Please turn with me in your Bibles to the prophet Jonah. Prophet Jonah, you find the first of the 12 minor prophets, Hosea. You find Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah. So he's between Obadiah and Micah.
We've taken some time off from our studies in the gospel according to Matthew just for these summer months and we're looking at the grace of God in the Old Testament. Remember, there are those out there that think that God revealed in the Old Testament is only a God of wrath, and anger, and fury, and all of those sorts of things. And while He certainly does reveal those things, and He certainly is those things, there's a lot of grace, and a lot of mercy, and a lot of kindness, and a lot of compassion. I said that we don't have to wander far in the Old Testament before tripping over the grace of God.
In fact, when we confront certain men, God's grace is so conspicuous, we see that it angers even his prophets. Of course, I'm referring to Jonah chapter 4. at verse 2, when he gives the reason for why he departed, or he ran from the presence of the Lord God. Basically, he cites Exodus 34.6, a passage we have looked at this summer. But to get the gist of Jonah 4.2, we're going to read the entire book.
And it's only about the same size as the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 25. It's actually shorter than verses 26 and 27. So don't get put off in the fact that we're going to read an entire book of the Bible today. In my Bible, it's two pages, the front and the back.
So please pay attention. I'll give you the main headings that we're going to look at this morning. We're not going to do a thorough investigation of each of these headings, but make some observations along the way. What we find in chapter 1, verses 1 to 16 is His, we're talking about Jonah, His flight from God.
In chapter 1, beginning at verse 17 to chapter 2, verse 10, we read His rescue by God. Chapter 3 deals with His mission for God, and then in chapter 4, we find his anger with God. So I'll just pick up reading in chapter 1, verse 1. Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah, the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it, for their wickedness has come up before me.
But Jonah arose to flee from 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 from the presence of the Lord. But the Lord sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was about to be broken up.
And the mariners were afraid, and every man cried out to his God and threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten the load. Jonah had gone down to the lowest parts of the ship, had lain down and was fast asleep. So the captain came to him and said to him, what do you mean, sleeper? Arise, call on your God.
Perhaps your God will consider us so that we may not perish. And they said to one another, come, let us cast lots that we may know for whose cause this trouble has come upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. Then they said to him, Please tell us, for whose cause is this trouble upon us?
What is your occupation, and where do you come from? What is your country, and of what people are you? So 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, why have you done this?
For the men knew that he fled 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 be calm for us? For the sea was growing more tempestuous. He said to them, pick me up and throw me into the sea.
Then the sea will become calm for you. For I know that this great tempest is because of me. Nevertheless, the men rode hard to return to land, but they could not, for the sea continued to grow more tempestuous against them. Therefore, they cried out to the Lord and said, We pray, O Lord, please do not let us perish for this man's life, and do not charge us with innocent blood.
For you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you. So they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly and offered a sacrifice to the Lord and took vows. Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Then Jonah prayed to the Lord as God from the fish's belly, and he said, I cried out to the Lord because of my affliction, and he answered me. Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice, for you cast me into the deep. into the heart of the seas, and the floods surrounded me. All your billows and your waves passed over me. Then I said, I have been cast out of your sight, yet I will look again to your holy temple.
The waters surrounded me, even to my soul. The deep closed around me. Weeds were wrapped around my head. I went down to the moorings of the mountains.
The earth with its bars closed behind me forever. Yet you have brought up my life from the pit, O Lord my God. When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer went up to you, into your holy temple. Those who regard worthless idols forsake their own mercy, but I will sacrifice to you.
With the voice of thanksgiving, I will pay what I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord." So the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land. Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you. So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh according to the word of the Lord.
Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three-day journey in extent. And Jonah began to enter the city on the first day's walk. Then he cried out and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown. So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth from the greatest to the least of them.
Then word came to the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne and laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he caused it to be proclaimed and published throughout Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Do not let them eat or drink water. But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth and cry mightily to God.
Yes, let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. Who can tell if God will turn and relent and turn away from his fierce anger so that we may not perish? And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way, and God relented from the disaster that he had said he would bring upon them, and he did not do it. but it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became angry. So he prayed to the Lord and said, ah, Lord, was not this what I said when I was still in my country?
Therefore, I fled previously to Tarshish, for I know that you are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in loving kindness, one who relents from doing harm. Therefore, now, oh Lord, Please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.' Then the Lord said, Is it right for you to be angry? So Jonah went out of the city and sat on the east side of the city. There he made himself a shelter and sat under it in the shade, till he might see what would become of the city.
And the Lord God prepared a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be shade for his head to deliver him from his misery. So Jonah was very grateful for the plant. But as morning dawned, the next day God prepared a worm, and it so damaged the plant that it withered. And it happened when the sun arose that God prepared a vehement east wind, and the sun beat on Jonah's head so that he grew faint.
