Jonah 4:1-5

00:00:00:18 – 00:00:38:31
Clint Loveall
Hey, everybody. Welcome back. Thanks for joining us. we move into the final chapter of Jonah today, and we began this book with kind of three characters in mind God, Jonah, and the city of Nineveh. And that’s where we move as we end, as we move toward the ending, we are left with those same three entities, with the third chapter describing the repentance and turn of Nineveh, and then the corresponding turn of plan from God and God’s, graciousness toward the people.

00:00:38:36 – 00:01:07:12
Clint Loveall
We now focus again on Jonah. And, the text really wastes no time. I’m going to read a few verses here, and then we’ll come back and we’ll try to unpack them. There’s really a lot here, but this was very displeasing to Jonah. And he became angry. He prayed to the Lord and said, oh, Lord, is not this what I said while I was still in my own country?

00:01:07:17 – 00:01:35:10
Clint Loveall
That is why I fled to Tarshish at the beginning, for I knew that you are a gracious God, merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishing. And now, oh Lord, please take my life from me. For it is better for me to die than live. And the Lord said, is it right for you to be angry?

00:01:35:15 – 00:01:59:55
Clint Loveall
Then Jonah went out of the city, sat down east of the city, and made a booth for himself. There he sat under it in the shade, waiting to see what would become of the city. So, Here, for the first time in the story, we begin to get some explanation. and we start off right away. This was displeasing to Jonah.

00:02:00:00 – 00:02:29:25
Clint Loveall
And that’s one of those things, Michael, that you can easily read and not think about. This entire city was just delivered. This entire city, this this entire group of people that live in this three day wide city have turned and God has relented. And this is very display pleasing to Jonah. Literally, this says something like this displeased him with great displeasure.

00:02:29:25 – 00:03:02:58
Clint Loveall
It’s a it’s an intensive way to say it. And he was angry, which means he burned. I think we had a conversation yesterday a little bit. I think you introduced it as to what we make of Jonah. Right. And I think this verse tells us so far, this is the clearest picture that we’ve had. Yeah. The graciousness toward Nineveh displeases him with great displeasure.

00:03:03:03 – 00:03:11:26
Clint Loveall
And he burns with anger. That is a telling verse. It’s a really interesting way to to, start off the chapter.

00:03:11:31 – 00:03:45:43
Michael Gewecke
Yeah. No doubt. And that linchpin word that we left you with at the end of the study yesterday is the word that we begin with here today. That very key word. But but this was very displeasing to Jonah. Let’s be clear about what this is. The thing that is so greatly, intensively displeasing Jonah, is ultimately the fact that in verse ten, God changes God’s mind about the calamity or the evil or the great harm that was going to come to this entire city of people.

00:03:45:43 – 00:04:09:18
Michael Gewecke
In other words, God is willing to be flexible for the sake of relationship. And here it’s said in no uncertain terms that this is exactly what Jonah had been afraid of the entire time. And I just want to point out, one of the great master strokes of this book is that it leaves out this section until the end.

00:04:09:18 – 00:04:29:31
Michael Gewecke
In a way, I agree. We’re in a negative position as readers who have read Jonah before to know some of the scope of the story, but if you can put yourself back in the shoes of someone reading this story for the first time, you would be wondering yourself as it goes along. Man, what is this Jonah? Know that I don’t know.

00:04:29:36 – 00:04:51:48
Michael Gewecke
Why has he got such a chip on his shoulder? What is such the problem that he would hear God’s word to go do this thing, and he would be so intrinsically motivated to go in the opposite direction and then be thrown into the water, be swallowed by this great fish, and then spat onto the ground. And you know, why is he continually dragging his feet?

00:04:51:50 – 00:05:20:20
Michael Gewecke
I think the answer has now landed upon us with full force, because ultimately he has identified God correctly, even from the beginning. Before he fled to Tarshish, he identified that God is a gracious God, merciful, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love. And Clint, this is the amazing masterstroke of a book like Jonah is that is absolutely accurate.

00:05:20:20 – 00:05:53:29
Michael Gewecke
This is a true statement of God’s character. I’ve heard people quote this as good news about God, which is ironic when you know the context that this is actually Jonah complaining against God and saying, this is your fault. If you weren’t this way, you and I could get along. But that darn predisposition, disposition to be gracious, that that unbelievably infuriating commitment to be slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

00:05:53:29 – 00:06:17:16
Michael Gewecke
God, if you could have just done away with that, we could be on the same page. But the truth is, Jonah had identified something rightly. And when he heard God’s motive and God’s call to be giving you this book, now suddenly this whole story can be cast in a brand new light. It’s a brand new book. All of the motivations and actions that come previous now have a new meaning when we see what’s happening here.

00:06:17:24 – 00:06:40:05
Clint Loveall
That verse two is very close to I told you so. Is this not what I said or I said this would happen while I was still in my country and here. You’re right, Michael. For the first time we get explanation. We’ve made guesses. We’ve had, you know, theories. But here Jonah tells us this is why I fled at the beginning.

