Multitude Monday: Something About Jonah, Part 5

Read the rest of the Jonah Series:

part 1

part 2

part 3

part 4

We conclude our study of Jonah today with chapter 4, verses 5-11.

What happened to Jonah, the man who uttered the long, emotional prayer of thanksgiving at the Lord's gracious providing of a fish to save him--a fish that subsequently spat him onto dry land in a magnificent display of God's mercy? That Jonah revered God. That Jonah knew gratitude.

Here, as the book of Jonah ends, we have a wildly angry man obsessed with viewing what he hopes will be the massive destruction of Nineveh. We learned earlier that the Ninevites repented and God spared them, angering Jonah exceedingly....for Nineveh? Jonah hated its people with every fiber of his being--every man, woman, child. 

The powerful hate so overtook Jonah's heart, he no longer revered God. He transformed into an unashamedly indignant, disrespectful, spiteful man, wanting to die in his anger because he couldn't accept God's love and mercy toward his enemy.

Jonah sits and waits out the rest of the forty days, hoping the people will return to sin and be destroyed after all.

Jonah 4:5 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. 

As I wrote in part 4, Jonah behaves so reprehensibly that God could, justifiably, strike him dead on the spot.

But remember what God does instead? Jonah 4:4 Then said the Lord, Doest thou well to be angry?

He says it ever so gently, as though conversing with a 4-year-old boy instead of a grown man. Amazing what God puts up with, isn't it? We behave foolishly, devilishly, and He still loves us. He still desires to restore us--to bring us back to the fold of his Fatherly arms. Thanks be to God! 

Let's see what God does next:

Jonah 4:6 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. 

The Lord showed compassion on Jonah, even as Jonah burned in anger and sin. Just as a mother would gather up a raging, over-tired toddler and lovingly nurse him at her breast, instead of punishing him.

The Scripture tells us that Jonah was very happy about the plant--exceedingly happy, it translates.

But what is lacking in Jonah now, at the gifting of this plant, compared to the last time God displayed mercy toward the wayward prophet--fashioning a fish to save him?

Gratitude. 

Jonah now cares nothing for God. He will take from God alright--take this gourd plant with its broad leaves to protect him from the harsh Mediterranean elements--but he won't acknowledge the plant as a gracious gift...or give thanks for it.

This ingratitude proves too much for God. The Almighty decides it's time for an object lesson.

Jonah 4:7-8 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.”

Jonah 4:9 And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? 

Again, this gentleness from God. As I said in part 4 of our study, the Book of Jonah is like a how-to manual on godly discipleship. 

Oh, Lord! Let these words, this gentleness, sink into every parent's heart. For this is how you want it done. This is godly parenting.

Jonah 4:9: And he (Jonah) said, I do well to be angry, even unto death.

Oh, my. What a dirty rotten sinner that Jonah is, right? How could he speak to the Almighty like that! 

Do we feel this same heated disrespect from our own children sometimes? Do we recognize it in our own hearts, as well? How many times have we let righteous indignation trump mercy? How many times have we felt a prick from the Holy Spirit, but kept right on going with our indignation, as though deaf? 

The completion of the book of Jonah, now: 4:10-11 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?”

Bible scholars disagree about the more than 120,000 people God speaks of here. Some believe this number represents all the people in Nineveh, none of whom know God, and others think this number refers only to the youngest children residing there, who cannot tell right from wrong yet.

Nineveh was an ancient city with a long history--a city in which God invested much. He created every last soul there, every last animal. Nineveh being the work of His mighty hands, he had Fatherly feelings toward it, understandably. Every single soul matters to God. 

We mustn't forget that as God places hurting, lost people in our midst. We may feel disgust at these people, but God feels compassion. Oh, but to have His heart! His infinite capacity to love!

The Book of Jonah ends with verse 11. Strange, yes, how it ends? We don't discover Jonah's response to God's object lesson. Does Jonah repent? Does gratitude return to his heart? Does the Lord's gentle treatment of Jonah restore him to his senses, making him see the folly of his anger, of his hardened heart? Does Jonah eventually come to rejoice for the people of Nineveh, marveling at their repentance?

When I first began studying Jonah, I thought the main theme was lack of mercy. All these study sessions later, I think this book speaks loudest of ingratitude. 

Jonah couldn't desire mercy for Nineveh, he couldn't reconcile himself to unmerited grace for an arch enemy, because he failed to see himself as a fellow beneficiary of God's grace. The Jews didn't think they were God's chosen people because of the Lord's unmerited grace. They felt they were superior because of their righteousness.

Even the saving fish God provided? That was life-saving, unmerited grace, and yet Jonah felt fleeting gratitude only, as though God owed him that fish.

Gratitude comes out of a humble position before God. When we fail to see ourselves as a charity case, we fail to be thankful. What do we really deserve from God? Food, clothing, shelter...a job?

Really? We deserve all that? Or do we deserve death with everlasting suffering? 

I'm acquainted with a man who is a couple months away from total disaster. Though he's always been hard-working, he's a victim of the economy, about to be left with the shirt on his back and a few prized possessions...with no place to put them. 

And, oh, the anger. This man's anger is vile and seething. Frightening, even. Every syllable he utters, every bit of body language...it all screams of his self-righteous indignation at what life has handed him, a hardworking man.

He deserved success; he was a self-made man who worked for every last prized possession, every last penny. Now, at age 50, he's about to be left with nothing but a few fancy pieces of furniture. His fancy truck, his fancy custom-designed house...all to be repossessed. He lost his wife, his livelihood....everything.

And he hates God.

When I think of him now, I see Jonah sitting on that hillside, angry at God's mercy toward a "lesser" people, angry at God's sending a worm to eat his precious vine. The vine he obviously felt he deserved.

Is anyone self-made? Is anyone deserving of prized creature comforts, such as fancy homes and sheltering vines? People do work very hard to build businesses. They sacrifice to make it through lengthy university programs to get advanced degrees, to get law practices and medical practices. They work long hours, weekends included, to sell insurance or real-estate until finally, they have ample rewards. They're finally basking in money and possessions. They worked hard. They're deserving of their riches.

Right?

And when those riches are taken away? What do they have left but their anger? But their self-righteous indignation that threatens to swallow them whole?

Beware Jonah's folly. He cared more about a vine--about a creature comfort--than about souls. He cared more about himself than about God.

Everything that isn't death and eternal suffering, is unmerited grace. Everything that isn't death, is gift. We don't deserve our homes, our beds, our vehicles, our free country. Because we have so much of God's favor compared to the rest of the world, we have little gratitude. The slightest calamity, such as the withering of a vine, the losing of our jobs, our homes, angers us something fierce...as though we deserved them in the first place.

The Lord was patient, kind, and gentle with this wayward prophet. He wanted restoration for Jonah's heart, but Jonah would have nothing of it.

We're left with the total depravity of man here, in the book of Jonah.

The answer? The coming Messiah. The Savior. The Cross. It is the only answer for restoration, and all the Bible, taken together, points to it.

And God wants one thing from us, most of all. Our unwavering gratitude for the Cross. He wants our hearts to be so full of gratitude, that we live gratitude...that we live for Him, who saved us.

Giving thanks today:

~ For my God, who has given me life abundant.

~ For my husband, a devoted Christ follower.

~ For my children, who daily bless my socks off.

~ For God's Holy Word, which points us to the Cross with every word.

~ For Jonah, in whom I see all humanity.

~ For prayer, which puts me back in my place before God.
~ For writing, which helps me respond to God's heart.

Linking with Ann today, for Multitude Monday.

photo credit