God) would forgive the sins of his younger brother (the Ninevites).

6

Now the Lord God appointed a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant.

But God knew what Jonah was doing and more importantly, He saw into Jonah’s heart. In His kindness, God used a plant, a worm, and a wind to show Jonah the condition of his heart.

Verse six says that, “The Lord God appointed a plant” in order to give Jonah some shade “to save him from his discomfort.”

The text also says that Jonah “was exceedingly glad because of the plant.”

Remember in v. 1 (Jon 4:1) that God’s mercy toward the Ninevites displeased Jonah exceedingly, but here he is exceedingly glad because of the plant that is now giving him shade.

Jonah is completely self-absorbed. He is more worried about his own comfort than the fate of the Ninevites. This is a pattern in Jonah’s life. Remember, he slept during the storm while the sailors were deathly afraid. Now he is enjoying some shade while hoping for God to destroy Nineveh.

And so, God uses a worm and a wind to confront Jonah’s narcissism.

7-8

But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered. When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint. And he asked that he might die and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.”

After a day of enjoying the plant that provided shade, “God appointed a worm” and “God appointed a scorching east wind.” After the tree was gone and the wind blew, the sun beat down on Jonah’s head so that he was faint.

Once again, Jonah desires to die – “It is better for me to die than to live.” This is the second time that Jonah has asked to die.

Jonah had called the Ninevites to repentance, but he refused to repent himself. Jonah refused to repent when the storm came and he continues to be hard-hearted in the face of God’s love and mercy.

It’s easy to condemn the sin we see on the news. It’s harder for us to look in the mirror and to see the sins in our own hearts.

It’s easy to condemn the sin we see on the news. It’s harder for us to look in the mirror and to see the sins in our own hearts.

9-11

But God said to Jonah, “Do you do well to be angry for the plant?” And he said, “Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die.” And the Lord said, “You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night. And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?”

The Lord once again asks, “Do you do well to be angry?”

Jonah, in v. 9, for the third time, desires to die.

The Lord uses the plant to prove His point. If Jonah pities the fate of the plant, who only lived for a day, then should not the Lord pity the city of Nineveh, which is home to more than 120,000 people who do not know their right hand from their left? The phrase “do not know their right hand from their left” means that the Ninevites are spiritually blind and do not know what to do about it.

Conclusion

We are not given Jonah’s answer to God’s question. The real issue is how we answer the question.

What is your attitude towards people who are spiritually blind and living in sin?

Do you know that they will experience God’s wrath without Jesus? Do you care?

Do you have compassion for the lost?

Do you rejoice when sinners repent?

Imagine if God treated us the same way we sometimes wish He would treat others.

We are to look on even those we think are wicked sinners with compassion. Instead of condemning others, we are to pity them and show compassion for them. This doesn’t mean that we excuse or overlook sin. It means that we recognize that we, too were once dead in our sins (Eph 2:1). Instead of condemning sinners with an attitude self-righteousness, we share the truth in love, offering them the hope of the gospel.

Does your heart reflect the heart of Jonah, or the heart of Jesus?

The story of Jonah is proof that God loves sinners. The message of Jonah points to the message of Jesus.

The story of Jonah is proof that God loves sinners. The message of Jonah points to the message of Jesus.

Consider the similarities and differences between Jonah and Jesus:

Jonah preached a message of judgment, but Jesus preached a message of grace and salvation.

While Jonah almost died for his own sins, Jesus died for the sins of the world

Jonah’s ministry was to one city, but Jesus was and is the Savior of the world

Jonah’s obedience was reluctant but Jesus always submitted to the Father and willingly laid down His life.

Jonah hated the Ninevites but Jesus loved those He came to save

Jonah went outside the city to watch Nineveh be judged. Jesus was crucified outside the city so that we would be spared from God’s judgment.

In Exodus 34:6-7, we saw that the Lord is:

  • Merciful and gracious
  • Slow to anger
  • Abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness
  • Forgiving of iniquity and transgression and sin
  • But he will by no means clear the guilty

If you’re reading this article and you are not a Christian, I am warning you: God is merciful, but he will by no means clear the guilty. We have all sinned and are all guilty of breaking God’s Law. We all deserve God’s wrath and to spend eternity in hell separated from Him.

But the good news is that you can be forgiven this very day. Repent of your sin and trust in Jesus alone, and God will extend mercy and grace to you because of the work of Jesus Christ – His life, death, burial, and resurrection.

