WEBVTT 00:00:01.610 --> 00:00:06.929 Let us take our Bibles now and open up to the 00:00:06.929 --> 00:00:17.989 fourth chapter of the book of Jonah. Jonah chapter 00:00:17.989 --> 00:00:24.929 four. As we come to the conclusion of this book, 00:00:26.469 --> 00:00:33.200 we've seen the ups, and the downs of Jonah. Seems 00:00:33.200 --> 00:00:37.920 like mostly down. But we also saw and will continue 00:00:37.920 --> 00:00:42.020 to see the Lord doing something wonderful for 00:00:42.020 --> 00:00:46.259 the people of Nineveh, showing his mercy to them 00:00:46.259 --> 00:00:50.420 as he has shown mercy to us. Let's read this 00:00:50.420 --> 00:00:58.859 chapter, Jonah 4. But it displeased Jonah exceedingly. 00:01:00.729 --> 00:01:05.290 And he prayed to the Lord and said, O Lord, is 00:01:05.290 --> 00:01:08.349 not this what I said when I was yet in my country? 00:01:09.129 --> 00:01:12.709 That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish. 00:01:12.969 --> 00:01:17.469 For I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, 00:01:18.370 --> 00:01:21.750 slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love 00:01:21.750 --> 00:01:25.430 and relenting from disaster. Therefore now, O 00:01:25.430 --> 00:01:30.079 Lord, please take my life from me. For it is 00:01:30.079 --> 00:01:34.379 better for me to die than to live. And the Lord 00:01:34.379 --> 00:01:39.439 said, do you do well to be angry? Jonah went 00:01:39.439 --> 00:01:43.359 out of the city and sat to the east of the city 00:01:43.359 --> 00:01:47.180 and made a booth for himself there. He sat under 00:01:47.180 --> 00:01:50.439 it in the shade till he should see what would 00:01:50.439 --> 00:01:53.260 become of the city. Now the Lord God appointed 00:01:53.260 --> 00:01:56.909 a plant and made it come up over Jonah. that 00:01:56.909 --> 00:02:00.250 it might be a shade over his head to save him 00:02:00.250 --> 00:02:04.689 from his discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly 00:02:04.689 --> 00:02:08.729 glad because of the plant. But when dawn came 00:02:08.729 --> 00:02:12.330 up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked 00:02:12.330 --> 00:02:16.150 the plant so that it withered. When the sun rose, 00:02:16.189 --> 00:02:19.870 God appointed a scorching east wind and the sun 00:02:19.870 --> 00:02:22.270 beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was 00:02:22.270 --> 00:02:26.729 faint and he asked that he might die. and said, 00:02:28.030 --> 00:02:32.469 it is better for me to die than to live. But 00:02:32.469 --> 00:02:35.490 God said to Jonah, do you do well to be angry 00:02:35.490 --> 00:02:38.590 for the plant? And he said, yes, I do well to 00:02:38.590 --> 00:02:43.229 be angry, angry enough to die. And the Lord said, 00:02:43.849 --> 00:02:47.449 you pity the plant for which you did not labor, 00:02:48.169 --> 00:02:51.330 nor did you make it grow, which came into being 00:02:51.330 --> 00:02:54.389 in a night and perish in a night. And should 00:02:54.389 --> 00:02:59.020 I not? pity Nineveh, that great city in which 00:02:59.020 --> 00:03:03.360 there are more than 120 ,000 persons who do not 00:03:03.360 --> 00:03:05.840 know the right hand from their left and also 00:03:05.840 --> 00:03:10.819 much cattle. This is God's word. Let's pray. 00:03:12.699 --> 00:03:15.360 Father, we thank you for your enduring word that 00:03:15.360 --> 00:03:19.800 truly does last forever. Father, as we look at 00:03:19.800 --> 00:03:23.759 this text, we might have questions. We want to 00:03:23.759 --> 00:03:26.360 know how do we apply this? What do we do with 00:03:26.360 --> 00:03:30.099 this? But the number one thing we see here is 00:03:30.099 --> 00:03:34.199 that you are gracious and merciful, slow to anger 00:03:34.199 --> 00:03:36.900 and abounding in steadfast love. Would you work 00:03:36.900 --> 00:03:41.039 that truth even deeper down into our hearts as 00:03:41.039 --> 00:03:43.659 we study this text? We pray it in Christ's name. 00:03:43.719 --> 00:03:52.110 Amen. If you're ever at trivia night, or maybe 00:03:52.110 --> 00:03:54.590 game night with