Exposing A Heart Filled With Hatred

Jonah 3:10-4:11

Today we have another lesson from the story of Jonah.  Most of us know by heart the story of Jonah and the great fish, how he was commissioned by God to go to Ninevah and preach a message of repentance, and how Jonah refused, and ended up in the belly of a fish.  After the fish spat him out, God gave Jonah a second chance to obey Him, and told him to go to Ninevah and give them God’s message.  This Jonah did in chapter 3, and is where we pick up in the Book of Jonah today.

Jonah had gone throughout Ninevah preaching a message of repentance, and how if the people did not repent, God would destroy them.  After he left town, miraculously, the whole city, king included, truly repented and called upon God.  Meanwhile, after he had finished preaching, Jonah had gone out of town to find the nearest good spot to sit down and watch what he had hoped would be God destroying the city (vs. 5).  He even built himself a little structure to keep himself cool in.  Jonah had great delight in hoping to get a front row seat in viewing the annihilation of a whole city and its people.  

When Jonah saw that God had withheld His punishment because the people had repented, he was more than disappointed, he was furious with God.  Jonah, like most Jews of his day, rejected Gentiles, and did not want them to have a part in their salvation.  He did not want God to show them mercy.  Jonah knew that God was a merciful God.  He had been shown mercy by God, but he did not want Gentiles to have it.  He wanted to see them destroyed.  God had always wanted the Jews to be a blessing to others by sharing His message, but for the most part, the Jewish people did not want to share God’s message, His love, or mercy to the Gentiles.  Jonah was a prime example of that.

Jonah’s anger at God and hatred towards the Gentiles was so strong that if they weren’t going to be destroyed, he wanted to die (vs 3, 8).  He had been so glad and grateful when God had saved him from the belly of the fish, but could not spare a shred of compassion to others if they were Gentiles.   God then proceeded to give Jonah an object lesson with hopes to teach Jonah.  He caused a plant with large leaves to grow quickly in order to provide Jonah with shade (vs. 6).  This was possibly a castor plant, which is a very fast-growing plant with large leaves.  Then by the next day a worm came and chewed the plant, causing it to die (vs. 7).  God caused a wind to blow, making Jonah very hot, with no shade in which to rest in.  He complained to God about the death of the plant due to the worm, saying it wasn’t right.  God used that as a lesson to him, asking why he would care about a simple plant, but have no concern about a whole city of people (vs. 9-11).

What do we see here?  Jonah was angry about the plant dying, but would not have been if the Ninevites had perished.  He wanted their damnation, but had a warped and overly exaggerated concern for a plant he neither made nor planted.   Are we any different?  We get more upset when something we think is precious is broken, but do we weep over the lost in our neighborhood?  Are there any people, either individual people or a whole race or ethnic group, that we would refuse to witness to, and would rather see damned by God?  Or do we think that there are any people who are beyond redemption and God’s mercy?  God is more merciful than we  could ever imagine (vs. 10-11).  He is not willing that anyone should perish, regardless of who they are or what race they are from.  His desire is that they hear the message of salvation and turn to Him (II Peter 3:9).  Let’s not be like Jonah, but instead show love and concern for the souls of everyone, and be sensitive and obedient to His Word.