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Jonah's Anger; God's Mercy (Jonah 4)- Pastor Kenneth Collins Maple · Fairview Presbyterian Church (PCA) Sermons

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Let us take our Bibles now and open up to the
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fourth chapter of the book of Jonah. Jonah chapter
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four. As we come to the conclusion of this book,
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we've seen the ups, and the downs of Jonah. Seems
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like mostly down. But we also saw and will continue
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to see the Lord doing something wonderful for
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the people of Nineveh, showing his mercy to them
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as he has shown mercy to us. Let's read this
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chapter, Jonah 4. But it displeased Jonah exceedingly.
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And he prayed to the Lord and said, O Lord, is
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not this what I said when I was yet in my country?
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That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish.
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For I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful,
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slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love
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and relenting from disaster. Therefore now, O
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Lord, please take my life from me. For it is
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better for me to die than to live. And the Lord
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said, do you do well to be angry? Jonah went
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out of the city and sat to the east of the city
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and made a booth for himself there. He sat under
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it in the shade till he should see what would
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become of the city. Now the Lord God appointed
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a plant and made it come up over Jonah. that
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it might be a shade over his head to save him
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from his discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly
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glad because of the plant. But when dawn came
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up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked
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the plant so that it withered. When the sun rose,
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God appointed a scorching east wind and the sun
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beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was
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faint and he asked that he might die. and said,
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it is better for me to die than to live. But
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God said to Jonah, do you do well to be angry
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for the plant? And he said, yes, I do well to
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be angry, angry enough to die. And the Lord said,
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you pity the plant for which you did not labor,
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nor did you make it grow, which came into being
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in a night and perish in a night. And should
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I not? pity Nineveh, that great city in which
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there are more than 120 ,000 persons who do not
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know the right hand from their left and also
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much cattle. This is God's word. Let's pray.
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Father, we thank you for your enduring word that
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truly does last forever. Father, as we look at
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this text, we might have questions. We want to
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know how do we apply this? What do we do with
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this? But the number one thing we see here is
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that you are gracious and merciful, slow to anger
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and abounding in steadfast love. Would you work
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that truth even deeper down into our hearts as
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we study this text? We pray it in Christ's name.
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Amen. If you're ever at trivia night, or maybe
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game night with some friends, or if you ever
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happen to be on Jeopardy, if the question comes,
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I don't think they'd ask this question, but if
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the question comes, which two books of the Bible
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end in a question, the answer would be this one,
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Jonah and Nahum. Jonah and Nahum both end in
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a question. And I don't know if that's especially
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significant, but we do notice the similarity
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between those two books. They're both about Nineveh,
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right? And this question right here at the end
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posed by the Lord Himself, you'll notice here
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Jonah doesn't answer that last question, does
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he? We don't get Jonah's answer here. And I believe
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the reason that we don't get Jonah's answer here
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is because the author of the book of Jonah is
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much more interested in your response than Jonah's.
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And so we need to consider this last question.
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We need to consider the pity and the mercy of
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God, right? The answer should be obvious. Should
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not I pity Nineveh? It's a rhetorical question,
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but we can still answer it, can't we? God can
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be merciful on whoever he wants to be merciful
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upon. But I also want us to think about this.
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Who are the people in our lives that we think
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shouldn't have the mercy of God? Who are the
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countries, the people groups? that we think,
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God, you don't need to bother with them. But
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even more than that, who are the people in our
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environments, in our circles, that we think shouldn't
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have the mercy of God? I want us to see God's
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mercy and His grace and His love are wider than
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we can ever imagine. That's what this text shows
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us today. Usually I try and give you some points
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to organize the sermon. Today I'm just gonna
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go verse by verse. There's a lot of action in
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here, so let's look at verse one. It displeased
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Jonah exceedingly and he was angry. As a preacher,
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and some of you will understand this, as you
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might be teachers, you might be people who share
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the gospel with others, I hope that you do, but
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as a preacher, This is befuddling. This is perplexing.
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Jonah proclaims the word of God. The people listen
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to it. They believe and repent. And then Jonah
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gets mad about that. Can you imagine that? What
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if everybody that you told the gospel to believed
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it? Isn't that what we want? Right? I'm like,
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Jonah, like, what is wrong with you? This is
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the greatest thing ever. The people believed
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and God relented. We're all begging people to
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believe and repent. Jonah gets it. The people
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get it and Jonah gets mad. This reveals Jonah's
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heart, doesn't it? Jonah never wanted Nineveh
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to repent. Jonah never wanted God to relent.
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And the wording of this is interesting too, as
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you look there in verse one. That word for displeasure.