some friends, or if you ever 00:03:54.590 --> 00:03:59.689 happen to be on Jeopardy, if the question comes, 00:04:01.330 --> 00:04:03.289 I don't think they'd ask this question, but if 00:04:03.289 --> 00:04:06.629 the question comes, which two books of the Bible 00:04:06.629 --> 00:04:12.210 end in a question, the answer would be this one, 00:04:12.449 --> 00:04:17.949 Jonah and Nahum. Jonah and Nahum both end in 00:04:17.949 --> 00:04:20.329 a question. And I don't know if that's especially 00:04:20.329 --> 00:04:23.810 significant, but we do notice the similarity 00:04:23.810 --> 00:04:28.050 between those two books. They're both about Nineveh, 00:04:28.069 --> 00:04:31.689 right? And this question right here at the end 00:04:31.689 --> 00:04:37.009 posed by the Lord Himself, you'll notice here 00:04:37.009 --> 00:04:39.889 Jonah doesn't answer that last question, does 00:04:39.889 --> 00:04:44.259 he? We don't get Jonah's answer here. And I believe 00:04:44.259 --> 00:04:46.879 the reason that we don't get Jonah's answer here 00:04:46.879 --> 00:04:50.439 is because the author of the book of Jonah is 00:04:50.439 --> 00:04:56.220 much more interested in your response than Jonah's. 00:04:56.899 --> 00:04:59.379 And so we need to consider this last question. 00:04:59.939 --> 00:05:02.879 We need to consider the pity and the mercy of 00:05:02.879 --> 00:05:07.519 God, right? The answer should be obvious. Should 00:05:07.519 --> 00:05:11.410 not I pity Nineveh? It's a rhetorical question, 00:05:11.449 --> 00:05:15.110 but we can still answer it, can't we? God can 00:05:15.110 --> 00:05:17.910 be merciful on whoever he wants to be merciful 00:05:17.910 --> 00:05:22.350 upon. But I also want us to think about this. 00:05:24.810 --> 00:05:28.790 Who are the people in our lives that we think 00:05:28.790 --> 00:05:35.209 shouldn't have the mercy of God? Who are the 00:05:35.209 --> 00:05:40.569 countries, the people groups? that we think, 00:05:40.949 --> 00:05:44.370 God, you don't need to bother with them. But 00:05:44.370 --> 00:05:47.329 even more than that, who are the people in our 00:05:47.329 --> 00:05:51.910 environments, in our circles, that we think shouldn't 00:05:51.910 --> 00:05:57.230 have the mercy of God? I want us to see God's 00:05:57.230 --> 00:06:01.149 mercy and His grace and His love are wider than 00:06:01.149 --> 00:06:04.670 we can ever imagine. That's what this text shows 00:06:04.670 --> 00:06:10.350 us today. Usually I try and give you some points 00:06:10.350 --> 00:06:14.110 to organize the sermon. Today I'm just gonna 00:06:14.110 --> 00:06:16.430 go verse by verse. There's a lot of action in 00:06:16.430 --> 00:06:21.129 here, so let's look at verse one. It displeased 00:06:21.129 --> 00:06:25.529 Jonah exceedingly and he was angry. As a preacher, 00:06:26.730 --> 00:06:29.069 and some of you will understand this, as you 00:06:29.069 --> 00:06:32.209 might be teachers, you might be people who share 00:06:32.209 --> 00:06:34.790 the gospel with others, I hope that you do, but 00:06:34.790 --> 00:06:39.029 as a preacher, This is befuddling. This is perplexing. 00:06:40.310 --> 00:06:44.209 Jonah proclaims the word of God. The people listen 00:06:44.209 --> 00:06:47.990 to it. They believe and repent. And then Jonah 00:06:47.990 --> 00:06:51.490 gets mad about that. Can you imagine that? What 00:06:51.490 --> 00:06:54.709 if everybody that you told the gospel to believed 00:06:54.709 --> 00:06:58.430 it? Isn't that what we want? Right? I'm like, 00:06:58.430 --> 00:07:01.670 Jonah, like, what is wrong with you? This is 00:07:01.670 --> 00:07:05.959 the greatest thing ever. The people believed 00:07:05.959 --> 00:07:11.360 and God relented. We're all begging people to 00:07:11.360 --> 00:07:15.259 believe and repent. Jonah gets it. The people 00:07:15.259 --> 00:07:18.379 get it and Jonah gets mad. This reveals Jonah's 00:07:18.379 --> 00:07:21.339 heart, doesn't it? Jonah never wanted Nineveh 00:07:21.339 --> 00:07:25.019 to repent. Jonah never wanted God to relent. 00:07:25.579 --> 00:07:28.060 And the wording of this is interesting too, as 00:07:28.060 --> 00:07:32.220 you look there in verse one. That word for displeasure. 