Then he wished death for himself and said, it is better for me to die than to live. Then God said to Jonah, is it right for you to be angry about the plant? And he said, it is right for me to be angry even to death. But the Lord said, You have had pity on the plant for which you have not labored, nor made it grow, which came up in a night and perished in a night.
And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city in which are more than 120,000 persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left, and much livestock?" Amen. Let us pray. Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you for the prophet.
We pray that you would guide our study now. We pray that you would forgive us for all of our sins and unrighteousness and anything that would darken our understanding. May we come face to face in this book of Jonah with a gracious God, a merciful God, a God who abounds in kindness and in forgiveness. Our Father in heaven, for any and all who have come here this morning that do not know you, we pray that today would be the day of salvation, that you'd open their eyes and open their hearts to behold the wondrous things in your word.
Cause them to see that Jesus Christ saves to the uttermost all who draw nigh unto God through him. How we praise you for your character, how we praise you for your attributes, how we praise you for the revealed word of God. Guide our study now by the power of your Holy Spirit And we pray through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Introduction: Background on Jonah
Well, just a little background concerning this man, Jonah. Jonah was a prophet who lived in the northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of Jeroboam II. Jeroboam II reigned from about 793 to 753 BC. Jonah is mentioned in 2 Kings chapter 14.
Specifically, he prophesies concerning the extension of Israel's territory through King Jeroboam. He was from Amittai, which was about 5 kilometers or 5 miles north of Nazareth. So again, he hails from the northern kingdom of Israel. And here, very specifically, he is given instruction to go and to preach to Nineveh, a city that represented the Assyrian Empire.
It was a massive city. It was a powerful city. It was a brutal city. It was a viciously wicked group of people.
But God the Lord demonstrates His heart concerning these people in dispatching Jonah to do His will among the Ninevites. Now, unfortunately, when we come to a book like this, there's a lot of things that it doesn't teach. There's a lot of things that it doesn't address. There's a lot of things that we will not probably get sufficiently answered this morning.
I just want to do this overview so that we can appreciate the manifestation of God's grace in this prophet, Jonah.
Jonah's Flight from God
So first of all, notice his flight from God in chapter 1, verses 1 to 16. The introduction to the book is quite instructive. Now, the word of Yahweh, the word of the Lord, came to Jonah, the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it. for their wickedness has come up before me." It is called a great city. It is the capital city of the world empire at the time.
About a hundred years from the time that Jonah preaches, it will be sacked. They will fall to the Babylonian empire. In fact, some commentators, some expositors approach the book of Jonah and say, what we are to learn in this book of Jonah is that God loves cities and has a wonderful plan for their lives. Well, that's unfortunate, because when we get to the book of Nahum, we might have to conclude that God hates cities and has a miserable plan for their lives.
That is not the focus of the book, to highlight that our ministries must be within the city, and we ought to forget about the rural areas. No, that's not why Jonah's in our Bible. Nevertheless, God highlights this reality that Jonah is to go to Nineveh. But notice, as Dale Ralph Davis says with reference to this introduction, there are two assumptions that God makes.
First, every nation is accountable to Him. In other words, when Assyria functions as an exceedingly wicked place, God takes notice of that. God sees and God observes. Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.
When nations engage in abortion, when nations engage in homosexuality, when nations rage against our God and His Christ, we are fools to think that He doesn't pay attention. that he doesn't take notice of it, that he won't bring judgment to bear upon those offenders of his holy law. So we see this assumption built in. Every nation is accountable to him. God may especially be the God of Israel, but he assumes pagan nations, like Assyria, are accountable to him.
And Davis goes on to say he is a world-class deity, not the mascot of an Israelite ghetto. But then there's a second assumption in the text itself, or in the introduction. Second, every servant owes obedience to him. He assumes he has the right to command obedience of specific human servants.
Jonah, go to Nineveh. Obviously, Jonah doesn't respond favorably as we look at this particular chapter, but God has crown rights over him. God commands him. God tells him what he is to do.
He says, so in two verses, one sees Yahweh's sovereignty depicted in the big sweep and in the personal dimension. He exercises both international and individual sovereignty. just from this introduction.
The Nature of Jonah's Flight
Now notice his flight, the nature of it. He goes the exact opposite way. I want you to go to Nineveh, what does he do? He goes the exact opposite way.
Verse 3, but Jonah arose 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 from the presence of the Lord. Notice, just in this short compass, how many times it's emphasized that he's running from the presence of the Lord. That's what he tells the sailors later on.
They know that he's running from the presence of the Lord. We don't get the answer as to why until chapter 4, verse 2. Isn't this why I ran from the presence of the Lord? Dever says, traveling to Nineveh from Galilee would have required him to head eastward over land.
