Sovereign Over Salvation: It’s hard to understand the mercy and salvation God offers to those who are far from him, even while enjoying the mercy we have received. In Jonah 4, we see that God doesn’t offer salvation because people are righteous, but because he cares about them. Will we join God in proclaiming good news which saves the lives that matter to God? Or will we run from it, like Jonah? Recorded on June 26, 2022, on Jonah 4, by Pastor David Parks.
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This message is part of our “Sovereign to Save” sermon series from the book of Jonah in the Bible. Jonah’s story is well-known both in and outside the church for his encounter with the great fish. But Jonah is really about the incredible heart of a sovereign God to save even his enemies.
Sermon Transcript
Today is the last sermon in our annual theme of The Greatness of God. Over the past year, I hope your view of God has grown to the point where God is high and lifted up in your mind, imagination, and experience in life. When we see God in this way, we’re able to live in light of reality (which is always the best way to live), but also, so many other things, which often make us angry or afraid, are seen in the right perspective and our lives gain more stability/peace/hope. Well, today we’re coming to the end of Jonah’s story. And we’ve said, the basic story of Jonah is well-known in and outside the church. But when you dig into what it actually says, you find it’s not really a story about a whale or even about Jonah. But rather, Jonah is about a God who is sovereign, with divine power/authority over all. So far, we’ve seen that God is sovereign over his creation, over life and death, over the times when we’re struggling in the deep, and last week, that God is sovereign over the nations, including both Israel and Assyria, both Jonah and the people of Nineveh. Today, we’ll wrap up this story by seeing that the reason that the sovereignty of God is good news is because our God is sovereign to save. He uses all of his divine power/authority to bring about salvation. If you have a Bible/app, please open to Jonah 4.
Jonah 4:1-11 (NIV), “1 But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry. 2 He prayed to the Lord, “Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. 3 Now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.” 4 But the Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry?” 5 Jonah had gone out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. 6 Then the Lord God provided a leafy plant and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the plant. 7 But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the plant so that it withered. 8 When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, “It would be better for me to die than to live.” 9 But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?” “It is,” he said. “And I’m so angry I wish I were dead.” 10 But the Lord said, “You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. 11 And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?”
If you haven’t been with us, let me give you a quick recap. About 2,800 years ago, Jonah was a prophet of Yahweh God in the northern kingdom of Israel during a difficult time. The Assyrian Empire was the most powerful nation on the earth and they’d eventually conquer Israel. But at this time, they were a real threat to Jonah, and to everyone he knew and loved. But surprisingly, Jonah was sent with a message from God to Nineveh, to the capital of the evil empire. But Jonah ran away. There was a little incident with a storm and a great fish, and the Lord had Jonah headed back in the right direction. Jonah eventually made it to Nineveh and preached the word of the Lord to his enemies. Again, surprisingly, the people responded well. They repented when they heard the message of divine judgment against their wickedness and violence. So God relented and didn’t bring the judgment against them that he had threatened. Now we’re back to chapter 4. Let’s start again with v.1.
Jonah 4:1-3 (NIV), “1 But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry. [this meaning the repentance of the people of Nineveh and God’s relenting mercy] He prayed to the Lord, “Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. Now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.” Jonah is fuming mad. Why? Because he knew who God was. He knew what God was like. And this is exactly what he was afraid would happen. Jonah didn’t have any love in his heart for the Ninevites. They were his enemies, and the enemies of his people, not his brothers, not people deserving of the grace of mercy of God! But Jonah throws the compassionate and gracious character of God back at God as an indictment of him. Here, we see that this is the motive of why Jonah ran in the other direction from Nineveh. This is exactly what he was afraid of. In fact, he’s so upset with God that he would show compassion and mercy toward his enemies, that he’s ready to end it all. “It’s better for me to die than to live.” But how does God respond? Would he respond in anger? Jonah has tried to undermine God’s word and plans at every turn. If Jonah were my child, I would be ready to take away at least a privilege or two. v.4.
Jonah 4:4 (NIV), “But the Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry?” Is it right could be translated, is it good? In other words, is it morally right for you to be angry? Now, does God not know? Does the sovereign God need to seek information from Jonah? Of course not. God is all-knowing, he is omniscient. The questions of God are never about learning (as they often are for us). They’re always instructive. Jesus often did this in his teaching ministry, as well. The questions of God are meant to expose what is going on in the human heart. You are angry, Jonah. Now, it’s not necessarily wrong to be angry. God is slow to anger, but God does get angry over issues of injustice, wickedness, and evil. God had threatened Nineveh for their wicked violence. So anger isn’t necessarily wrong, but it is an opportunity for us to let our emotions take over and is often a time when sin is crouching at the door. Both Psalm 4 and Eph 4 say, “In your anger do not sin.” But not every occasion for our anger is right. So Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry?” Is it right to be angry when our enemies receive the grace and mercy of God instead of the just wrath of God against sin? My experience is that we love forgiveness/mercy for our sin, but tend to demand justice/punishment for others when they sin. Is that what’s going on with Jonah? v. 5.