00:07:33.899 --> 00:07:40.220 Sometimes that word actually means evil. What 00:07:40.220 --> 00:07:45.399 Jonah feels here is that what God did was evil. 00:07:47.199 --> 00:07:50.740 He finds what the Lord did in saving the Ninevites 00:07:50.740 --> 00:07:53.980 to be evil. He's asking, how could you do this, 00:07:53.980 --> 00:07:59.180 Lord? How could you spare them? This is intense 00:07:59.180 --> 00:08:02.920 anger from Jonah. This is hot anger. We might 00:08:02.920 --> 00:08:08.800 say here that Jonah is hopping mad. He is so 00:08:08.800 --> 00:08:13.959 angry. This may remind us of the parable of the 00:08:13.959 --> 00:08:16.379 unforgiving servant. I wonder if you remember 00:08:16.379 --> 00:08:19.279 that. Maybe you remember what precipitated the 00:08:19.279 --> 00:08:25.560 parable. Peter comes to Jesus and says, How many 00:08:25.560 --> 00:08:30.300 times do I gotta forgive? Is it seven? Seven's 00:08:30.300 --> 00:08:33.200 a good biblical number. Do I gotta forgive seven 00:08:33.200 --> 00:08:36.080 times? I think that sounds pretty generous, right? 00:08:36.960 --> 00:08:41.340 What does Jesus do? He multiplies it by 10. He 00:08:41.340 --> 00:08:44.000 is saying, no, it's much more than that. You 00:08:44.000 --> 00:08:46.399 have to keep on forgiving people because you 00:08:46.399 --> 00:08:52.320 have been forgiven in Christ by me, right? And 00:08:52.320 --> 00:08:55.799 so then Jesus tells this parable. There was a 00:08:55.799 --> 00:08:59.279 king who wished to settle accounts with his servants, 00:08:59.879 --> 00:09:03.139 and one of the king's servants was in debt up 00:09:03.139 --> 00:09:06.960 to his eyeballs. I mean, the amount, and this 00:09:06.960 --> 00:09:09.519 is in Matthew 18, the amount that the servant 00:09:09.519 --> 00:09:15.720 owed, 10 ,000 talents, which is an astronomical 00:09:15.720 --> 00:09:20.340 figure. That's how much he was in debt. Basically, 00:09:20.639 --> 00:09:23.480 that servant is never paying that money back. 00:09:23.879 --> 00:09:27.659 It's almost impossible to conceive how he got 00:09:27.659 --> 00:09:32.879 in that much debt. So the servant who is in that 00:09:32.879 --> 00:09:35.360 much debt, he does the only thing he can possibly 00:09:35.360 --> 00:09:40.440 do, which is to go to the king and plead for 00:09:40.440 --> 00:09:44.559 mercy, plead for forgiveness. And you know what 00:09:44.559 --> 00:09:49.200 the king does? He forgives him, right? Hallelujah, 00:09:49.299 --> 00:09:53.539 that's great. But what happens next after that? 00:09:55.039 --> 00:10:01.120 The forgiven servant is also owed money by another 00:10:01.120 --> 00:10:04.360 servant. And the amount that is owed there is 00:10:04.360 --> 00:10:07.639 much smaller, 100 denarii. It's not nothing, 00:10:07.700 --> 00:10:10.820 but it's a blip on the radar compared to 10 ,000 00:10:10.820 --> 00:10:14.799 talents. So the first servant goes to the second 00:10:14.799 --> 00:10:19.090 servant and says, pay me. The text actually says 00:10:19.090 --> 00:10:23.049 that he chokes him and says, pay me what you 00:10:23.049 --> 00:10:29.149 owe. And he throws that servant in prison. Can 00:10:29.149 --> 00:10:35.330 you imagine that, that kind of debt being forgiven? 00:10:36.409 --> 00:10:38.669 And then what do you do as you are forgiven? 00:10:39.750 --> 00:10:43.929 You go and demand payment and perform physical 00:10:43.929 --> 00:10:50.629 violence upon somebody else. This is Jonah. Jonah 00:10:50.629 --> 00:10:54.309 who receives mercy, but he's mad when other people 00:10:54.309 --> 00:10:58.389 get it, especially the people of Nineveh. He's 00:10:58.389 --> 00:11:01.529 happy to receive it, but he calls it evil when 00:11:01.529 --> 00:11:04.690 God shows it to others. And what does all this 00:11:04.690 --> 00:11:08.889 do? This leads Jonah to pray. What a funny thing 00:11:08.889 --> 00:11:13.730 to do in verse two. We have been wanting Jonah 00:11:13.730 --> 00:11:18.029 to pray. He finally prayed in chapter two. There 00:11:18.029 --> 00:11:20.690 in chapter 2 he prayed out of