Instead, he headed south and west to the coast town of Joppa. There he paid a fare, boarded a boat, something an ancient Hebrew would do only out of desperation, and sailed for Tarshish, a Phoenician trading port in Spain at the other end of the Mediterranean Sea. That would have been the opposite end of the known world. He doesn't just, you know, pull the covers over his head and say, you know, Lord, I just don't think I want to do that today.
He doesn't just go out to the golf course and try to swing his problems away. He actively and purposely and decisively and determinedly runs from the presence of the Lord. This is the prophet of Israel. This is a prophet in the covenant community.
This is the very mouthpiece of God himself. And when given his marching orders, when dispatched on a particular mission, he runs the opposite direction. And then when he's on the ship, the series of contrasts between Jonah and these sailors is absolutely amazing. These men, when the tempest falls, call upon their gods.
What's Jonah doing? He's sleeping. These men cast lots to try and determine who's responsible so that they can fix the problem. Jonah has to be aroused from sleep by the ship's captain to try and come and participate in this particular activity.
These men bowing to pagan gods, these men bowing to that which is not God, are far more consistent with their confession than what we find with Jonah. Notice what he says in chapter 1 at verse 9. So he said to them, I am a Hebrew, and I fear Yahweh, that's the covenant name of God, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land. His orthodoxy is impeccable.
His confession is sound. He owns and honors the sovereign God of Israel, but look at how he lives. We considered this in the last hour. There are people out there that think there's something fundamentally flawed about Christians who spend a lot of time studying the Bible.
I know that's weird, but they're out there. Why bother spending all that time reading the scripture and studying theology and listening to sermons and going to church not once, but twice on Sunday, going to a Wednesday night Bible study? Is that information really doing you any good? I mean, look at Jonah.
He had impeccable orthodoxy. He had a sound confession of faith. But he's living like a practical atheist. That's not because he knew truth.
It's because he was a wretch. What's the converse? Because there are persons out there that know a lot and don't live consistently, I'm not going to study. I'm not going to obey Jesus.
I'm not going to grow in the grace and in the knowledge of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. That's hogwash. It's folly. It's foolishness.
Study the scripture, live consistently with your confession and your profession, and avoid the kind of madness that has infected Jonah the prophet.
The Sailors Brought to God
Notice, we continue. When he tells them what the issue is, when he tells them that he is the one who fears or he does fear the Lord, the God of heaven who made the sea and the dry land, then the men were exceedingly afraid and they say, why have you done this? God, through this particular situation, brings these sailors to Himself. God, through Jonah, causes His Word to fall upon these particular men's hearts.
When we come to the prophet Jonah, we see the revelation of God's grace, not just in sparing Nineveh, but in sparing these sailors. Keeping these men. Notice how the chapter ends. Verse 14, Therefore they cried out, Now look, to the Lord. to Yahweh.
They're no longer calling upon their gods, their pagan deities. Now they're looking to the God of heaven and earth, whom Jonah has just said he serves. They say, we pray, O Lord, please do not let us perish for this man's life, and do not charge us with innocent blood. Another thing you'll see as we move through the prophet Jonah, everybody's reformed.
Everybody's a Calvinist. Everybody understands sovereignty. What do these men say? For you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you.
When we get to Nineveh, who can tell if God will turn and relent and turn away from His fierce anger so that we may not perish? They confess the sovereignty of God. They confessed the glory and the majesty of God. Verse 15, So they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging.
Then the men feared Yahweh exceedingly and offered a sacrifice to Yahweh and took vows. Those men then sang, Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, But now I see, "'Twas grace that taught their hearts to fear." See, the point of the book of Jonah is that confession of Jonah 4 too. Even though he's saying it as a reason for his anger, even he's saying it as an expression of complete oddity, nevertheless, that's the point of the book.
God is gracious whether it be to sailors on the sea. God is gracious whether it be to an incorrigible prophet of his own, or whether it be to a city like Nineveh. God's grace is amazing. Do not read the scripture.
Do not read the Old Testament and miss this. It's as if God is saying, you want to know what I'm like? Just look at this ship. Notice, secondly, Actually, before we leave, look at verse 12.
Jonah said to them, pick me up and throw me into the sea. Then the sea will become calm for you, for I know that this great tempest is because of me. Really, Jonah? Are you serious, Jonah?
How about confession to the God of Israel? How about repentance before the God of Israel? How about seeking mercy from the God of Israel? Do not miss the implication here.
Jonah would rather drown at sea than go and preach to Nineveh. Jonah would rather engage in probably what is one of the top 10 bad ways to die. I doubt you write lists like that, but imagine if you did, top 10 ways that you most would not want to die. Drowning's probably up there.
