Verse: Jonah 4:1-3
1But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. 2And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. 3Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.”
Devotional Thoughts:
The story of Jonah is incredibly funny. And it’s meant to be. You can just imagine Hebrew fishermen sitting around the campfire slapping their knees and laughing while one of them tells the story of how, once upon a time, a fish caught Jonah.
The whole story of Jonah is funny because it’s a story of comical extremes. God tells Jonah to head to Nineveh, so Jonah gets up and sets sail for Tarshish, which was incredibly far away and in the opposite direction. It would be like if I was told to go to Kansas City, so I head to the airport, book the next flight heading for Singapore, and take off.
Jonah finally goes to Nineveh and preaches an 8-word sermon, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” The comical nature of the book continues as the whole city repents. The king of Nineveh issues a decree that all people are to put on sackcloth, and then put sackcloth on all their livestock. Jonah’s sermon is so effective that even the cattle are repenting.
His motives finally become clear in chapter 4. Up until then, readers aren’t sure what Jonah’s problem is. Is he running away because he’s afraid of persecution? Is he afraid he won’t find success preaching in Nineveh? Is he just being stubborn? It’s not clear what his motive is.
But the first three verses of chapter 4 make it clear. Can you hear the anger in his voice? I told you so Lord! I knew you would save them! I just knew it. I knew you were going to do this, that’s why I didn’t want to go in the first place. I knew I couldn’t trust you.
Jonah isn’t afraid of failure; he’s afraid of success. He doesn’t want God to save these people. It was a motive of hate. He couldn’t stand these dirty pagans. He’d rather see these people dead than saved.
Points to Ponder:
Don’t miss this: This is a missionary story. It has to do with the Ninevites and Jonah. With “them” and “him.” And I want to tell you that it has to do with “them” and “us” today as well.
I think we live in a society in which this story really applies. We live in a society that can tend to be a “them and us” society. Several years ago, I was talking to man who let it be known to everyone that he was gay. He learned that I was in seminary to become a pastor, and quickly jumped at the chance to say, “Oh so you hate gay people like me and you think that I am going to hell!” You see, he did exactly what so many people do in our society. He learned something about me, and quickly turned it into “them” and “us” categories.
Here’s what I’m getting at. The Gospel changes our perspective. We know a wonderful truth: The Lord loves us, but He also loves them. Even them, as the Lord said in Jonah 4:11, ” who do not know their right hand from their left” – those who are spiritually unaware. The Lord loves even them who fundamentally disagree with us. He loves them who anger us. He loves them who seem to oppose us. He loves them, cares for them, wants the best for them, just as He does us.
Once we understand that, we can begin to see people through the differences. Not only that, we can begin to love people through the differences. Just like Jesus did.
- Where in your life have you fostered a “them” and “us” mentality?
- Who do you need to be praying for?
- How do you need to be praying for the Lord to change your mindset, and your heart, in regards to “them?”
Blessings,
Zac