gratitude. He prayed 00:11:20.690 --> 00:11:25.210 with Thanksgiving, but here he prays out of anger 00:11:25.210 --> 00:11:28.210 and he reveals what we already know about him. 00:11:28.250 --> 00:11:31.509 He reveals the very reason that he fled from 00:11:31.509 --> 00:11:36.309 God in the first place. The reason he fled is 00:11:36.309 --> 00:11:38.429 because of one of the most wonderful statements 00:11:38.429 --> 00:11:43.870 in all of Scripture. Look there at verse 2. I 00:11:43.870 --> 00:11:48.600 knew That you are a gracious God and merciful 00:11:48.600 --> 00:11:52.200 Slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love 00:11:52.200 --> 00:11:55.679 and relenting from disaster Imagine that's the 00:11:55.679 --> 00:12:00.159 reason that Jonah ran away Because God is this 00:12:00.159 --> 00:12:05.320 This is kind of a refrain that's used throughout 00:12:05.320 --> 00:12:09.139 scripture we see this many times Who would have 00:12:09.139 --> 00:12:12.460 ever thought that this wonderful refrain of scripture? 00:12:12.669 --> 00:12:16.250 would be read or would be said in a negative 00:12:16.250 --> 00:12:22.529 way. Think back to the King of Nineveh. The King 00:12:22.529 --> 00:12:26.690 of Nineveh's hope would be that God is what is 00:12:26.690 --> 00:12:29.750 there in verse two. But Jonah, not so. Jonah 00:12:29.750 --> 00:12:33.230 is angry about it. So we might say this, Jonah 00:12:33.230 --> 00:12:36.570 knows that God is gracious and merciful, meaning 00:12:36.570 --> 00:12:41.549 Jonah's got good theology, but he's got a bad 00:12:41.549 --> 00:12:45.500 heart. He's got good theology, but he's got a 00:12:45.500 --> 00:12:48.200 bad heart. His theology is on point, but his 00:12:48.200 --> 00:12:52.460 heart is not. But before we start pointing fingers 00:12:52.460 --> 00:12:54.960 at Jonah and telling him how bad of a prophet 00:12:54.960 --> 00:13:00.019 he is, let's recognize this, that we can be like 00:13:00.019 --> 00:13:04.860 this too. We can be like this too where we know 00:13:04.860 --> 00:13:08.840 our theology pretty well, but our hearts are 00:13:08.840 --> 00:13:13.389 not in it. If you are not applying your theology, 00:13:14.529 --> 00:13:17.809 you're missing the point. This is like the Pharisees, 00:13:17.809 --> 00:13:20.750 if you remember this in Jesus's time. The Pharisees 00:13:20.750 --> 00:13:24.450 were known for being religious leaders, right? 00:13:25.909 --> 00:13:28.350 But their hearts were not in the right place. 00:13:30.389 --> 00:13:35.789 The study of theology should bring us to doxology. 00:13:36.549 --> 00:13:39.710 The study of theology should bring us to doxology. 00:13:39.899 --> 00:13:42.220 meaning the study of theology should help us 00:13:42.220 --> 00:13:46.779 to worship. And the study of theology should 00:13:46.779 --> 00:13:51.360 help us to more and more be like God. The study 00:13:51.360 --> 00:13:54.360 of the scriptures should have us living the scriptures. 00:13:54.720 --> 00:13:57.600 But Jonah is a prophet of God who looks nothing 00:13:57.600 --> 00:14:02.980 in this moment like God. To me, his prayer sounds 00:14:02.980 --> 00:14:05.710 a lot like, do you remember the Pharisee? who 00:14:05.710 --> 00:14:07.950 went up to the temple to pray, and there was 00:14:07.950 --> 00:14:10.549 the tax collector there. And what did the Pharisee 00:14:10.549 --> 00:14:13.789 pray to God? He said, thank you, Lord, that I'm 00:14:13.789 --> 00:14:18.029 not like that guy. That's the worst prayer. This 00:14:18.029 --> 00:14:21.149 one's not much better, is it? Can you imagine 00:14:21.149 --> 00:14:25.669 being upset with God for his mercy and for his 00:14:25.669 --> 00:14:29.230 grace? And so he continues his prayer in verse 00:14:29.230 --> 00:14:34.220 three, his request, take my life. Jonah would 00:14:34.220 --> 00:14:39.120 rather die than to see Nineveh live. He says 00:14:39.120 --> 00:14:42.059 he's better off dead than alive. This is severe 00:14:42.059 --> 00:14:45.539 hatred for the people of Nineveh. A few weeks 00:14:45.539 --> 00:14:48.519 ago I talked about living in Europe and seeing 00:14:48.519 --> 00:14:51.720 the disdain, the hatred for the Roma population, 00:14:51.840 --> 00:14:55.179 for the gypsy population, about how they are 00:14:55.179 --> 00:14:56.779 shunned. And they do bring some of that upon 00:14:56.779 --> 00:15:00.480 themselves. But let's ask the question here in 00:15:00.480 --> 00:15:04.139 our context right here. Fountain Inn, South Carolina. 