You've been stuck underwater and there's that panic mode and you think you're never coming out again? He would rather accept that than go to Nineveh, that city that he despises and loves and hates.
Jonah's Rescue by God
Now notice, they throw him into the sea, brings us to his rescue by God. Jonah was not saved from the belly of the whale. The belly of the whale was his salvation from drowning. They cast him into the sea.
What he rehearses in his psalm of thanksgiving, in terms of the weeds and the floods surrounding him, he was experiencing that time of panic, that time of despair, that time of almost passing from this life into the next by virtue of the sea. God dispatches the great fish. The Hebrew word for whale is not present. Great fish is what the text specifies.
God prepares this great fish as the means by which he will preserve Jonah's life. Now, for you New Testament students, you ought to be thinking of Matthew 12. Jonah served as a sign. Just as Jonah spent three days in the belly of the great fish, so must the Son of Man spend three days in the belly of the earth.
And by His resurrection, and by His power, and by His glory, bring salvation and redemption to sinful man. But when we look at what goes on in this passage, beginning in chapter 1 at verse 16, now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. G. Campbell Morgan made this observation.
Men have been looking so hard at the great fish that they have failed to see the great God. Men have been looking so hard at the great fish that they have failed to see the great God. Well, I've never seen a whale swallow somebody and have him in his belly for three days and then vomit him up on the ground. How could this ever be?
The God who made this world and everything in it, by the word of his power, in the space of six days, out of nothing, is able to insert you in the belly of a great fish and preserve you for three days. Dig? You get it? People see this and they say, how in the world can God's word be trusted?
The God who made this earth can't prepare a great fish to swallow a rebellious servant and then spew him onto dry ground. Most certainly he can't. But consider that this is but one miracle in a book full of miracles. Notice the language that is used.
He prepared a great fish. When you go to chapter four, he prepared the plant. He prepared the worm. He prepared the wind.
Whether He prepares a great fish or a little worm, the sovereign God, who is internationally sovereign and personally sovereign, controls the created atmosphere, the environment, to do His bidding. In fact, as William Gumbrell says, the emphasis here, this great fish makes sure that Jonah carries out his particular task. Gumbrell says, the word of God once announced to a prophet of God will not return void. Remember Isaiah 55 last week?
The prophet likens God's word to rain that comes down upon the earth. We need rain to water the ground so that it sustains life, so that it gives life, so that it promotes life. So we need the word of God. And God, through the prophet Isaiah, says, my word shall not return unto me void.
It will accomplish the purpose for which I sent it. This is what this great fish is doing. He's making sure that Jonah gets to his destination. He's making sure that Jonah does God's bidding.
He's making sure that Jonah delivers the goods. The word of God, once announced to a prophet of God, will not return void. It will move from Israel to Nineveh, despite the reluctance of the messenger, and it will break him if he opposes it. Jonah, I want you to go to Nineveh.
But I don't want to go to Nineveh, Lord. Jonah, you're going to Nineveh. You see, we talk about God's sovereignty. We sing about God's sovereignty.
We read books about God's sovereignty. Some in their conversations celebrate God's sovereignty. Others despise God's sovereignty. But this one thing we need to come to grips with, He really is sovereign.
This earth does His bidding. This earth accomplishes what he calls it to do. And if the prophet would rather go to Tarshish, if the prophet would rather leave and not be in the presence of God, God doesn't say, well, you know, too bad for me. God will accomplish his purposes.
Jonah will preach to Nineveh. Now, Jonah celebrates God's grace in chapter 2, verses 1 to 8. Jonah celebrates from the belly of the great fish, God's mercy to him. And he underscores it all with that confession in chapter 2 at verse 9.
But I will sacrifice to you with the voice of thanksgiving. I will pay what I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord. Another Reformed Christian.
Another man who confesses the sovereignty of God. Jonah didn't prepare the great fish. Jonah was content to go to a watery grave. God dispatched it, prepares the great fish, scoops up Jonah, and now he's vomited out onto dry ground.
Jonah's Mission for God
And that brings us thirdly to his mission. His mission. Another theme. that is put forth as being an identifying one in the book is that God gives second chances. God gives second chances.
Isn't that delightful? Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time saying, Now, God does give second chances, but not universally, not consistently, not always. Be very careful of jumping into a book like Jonah and grabbing a stray verse and saying, you know, Lord, I'll just resist and reject your will this time. And then if I see that you really mean business, then I'll act upon what you have said.
Do not do that. When God commands, may I just suggest, you go. When God says, you respond. When God bids, you comply.
You don't wait for the second chance. You don't invoke Jonah chapter 3 verse 1 and say, but Lord, you are the God of second chances. Again, God oftentimes is. He's very kind.