For Christians, our attitude towards sinners should reflect the compassionate heart of Jesus rather than the calloused heart of Jonah.

What lost people are you praying for?

Have you shared the gospel with anyone recently?

How many times have you complained about how things are going in our country?

Considering your answers, does your heart for sinners reflect the heart of Jonah, or the heart of Jesus?

Our attitude towards sinners should reflect the compassionate heart of Jesus rather than the calloused heart of Jonah.

The way things get better in our world is when Christians start loving people the way God loves people. The gospel is the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes (Rom 1:16).

If you want to see change in the world, love God with everything you have, and love your sinful neighbors as you love yourself and share the gospel with them.

Jonah hated the Ninevites but God loved them.

Who are the Ninevites in your life?

Will you see them as God sees them and love them as God loves them?

God’s Mercy for the Wicked – Jonah 3:1-10

April 5, 2022 /
Jonah

This post is adapted from a sermon I recently preached. Unfortunately, the sermon was not recorded.

An Overview of Jonah

Introduction to Jonah

In chapter one (Jon 1), we read about Jonah and the storm. In chapter two (Jon 2), we read about Jonah in the fish. Today, we will be reading about Jonah’s experience in the city of Nineveh.

Jonah 3:1-10

Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.” 3 So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, three days’ journey in breadth. 4 Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s journey. And he called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” 5 And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.

6 The word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. 7 And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh, “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water, 8 but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God. Let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. 9 Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish.”

10 When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.

BIG IDEA: God will pour out his wrath on sinners, but He shows mercy to those who repent.

That’s a pretty basic theological statement, but it’s not a popular message for modern minds. Many don’t like the idea of God, especially the God of the Bible. Even more despise the idea of God’s wrath and the thought of us being sinners in need of repentance. In fact, the only part of that sentence that most people like is that if there is a God, He is merciful. Nonetheless, our views of God must come from Scripture and not from ourselves or the culture.

1

After the fish spit Jonah out (Jon 2:10), in verse 1 we’re told that “The word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time.”

In the Old Testament, prophets were to take the word of the Lord that came to them and proclaim it. Today, there are no prophets as there were in the Old Testament. Today, God does not speak through prophets, but through His written Word, the Bible. The job of every preacher of God’s Word is to communicate the meaning of Scripture as it was intended by the author, as inspired by the Holy Spirit (2 Pet 1:20-21). As Christians, we are to read God’s Word and have it change our hearts and minds (Rom 12:2). We cannot expect to be faithful to the will of God when we refuse to open the Word of God.

We cannot expect to be faithful to the will of God when we refuse to open the Word of God.

2

We’re not told where Jonah was spit out, but once again, the Lord tells Jonah to go to Nineveh. At the very least, Jonah would have had 550 miles to travel, which would have taken at least a month if he was riding a camel or donkey and much longer if he was on foot. The Lord tells him to call out against the city of Nineveh and to speak “the message that I tell you.”

As Christians, we are not free to alter the message of Scripture. We are to proclaim God’s message even when it is unpopular. We preach the truth of God’s Word and we do not apologize for it. To alter or soften God’s Word is to be disobedient to God Himself.

Jonah was given a second chance even though he was disobedient to the Lord. If you are not a Christian, you may be surprised that even though God will judge every sin, He is also a God of second chances.

Though God was displeased with His prophet, He never deserted him, as evidenced by His sending of the great fish. As God was merciful to Jonah, He will offer mercy to the Ninevites as well.

How about you? How many times have you disobeyed God and deserved His punishment, yet God has shown you mercy?

God showed mercy to Jonah because He cared about the Ninevites. But God also cared about Jonah. He wanted Jonah’s heart to reflect the heart of God (Jon 4:9-11). God is not simply interested in obedience out of duty, but He wants us to delight in Him (Ps 37:4).

This time, Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord (v. 3).

3

In chapter one when Jonah received his commission, he “fled to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord” (1:2). This time, Jonah realizes that he should not and cannot run from God’s will and so he goes to Nineveh in reluctant obedience.

Scripture does not give us every detail of the story. As I mentioned earlier, we are not told where Jonah was spit up onto dry land. We’re not told if he went to Jerusalem to offer a sacrifice (Jon 2:9). We are simply told that Jonah “arose and went to Nineveh according to the word of the Lord.”

The text says that Nineveh “was an exceedingly great city, three days’ journey in breadth.”

Nineveh is called a great city four times in Jonah (Jon 1:2, 3:2-3, 4:11).

