Finding God’s Heart in the Story of Jonah

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0:00 Good morning again, and for those of you who don't know, I'm Demetrius and I have the privilege of filling in for Ben This morning who's on vacation with his family getting some well-deserved time away to relax and enjoy God's creation with his family So earlier the conversation prompt was for was for us to To tell a story of a time when you received a gift or an act of kindness that you didn't deserve well what I was thinking about my mind went to

0:30 When I was in seminary get my degree in counseling and we had a class theories and psychotherapy And like any class there's a test we have tests right? so Leading up to test day all of our class we were quite busy because while we're in class we also had to counsel students or counsel people we were in In clinical so to speak so we would be in class all day and then we'd be in a clinic at night to 9 p.m. So we're pretty exhausted and

1:02 Come Thursday test day Or leading up to test day. I'm a any of ground one any other any of your grand ones in the room Nope, okay. I'm about myself in that but we're really Rule followers and do everything perfectionists do everything by the book and that was me So leading up to this test. I'm sacrificing sleep sacrificing time with Amy and our and Jaden and we didn't I think journey was just a newborn at the time and

1:34 I'm studying for this test So Thursday rolls around I'm ready for the test walk into the classroom And the professor walks in and says hey, there's no test today You're all free free to go You can hear the shouts come from one class one side of the class But imagine me the in-air ground one who sacrificed all this time and energy and sleep to study for this test I

2:05 Was pretty angry. I was livid you could feel the heat coming off of me at that moment and Something like this went in my went on in my mind. I was saying to myself like how could you let them off the hook? Because half of the class didn't study. I was like I studied They don't deserve to be bailed out you can you can hear that that that train of thought with me and It took the rest of the semester for me to get all my anger

2:38 Because I was just so frustrated at this professor who let this class off the hook But it really wasn't the professors I was I was angry, but this professor was compassionate towards a burnout Class who have been studying in class all day every day going to and working with people to nine ten o'clock at night during the week So this sentiment will come up today in the story of scripture from the book of Jonah

3:11 So we'll spend some time looking at Jonah's responses to God's to the greatness of God's compassion and a great grandeur and great greatness of his faithfulness So let's pray Lord God, thank you for this day and thank you for the brief time that we have to just Take a moment and hear a word from you and to do that amongst our family and

3:41 friends So Lord I pray that as we look it to your word and it's familiar story. Would you bring out of the story something that's new? For us And we pray these things in your name amen is there a ring in this See It's okay. Is there a way to turn it down a little bit Carol or we're good Okay, can everyone hear me now? We good. Okay. Awesome

4:13 So the book of Jonah The author of the book of Jonah is not clear who wrote it But we do know that Jonah was one of the minor prophets in Old Testament who Served during the reign of King Jerobo in the second And apparently Jonah spoke the word of the Lord to King Jeroboam that he went a battle and that he would expand the borders of Israel And established their borders beyond what they were at that time and the king did and you can find that story in 2nd Kings chapter 14

4:46 However, Jonah was considered a rebellious prophet One who prophesied in favor of the wicked king Meanwhile, there's another prophet during the same time period named Amos Who whom God used to speak his words to the king reversing Jonah's errant prophecy? so that's who That's a little bit more about Jonah and who he was and you can read about that prophecy in Amos chapter 6

5:17 So there have been many scholarly debates about whether the book of Jonah's allegory is it satire? Is it a parable is it a prophetic narrative? What is Jonah? And the consensus is that the book of Jonah is a satirical narrative it's full of satire meaning that The author uses irony and humor to critique the characters behaviors with an intended purpose for the audience to decide who they will be in the story and

5:48 The book of Jonah is not just satirical It's also a historical narrative because it talks about real people and real places in a real period of time So that being said we'll look at oh, there's other one other interesting fact that comes up in the story of Jonah There's one word that is used through 14 times throughout this whole book and it's the word Godol G-a-d-o-l Godol, which means great huge Or big and so that word comes up frequently today

6:21 So just kind of being on the lookout for that as we walk through the scriptures together So let's begin reading in Jonah chapter 1 verses 1 through 3 And the Lord gave this message to Jonah son of Amatai Get up and go to the great Godol city Nineveh Announce my judgment against against it because I have seen how wicked its people are