He's very gracious. It abounds from Him. It oozes from Him. But we are not to try that.
We are not to test that as God-fearing men and women who have the Holy Spirit. Our job, our task, our responsibility, dare I say our privilege, is to do what God says. That's it. He says, go to Nineveh.
Go to Nineveh. Notice, Jonah actually will not only proclaim, but Jonah himself, according to O.P. Robertson says, is a sign of God's grace and mercy. In other words, if Jonah is traversing the city of Nineveh, and one of those persons happens to say, have you ever seen the grace of God in your life?
Yeah, let me tell you about it. God called me, I left. Some sailors threw me overboard, I started to drown. God sends this great fish to swallow me up.
If anybody knows what the grace of God looks like, certainly Jonah most certainly does. Jonah is himself a sign, not only in terms of the messianic promise, but in terms of this city of Nineveh. So he goes about the city. He goes crying, yet 40 days and Nineveh shall be overthrown.
That's the emphasis of his message. What does the city do? They, by God's grace, respond favorably. Now we're not to suppose that cattle and animals all repented.
I think what we are to suppose is that this was a time of national repentance and that only image bearers, human beings, repented. They thought differently concerning the Lord God. Again, the idea is that they cast themselves upon the mercy of the God of Israel.
The Gospel Call to the Unbeliever
If you are not in Christ this morning, learn this lesson from the Ninevites. They cast themselves upon the God of mercy. They cast themselves upon this one who had revealed himself through Jonah. Who can tell if God will turn and relent and turn away from his fierce anger so that we may not perish?
We have a sure promise in the New Covenant Scriptures. We have a sure promise in the Gospel according to John. It is the promise of John 6, 37, where the Lord Jesus says, all that the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me, get this, I will certainly not cast out. These men in Nineveh cast themselves upon the mercy of God.
Who can tell if God will turn and relent and turn away from his fierce anger so that we may not perish? The New Testament scriptures say... Believe on Him. He will receive you.
He will grant you forgiveness. That exceeding grace that Jonah's angry about, that exceeding grace revealed after the calf incident in Exodus 34, that exceeding grace that sent the Son of His love to the cross, that exceeding grace that brought the sword of justice to bear on His Son, that exceeding grace is available right here and right now in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. One of the purposes behind this series of studying the grace of God in the Old Testament is so that those who come in here, week by week, that do not know the Lord, that God would use the preached Word, that the Spirit would come, that He would bring conviction and show you that you're sinful, and show you that you're wicked, and show you that you stand in need of the Savior. And that's not preacher talk saying, you, you, you.
All of us find ourselves in that place. The Scriptures are crystal clear. There is none righteous, no not one. There is none who fears God.
They don't seek Him, they don't want Him, they don't desire Him. Anybody in this church that currently, presently confesses faith in Christ can testify. That is the case. Most of us would say, I wasn't running to God, I was running from God.
I wasn't going for Him, I was raising my fist against Him. If there was a Tarshish, I wanted to be there. If there was a ship leaving from Joppa, I wanted to be on it. I wanted to be as far away from this God as I could possibly be.
But praise be to Him who seeks and saves that which is lost. Let me just appeal to you right here, right now. If you're not a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, you're in bad shape. You're in terrible shape.
John 3.36 says that he who believes the Son, he who believes the Son has everlasting life. Isn't that a glorious statement? But he who does not believe the Son shall not see life. And then he says, but the wrath of God abides on him.
Right now, if you're not a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, unbeknownst to the rest of us, unseen by the eye, the wrath of God abides on you. The terror and the judgment and the anger of God abides on you. Learn the lesson from the sailors. Learn the lesson from the Ninevites.
Learn the lesson from Jonah. Salvation is of the Lord. Do not fool yourself and say, well, I'm just a young boy, I'm just a young girl. When I'm 60, or I'm 70, or I'm 80, I'll make peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Because after all, He is the God of second chances. Don't do that. As Edwards says, there are innumerable ways for wicked men to go out of this world. Innumerable ways for wicked men to go out of this world.
Bodybuilders, strong men, guys who regulate their diet, men who train consistently and rigorously still get hit by trucks. People who get up at 5 a.m. and eat nothing but spelt and whatever and go out and run marathons and have the best functioning cardiovascular systems get cancer. Children die. It is a truism.
It is a reality. Again, this isn't preacher talk, just trying to get a decision out of you. Contemplate the reality that if you believe on the sun, you have everlasting life. But if you reject the sun, you believe if not on the sun, you shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on you.
It's terrible. These Ninevites under the preaching of Jonah said, wait a minute, we're in bad shape. These Ninevites, when they heard this statement of God's impending doom and judgment, these Ninevites said, let us cast ourselves upon the mercy of the God of Israel. If perhaps he will show mercy, if perhaps he will take us, if perhaps he will forgive us.