Jonah 4:5-8 (NIV), “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. 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. But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the plant so that it withered. When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, “It would be better for me to die than to live.” Rather than blasting Jonah for his disobedience and lack of love for his neighbor, God had asked Jonah a question to expose what was going on in his heart to help him learn and grow. In response, what did Jonah do? He didn’t even answer. He just left the city, sat down nearby, and hoped God would change his mind and bring a Sodom and Gomorrah level of destruction to the city. In response to what seems to be a very sulky response of Jonah, God demonstrates his sovereignty in three ways. First, it says that God provided/appointed a leafy plant to grow and provide shade for Jonah. This is the same word that was used earlier in Jonah for the great fish. These, perhaps unusual, incidents weren’t coincidences or accidents, they were intentional acts of a sovereign God. God provided a plant, then he provided a worm to kill the plant, then he provided a scorching east wind. Why? v. 6 gives us the clue. In v.6, the phrase “ease his discomfort” lit. means to deliver/save him from his evil. Here, discomfort is meant to convey both Jonah’s physical heat but also his hot emotional state. It goes on to say that “Jonah was very happy about the plant” or lit. Jonah rejoiced with great rejoicing. This is yet another example of sad irony in the book of Jonah. He was extremely happy, he was overjoyed about the plant which brought him comfort and relief but was still fuming over the grace and mercy of God given to the people of Nineveh. He was overjoyed at his own deliverance from heat, as small a thing as that might be, but angrily rejected the deliverance of the Ninevites from death and judgment. Nevertheless, Jonah grew faint, he said again that he was ready to give up his life. Let’s finish the story with v. 9.
Jonah 4:9-11 (NIV), “But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?” “It is,” he said. “And I’m so angry I wish I were dead.” 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. 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?” Here, God reveals both the lesson of the plant and his heart for the people of Nineveh. The lesson of the plant is this: God said, “You’ve been concerned (the word “concern” is alternately translated as pity or compassion), Jonah, you’ve had compassion on this plant which you didn’t plant or do anything to cause to grow. If you had compassion for a plant, should I not have more concern/pity/compassion for the great city of Nineveh??” Now, this couldn’t mean that God thought the people of the city were morally great with enough good works to be worthy of saving. He was clear they were guilty of wicked violence. Rather, the greatness of Nineveh had to do with how many people and even animals were there. Nineveh was great because God cares for his creation, and especially for human beings who are made in his image and likeness. God’s concern for them extended both to stop their moral corruption, saving them from destruction, and for their lack of wisdom/understanding, as well. God says these people couldn’t tell their right hand from their left. In other words, they didn’t know what the right path was that would lead to a flourishing life. This reminds me of the response of Jesus when he saw the crowds. Matthew chapter 9 says, “Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” (Mt 9:35-36). Doesn’t that sound like God’s heart for Nineveh? It’s the exact same heart. I’ve often wondered why the animals are included here. Perhaps it relates to the way the people of Nineveh included their animals in their acts of repentance, of fasting and wearing sackcloth. To be clear, according to the Bible, people are the only creatures who have been made in the image of God. This gives us a special place in creation over the animals and birds and fish and other living things. However, the ultimate goal of God is to redeem and re-create all things in Christ, including making a new heaven and earth. Will animals be included in this work of new creation, in the new earth? I would think so.
At any rate, how does this story end? It doesn’t really resolve, does it? We’re left hanging, wondering if Jonah would learn the lesson, repent of his hatred of the Assyrians, and rejoice in the goodness of our sovereign God. I truly wonder if Jesus had this interaction here in Jonah chapter 4 in mind when he told the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15. Because like the father after his prodigal son came home, went out and entreated his older son to come in and join the celebration. Why? Because what was dead was now alive, what was lost was now found. So in the same way, here, God is patiently entreating Jonah to come in, as it were, and join the celebration because what was dead (or more accurately, who was dead) in Nineveh was now alive, those who were lost were now found! Jesus ended his parable without resolving it either. The parable as well as the story of Jonah stands as an open invitation to us today. Will we come in? Will we join the celebration of heaven? Will we see the goodness of the seemingly reckless expression of the grace and mercy of God that provides salvation for those who are near to God and those who are far from him? For Israel and for Assyria, for Jonah and for Nineveh, for you and for your loved ones, and for your enemies?? Will we join God in this work of proclaiming good news which results in the saving of many lives, lives that matter to God? Or will we run from it, like Jonah? Might we even be willing to sacrifice for this work or will we only have concern for our comfort, like Jonah? These are challenging questions. But one thing is sure, God is sovereign to save. As we’ve said all year, his greatness is only matched by his goodness. I pray you never forget that. One final question as we close today: Did Jonah ever repent? Did Jonah ever see the error of his selfishness and disobedience? The truth is, we don’t know. But I believe there’s a hint. Would we have ever heard the story of Jonah if the prophet truly remained hardhearted in his hatred for the grace and mercy of the Lord? I suspect that later, Jonah came to understand the error of his attitude and his ways toward the Ninevites and recorded his story as an example for those of us who seek to learn who God is and what he is like, to this day. May we learn this lesson. And may it both fill our hearts and mouths with praise and thanksgiving to a God who is sovereign to save and compel us out with a message of love and joy and peace in Christ, to people who are lost without him. Let us pray.