00:06:40:10 – 00:07:06:34
Clint Loveall
And then he says this. I knew you were gracious, merciful, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishing. Those should be words of praise, but their words of lament, their words of complaint. And a couple of studies ago we talked about the king of Nineveh. This question who knows, God may relent. Well, it turns out Jonah knew.

00:07:06:39 – 00:07:37:27
Clint Loveall
Jonah suspected as much, right? And now we find out. That’s exactly the reason that he didn’t want to go to Nova. Because Jonah doesn’t want to live in a world where the Nineveh Ninevites receive grace from God. Jonah doesn’t want to live in a world where the Ninevites, aren’t punished, aren’t wiped out, where they receive grace. And we know that the text makes it clear explicitly.

00:07:37:31 – 00:08:11:39
Clint Loveall
And now, oh Lord, please take my life from me. So now this is the second prayer he prayed for delivery from the whale. Now he prays that God would take his life, for it’s better for me to die than live. If they’re going to live, I’d rather die. I don’t want to live in a world where the Ninevites receive the loving grace of a gracious, slow to anger, steadfast love, relenting kind of God.

00:08:11:43 – 00:08:41:12
Clint Loveall
Take my life. I’d rather be dead than alive and I think now we inform the scene we saw in the sea. When Jonah told the sailors to throw him into the water right. I think it confirms what we suspected that. Yeah, Jonah would rather die than see God do what Jonah knew, or at least suspected he would do if Jonah got to Nineveh.

00:08:41:16 – 00:09:02:54
Michael Gewecke
And, Clint, let’s take a look at some of those characters that you just named here. really briefly, because I think that it’s fascinating is Jonah has this encounter with the people on the ship. And you might remember that after all of this happens, the people on the ship are actually worshiping the God of Israel, and it explicitly uses the name of God.

00:09:02:54 – 00:09:32:58
Michael Gewecke
So this sense that there’s a real conversion in their hearts, and then you have the same kind of movement when of course, in chapter three, Jonah goes into the city of Nineveh and he half heartedly preaches the shortest sermon ever preached. And it’s the most effective, shortest sermon ever preached, and sees this entire nation transformed and changed. The crazy thing about this is that, ironically, when all of this happens, it just confirms for Jonah the reason he’s angry at God, right?

00:09:33:05 – 00:10:05:34
Michael Gewecke
The the fact that these people’s lives are changed, that God shows compassion and God’s power actually transforms their hearts. This, to an evangelist, is the Holy Grail. This is the whole point. This is why you wake up in the days to go tell people. And then when that word sinks in, you go home rejoicing, not Jonah. Because Jonah, every time these conversions happen, it within him reinforces this idea that God is the God of grace and mercy.

00:10:05:34 – 00:10:30:46
Michael Gewecke
God is the God who will patiently and with longsuffering have abounding love. That’s exactly the thing that Jonah is upset with God about. That is the contention that Jonah has with God that there are some people, just some who shouldn’t be afforded that gift, that there are some people who God should not look upon them with that gaze.

00:10:30:46 – 00:11:10:12
Michael Gewecke
And yet that is the character of God. And ultimately, whether Jonah’s right or not in his interpretation, certainly the outcome has bore out the assumption that he made in this case. When the people repented, God responded, God did show mercy and grace. God’s love was abounding. And ultimately Jonah’s orientation to God. Jonah’s orientation to Nineveh, Jonah’s understanding of God’s work in the world is in some ways accurate, and it is in other ways completely upside down, because what he wants is for God to not be God.

00:11:10:17 – 00:11:18:51
Michael Gewecke
What he wants is the character of God to be different, to be more aligned with Jonah’s character. And we’re not going to see that play out in this book.

00:11:18:55 – 00:11:53:11
Clint Loveall
Yeah, Jonah’s prayers here are interesting. Again, he has a prayer save my life. And then he has a prayer. Take my life and his unhappiness is depression, so to speak, happens after fulfilling his call. After what? Everybody. What Jonah but Jonah would call success. And yet for Jonah, it’s wrong. He he believes God, should be other than gracious and merciful.

00:11:53:11 – 00:12:24:00
Clint Loveall
God should be punishing. God should deal with Nineveh as Jonah would. And you know, we see it over and over again. Grace is always offensive to the self-righteous. And Jonah sits now, pouting, waiting to see what would become of the city. And God asks him, is it right for you to be angry that something very close to is it good for you or right for you to burn?

00:12:24:05 – 00:12:52:06
Clint Loveall
Do you have something to be mad about? Are you do you have a case? Have you been wronged? And Jonah’s going to answer that question, but it’s very late in the book. We are not going to see it yet. But clearly Jonah believes he’s in the right. And I think what’s fascinating about this and what makes this such a beautiful piece of literature, Michael, is Jonah has all the right words about God.

00:12:52:10 – 00:13:22:57
Clint Loveall
Now, Jonah knows God. Jonah is not ignorant of who God is. Jonah is offended by who God is. Jonah is offended that God would be merciful to his enemies, to Israel’s enemies, and usually, usually in Scripture, the person who is angry and resentful. That person has not yet had an experience of God. But Jonah is exactly the opposite.