00:15:05.559 --> 00:15:09.179 Who are the people that we shun? Who are the 00:15:09.179 --> 00:15:12.299 people that we despise? Who are the people that 00:15:12.299 --> 00:15:15.360 we believe should not have the mercy of God? 00:15:17.440 --> 00:15:20.960 And as maybe you're wondering who that is, and 00:15:20.960 --> 00:15:22.960 I hope it's tough for that to come to mind. We 00:15:22.960 --> 00:15:27.799 don't want that. But let's also remember to whom 00:15:27.799 --> 00:15:31.960 Jesus ministered, right? Jesus ministered to 00:15:31.960 --> 00:15:34.879 these sorts of people. Jesus touched the people 00:15:34.879 --> 00:15:38.399 that others wouldn't touch. Jesus ate with people 00:15:38.399 --> 00:15:41.659 that other people would not eat with. Jesus healed 00:15:41.659 --> 00:15:43.980 people that others would have said just leave 00:15:43.980 --> 00:15:51.299 them alone. And so who is it for us? Who are 00:15:51.299 --> 00:15:56.100 the Ninevites for us? And then remember this. 00:15:56.330 --> 00:16:00.149 You are a recipient of God's mercy. It's only 00:16:00.149 --> 00:16:03.610 by His grace that you are freed from your former 00:16:03.610 --> 00:16:06.789 self, and now you are a child of God. It's only 00:16:06.789 --> 00:16:10.809 by His grace that you are not shunned by society. 00:16:12.429 --> 00:16:16.789 But maybe today, you even think that you are 00:16:16.789 --> 00:16:20.629 shunned by society. Maybe you feel like you're 00:16:20.629 --> 00:16:23.769 on the outcast. that nobody wants you, no one 00:16:23.769 --> 00:16:26.809 wants to be near you. Maybe, as I said last week, 00:16:26.950 --> 00:16:30.529 maybe you feel like God doesn't love you anymore, 00:16:30.669 --> 00:16:33.549 like he's got no use for you anymore. Christian, 00:16:34.129 --> 00:16:36.929 I want you to know this today, that you are everything 00:16:36.929 --> 00:16:40.610 in God's eyes. I want you to know how much he 00:16:40.610 --> 00:16:47.230 loves you. Let's let the love of God shine through 00:16:47.230 --> 00:16:51.379 this passage. that he shows that kind of love 00:16:51.379 --> 00:16:56.039 and mercy and compassion and grace on the people 00:16:56.039 --> 00:16:59.320 of Nineveh. And this is what the Lord is showing 00:16:59.320 --> 00:17:01.740 us. This is what the Lord is showing Jonah. Look 00:17:01.740 --> 00:17:06.519 at verse four. The Lord asks this important question. 00:17:06.880 --> 00:17:10.380 Do you do well to be angry? We might say it this 00:17:10.380 --> 00:17:14.519 way. Are you justified in being this mad? And 00:17:14.519 --> 00:17:17.000 this is the first of three questions that the 00:17:17.000 --> 00:17:20.920 Lord asks. You would have thought that one question 00:17:20.920 --> 00:17:24.119 would have been enough. Friends, if God asks 00:17:24.119 --> 00:17:27.839 you, are you justified in being this angry? The 00:17:27.839 --> 00:17:33.799 answer is no. If God's not mad about it, you 00:17:33.799 --> 00:17:39.960 shouldn't be either. I like how Calvin put it. 00:17:40.460 --> 00:17:45.119 John Calvin said, God shows Jonah how far he 00:17:45.119 --> 00:17:48.890 has fallen. by allowing himself to be angry. 00:17:49.430 --> 00:17:52.809 It is a sad thing when a creature rises up against 00:17:52.809 --> 00:17:56.809 God and starts arguing with him. But that was 00:17:56.809 --> 00:18:02.450 Jonah's state of mind. Now, with this first question, 00:18:02.529 --> 00:18:06.809 we don't see Jonah's response, do we? We only 00:18:06.809 --> 00:18:10.289 see his action. What does he do? He leaves the 00:18:10.289 --> 00:18:14.579 city. He gets out of there. Why? Why is Jonah 00:18:14.579 --> 00:18:17.079 getting out of Nineveh? Well, he wants a front 00:18:17.079 --> 00:18:22.099 row seat just in case God changes his mind. Jonah 00:18:22.099 --> 00:18:25.799 wants to see the fireworks. Jonah is the sort 00:18:25.799 --> 00:18:28.660 of person who watches NASCAR for the crashes. 