Well, see, consider all that, but then remove the if-perhaps. I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt that if you come to Christ believing, He will receive you. He will receive and forgive you. He will take you into His arms.
He will give you life. He will cleanse you from your sins. He will give you everlasting bliss. That is the promise of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And notice what these men find when they call upon the living God. Verse 10, Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way, and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it. Now, this touches on what's called divine impassibility, simplicity. There's some serious theological concepts that we're not going to discuss.
Here's what Calvin says with reference to this sort of language that we find in the prophets when God says He relents. He says he accommodates himself to the measure of men's understanding when he mentions such changes. He's accommodating himself. God doesn't change.
God doesn't turn corners. God doesn't become something else. The decree is settled. It's how God reveals himself in the execution of the decree that is here conveyed.
Jonah's Anger with God
And that brings us finally to chapter 4. It was a long introduction, wasn't it? Now we're going to spend another hour getting ready. I just got two thumbs up from the back, so when your bellies are rumbling and grumbling, you can take it up with Mr.
Proctor.
The Nature of Jonah's Anger
Notice the prophet's anger. It displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became angry. Now, some commentators suggest it's because he would have looked like he was wrong. Because what does he prophesy?
In 40 days, the judgment of God is coming. In 40 days, you're going to be destroyed. That's not the reason he gives. If that's in the text, it has to be implied.
What is specifically in the text is, I'm angry, God, because you're gracious. I'm angry, God, because your mercy is conspicuous. I'm angry, God, because I don't think those Ninevites deserve your grace. John Gill makes this statement concerning Jonah.
Jonah was an amazing man, the strangest, oddest, and most out-of-the-way man, for a good man and a prophet as one shall ever hear or read of. If I could just read between the lines, John Gill is saying, Jonah's nuts. See, most pastors, most prophets, most ministers, most evangelists, most missionaries, when they see God's word blessed, when they see God's judgment stayed, when they see sinners turn to the Lord, they're happy. Huh?
Not Jonah. It displeased Jonah exceedingly. So he prayed to the Lord and said, Ah, Lord, was not this what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore, I fled previously to Tarshish.
For I know that you are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in loving kindness, one who relents from doing harm. You want the answer to chapter 1? Jonah, why are you leaving from the presence of the Lord? Because I know God's gracious and he's going to have mercy on Nineveh.
You see, he knew Exodus 34. He knew, I'm sorry, Exodus 36. The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering and abounding in goodness and truth. That's essentially what he is saying here.
He knew the law. He knew the attributes of God. He knew his theology, it was in place, but his mind seems to run this way. God, when you reveal yourself this way in Exodus 36 at verse 6, it's okay for Israel.
It's perfectly acceptable for my people when they dance before a golden calf and they raise their fist in idolatrous rage against you. It is right, it is mean, it is good, it is acceptable and legit for you to pour out grace upon them. But when it comes to these Ninevites, when it comes to these brutal ones, when it comes to these vicious ones, when it comes to these idolaters, well, Lord, I'm not happy about it then. That's what Jonah's saying.
That's what Jonah is expressing here. That is what Jonah is conveying. Again, Dunbar makes this statement. The salvation of Nineveh provides an indication that Yahweh's extension of grace cannot be predicted.
It cannot be manipulated, and it certainly cannot be confined to Israel. You can't tame the God of Israel. You can't put Him in a box. You don't put Him on a shelf and play with Him as you wish.
You don't dictate to Him. You don't decree for Him. You don't demand from Him. You worship Him.
You bow before Him. You recognize that the same grace that saved a wretch like me can save Nineveh too. Jonah's upset. Jonah's angry.
Jonah says, kill me. It's the second time in the book. He'd rather die than see God's grace poured out upon this pagan country or this pagan city.
God's Rebuke of Jonah
And then God rebukes him. Verse four. Then the Lord said, is it right for you to be angry? What's Jonah do?
He goes to the east side of the city. He's not going home yet. If he was going home, he'd have gone to the west side because he'd have to go that way back to Israel, back to Galilee. He's going to go sit on the east side of the city and he's going to watch.
Some commentators suggest that perhaps he is waiting to see if in the 40 days God does judge the city. I don't think it's that. I think that he knows God's not going to judge the city. He's just stated that God relents, that God is merciful, that God is gracious, that God is kind.
Perhaps Jonah, like Elijah before him, in whom there are parallels, spent some time in a deserted place to learn some theology. Maybe this wasn't consciously what he's doing, but he goes to the east side of the city, gets a place, and he makes a little booth, or he makes a little shelter. God prepares a plant. Now, when we read this, you've got to remember it's hot.