There is some debate about what exactly the text means when it mentions “a three days journey.”

  • One possibility is that it would take three days to get through the city and its suburbs.
  • A second possibility is that it would take three days to go around the outside of the city.
  • A third possibility is that “three days’ journey” is an idiom that is meant to communicate how long it would take to get to Nineveh. In other words, this phrase is meant to communicate that the city is far away from Jonah when he began his journey.

The clear thing about the text, however, is that Nineveh was a significant place. As we will see in chapter four (Jon 4), this great city greatly mattered to God.

4

When Jonah arrives in the city (in v. 4), he began to warn the Ninevites of God’s coming wrath. His message was simple – “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.” This doesn’t necessarily mean that those were the only words that Jonah spoke, but it was the core of Jonah’s message.

In Scripture, the number 40 is often identified with testing or judgment.

  • During the great flood in Genesis, it rained for 40 days and 40 nights.
  • The Jewish spies explored Canaan for 40 days.
  • The nation of Israel was tested in the wilderness for 40 years.
  • Goliath taunted Israel’s army for 40 days.
  • Here, the Lord gives the Ninevites 40 days to repent of their wickedness.

The word “overthrown” is the same word that was used in the warning to Lot about Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen 19:23-29). It’s clear using this word and the number 40 that the author is communicating that Jonah’s message was a word of judgment. Notice, Jonah did not name their offenses. He didn’t tell them what they ought to do. He did not explicitly offer any hope of avoiding judgment.

He didn’t even mention God’s name. Remember, in chapter one (Jon 1:9) he told the Gentile sailors that He feared the Lord, and Jonah used the name Yahweh. But when it came to the Ninevites, it seems that Jonah shared very little. He simply warned them of coming judgment. As we will see in chapter four, Jonah did not want the Ninevites to repent. He wanted God to wipe them out.

Like Jonah, we are called by God to give people bad news. We are called to warn them of God’s coming wrath against them. It is only when people understand the depth of their own sin against a holy God will they be ready for the good news that He offers forgiveness through Christ. The good news of the gospel only makes sense to people if they understand their condemnation without Christ.

We are called to warn others of the wrath to come, even our enemies.

We are called to warn others of the wrath to come, even our enemies.

Jonah was not a missionary that preached a message of hope but was a reluctant prophet that preached a message of judgment and doom. In what must have been a shock to Jonah, the people of Nineveh believed his message.

5

Verse five is a summary statement of what happened, and vv. 6-9 contain the details.

Perhaps you may be asking this question:

Why would a city full of wicked people believe Jonah, who was a prophet from a different place and who worshiped a different God?

There are several possible reasons:

  • One is that around the time of Jonah’s mission, Assyria had experienced a series of famines, plagues, revolts, and eclipses, each of which would have been interpreted as omens of far worse things to come.
  • It’s also possible that someone saw the fish spit Jonah up onto dry land and that news had spread to Nineveh.
  • Perhaps the pagan sailors spoke of Jonah as well as the mighty power of the Lord to still the sea. Maybe they had told traders that went into Nineveh and told the tale.

One or more of these were contributing factors, but the most likely cause is that they had a guilty conscience (Rom 2:15) because of their wicked ways and that God had begun to till the soil of their hearts.

The text says that the Ninevites “believed God”, but this doesn’t necessarily mean that they were converted. There seems to be no indication that they entered into a covenant relationship with God. Notice, there is a mention of God (Elohim), but not of Yahweh (the Lord) as there was with the sailors (Jon 1:14-16).

We also are not told that they removed their idols or understood God’s law. In the ancient world, people believed there were all sorts of powerful gods, but they only worshiped ones they believed had power over their lives.

It seems that they didn’t really believe in God in a salvation sense, but rather that God’s word of judgment was true and would come to fruition if they did not change their behavior.

They wanted to do whatever it took to keep themselves from experiencing God’s wrath.

6

The message of Jonah reached the king of Nineveh. Verse six says that he got up from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.

Sackcloth was rough and uncomfortable material (similar to an old potato sack) that was worn to indicate mourning.

Not only did the king put on sackcloth and sit in ashes, but he issued a proclamation that was published throughout the city in vv. 7-8.

7-8

In modern day terms, he called an emergency press conference and gave instructions to the citizens of Nineveh: neither men nor animals were to eat or drink. They were to be covered with sackcloth and to “call out mightily to God.” In addition, they were to turn away from their evil and violent ways.

