Jonah: The Last Word

Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, “Come, make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” And Aaron said to them, “Break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” So all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron. And he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf. Then they said, “This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!” So when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow is a feast to the Lord.” Then they rose early on the next day, offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.

Exodus 32:11-14

Exodus 32:11–14 NKJV

Then Moses pleaded with the Lord his God, and said: “Lord, why does Your wrath burn hot against Your people whom You have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians speak, and say, ‘He brought them out to harm them, to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your fierce wrath, and relent from this harm to Your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, to whom You swore by Your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven; and all this land that I have spoken of I give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’ ” So the Lord relented from the harm which He said He would do to His people.

And numerous other times Israel had undeservedly received mercy from God.

No one is righteous, so no one deserves God’s mercy

Romans 3:10

Romans 3:10 NKJV

As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one;

Even today, God extends Grace and mercy where we don’t deserve it

Romans 5:8

Romans 5:8 NKJV

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

If we deserved it, would there actually be any mercy? Could we really call it grace?

Romans 11:6

Romans 11:6 NKJV

And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work.

V.3:

He would rather die then witness the salvation of the Ninevites.

This is Jonah’s “over my dead body” moment.

But why was this such a big deal?

Perhaps among other things, he was afraid of being discredited.

Jonah may have been afraid of being discredited as a prophet

Deuteronomy 18:21-22

Deuteronomy 18:21–22 NKJV

And if you say in your heart, ‘How shall we know the word which the Lord has not spoken?’—when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.

V.4:

Now it’s God’s turn, and He asks Jonah a question.

The truth is that Jonah cannot justify his anger, because there is no rational reason for it.

V.5:

Instead of answering God, he decides to go and sulk instead.

V.6:

Isn’t it amazing that while Jonah is mad at God, God still takes care of him.

Though Jonah is thankful for the plant, there is no indication that his attitude toward God had changed.

VV.7-8:

Sulking, self-pity, and unjustified anger are not a good look for a Christian.

God will not allow us to remain in an ungodly attitude for long. He will make it miserable for us.

Isn’t it funny that while you harbor such an attitude that you always end up even more miserable?

That’s no coincidence. You will be miserable, God will see to it.

Such an attitude will never benefit you, and it will never end well.

What was Jonah’s response? “It is better for me to die…”

Jonah certainly was stubborn. He was acting like a child.

I think that most parents can relate. Children can sometimes be incredibly stubborn, and sometimes their will can prove to be stronger than the parent’s

I’ve always said that a parent has to learn to be more stubborn then their child. However, that isn’t always so easy.

We sometimes get stubborn with god, but we can be sure that we can never out will God.

His will is always stronger.

V.9:

This conversation (argument) between Jonah and God never gets old. I find it pretty amusing.

We can be stubborn, and try to argue and resist until the very end, but it is never productive to argue with God.

V.10:

What is truly amazing here is that Jonah had more concern for a plant then he did for actual people.

The reason is simply selfishness. Jonah is displaying a very self-centered attitude.

The plant directly affected his comfort, and that was his main concern.

This type of attitude is exactly the opposite of what a Christian should have.

A self-centered attitude has no place among Christians

Romans 12:3

Romans 12:3 NKJV

For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.

Philippians 2:3

Philippians 2:3 NKJV

Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.

V.11:

Finally, god points out that Nineveh is full of real people, 120,000 of which are small children.

The total population would have been around 600,000 people.

This includes the greater Nineveh area, which extended far beyond the city walls. It encompassed an area of a 60 mile circumference.

Finally, God even throughs the livestock into the mix.

He’s pointing out to Jonah that even the animals have value.

Not the same as Human life, of course, but value nonetheless.

All of God’s creation has value, but mankind is His most precious creation

Matthew 10:29-31

Matthew 10:29–31 NKJV

Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.