00:13:23:02 – 00:13:56:43
Clint Loveall
Jonah has experienced God’s deliverance. The beautiful prayer of chapter two now fades to this sort of bias and hatred as he sits watching over the hillside. And it’s it’s beautiful writing that Jonah is both the character who understands God and resents who God is. He truly understands God, at least in this aspect. But he’s unhappy that God is that way.

00:13:56:43 – 00:14:12:40
Clint Loveall
And I, you know, it’s it’s, it is really well done. And I think that gives the character of Jonah a fascinating depth. And, and, you know, an unfortunate humanness that maybe some of us can relate to.

00:14:12:45 – 00:14:39:54
Michael Gewecke
Well, that’s exactly where I was going to go. Clint is just simply to say that it’s one thing to talk about this as beautiful biblical literature. I think there’s even a conversation to be had about how extraordinary is it is that this book has been included in Scripture, that the people said that we’re going to include this in our Book of Holy Scriptures, and that it’s been passed down through the thousands of years and hundreds and hundreds of generations.

00:14:39:59 – 00:15:07:06
Michael Gewecke
But I think it’s a place where you got to land is at some point in the reading of this book, you and I are going to have to be honest, and we’re going to have to take a moment and we’re going to have to insert in Nineveh, whoever we would in our own lives, put in the position of enemy or unredeemable or unforgivable, or someone not worthy of grace or not worthy of abounding, never ending love.

00:15:07:06 – 00:15:30:54
Michael Gewecke
And Clint, this is very touchy, and I realize that it engages for all of us a place that’s a very difficult place to go. But if you insert the name of that person, the name of those people’s, the name of that place, whatever the seniors you’re going to discover very, very quickly in your human heart a reluctance to wish that good upon them.

00:15:30:59 – 00:15:54:59
Michael Gewecke
And Jonah is incisive as a book in helping us see that at the end of the day, when you do that, you’re not just making a decision of what is good for you or for another person. You are ultimately positioning yourself against the character of God. That God is this. And the question is, will we get on board or not?

00:15:55:12 – 00:16:34:01
Michael Gewecke
Will we see that person through God’s eyes or will we not? And that doesn’t take away how difficult of a task that is. That takes a life long process of discipleship and discernment and maturing. But Clint, but make no mistake about it, Jonah here is showing us this is the humans hearts aptitude. And the question is, will we see just and more importantly, even be willing to enter into and allow God’s heart to transplant within our own because God inevitably sees whoever you’re near never is more clearly than you.

00:16:34:10 – 00:16:40:06
Michael Gewecke
And God’s love and patient and abounding love is for that place, and those people too.

00:16:40:17 – 00:17:02:49
Clint Loveall
And to that end, Michael, there’s a profound moment near the end of today’s passage. God asked Jonah, you know, is it is it good for you to be angry? And you can hear in that? Is it right? Do you have a right to be angry? That’s maybe, foreshadowing of how God’s going to put it later. But that’s in the question.

00:17:02:54 – 00:17:35:17
Clint Loveall
Is it right for you to be angry? These people have repented. This city has been saved. What right do you have, Jonah, to resent my graciousness? What? What right do you have to be offended and angry that I am a good God? And. And if you notice, Jonah’s response is that he leaves. God asks the question, and Jonah’s answer is his absence.

00:17:35:22 – 00:18:02:25
Clint Loveall
He leaves the conversation and he goes to see what would happen to the city. I think, you know, I think the rest of the text is going to bear out, that he goes hoping that it might still be destroyed. We can talk about that in the upcoming studies, but we I think, again, that’s such a beautifully written moment because that is the decision we have to make.

00:18:02:25 – 00:18:30:21
Clint Loveall
God says, can you be gracious in the way I’m gracious and and our choice is to engage grace or to leave angry, and Jonah leaves angry. He he is he’s he’s the worst, best or the best worst prophet in the history of the world. He he saved the city and wishes he hadn’t. It’s an incredible story. And this character will get into this.

00:18:30:21 – 00:18:42:22
Clint Loveall
I know, as we do wrap up stuff later on, but it’s just such a complicated, complex story that is so true within each of us at some point or another.

00:18:42:27 – 00:19:00:55
Michael Gewecke
So, Clint, that’s the question I want to leave us all with is your point exactly is ultimately what is Jonah hoping for? We’re going to discover more of that as we continue on with this study. And certainly, I think that questions going to probe within our own hearts. Glad to have you with us. here today. If this is your first time with us for the study, welcome.

00:19:00:55 – 00:19:14:58
Michael Gewecke
We’re glad that you’re here to give this video a like helps others find it in their own Bible study. We would also invite you, of course, to subscribe. That helps you find other videos like this. As we do series like this throughout the Bible. We’d love to have you part of the channel and of course part of the conversation.

00:19:14:58 – 00:19:20:33
Michael Gewecke
Leave in the comments, thoughts or questions. We look forward to seeing you all tomorrow as we continue this study. Thanks for.

00:19:20:33 – 00:19:21:00
Clint Loveall
Joining us.