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Sometimes that word actually means evil. What
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Jonah feels here is that what God did was evil.
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He finds what the Lord did in saving the Ninevites
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to be evil. He's asking, how could you do this,
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Lord? How could you spare them? This is intense
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anger from Jonah. This is hot anger. We might
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say here that Jonah is hopping mad. He is so
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angry. This may remind us of the parable of the
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unforgiving servant. I wonder if you remember
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that. Maybe you remember what precipitated the
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parable. Peter comes to Jesus and says, How many
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times do I gotta forgive? Is it seven? Seven's
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a good biblical number. Do I gotta forgive seven
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times? I think that sounds pretty generous, right?
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What does Jesus do? He multiplies it by 10. He
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is saying, no, it's much more than that. You
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have to keep on forgiving people because you
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have been forgiven in Christ by me, right? And
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so then Jesus tells this parable. There was a
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king who wished to settle accounts with his servants,
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and one of the king's servants was in debt up
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to his eyeballs. I mean, the amount, and this
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is in Matthew 18, the amount that the servant
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owed, 10 ,000 talents, which is an astronomical
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figure. That's how much he was in debt. Basically,
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that servant is never paying that money back.
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It's almost impossible to conceive how he got
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in that much debt. So the servant who is in that
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much debt, he does the only thing he can possibly
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do, which is to go to the king and plead for
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mercy, plead for forgiveness. And you know what
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the king does? He forgives him, right? Hallelujah,
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that's great. But what happens next after that?
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The forgiven servant is also owed money by another
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servant. And the amount that is owed there is
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much smaller, 100 denarii. It's not nothing,
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but it's a blip on the radar compared to 10 ,000
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talents. So the first servant goes to the second
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servant and says, pay me. The text actually says
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that he chokes him and says, pay me what you
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owe. And he throws that servant in prison. Can
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you imagine that, that kind of debt being forgiven?
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And then what do you do as you are forgiven?
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You go and demand payment and perform physical
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violence upon somebody else. This is Jonah. Jonah
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who receives mercy, but he's mad when other people
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get it, especially the people of Nineveh. He's
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happy to receive it, but he calls it evil when
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God shows it to others. And what does all this
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do? This leads Jonah to pray. What a funny thing
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to do in verse two. We have been wanting Jonah
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to pray. He finally prayed in chapter two. There
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in chapter 2 he prayed out of gratitude. He prayed
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with Thanksgiving, but here he prays out of anger
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and he reveals what we already know about him.
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He reveals the very reason that he fled from
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God in the first place. The reason he fled is
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because of one of the most wonderful statements
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in all of Scripture. Look there at verse 2. I
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knew That you are a gracious God and merciful
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Slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love
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and relenting from disaster Imagine that's the
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reason that Jonah ran away Because God is this
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This is kind of a refrain that's used throughout
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scripture we see this many times Who would have
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ever thought that this wonderful refrain of scripture?
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would be read or would be said in a negative
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way. Think back to the King of Nineveh. The King
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of Nineveh's hope would be that God is what is
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there in verse two. But Jonah, not so. Jonah
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is angry about it. So we might say this, Jonah
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knows that God is gracious and merciful, meaning
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Jonah's got good theology, but he's got a bad
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heart. He's got good theology, but he's got a
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bad heart. His theology is on point, but his
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heart is not. But before we start pointing fingers
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at Jonah and telling him how bad of a prophet
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he is, let's recognize this, that we can be like
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this too. We can be like this too where we know
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our theology pretty well, but our hearts are
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not in it. If you are not applying your theology,
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you're missing the point. This is like the Pharisees,
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if you remember this in Jesus's time. The Pharisees
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were known for being religious leaders, right?
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But their hearts were not in the right place.
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The study of theology should bring us to doxology.
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The study of theology should bring us to doxology.
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meaning the study of theology should help us
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to worship. And the study of theology should
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help us to more and more be like God. The study
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of the scriptures should have us living the scriptures.
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But Jonah is a prophet of God who looks nothing
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in this moment like God. To me, his prayer sounds
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a lot like, do you remember the Pharisee? who
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went up to the temple to pray, and there was
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the tax collector there. And what did the Pharisee
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pray to God? He said, thank you, Lord, that I'm
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not like that guy. That's the worst prayer. This
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one's not much better, is it? Can you imagine
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being upset with God for his mercy and for his
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grace? And so he continues his prayer in verse
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three, his request, take my life. Jonah would
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rather die than to see Nineveh live. He says
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he's better off dead than alive. This is severe
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hatred for the people of Nineveh. A few weeks
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ago I talked about living in Europe and seeing
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the disdain, the hatred for the Roma population,
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for the gypsy population, about how they are
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shunned. And they do bring some of that upon
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themselves. But let's ask the question here in
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our context right here. Fountain Inn, South Carolina.