00:18:30.019 --> 00:18:33.299 That's who he is. And so he goes out of the city 00:18:33.299 --> 00:18:38.579 and he makes a booth for shade. Now, I think 00:18:38.579 --> 00:18:43.690 that this is important. If we were to go to Deuteronomy, 00:18:43.869 --> 00:18:47.029 you could turn there if you wish. Deuteronomy 00:18:47.029 --> 00:18:52.230 chapter 16, verses 13 through 14, we perhaps 00:18:52.230 --> 00:18:56.950 may be seeing something similar to what Jonah 00:18:56.950 --> 00:19:03.069 made and sat in. Certainly the word booth may 00:19:03.069 --> 00:19:08.210 have us thinking of this. Deuteronomy 16, 13 00:19:08.210 --> 00:19:15.980 through 14, says, You shall keep the feast of 00:19:15.980 --> 00:19:20.779 booths seven days when you have gathered in the 00:19:20.779 --> 00:19:23.839 produce from your threshing floor and your wine 00:19:23.839 --> 00:19:28.680 press. You shall rejoice in your feast, you and 00:19:28.680 --> 00:19:32.299 your son and your daughter, your male servant 00:19:32.299 --> 00:19:36.599 and your female servant, the Levite, the sojourner, 00:19:37.059 --> 00:19:40.940 the fatherless, and the widow who are within 00:19:40.940 --> 00:19:45.529 your towns. What was the purpose of the feast 00:19:45.529 --> 00:19:49.329 of booths for those wandering Israelites in the 00:19:49.329 --> 00:19:54.970 wilderness? The point of it was to care for those 00:19:54.970 --> 00:20:01.109 who were in need of mercy. I can't say it definitively, 00:20:01.369 --> 00:20:04.930 but is it possible that Jonah makes a booth like 00:20:04.930 --> 00:20:07.890 that, a booth made to recall the mercy of God? 00:20:08.190 --> 00:20:12.549 This is what Jonah sits in, right? And while 00:20:12.549 --> 00:20:16.490 he's sitting there, he's ignoring the very purpose 00:20:16.490 --> 00:20:20.210 for those booths and he is ignoring who God truly 00:20:20.210 --> 00:20:24.250 is. He perhaps is pleading with God for harm 00:20:24.250 --> 00:20:27.369 to come upon the Ninevites while sitting in a 00:20:27.369 --> 00:20:29.890 structure designed to recall the mercy of God. 00:20:30.430 --> 00:20:33.750 And so he sits there and he waits. And while 00:20:33.750 --> 00:20:37.170 he is waiting, God does something nice. Look 00:20:37.170 --> 00:20:42.529 in verse six. God makes a plant to come up for 00:20:42.529 --> 00:20:45.690 shade Apparently the booth is not enough for 00:20:45.690 --> 00:20:49.809 shade. So once again, we see God Working through 00:20:49.809 --> 00:20:53.529 his creation just like Jonah or just like God 00:20:53.529 --> 00:20:56.130 appointed the fish to swallow Jonah and spit 00:20:56.130 --> 00:20:59.170 him out Here we see something else appointed 00:20:59.170 --> 00:21:03.390 by God this plant to deliver Jonah and when it 00:21:03.390 --> 00:21:06.359 says deliverance then we should understand that 00:21:06.359 --> 00:21:10.299 Jonah is not just mildly uncomfortable. Jonah 00:21:10.299 --> 00:21:14.019 is really suffering under heat. The booth was 00:21:14.019 --> 00:21:16.700 not enough. And so God brings about this plant 00:21:16.700 --> 00:21:20.920 and Jonah is happy with the extra shade. He welcomes 00:21:20.920 --> 00:21:25.180 the kindness of God here. But once again, he 00:21:25.180 --> 00:21:28.740 welcomes it, but he is upset when the Ninevites 00:21:28.740 --> 00:21:33.440 get it. But what happens when God removes that 00:21:33.440 --> 00:21:37.849 kindness? Look in verse seven. God appoints, 00:21:37.849 --> 00:21:40.589 there's that word again, he appoints the worm 00:21:40.589 --> 00:21:44.170 to attack the plant. And so the plant withers 00:21:44.170 --> 00:21:47.829 just as quickly as it came, showing us that God 00:21:47.829 --> 00:21:53.309 gives and God takes away, right? So we should 00:21:53.309 --> 00:21:56.089 note, friends, that the blessings that we have, 00:21:56.670 --> 00:21:59.869 they are not ours. The blessings that we have, 00:21:59.970 --> 00:22:04.089 we don't own them. They are