By commanding the people to cry out to God and to turn from their evil ways, the king hoped that they would be spared from God’s wrath. That is what we see in verse nine.

9

The king doesn’t seem terribly confident that God would relent but he hopes that their repentance will turn God away from his fierce anger.

Notice that the king is concerned that the Ninevites would perish. This is the third time that a pagan has shown concern that people might perish. We saw the captain of the ship concerned about him and his crew (1:6). We saw the sailors ask the Lord for mercy and that they would not perish for throwing Jonah overboard (1:14). And here in v. 9, we see the king of Nineveh hoping that the city will not perish.

Ironically, God’s prophet Jonah has expressed no such concern. In fact, he was very short with the sailors and the Ninevites, but his prayer of thanksgiving for his own deliverance was quite long (Jon 2).

As Christians, we should care more about human suffering than unbelievers.

As Christians, we should care more about human suffering than unbelievers.

As the Ninevites repent, they are in fact spared.

In v. 10, we see that when the people repented, God relented.

10

God saw the people’s repentance and he spared them. The text says that, “God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.”

The KJV says that God repented. I don’t really the use of the word repent. I say that because when I think of repentance, I think of a change in morality. But God is perfect. He does not sin, and He does not change.

The theological word for the idea that God does not change is immutability. I want to share two verses to emphasize that God does not change:

Numbers 23:19 – God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?

James 1:17 – Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

The reality is that God did not change His mind. Implied in Jonah’s message of judgment was that judgment would be spared if the people repented.

There are varying opinions as to whether the Ninevites were converted. One commentator says that Jonah was the most successful evangelist of all time. In my view, the text seems to indicate that the repentance of the Ninevites was quite shallow.

It seems to me that he Ninevites were not really acting in true faith and devotion to Yahweh, but were really acting out of self-preservation (see especially v. 9 – “Who knows?”). But God honors their small step in the right direction and relents from His imminent judgment.

Overall, it seems that the majority of the Ninevites were not truly converted, but perhaps a few were. Remember, Jesus mentioned the Ninevites to the Pharisees because of their willingness to repent when warned of coming judgment (Matt 12:38-41).

Conclusion

The repentance of the Ninevites is similar to someone who hears the gospel and walks down the aisle. He or she makes some sort of emotional decision but later drops out of church and continues to live as they always have with no regard for obedience to Jesus.

Most of these people want to escape hell and exhibit some remorse for their sins, but many have not genuinely put their faith and trust in Jesus, which becomes evident over time (Mark 4:13-20).

We all need to be warned about superficial repentance. In His mercy, God spared Nineveh of immediate judgment. However, it is not enough to be spared a temporary judgment. If the Ninevites only repented but did not put their faith and trust in Yahweh, they would be judged in eternity. In fact, only 125-150 years later, Nineveh experienced God’s wrath, which is expressed in the book of Nahum.

Friends,

It is one thing to believe that a message is true in your mind. It is another to believe it in your heart.

It is one thing to believe that the gospel is true. It is another to build your life upon it (Matt 7:24-27).

It is one thing to walk the aisle and “accept Jesus”. It is another to follow after Jesus, deny yourself, take up your cross, as you submit to Him as Lord (Luke 9:23-24).

God is patient. He is kind. He is merciful. But He will pour out his wrath on sinners who do not repent (John 3:36).

Do we see ourselves as needing mercy just as much as the Ninevites? It’s easy to compare ourselves with others and to become self-righteous. The reality is that we are all in need of God’s grace (Rom 3:10-11, 23).

Maybe you’ve never committed acts of violence or torture, but we have all broken God’s Law. James 2:10 says, “For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.”

The greatest news is that God shows mercy to those who repent of their sin and trust in His Son Jesus Christ, who lived a perfect life, and died for our sins as a substitute for us, who deserved His wrath.

Have you trusted in Jesus as Lord? Are you honoring Him with your life? Are you offering yourself to God as a living sacrifice?

Christians,

God does not tell us to tell people that God loves them and has a wonderful plan for their life. Jesus never said this to anyone.

Are we willing to share the message of God’s Word, even the uncomfortable parts about God’s wrath and judgment?

God commands us to call people to genuine repentance and true faith in Jesus.

Will we be found faithful when God calls us to the Ninevehs in our life?

The Revealing Storm – Jonah 1:7-16 (Part 2)

March 16, 2022 /
Jonah

This post is adapted from a sermon I recently preached. You can watch the sermon here (forgive the audio and video quality).