6:52 But Jonah got up and went the opposite direction to get away from the presence of the Lord He went down to the port of Japa where he found a ship leaving for Tarshish He bought a ticket and went on board hoping to escape from the presence of the Lord by selling to Tarshish So Jonah a Prophet is from the city of Gath Heffir, which is West just west of the Sea of Galilee And he's called to go east to Nineveh and

7:26 Nineveh is the great city was the capital city of the Assyrian Empire and it's located on the east side of the Tigris River in Masul, Iraq So it's a historical city Why did God send Jonah to that city? well, we see in verse 2 Their wickedness or evil their raha Which is the Hebrew word for evil raha their evil has come up before me

7:58 So God sent Jonah to say hey this wicked people their actions are They've come to my attention and I need to deal with them. So go call out against the city Well, we all know what Jonah did he got up and went the opposite direction So instead of going east he went west to Japa and Japa is the modern-day city of Tel Aviv on a coast the Mediterranean coast So Jonah goes to Japa

8:29 buys a ticket gets on a ship and going to Tarshes and Tarshes at that time was this is port city on the southern coast of Spain Near the Strait of Gibraltar. So right in between Right where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean. So that's where Jonah go He's wanting to go he's trying to go as far west as he possibly can to get away from the presence of God So we know the scripture where can we go from God's presence, right?

9:02 Well, Jonah's gonna soon find out So Jonah disobeys and in verse 3 it reads but Jonah got up and it didn't say and Jonah went he said but He did the opposite So Jonah runs the opposite way heading to Japa and And why is he running why is he running away from God's presence? So let's turn to Jonah chapter 4 verse and we look start at verse 2

9:34 And this explains why Jonah ran And it says this so Okay, yeah, didn't I say this is Jonah talking to the Lord Didn't I say before I left home that you would do this Lord? That is why I ran away to Tarshes I knew that you are a merciful and compassionate God slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love You are eager to turn back from destroying people

10:06 Just kill me now Lord. I'd rather be dead than alive if what I predicted will not happen So Jonah was running away from the presence of the Lord. Why? Because God is merciful he's compassionate and who is he directing that mercy and compassion towards? The enemies of Israel So Jonah Jonah I assume wanted no part of seeing God be merciful to Israel's most hated enemy at the time

10:40 The Ninevites who had captured and killed and enslaved their people So Jonah Runs in the opposite direction doesn't want to experience it or see it So let's see how God responds to Jonah's disobedience And what is interesting before we read the next few verses in chapter 1 What's interesting is that God often responds to his people through creation

11:11 Throughout the scriptures God responds through creation Moses the burning bush Moses leading the people across The Red Sea out of Egypt by parting the seas Feeding them in the wilderness as we talked about a few months ago With manna from heaven using creation to communicate and respond to his people So let's see how God responds And we'll pick back up in chapter 1 verse 4

11:42 But the Lord hurled a great wind a powerful wind a God-dole wind over the sea Causing a violent storm that threatened to break up the ship Fearing for their lives the desperate sailors shouted to their gods for help and through the cargo overboard to lighten the ship But all this time Jonah was sound asleep down in the hold Interesting right So Jonah as this great storm has come on the on the sea Jonah is asleep

12:20 Why? Recall he wanted to die It's like just kill me now Lord. I don't want to experience or see your compassion or mercy on my enemy Just let me die. And so he figured man. This is great. There's a storm the ships about to fall apart And I'm a drown. This is the perfect way for me to die So Jonah is on the run the great wind comes on the water the storm is blowing the ship to and fro and

12:54 Irony begins to set in here. We'll begin to see some irony in the story. So let's pick up on verse at verse 6 So the captain went down after Jonah and said this he shouted to Jonah How can you sleep at a time like this get up and pray to your God? Maybe he will pay attention to us and spare our lives Then the crew cast lots to see which of them had offended the gods and caused a terrible storm When they did this the lots identified Jonah as the culprit

13:28 Why has this awful this great storm come down on us they demanded who are you? What is your name? What is your line of work? What country are you from? What is your nationality? And in verse 9 Jonah answered them and said proudly I'm a Hebrew. I worship the Lord the God of heaven who made the sea and the land In verse 10 it says the sailors were terrified when they heard this for they had already told for Jonah had already told them