given to us by the 00:22:04.089 --> 00:22:07.210 Lord and so we ought to be thankful for our blessings 00:22:07.210 --> 00:22:10.849 from God and we should be willing to share these 00:22:10.849 --> 00:22:16.210 blessings and so in verse 8 The Sun rises God 00:22:16.210 --> 00:22:18.910 appoints. There's that word again appoints the 00:22:18.910 --> 00:22:24.730 scorching east wind The Sun is beating down on 00:22:24.730 --> 00:22:28.410 Jonah's head. I Was playing basketball with some 00:22:28.410 --> 00:22:30.869 friends yesterday and three of them are bald 00:22:31.230 --> 00:22:34.009 and they were all complaining about their sunburns 00:22:34.009 --> 00:22:37.150 on their head. And so Jonah is getting really 00:22:37.150 --> 00:22:41.410 hot here. He's very uncomfortable. And I like 00:22:41.410 --> 00:22:46.049 what John MacArthur says here. The Lord's choice 00:22:46.049 --> 00:22:49.670 of discipline was fitting. Jonah had been hot 00:22:49.670 --> 00:22:53.630 with anger having hoped to see the fiery destruction 00:22:53.630 --> 00:22:57.250 of the city. So God exposed Jonah to the heat 00:22:57.250 --> 00:23:01.259 of his judgment. the scathing wind and the searing 00:23:01.259 --> 00:23:04.799 heat tormented him and so once again you see 00:23:04.799 --> 00:23:09.819 from Jonah his request from God God let me die 00:23:09.819 --> 00:23:14.160 now why doesn't Jonah just ask again for the 00:23:14.160 --> 00:23:16.359 mercy of God why doesn't Jonah just pray and 00:23:16.359 --> 00:23:18.720 say Lord you brought that plan I'd sure like 00:23:18.720 --> 00:23:22.440 to have that again well wouldn't it be very hard 00:23:22.440 --> 00:23:26.529 to ask for God's mercy knowing how much He has 00:23:26.529 --> 00:23:29.829 shown his hatred of it for other people. And 00:23:29.829 --> 00:23:32.789 so he doesn't ask for the plant again. He asks 00:23:32.789 --> 00:23:41.250 for death. Now, through it all, God's really 00:23:41.250 --> 00:23:44.910 teaching Jonah a lesson, isn't he? For the first 00:23:44.910 --> 00:23:49.329 question that God asked was about Jonah being 00:23:49.329 --> 00:23:54.819 upset over God's mercy. But now. He says, are 00:23:54.819 --> 00:24:00.220 you justified in anger about the plan? And so 00:24:00.220 --> 00:24:03.039 what does God do? He turns the tables. Jonah 00:24:03.039 --> 00:24:05.920 was angry about showing about God showing mercy, 00:24:06.200 --> 00:24:10.559 but now he is angry about God showing not showing 00:24:10.559 --> 00:24:16.720 the mercy to him. Right. And so after all of 00:24:16.720 --> 00:24:19.099 this, maybe hopefully prayerfully, he's learned 00:24:19.099 --> 00:24:23.390 his lesson. You see in verse 10. Jonah doesn't 00:24:23.390 --> 00:24:27.009 have anything else to say, does he? Jonah, to 00:24:27.009 --> 00:24:31.130 me, he's a lot like Job. If you remember the 00:24:31.130 --> 00:24:33.470 book of Job, there's a lot of back and forth, 00:24:33.490 --> 00:24:36.410 and finally God starts speaking, Jonah speaks 00:24:36.410 --> 00:24:39.509 back, and then God shares his reasoning, and 00:24:39.509 --> 00:24:43.789 then Job stops talking. Here we do not see Jonah 00:24:43.789 --> 00:24:47.809 talking anymore. There's nothing more to say. 00:24:48.140 --> 00:24:51.140 God connects the dots, not just of this chapter, 00:24:51.240 --> 00:24:53.859 but God connects the dots of the whole book. 00:24:54.240 --> 00:24:58.079 One commentator says here, the pagan captain 00:24:58.079 --> 00:25:01.619 was concerned that people not perish. The pagan 00:25:01.619 --> 00:25:05.460 sailors concerned that people's not perish. The 00:25:05.460 --> 00:25:08.420 pagan king was concerned that people not perish. 