Jonah 1:7-16

And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. Then they said to him, “Tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us. What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?” And he said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, “What is this that you have done!” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them.

Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?” For the sea grew more and more tempestuous. He said to them, “Pick me up and hurl me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.” Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to get back to dry land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them. Therefore they called out to the Lord, “O Lord, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not on us innocent blood, for you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you.” So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.

In part one, I covered verses 7-10. I asked this question:

When you are going through a storm, how do you respond?

Though Jonah and the sailors were literally in the same boat, in the midst of the storm, they responded to God in vastly different ways. Thus, I argued that:

BIG IDEA: Our response to God during life’s storms reveals the condition of our hearts.

In this post, I will cover verses 11-16.

The situation has become clear. God has sent a raging storm to discipline His rebellious prophet, and everyone onboard is in grave danger.

In v. 11, the sailors ask Jonah what they need to do so that the storm will end: “What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?” For the sea grew more and more tempestuous.” When we’re going through a difficulty in life, isn’t that what we all want? We just want it to stop and for life to be quiet for us. We usually think there is a formula: we need to go church more, pray more, stop sinning, etc.).

In v. 12, Jonah instructs the men to throw him overboard. Jonah explicitly states that the storm is because of his rebellion against the Lord: He said to them, “Pick me up and hurl me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.”

Though the text isn’t explicit, it seems that maybe Jonah started to care about the sailors. While it was easy for Jonah to cast of the Ninevites, who were a great distance away, it may have been harder when he saw the hurt and pain on the sailors’ faces and their fear of death. This is similar to the experience that many have when they go on a short-term mission trip.

The sailors don’t like Jonah’s answer to throw him overboard and they are now in between a rock and a hard place. If Jonah, in his unrepentant state, remains on the boat, then they are dead. But if they throw Jonah overboard, they have killed God’s prophet. Remember, Jonah just told them that His God is “the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land (v. 9).”

Instead, the sailors try to get back to dry land. Verse 13 says they “rowed hard to get back to dry land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them.”

Let’s review all that the sailors have done to try to save themselves:

  • Cried out to their gods (v. 5)
  • Threw cargo overboard (v. 5)
  • Awakened Jonah up & asked him to call out to his God (v. 6)
  • Cast lots to try to figure out who is at fault (v. 7)
  • Questioned Jonah (v. 8)
  • Rowed hard to get back to shore (v. 13)

But in the end, their attempts to save themselves were in vain. And that’s when things began to change for the sailors.

When the sailors quit trying to save themselves and looked to God, things began to change.

So, it is with us. When we acknowledge that we don’t have all the answers, we should look to the One who does. When we are out of strength, we should look to Almighty God. When we are on the brink of death, we should look to the One who holds the keys to life and death.

Often, God has to bring us to the end of ourselves so that we will come to know Him or to know Him more. During Jesus’ ministry, it was the desperate people that sought Him out while the religious leaders sought to destroy Him.

The sailors were desperate and dependent. Jonah was downcast and despondent.

Are you desperate for God or downcast?

Are you dependent on God or despondent?

Even after we become believers, God uses life’s difficulties to teach us to trust in His goodness & His sovereignty (see Rom 5:1-5).

Once the sailors realize they cannot save themselves, they finally submit to the Lord’s will.

Therefore they called out to the LORD, “O LORD, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not on us innocent blood, for you, O LORD, have done as it pleased you.” (Jon 1:14)

The sailors call out to the Lord, using his covenant name (Yahweh) and ask for mercy for throwing Jonah overboard. They are acknowledging that the Lord has every right to strike them down for throwing Jonah into the sea and they ask for mercy.

They submit to God’s will and His sovereignty (“you, O LORD, have done as it pleased you”). That’s an amazing statement. Many people that claim to be Christians, sometimes for decades, still cannot pray that prayer with a pure heart.

Again, note the irony. Pagan sailors are crying out to God while Jonah refuses to. Jonah knows the Lord, but He refuses to bow the knee to Him. Jonah refuses to repent and so God does not relent. The storm is raging, but Jonah refuses to cry out for mercy.

It’s easy to see that Jonah is stubborn, but what about you?

What are you refusing to repent of?

Has your spiritual pride kept you from submitting to the Lord and His will?

Are you like Jonah and refuse to love your enemies and extend grace to them?

Do you refuse to bow the knee to the Lord in certain areas of your life?

Finally, the sailors see no other choice. Look at vv. 15-16.