You think it's been hot in Chilliwack for the last few days or last few weeks? It's hot there where Jonah is. When God sends this east wind, we would call that a Sirocco, that would increase the temperatures by about 15 or 20 degrees. I get grumpy when it's hot.
Irritated. It's almost like your brain is going to boil. God, in a sense, puts Jonah in this pressure cooker to instruct him. He prepares the plant, and it grows.
Some say it's a castor oil plant. It would have grown quickly, and it would have provided a great deal of shade. Jonah's quite happy with this. This is nice.
In the heat of the day, it breaks the sun, and it keeps his brain from sizzling. And just when he gets happy, just when he gets content, God prepares a worm to go and destroy the plant. Now Jonah's starting to get upset. He's irritable.
He's angry. He's just all kinds of mad. So then God sends this vehement wind to press him, to push him, to teach him. He's setting him up, brethren.
Notice in verse 8. And it happened when the sun arose that God prepared a vehement east wind, and the sun beat on Jonah's head so that he grew faint. Then he wished death for himself and said, it is better for me to die than to live." Now here is the point. God rebukes him.
Verse 9, then God said to Jonah, is it right for you to be angry about the plant? And he said, it is right for me to be angry even to death.
The Theological Lesson: God's Pity on Nineveh
Here comes his theology lesson. Here comes the instruction. Here comes the end. This is only one of two places in all of the Bible that ends with a question.
This book and Nahum. Look at what God says, verse 10. But the Lord said, you have had pity on the plant for which you have not labored nor made it grow. which came up in a night and perished in a night. Let this sink in.
And should I not pity Nineveh? Should I not have compassion? Should I not care? Should I not exhibit grace?
Should I not pour out mercy upon this great city in whom there's 120,000 people that don't know their left from the right? Most commentators agree that's probably a reference to little children. So the population of the city was considerably greater Should I not pity them, Jonah? You cared about a plant?
You cared about some shade on your head? You cared about your own comfort? You cared about your own life? You cared about what was acceptable to you?
And should I not look upon a mass of humanity undone in their sin, undone in their misery, undone in their godlessness? Should I not pity them? You just expressed that I am the Lord, that I am merciful, that I am gracious, that I abound in forgiveness. Jonah, don't you get it?
Don't you understand? This is the character of God. This is the attributes of God. It's not an academic study out there.
It is an application in time and history right here on individuals, on cities, whether they be Assyrians or Ninevites, or whether they be Chilliwackians or Vancouverites. God is full of grace. Should I not pity Nineveh, that great city? There is an instance in the Gospel according to Luke. where Jesus comes into the synagogue on the Sabbath day.
And there is a lady there who has been bound for 18 years. It's always intrigued me, she's in the synagogue. 18 years of binding. Where is she on Sabbath? She's in church.
Which seems to indicate you ought to try and be in the presence of God's people. I don't say that to bind your conscience. If you are providentially hindered, or you're sick, or you're hurting, or you're unable to be here, my heart goes out and sympathizes. But I do want you to take notice to the fact that this particular woman was bound for 18 years, and yet, on the Sabbath day, she was in the synagogue.
How much more for us healthy people? I don't feel like going to church because it's so hot there, and then I have air conditioning. Let that lady who was bound for 18 years on the Sabbath day in the synagogue stand up and say, you know, you ought to go to church. Jesus heals her.
It's beautiful. He heals her. What happens from the ruler of the synagogue? He reproves the congregation.
He reproves the congregation. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. The seventh day is a Sabbath rest unto the Lord. He missed the point of the Sabbath.
What does Jesus say? Jesus says, this daughter of Abraham, bound for 18 years. And then he says, think of it. Think of it.
I always connect that with this statement in Jonah the prophet. Should I not pity this woman? Should I not express grace? Should I not convey kindness?
Should I not alleviate her pain? Should I not restore her whole again? You see, the grace of God may not always be acceptable to the people of God, but it's who He is. We may be a little put out that Rahab the harlot will sit with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the Merit Supper of the Lamb.
We might be a little put out that Jephthah and Samson will be at the marriage supper of the Lamb. We might be a little offended that God Almighty restored onto David the joy of his salvation. You see, we don't tame God's grace, we don't box God's grace, we don't activate God's grace, and we certainly don't tell Him when to show His grace. This was Jonah's problem.
Application: The Point of the Book
Now, let's bring this home. A couple thoughts, we close. First, what are the specific themes in the book? What is it?
Some say missiology, the doctrine of missions. The church reads her obligation for world missions into Jonah. But you see, there's some problems with that particular attempt. Because why just Nineveh?
Why not other cities? Why not other places? Is it to teach that God loves the city and has a wonderful plan for their lives? If he does, other passages are going to have to uphold that particular truth.
