Good Monday to you my ‘Walking with Jesus’ friends,
How often have you heard this phrase, often shouted with great emotion: ‘that’s not fair’? We all have a concept of FAIRNESS don’t we, especially when related to us or those we care about? But “fair” is so subjective, so relative, such an emotional concept that can move people to harsh words, poor choices and actions they’ll regret for a long time. You’ve seen it and so have I. Perhaps you’ve been caught up in it!? Today let’s take a fresh look at fairness, this time from God’s perspective.
Yesterday I left you sitting with an angry Jonah outside the great city of Nineveh. His warning had been heeded and Nineveh’s people, including their King, had humbly and profoundly repented of great wickedness. They had pleaded with God for mercy. (Jonah 3:7-9) Jonah felt strongly that in “fairness”, considering all the barbaric atrocities these Assyrians had inflicted on neighboring peoples as they invaded and ravages cities and towns, God should close His ears, disregard their repentance and pour out His demolishing judgment, wiping the city of Nineveh off the face of the global map.
Instead, Jonah reports this: “When God saw what Nineveh did and how they turned from their evil ways, God relented and did not bring on them the destruction He had threatened.” (Jonah 3:10) Now again, as I did yesterday, to help us gain perspective, I invite you to bring the horrific reputation of Nineveh into our time by comparing it to the reputation you know of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi ravaging of cities, towns and entire nations during WWII. Can you see why Jonah is livid as his sense of “fairness” was totally violated by God relenting and NOT destroying Nineveh?
Yesterday we looked at what Jonah said in explaining to God why he was so angry and why God’s relenting from His threatened devastation of Nineveh seems so wrong, so ‘unfair’. (Jonah 4:1-3) In fact Jonah was so angry, he concludes his rant with these words: “Now, LORD, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live!” Now that’s an extreme reaction by a prophet of God, isn’t it? I wonder how long Jonah sat under his shelter, stewing in his frustration, not hearing any verbal response from God.
Amazingly, God’s response was not initially words, but a miracle of providing Jonah with a fast growing plant that shaded him from the hot Assyrian sun! Jonah records it like this: “Then the LORD 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.” (Jonah 4:6)
As I write this, today is a hot, steamy summer day where I live, and it’s not difficult for me to imagine Jonah sitting on a stump or worse, a rock, under a simple shelter he has built outside Nineveh, with the hot wind blowing from a clear, bright sun sky. He’s watching big, bustling Nineveh, untouched by God’s warning of destruction because the people repented.
It simply seems totally unfair the more Jonah thinks about his 700 mile trek from Israel to warn these wicked Ninevites that God was going to destroy them, and then with some perhaps excited anticipation, Jonah waited for the fireball to fall from heaven and consume Nineveh! As days turned to weeks and the 40 day prediction came and went, Jonah had become sullen and discouraged which made the heat seem even hotter.
On my, an unexpected leafy plant growing up very rapidly right next to his crudely built shelter, giving Jonah much welcomed shade from that blistering sun. While Jonah still felt greatly frustrated that Nineveh, it seems, was going to escape unscathed, at least the unexpected shade was welcome. But then suddenly a worm chewed the root of this blessing plant and by noon the next day it was withered and gone, and the blistering sun seemed hotter than ever, especially with a strong desert wind scorching Jonah!
Jonah actually began to feel faint, perhaps dehydrated, and as he thought about the month-long journey back to Israel in this scorching heat, Jonah once again cried out to God “It would be better for me to die than live.” Everything seemed so unfair to Jonah! Probably you and I have both been in this painful place of such deep discouragement!
Suddenly the silence of God was broken and Jonah heard the voice of God speaking to him: “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?” In his pain and the scorching heat of the day, Jonah responded to God “Yes, it is. And I’m so angry I wish I were dead!” (Jonah 4:9) This is now the third time Jonah has spoken about wishing he were dead.
I suspect God just let Jonah stew for a while. Honestly now my friends, have you ever found yourself in this place of such deep disappointment and discouragement with God? If you were, what did you do, and what did God do?
In Jonah’s situation evidently God decided, as He had with Job so many years before, it was time to set the record straight and bring clarity from God’s perspective to Jonah, the heat, the shriveled plant and Nineveh. “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 this great city of Nineveh, in which there are now more than 120,000 people who cannot tell their right hand from their left – and also many animals?” (Jonah 4:10,11) And with that Jonah’s conversation with God was concluded. At least Jonah doesn’t give us any further record of any more.
The message is clear, isn’t it my friends? God had chosen to bless Jonah with shade in the heat, even though Jonah was angry at God. Then God allowed a worm to kill the plant and Jonah was back in the scorching sun with no relief. God was showing Jonah both great MERCY by not punishing Jonah for his bad attitude and his anger at God. God was also showing Jonah wonderful GRACE and KINDNESS by growing an unexpected, shade giving plant. In so doing God was giving Jonah a simple but powerful image of the MERCY and GRACE God had chosen to show 120,000 people who didn’t know God and had no idea of the moral standards God had given to Israel.
In His great GRACE God had sent Nineveh an undeserved warning about their sin and His righteous judgment. In response to their profound repentance, God showered them with His MERCY and spared the city of Nineveh!
It’s a picture of life and ‘fairness’ from God’s perspective for you and me today my friends. Look around you. What GRACE, what undeserved kindness has God showered upon you and your city? And what MERCY have you received as God has withheld His hand of judgment from pouring out on you and me the wrath of God which we deserve in our sinful rebellion?
It’s time again to thank God my friends. Both you and I have received so much of both God’s GRACE and His MERCY and so rarely do we thank Him. Now is a good time as we close our reflection on the remarkable story of Jonah and Nineveh! I think God was saying to Jonah “You’re not done yet Jonah. There is more life I have for you to live, for MY glory and your good and growth. So let’s keep going Jonah!” Maybe God is saying that to you today my friend? Here’s a wonderful worship song to help us in our thankfulness. . .
Today’s Scripture: Jonah 3:10-4:11.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
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Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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