15 So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. 16 Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows.

I find it interesting that Jonah is willing to die in his rebellion, but at the same time he makes the men throw him overboard. Nevertheless, the men picked up Jonah and “hurled” him into the sea. Just as the Lord “hurled” a great wind on the sea and the men “hurled” their cargo overboard, now they hurl Jonah overboard. And the text says, “and the sea ceased from its raging.”

The wind and the waves obeyed God, just as one day they would one day obey His Son.

The wind and the waves obeyed God, just as one day they would one day obey His Son.

And finally, the sailors worship the one true God. They feared Him “exceedingly” (v. 16). They were afraid of the storm (v. 5), “exceedingly afraid” of the storm in v. 10, but now they fear the One who has authority over the storm. They offered a sacrifice and then made vows. When the text says they made vows, this means that they are submitting to God and His authority. They are making a commitment to Him.

Notice the pattern and see if this doesn’t sound familiar:

  • The sailors hear the truth about the Lord; that He is the ruler of all.
  • They learn that this Lord pours out His wrath on those who are disobedient to Him and worship false idols.
  • They hear that they need a substitute who must die in their place.
  • They realize they must repent of their self-effort and come to God on His terms.
  • They cry out to the Lord for mercy because they are guilty of killing the prophet.
  • They trust that Jonah’s death will satisfy God’s wrath.
  • God relents from His wrath.
  • They put their faith in God, worship Him, and make vows to Him.

Although the text isn’t explicit, this seems like genuine conversion!

That’s what it meant to be a follower of God and that’s what it means to be a Christian. We don’t just make a one-time decision and then live our lives as we please. We submit to God’s authority over our lives in all things, the good and the bad, and we trust in His goodness and His sovereignty over our lives.

God doesn’t just want to change your behavior. God wants to change your heart.

God doesn’t just want to change your behavior. God wants to change your heart.

Consider this:

If you were an Israelite and you read the story of Jonah, your world would be turned upside down.

The Israelites thought of themselves as a special people who deserved the Lord’s mercy and the Gentiles as wicked sinners who do not.

And yet, in this story, the Israelite prophet is the wicked sinner who experiences God’s judgment, while the pagan sailors are shown the Lord’s mercy and respond in worship.

We as the people of God can act just as sinfully as anyone else. We deserve God’s judgment as well. This should humble us – We deserve God’s wrath in hell and the only reason we don’t get it is because God is compassionate, patient, and kind.

Conclusion

Life’s storms reveal the condition of our hearts.

They will lead you to flee God’s presence or to bow before Him in worship.

Jonah knew the Lord, but he didn’t trust in His goodness and sovereignty and thus fled from Him.

In the middle of the storm, the sailors came to know the Lord and bowed before Him in worship.

When the storms come, do you seek Him, or do you get bitter and run away from God?

If you run away from God, you will one day come to the end of yourself. You will crash and burn.

Don’t wait until then. Do not run from God. Run to Him, and like father of the prodigal son, He will wrap you in His arms and call you His own (Luke 15:20-24, 27, 32).

The Revealing Storm – Jonah 1:7-16 (Part 1)

March 14, 2022 /
Jonah

This post is adapted from a sermon I recently preached. You can watch the sermon here (forgive the audio and video quality).

An Overview of Jonah

Introduction to Jonah

Running from God – Jonah 1:1-6

Jonah 1:7-16

And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. Then they said to him, “Tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us. What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?” And he said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, “What is this that you have done!” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them.

Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?” For the sea grew more and more tempestuous. He said to them, “Pick me up and hurl me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.” Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to get back to dry land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them. Therefore they called out to the Lord, “O Lord, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not on us innocent blood, for you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you.” So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.

When you are going through a storm, how do you respond?

BIG IDEA: Our response to God during life’s storms reveals the condition of our hearts.

In the middle of the raging storm, the sailors cast lots in order to figure whose evil (sin) has caused the storm (v. 7). Casting lots is similar to rolling dice or drawing straws. The sailors probably tossed rocks of multiple colors, and if a certain color fell toward someone, then that person was a guilty.

Today, we don’t ascertain God’s will by casting lots. We find God’s will by reading His Word (Rom 12:2).[1]For more, see Just Do Something by Kevin DeYoung.

Of course, the lot fell on Jonah. This was not by chance. God is sovereign over all things, which is a major theme of the book. God is sovereign over the winds and the waves, the lot, the fish, the plant, the worm, and the wind.