Some come to Jonah and see sanctification as a major theme. Are you running from God or to God? Are you using the second chances that the Lord has conveyed upon you? Some say Christology, the doctrine of Christ, is the primary theme, based on the Savior's statement in Matthew 12, where he likens his descent into the earth via crucifixion, his exile, if you will, and his resurrection or his restoration, where he likens it to Jonah's descent into the belly of the whale.
In fact, E.J. Young says that's the whole point of the prophet Jonah, is to typically point us to the Lord Jesus. You see, that would have been difficult for an 8th century Israelite probably to piece together. I'm not neglecting that.
I'm not saying that isn't present. But I think the point of the prophet Jonah is not missiology. It's not sanctification. It is Christology, but in light of the New Testament.
It's theology. This is another book in the Old Testament that we are to open and behold our God. In fact, Ellison says it this way, and I think he nailed it. Quite simply, the book contains no call to action.
Didn't that sound kind of weird, kids, when I read the book and we got to the end and I stopped up here and then said amen? Look at how the book ends. And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than 120,000 persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left, and much livestock?" So what happened? What does Jonah do?
Does he bow before the Lord? Does he go back to Nineveh? Does he hang out with the people there? Do they talk about the grace of God?
Do they have Bible studies in Calvinism? Does he go back to Amitai? Does he go visit Mrs. Jonah and tell her about what it was like in the valley?
That doesn't matter. That's unimportant. That's not the point. The point is, behold your God.
The book contains no call to action. It is rather a revelation of God's character and attitude toward his creation given to Jonah and through Jonah to Israel and to us. The sovereignty of God is highlighted. He's sovereign over the heavens.
He's sovereign over the earth. He hurls the sea, or he hurls the wind on the sea. He stops the raging of the sea. He prepares the whale.
He prepares the plant. He prepares the worm. He prepares all these things. He is sovereign.
Everybody in the book testifies concerning that. There are no Arminians in the book of Jonah. Everybody's confessing his sovereignty. Everybody's ascribing it to his good pleasure.
Theology is paramount in this book. And the capstone is 4-2. What Jonah is angry about, what he's upset about, what he is incensed about, is what the reader is to behold, what we are to glean, what we are to gain, what we are to understand. Who cares if he went home and had a study with his wife on how men can survive in the belly of a great fish?
Should I not pity Nineveh? And when we look at that question, contextually the answer is of course, isn't it? Contextually the answer is of course. God leads him along the way to confess, of course you should pity Nineveh.
Jonah, you've had pity on a plant that you didn't make. You've had pity on a plant that you didn't create. Should I not pity Nineveh? I'd be amazed if Jonah said, no, you shouldn't pity that.
I suspect Jonah would say, yeah, it's right for you to pity. Let's step back from the context for just a moment. I don't generally like to do this, but theologically, let's ask the question. Should I not pity Nineveh?
Well, no, you shouldn't. Nineveh is a brutal place. Nineveh does murder people. Nineveh does have sexual sin.
Nineveh has transgressed the law of God. And after all, our shorter catechism says, what does every sin deserve? Every sin deserves God's wrath and curse, both in this life and that which is to come. So, you know, theologically, should I not pity Nineveh?
No, you are the just judge of all the earth. You are the God of absolute sovereignty and holiness. You are a God who is righteous. As the prophets say, no evil can come into your eye.
You don't look upon it approvingly. Certainly, God, you ought to punish sinners. You ought to punish city-states. You ought to punish this entire world.
You ought to exhibit the wrath of God, the fury of God, the magnificent power of God by opening up heaven and sending hell to destroy every single human being. But theologically, we have to go one step further. Yes, you should pity Nineveh because you are what Jonah confessed. You are gracious.
You are merciful. You are slow to anger. That's the God with whom we have to do. He is full of grace.
He is full of mercy. He is full of forgiveness. He is full of kindness. If you stay, if you tarry, if you resist, if you reject, you will one day meet His wrath and His curse.
Today is the acceptable time. Now is the day of salvation. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.
Closing Prayer
Let us pray. Father, we thank you for this book of Jonah. We thank you for the lessons that it gives concerning your glory and your majesty and your sovereignty. We thank you for the lessons concerning your grace and your mercy.
Certainly, our Father, we know if we have been saved, it is grace alone. It wasn't our works. It wasn't our good deeds. It wasn't our merit.
It was solely and alone what Christ accomplished on behalf of his people. I pray, Father, that you'd open hearts here. I pray that Christ would be altogether lovely and chief among 10,000 among people here today. Bless the preaching of the word in Chilliwack.
Bless the preaching of the word throughout Canada and to the uttermost parts of the world. May your word run swiftly and be glorified. And we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.