00:25:09.019 --> 00:25:13.079 Finally, Jonah is concerned about perishing, 00:25:13.299 --> 00:25:16.579 but concerned about a plant perishing, not a 00:25:16.579 --> 00:25:21.970 people. ironic you see Job as we know did nothing 00:25:21.970 --> 00:25:25.210 to make that plant grow did he it wasn't his 00:25:25.210 --> 00:25:28.670 it was all of God's mercy and yet he's upset 00:25:28.670 --> 00:25:34.349 about the loss and the lesson here is this unlike 00:25:34.349 --> 00:25:39.170 Jonah God did make the people of Nineveh didn't 00:25:39.170 --> 00:25:44.109 he they do belong to him and he can have mercy 00:25:44.109 --> 00:25:49.880 on them if he chooses and today You have faith 00:25:49.880 --> 00:25:53.440 in Jesus Christ if you have been brought to repentance 00:25:53.440 --> 00:25:59.920 by the mercy of God friends It is truly all of 00:25:59.920 --> 00:26:02.160 his mercy. You might remember Romans chapter 00:26:02.160 --> 00:26:07.920 5 verse 6 for while We were still weak at the 00:26:07.920 --> 00:26:14.440 right time Christ died for the ungodly Friends, 00:26:14.440 --> 00:26:18.400 you know this about Jesus. Jesus is the embodiment 00:26:18.400 --> 00:26:21.559 of of the mercy of God. Were it not for Christ, 00:26:21.640 --> 00:26:24.819 we'd be under the wrath of God. We would be under 00:26:24.819 --> 00:26:28.200 God's judgment. What is stated though in verse 00:26:28.200 --> 00:26:32.240 two is true. The Lord is gracious and merciful, 00:26:32.779 --> 00:26:35.880 slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 00:26:36.200 --> 00:26:39.400 This is the character of God. God showers us 00:26:39.400 --> 00:26:46.980 with grace upon grace. In just a minute. We're 00:26:46.980 --> 00:26:50.140 gonna sing a new hymn And I want you to really 00:26:50.140 --> 00:26:53.079 think about the words of it Just the beginning 00:26:53.079 --> 00:26:56.700 this tells us more of the character of God For 00:26:56.700 --> 00:27:02.420 it begins here is love vast as the ocean Loving 00:27:02.420 --> 00:27:06.440 kindness as the flood when the prince of life 00:27:06.440 --> 00:27:13.569 our ransom shed for us his precious blood Friends, 00:27:13.650 --> 00:27:16.690 what is the right response to the mercy of God? 00:27:18.869 --> 00:27:22.690 It's what we're doing right here, right now. 00:27:23.069 --> 00:27:27.670 The right response to the mercy of God is to 00:27:27.670 --> 00:27:32.349 worship. But what is the right response to God's 00:27:32.349 --> 00:27:37.170 mercy and the repentance of others? How should 00:27:37.170 --> 00:27:40.910 we feel when other people come to faith in Jesus 00:27:40.910 --> 00:27:46.160 Christ? Look no further than heaven. For perhaps 00:27:46.160 --> 00:27:49.579 you remember Luke chapter 15. Luke chapter 15 00:27:49.579 --> 00:27:53.240 in which there is a lost coin. There's a lost 00:27:53.240 --> 00:27:56.920 sheep. There's a lost son. And within that chapter 00:27:56.920 --> 00:28:00.359 we see this twice. There will be more joy in 00:28:00.359 --> 00:28:05.140 heaven over one sinner who repents than over 00:28:05.140 --> 00:28:09.799 99 righteous persons who need no repentance. 00:28:11.240 --> 00:28:14.680 And that's what verse 11 shows us of Jonah chapter 00:28:14.680 --> 00:28:19.319 4. It explains the extent of God's mercy, the 00:28:19.319 --> 00:28:23.200 wideness of God's mercy, that within this book 00:28:23.200 --> 00:28:26.880 the mercy and the grace of God, the kindness 00:28:26.880 --> 00:28:31.319 of God, encompasses the entire population and 00:28:31.319 --> 00:28:35.460 the animals. And heaven loves it. Heaven loves 00:28:35.460 --> 00:28:38.839 this. And so we too must thank God for mercy. 00:28:39.210 --> 00:28:43.690 Not just for us But thank God for his mercy that 00:28:43.690 --> 00:28:47.230 he shows to all kinds of people in all kinds 00:28:47.230 --> 00:28:51.789 of places Let us be vessels of God's mercy showing 00:28:51.789 --> 00:28:54.789 God's loving kindness. Let us be those who reach 00:28:54.789 --> 00:28:58.049 out to our communities proclaiming salvation 00:28:58.049 --> 00:29:04.130 in the name of Jesus Christ alone and As the 00:29:04.130 --> 00:29:08.789 book of Jonah ends with a question I want to 00:29:08.789 --> 00:29:11.390 leave you with two questions to ponder today. 00:29:11.789 --> 00:29:14.609 Ponder it today, ponder it this week. The first 00:29:14.609 --> 00:29:18.710 question is, do you know the mercy of God in 00:29:18.710 --> 00:29:24.069 Christ? And the second question is, what are 00:29:24.069 --> 00:29:25.009 you going to do about it?