After the lot falls on Jonah, the sailors realize that the storm has come upon them because of Jonah. They then proceed to ask Jonah several questions (v. 8). The sailors are trying to figure out who Jonah is so that they can figure out how to appease his god (God).

Jonah answers the sailors’ questions by telling them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land” (v. 9). Jonah was proclaiming that he worshiped the Lord who is the Creator of everything that exists – the skies (heaven), the sea, and the dry land.

The LORD (Yahweh) is the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.

After hearing Jonah’s answer, the men were “exceedingly afraid” (v. 10). Jonah had fled the presence of the Lord in disobedience and the sailors were caught in the consequences of God’s judgment upon him.

At this point in the story, most people would assume that the main problem for Jonah and the sailors is the storm that is threatening to break up their ship, which would ultimately lead to their deaths.

While the raging storm is certainly a problem, the reality is that the storm is not the sailors or Jonah’s biggest problem.

The fundamental problem for the sailors is this – they do not know the LORD. They do not know the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.

The sailors seem to be at least somewhat religious, because they had each cried out to different gods. But the reality is that none of their false gods had any power to save them from the storm (see Jon 2:8).

Often, we are like the sailors. In the middle of storms and difficulties, our focus is usually on our circumstances (job loss, loss of loved one, bad diagnosis, children destroying their lives). However, our greatest need is to make sure that we truly know God and that we are prepared for eternity.

In this life, the most important question you need to answer is, “Do you truly know God, or have you made a god in your own image?”

“Do you truly know God, or have you made a god in your own image?”

Up until this point, the sailors had never considered the question. It’s probable that many professing Christians have never considered the question.

Many people in the southern US [2]Fore more, see The Unsaved Christian by Dean Inserra. have grown up in church, consider themselves to be good people, attend church regularly, have been baptized, are church members, and even faithfully give to the church. The reality is that you can do all those things and still not truly know Jesus (see Matt 7:21-23). Here are some diagnostic questions:

  • How has Jesus changed your life?
  • Are you seeking to build God’s kingdom or your kingdom?
  • Are you seeking to bring God glory or are you seeking your own glory?

In God’s kind providence, because of the storm He had sent, the sailors came to know about the LORD, the one true God (v. 9). As you know, you can come to know the Lord until you know about Him (Rom 10:14-17).

If you’re going through a difficult time, the most important thing you can do is to truly know God through His Son Jesus Christ. In this world, you will have trials, difficulties, and painful circumstances, but they all pale in comparison to the judgment seat of God.

The fact is that we are all sinners. We all fall short of the glory of God. We deserve God’s wrath just as much as Jonah, the sailors, and the Ninevites. But God has been so kind to us through His Son, Jesus.

The sailors’ problem was that they didn’t know the LORD. But what about Jonah?

Unlike the sailors, Jonah knew the LORD. He knew God’s heart. He knew the Scriptures. Where did Jonah go wrong?

For Jonah, the storm was not the problem. The storm was God’s discipline.

Jonah’s problem was that he didn’t trust God. Jonah didn’t trust that God knew what was best for him or the Ninevites, and so he rebelled against God. He could not accept the mission God had given him nor the possibility of God extending mercy to the Ninevites.

Jonah’s heart was not in tune with the heart of God, and Jonah had sought his own way. We often, like Jonah, seek to live our own way (Prov 14:12).

A second question we need to answer is this: Do you trust in God’s goodness and sovereignty as revealed in His Word?

Do you trust in God’s goodness and sovereignty as revealed in His Word?

Remember, Jonah could answer all the questions. He gave the right Sunday school answers. Jonah knew who he was – “I am a Hebrew”. Jonah knew who God was – “I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”

Let Jonah be a lesson to us. Having some knowledge of God is not the same as having a heart that wants to please God.

Instead of seeking to obey God and trusting in His goodness and sovereignty, Jonah decided he knew better. And so, he fled the presence of the Lord (vv. 3, 10).

Jonah thought that if we got away from the presence of God and the people of God that everything would work out. He wouldn’t be the prophet that helped save the wicked Ninevites, the Ninevites would be destroyed, and Israel would be spared from future harm.

And isn’t often the same reaction that you and I have when we go through life’s difficulties. Instead of trusting in God’s goodness and his sovereignty, we decide we know better than God, we get bitter, and we flee from His presence. We neglect to spend time with Him. We neglect His Word. And many neglect fellowship with other Christians.

We let the dark clouds of the storm to cloud our judgment. Instead of trusting in God’s goodness and sovereign care, we run away, thinking we know better than our Creator.