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Who are the people that we shun? Who are the
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people that we despise? Who are the people that
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we believe should not have the mercy of God?
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And as maybe you're wondering who that is, and
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I hope it's tough for that to come to mind. We
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don't want that. But let's also remember to whom
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Jesus ministered, right? Jesus ministered to
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these sorts of people. Jesus touched the people
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that others wouldn't touch. Jesus ate with people
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that other people would not eat with. Jesus healed
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people that others would have said just leave
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them alone. And so who is it for us? Who are
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the Ninevites for us? And then remember this.
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You are a recipient of God's mercy. It's only
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by His grace that you are freed from your former
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self, and now you are a child of God. It's only
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by His grace that you are not shunned by society.
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But maybe today, you even think that you are
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shunned by society. Maybe you feel like you're
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on the outcast. that nobody wants you, no one
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wants to be near you. Maybe, as I said last week,
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maybe you feel like God doesn't love you anymore,
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like he's got no use for you anymore. Christian,
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I want you to know this today, that you are everything
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in God's eyes. I want you to know how much he
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loves you. Let's let the love of God shine through
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this passage. that he shows that kind of love
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and mercy and compassion and grace on the people
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of Nineveh. And this is what the Lord is showing
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us. This is what the Lord is showing Jonah. Look
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at verse four. The Lord asks this important question.
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Do you do well to be angry? We might say it this
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way. Are you justified in being this mad? And
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this is the first of three questions that the
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Lord asks. You would have thought that one question
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would have been enough. Friends, if God asks
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you, are you justified in being this angry? The
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answer is no. If God's not mad about it, you
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shouldn't be either. I like how Calvin put it.
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John Calvin said, God shows Jonah how far he
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has fallen. by allowing himself to be angry.
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It is a sad thing when a creature rises up against
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God and starts arguing with him. But that was
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Jonah's state of mind. Now, with this first question,
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we don't see Jonah's response, do we? We only
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see his action. What does he do? He leaves the
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city. He gets out of there. Why? Why is Jonah
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getting out of Nineveh? Well, he wants a front
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row seat just in case God changes his mind. Jonah
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wants to see the fireworks. Jonah is the sort
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of person who watches NASCAR for the crashes.
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That's who he is. And so he goes out of the city
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and he makes a booth for shade. Now, I think
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that this is important. If we were to go to Deuteronomy,
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you could turn there if you wish. Deuteronomy
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chapter 16, verses 13 through 14, we perhaps
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may be seeing something similar to what Jonah
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made and sat in. Certainly the word booth may
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have us thinking of this. Deuteronomy 16, 13
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through 14, says, You shall keep the feast of
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booths seven days when you have gathered in the
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produce from your threshing floor and your wine
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press. You shall rejoice in your feast, you and
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your son and your daughter, your male servant
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and your female servant, the Levite, the sojourner,
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the fatherless, and the widow who are within
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your towns. What was the purpose of the feast
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of booths for those wandering Israelites in the
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wilderness? The point of it was to care for those
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who were in need of mercy. I can't say it definitively,
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but is it possible that Jonah makes a booth like
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that, a booth made to recall the mercy of God?
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This is what Jonah sits in, right? And while
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he's sitting there, he's ignoring the very purpose
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for those booths and he is ignoring who God truly
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is. He perhaps is pleading with God for harm
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to come upon the Ninevites while sitting in a
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structure designed to recall the mercy of God.