13:59 He was running away from the presence of the Lord and They responded. So why did you go and do it? They groaned. Why did you run away from the Lord's presence? So we see here the first point of irony in the story is the pagan sailors What did they do when the storm came? They begin to cry out to the gods. What did Jonah do? He went to sleep

14:29 In the bottom of the boat Verse 11 And since the storm was getting worse all the time they asked Jonah what should we do to stop this storm? So Jonah the prophet The Hebrew the one who worships the God the creator of heaven and earth What do you expect? What would be the most appropriate response for him in that moment when they asked him what should we do? He should call out to God the creator of heaven and earth and ask for him to calm the storm

15:05 Did he do that? No, he didn't and put a pin there if you remember Jesus who was the greater Jonah in the New Testament on the boat with the disciples a Great storm comes on the water. He's asleep. What does he do? He gets up and speaks to the storm Jonah didn't speak to the storm. That's why Jesus is called the greater Jonah

15:36 So Jonah said this Throw me into the sea and it will become calm again. I know this terrible storm is all my fault again Jonah's wanting to die What did the sailors do immediately after that did they throw Jonah into the water no they didn't They rode harder tried to get to dry land, but they couldn't The store the verse says that the stormy sea was too violent for them and they could make it to land and they cried out to the Lord

16:08 Jonah's God The sailors cried out to Jonah's God Impleated don't make us die for this man's sin don't hold us responsible for his death So you see the irony here again is again they cry out to God and Jonah doesn't They value life Jonah doesn't And how did the sailors respond

16:43 I'm sorry, we'll look at verse 15 Then the sailors picked Jonah up and threw him into the raging sea and the storm stopped at once and they responded with worship They responded appropriately to God's act in creation. They responded By being awestruck by the Lord's great God-old power And they offered him sacrifices and vowed to serve him only It's amazing to see how in this ironic to see how the prophet

17:17 Doesn't respond appropriately, but the pagans do It's interesting So how does God respond to Jonah's Disobedience and him wanting to end his life God who's the creator of life sends a great fish to swallow Jonah and In verse 17 it says now the Lord arranged for a great fish to swallow him and inside the fish Jonah was there three days and three nights It sound familiar, right?

17:49 Three days and three nights So Finally in chapter two we're not going to read this chapter, but Jonah finally responded appropriately he prayed to God But he didn't apologize or didn't repent for his actions. He just prayed thanking God for saving his life And as soon as Jonah finished his prayer God hilariously Commanded the fish to vomit Jonah up on to dry land

18:22 So that lets you know what God thought about Jonah's prayer, right? So we'll pick up in Jonah chapter 3 Verse 1 So chapter 1 God told commanded Jonah to go to Nineveh Chapter 3 God spoke to him again and gave him the same command Get up and go to that great city of Nineveh and deliver a message I have given you

18:52 This time Jonah obeyed the command and went to Nineveh a city so large that it took three days to see it all and Jonah On the day that Jonah entered the city he shouted to the crowds. He gave his sermon 40 days from now Nineveh will be destroyed Mike drop and he leaves that was a sermon Yet 40 days from now and Nineveh will be destroyed. That's a sermon

19:25 Was that the sermon that God gave Jonah? We don't know but that was the sermon that he gave and We know based on Jonah's heart towards Nineveh that it kind of reminds me of when our kids were young They were five and we you know five or six and we asked one of them to share their most treasured toy with the other and Guess how that kid will respond They probably pout do it reluctantly And that's how I see Jonah he reluctantly obey God

20:02 Pouting Fuming mad when he gets there he slumps his shoulders drops his head and mumbles under his breath You got 40 days from now and Nineveh will be destroyed Again Again Jonah's his heart you can see his heart coming out the heart of anger and resentment And I wonder what his what he's saying in his mind. He's like their God. Hmm. I did it You happy now right?