I’ll post the rest in part 2 (forthcoming).

References

References
↑1 For more, see Just Do Something by Kevin DeYoung.
↑2 Fore more, see The Unsaved Christian by Dean Inserra.

Running from God – Jonah 1:1-6

March 10, 2022 /
Jonah

This post is adapted from a sermon I recently preached. You can watch the sermon here (forgive the poor audio and video quality).

See my previous posts about Jonah here:

An Overview of Jonah

Introduction to Jonah

Jonah 1:1-6

Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.” But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord.

But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up. Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his god. And they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep. So the captain came and said to him, “What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call out to your god! Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish.”

In these verses, we see three things that happen when someone rebels against God.

(1) Our Rebellion Leads Us to Run from God (1-3)

Jonah was being sent by God to Nineveh, the capital city of Assyria. Nineveh was a great city in both size and in power. It was possibly the largest city in the world at the time, spanning some 1850 acres. It was the capital of the Assyrian Empire, and it was full of wicked and violent people who worshiped idols.

God was sending Jonah to warn the Ninevites of His coming wrath. God was sending Jonah to the very people who were the enemies of Israel. Why would God do this? The short answer is that He is compassionate and loving. We will see this explicitly in chapter four.

Instead of going up to Nineveh (about 500 miles NE of Israel), he goes down to Joppa to board a ship for Tarshish in order to get “away from the presence of the Lord” (v. 3). Tarshish was the farthest known western point at the time.

Places in Jonah
Places in Jonah – from the ESV Study Bible

Jonah had a problem with his assignment from God, but he had a bigger problem with God Himself. Jonah had been given a mission that simply did not make sense to him. Jonah hated the Ninevites and he hated even more the idea that God cared for their well-being. Thus, Jonah rebelled and fled from God’s presence.

Jonah did what Adam and Eve did. They disobeyed God’s Word and tried to hide from God in a bush (Gen 3:8-13). Jonah was trying to hide in Tarshish. And like them, we rebel against God when we disobey His Word. Our rebellion causes us to run from Him.

(2) Our Rebellion Invites the Wrath of God (4-5)

Jonah was sent to a great city, but he ends up in a great storm. The text says that “the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea.” As a result of the wind, the ensuing storm was about to break up the ship (v. 4).

In response to the great storm, the professional sailors were terrified. They begin to cry out to their own gods. They hurled the cargo overboard. But Jonah, God’s prophet, is in a deep sleep. The text emphasizes that instead of going up to Nineveh, he has gone “down” to Joppa, then “down” into the inner part of the ship, and has now lain “down.”

Note the irony: pagan sailors prayed while God’s prophet slept off his rebellion.

When we are in rebellion against God, we are inviting His wrath. If you don’t think that your sin is serious, note that God has hurled a great wind in order to break up this ship and drown Jonah and the pagan sailors in the process. Why? Because Jonah disobeyed God and ran from him.

Sin is serious and invites God’s wrath.

Sin is serious and invites God’s wrath. God will wreck your plans when you are disobedient to Him. Storms have a way of waking us up to spiritual realities that we have ignored for too long. While true Christians are saved from God’s eternal wrath (Rom 8:1), the Lord still disciplines them (Heb 12:6).

(3) Our Rebellion Denies Sinners the Hope of God (6)

After the sailors hurled their cargo overboard and cried out to their gods, they are now out of options. Then suddenly, the captain remembers that Jonah is asleep below deck. He wakes up sleeping Jonah and confronts him (v. 6)

The scene drips with irony, as God’s prophet has to be told to pray by a pagan sailor. Even more, the only reason that Jonah is onboard the ship is because he is fleeing God’s presence!

The word “arise” in verse 6 is the same word that the Lord spoke to Jonah in verse 2. At this point, Jonah realizes that his plan of escape is futile and there is no escaping the presence of the Lord.

Conclusion

May the story of Jonah be a warning to us, especially if we are professing Christians that are living in sin and rebellion against God: God will have His way even if He has to wreck your boat and your plans in the process.

God will have His way even if He has to wreck your boat and your plans in the process.

If you continue living in sin and disobedience, you can expect God to bring a storm in your life.

Finally, if you are not a Christian, then like the Ninevites, your sin is storing up God’s wrath. One day you will stand before God. The only hope you have is the righteousness of Christ.

Jonah and the pagan sailors were literally in the same boat. They were headed for destruction and needed someone to still the storm. Someone who could whisper, “Peace, be still.”

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