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And so he sits there and he waits. And while
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he is waiting, God does something nice. Look
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in verse six. God makes a plant to come up for
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shade Apparently the booth is not enough for
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shade. So once again, we see God Working through
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his creation just like Jonah or just like God
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appointed the fish to swallow Jonah and spit
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him out Here we see something else appointed
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by God this plant to deliver Jonah and when it
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says deliverance then we should understand that
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Jonah is not just mildly uncomfortable. Jonah
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is really suffering under heat. The booth was
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not enough. And so God brings about this plant
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and Jonah is happy with the extra shade. He welcomes
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the kindness of God here. But once again, he
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welcomes it, but he is upset when the Ninevites
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get it. But what happens when God removes that
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kindness? Look in verse seven. God appoints,
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there's that word again, he appoints the worm
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to attack the plant. And so the plant withers
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just as quickly as it came, showing us that God
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gives and God takes away, right? So we should
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note, friends, that the blessings that we have,
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they are not ours. The blessings that we have,
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we don't own them. They are given to us by the
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Lord and so we ought to be thankful for our blessings
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from God and we should be willing to share these
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blessings and so in verse 8 The Sun rises God
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appoints. There's that word again appoints the
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scorching east wind The Sun is beating down on
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Jonah's head. I Was playing basketball with some
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friends yesterday and three of them are bald
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and they were all complaining about their sunburns
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on their head. And so Jonah is getting really
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hot here. He's very uncomfortable. And I like
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what John MacArthur says here. The Lord's choice
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of discipline was fitting. Jonah had been hot
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with anger having hoped to see the fiery destruction
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of the city. So God exposed Jonah to the heat
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of his judgment. the scathing wind and the searing
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heat tormented him and so once again you see
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from Jonah his request from God God let me die
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now why doesn't Jonah just ask again for the
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mercy of God why doesn't Jonah just pray and
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say Lord you brought that plan I'd sure like
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to have that again well wouldn't it be very hard
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to ask for God's mercy knowing how much He has
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shown his hatred of it for other people. And
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so he doesn't ask for the plant again. He asks
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for death. Now, through it all, God's really
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teaching Jonah a lesson, isn't he? For the first
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question that God asked was about Jonah being
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upset over God's mercy. But now. He says, are
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you justified in anger about the plan? And so
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what does God do? He turns the tables. Jonah
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was angry about showing about God showing mercy,
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but now he is angry about God showing not showing
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the mercy to him. Right. And so after all of
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this, maybe hopefully prayerfully, he's learned
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his lesson. You see in verse 10. Jonah doesn't
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have anything else to say, does he? Jonah, to
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me, he's a lot like Job. If you remember the
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book of Job, there's a lot of back and forth,
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and finally God starts speaking, Jonah speaks
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back, and then God shares his reasoning, and
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then Job stops talking. Here we do not see Jonah
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talking anymore. There's nothing more to say.
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God connects the dots, not just of this chapter,
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but God connects the dots of the whole book.
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One commentator says here, the pagan captain
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was concerned that people not perish. The pagan
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sailors concerned that people's not perish. The
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pagan king was concerned that people not perish.
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Finally, Jonah is concerned about perishing,
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but concerned about a plant perishing, not a
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people. ironic you see Job as we know did nothing
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to make that plant grow did he it wasn't his
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it was all of God's mercy and yet he's upset
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about the loss and the lesson here is this unlike
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Jonah God did make the people of Nineveh didn't
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he they do belong to him and he can have mercy
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on them if he chooses and today You have faith
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in Jesus Christ if you have been brought to repentance
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by the mercy of God friends It is truly all of
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his mercy. You might remember Romans chapter
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5 verse 6 for while We were still weak at the
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right time Christ died for the ungodly Friends,
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you know this about Jesus. Jesus is the embodiment
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of of the mercy of God. Were it not for Christ,
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we'd be under the wrath of God. We would be under
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God's judgment. What is stated though in verse
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two is true. The Lord is gracious and merciful,
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slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
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This is the character of God. God showers us
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with grace upon grace. In just a minute. We're
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gonna sing a new hymn And I want you to really
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think about the words of it Just the beginning
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this tells us more of the character of God For
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it begins here is love vast as the ocean Loving
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kindness as the flood when the prince of life
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our ransom shed for us his precious blood Friends,
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what is the right response to the mercy of God?
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It's what we're doing right here, right now.
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The right response to the mercy of God is to
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worship. But what is the right response to God's
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mercy and the repentance of others? How should
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we feel when other people come to faith in Jesus
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Christ? Look no further than heaven. For perhaps
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you remember Luke chapter 15. Luke chapter 15
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in which there is a lost coin. There's a lost
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sheep. There's a lost son. And within that chapter
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we see this twice. There will be more joy in
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heaven over one sinner who repents than over
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99 righteous persons who need no repentance.
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And that's what verse 11 shows us of Jonah chapter
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4. It explains the extent of God's mercy, the
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wideness of God's mercy, that within this book
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the mercy and the grace of God, the kindness
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of God, encompasses the entire population and
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the animals. And heaven loves it. Heaven loves
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this. And so we too must thank God for mercy.
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Not just for us But thank God for his mercy that
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he shows to all kinds of people in all kinds
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of places Let us be vessels of God's mercy showing
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God's loving kindness. Let us be those who reach
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out to our communities proclaiming salvation
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in the name of Jesus Christ alone and As the
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book of Jonah ends with a question I want to
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leave you with two questions to ponder today.
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Ponder it today, ponder it this week. The first
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question is, do you know the mercy of God in
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Christ? And the second question is, what are
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you going to do about it?