20:37 So just Jonah's shallow half-hearted sermon led to something very surprising We all know what happens right the people of Nineveh repent And again the word Godot shows up here and it shows up in verse We pick up in verse six When the king of Nineveh heard what Jonah was saying he stepped down from his throne remember the king is the greatest

21:11 The great king of the great city Nineveh the Godot He stepped down off of his throne took off his royal robes dressed himself and burlap and sat on a heap of ashes Then the king and his noble sent a decree throughout the city that not one No one not even the animals from your herds and flocks may eat or drink anything at all People and animals alike must wear garments of mourning and everyone must pray earnestly to the God They must turn from the evil ways and stop all their violence

21:43 Who can tell perhaps even yet God will change his mind and hold back his fierce anger from destroying us So we see the great city of Nineveh the great king from the greatest to the least commanded repentance And God relents as we see in Verse 10 when God saw what they had done and how they had put a stop to their evil ways He changed his mind and did not carry out destruction

22:19 So how could they repent when Jonah sermon was like six words, right? Like there was no mention of their sin there was no mention of God there was no mention of what they could do to earn God's compassion or get his compassion none of that, but how did they respond? God's mercy and compassion comes can come from any kind of message So Nineveh repents God relents and we'll see how Jonah responds to that

22:55 Like we read earlier, he's angry. He didn't he said I ran away because I knew you were merciful and compassionate And you're filled with unfaving love But in his mind in his heart of hearts, Jonah still thought that God would Reverse his decision to be compassionate and go and destroy the people of Nineveh So what does he do? He goes and sets up camp on the east side of the city got his popcorn Got a little shelter to see maybe God will destroy these people after all because they're wicked

23:26 They're evil and I want to see them burn that was That was Jonah That was his heart Chapter four Verse four So God had this question for Jonah. Is it right for you to be angry about this about him repent Relenting on Nineveh. Is it right for you to be angry about this? John didn't answer God. He went out to the east side of the city made a shelter sat under

24:00 That shelter as he waited to see what would happen to the city God's faithfulness comes out here and God the Lord God arranged for a God-dole plant a large plant to grow there Spread his broad leaves over Jonah's head Shading him from the Sun This east is discomfort and Jonah was very grateful for the plant But then God arranged for a worm the next morning at dawn to eat through the stem of the plant and it withered away

24:34 And the Sun grew hot God arranged the scorching east wind a great way to blow on Jonah and the Sun beat down on his head until he grew faint and wish that he would die again Death is certainly better than living like this. He has claimed So again Jonah after you preach went to the east saw this great plant come up over him and God shaded him in his faithfulness protected him from the Sun and Then that plant goes away and Jonah again gets angry

25:13 So as fast like I mentioned before the story of Jonah is thick with irony and humor Remember who's the audience hearing this story the people of Israel, right? And who acts more like God in this story The pagans call out to God while Jonah sleeps in silence The pagans value life All of life including the beasts of the field while Jonah will rather see his life and and see the death and destruction

25:44 Follow in this great city with a hundred and twenty thousand people The pagans respond to God's compassion and mercy with worship Jonah in chapter four responds to God's Compassion and mercy for those people with pouting angry anger resentment The book of Jonah is meant for us to hold a mirror up to us to see who will we become

26:15 God's great God old compassion and mercy Is for all to come to a saving knowledge of him and this this book displays that And we see in the New Testament where Jesus the greater Jonah Comes and calls for people not just in Israel but for people from all nations to come to a saving knowledge of the one true God And you can read more about Jesus and his

26:46 Account of the story of Jonah briefly in Matthew chapter 12 verse 39 Jesus mentioned the story of Jonah to the Pharisees As we've seen here the irony is Great they respond appropriately while the prophet of God didn't respond appropriately Another satirical point in the story is this the main Jonah and Hebrew means

27:16 dove-like like a dove flighty erratic and Amatai his father means my faithfulness So Jonah the erratic the dove-like is still a son of his father's faithfulness I propose that we like Jonah who is dove-like erratic flighty Could be angry and resentful at people

27:47 We're still the children of God's faithfulness his great faithfulness to us And we're constantly pursued by that great faithfulness every single day My prayers that we will respond like the sailors and innovates to God's huge faithfulness with humility and gratitude While hoping that God will lavish his great compassion and mercy on people with that we think are our enemies

28:20 Let's pray Heavenly Father you are creator of all things you are Lord over the heavens and the earth You know all things I confess we need your Holy Spirit to guide us in all truth and in wisdom Give us the humility to acknowledge and repent for times when we desire ill To fall on our enemies or those we proceed to be our enemies and thank you for pursuing us With your faithfulness in spite of us

28:55 Lord I pray that you will help us to respond and worship to your faithfulness and your compassion and That that will produce us a joy that That leads us to live and work in our city So that others can experience more of your faithfulness and compassion through who we are and how we point directly back to you and We thank you for this your word in Jesus name amen