Jonah 3:10-4:11
PEOPLE, PLANTS AND PRIORITIES
Intro: The songwriter William Cowper penned the following words:
God moves in a mysterious way,
His wonders to perform;
He plants his footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm.
Deep in unfathomable mines Of never failing skill,
He treasures up his bright designs,
And works his sovereign will. The prophet Isaiah had this to say about the mysterious ways of the
Lord, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways
my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the
earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than
your thoughts.", Isa. 55:8-9. The sooner the child of God realizes this, the
better off he or she will be! Of course, even though we can read this truth
and we know that it is right, sometimes, the ways of God are still hard to
stomach.
Such was the case for Jonah in the passage we have read today. Jonah
watched the Lord work His sovereign will in the city of Nineveh and Jonah
did not like God's way at all! I must admit that there are times in my life
when I see what God is doing and I have problems with it. If you were
honest, you would have to say the same! Be that as it may, we all have to
come to grips with the truth that God is in absolute control of life and that the
best we can do is surrender to His plan and join Him in what He is doing.
As we look at this text tonight, I want to point the lessons that are taught
here. Hopefully, this passage will serve to teach us that God is in charge
and our duty is to work with Him in all that He does. As the Lord leads, I
want to preach for a while on Plants, People and Priorities.
I. V. 3:10 THE REVIVAL IN NINEVEH
(Ill. The book of Jonah records what may be the greatest revival in the
history of the world. An entire town repented of sin and got right with the
Lord! Notice that this revival did not happen by itself! A few things were
involved in bringing this dispensation t the people of Nineveh!)
A. V. 1:1-3:3 Involved A Man - We are given the details of Jonah's call,
his disobedience and his restoration. We are told how the Lord used
this prophet to bring the word of God to a lost people. (Note: There
is good news in this for you and me! It is a blessing to know that God
can use even those who have fallen short for His glory! The upshot
of this is that if God can use Jonah, God can use you too!)
B. V. 3:4 Involved A Message - Jonah walked into Nineveh with a
simple eight Word message from the Lord. When this message was
preached, God used the Word to prick the hearts of the Ninevites
and revival followed. (Note: There is a blessing in this too! The
blessing lies in the fact that you and I can take confidence when we
share the word of the Lord, knowing that He will bless His Word and
that it will accomplish to purpose to which He sent it, Isa. 55:11!)
C. V. 3:5-9 Involved A Miracle - The miracle lies in the fact that a
whole town turned to God! There have been great revivals
throughout history, but this is the only instance of a town of this size,
filled with such wicked people, being converted and delivered from
sin. (Note: It is a great miracle when revival comes and lives are
changed. But, it is always a miracle when even a single soul hears
the good news of salvation and comes to faith in Jesus! That is the
glory of the Gospel, Rom. 1:16; John 1:12.)
D. V. 3:10 Involved God's Mercy - When the people of Nineveh
repented of their sins and turned to the Lord, God reacted to their
faith in grace. When they turned to Him, He saved their souls by
grace! Of course, God knew what would happen before Jonah ever
arrived! Their conversion was part of His perfect plan! (Note:
Salvation always works this way! God loves the sinner, has a plan
to save his soul and He sends the Word so that the sinner might be
convicted and see his condition. When that sinner repents of his
sins, God saves him by grace through faith, Eph. 2:8-9. Of course,
it's all part of His plan!)
II. 4:1-5 THE REACTION IN JONAH
(Ill. When the Lord takes the message of Jonah and saves a city, Jonah
reacts in a very bad way.)
A. V. 1 The Prophet's Rage - The phrase "very angry" means that
Jonah "burned with anger". He was hopping mad at God because
God did not kill the people of Nineveh! Why was he so mad? There
are several reasons. Here are a few:
1. One of the marks of a true prophet was that his prophecies
always came true, Deut. 18:20-22. Jonah had said that the
Ninevites would be overthrown, Jonah 3:4. If this did not
happen, then Jonah would be looked upon as a false prophet.
2. His fellow Jews would be angry with him for preaching a
message that brought salvation to their enemies. They might
see him as a traitor.
3. Jonah hated the people of Nineveh! Nothing would have pleased
him more than seeing them all destroyed by God!
(Note: Before we get too hard on old Jonah, maybe we need to look
at our own lives and examine how we have responded to the Lord
working out His will in your life and mine! How many times have we
reacted with anger when God did something that went against our
plans? Perhaps we need to remember the counsel of the Bible, Pro.
16:9; Psa. 37:23.)
B. V. 2 The Prophet's Resentment - Jonah tells the Lord that this is
what he knew would happen. This is why he ran away in the first
place. What you see here is a man throwing a first-class pity party!
Jonah didn't get his way and he wants God to know that he is upset.
His hurt and anger is so deep that he even attempts to take it out on
the Lord! (Note: Just in case you didn't know it, your arms are too
short to box with God! Just because He doesn't order life like we
think it should be ordered, we had better be careful when we decide
to line up against God! Friend, nobody likes life and what it brings
all the time, but those who love the Lord the deepest are those who
remember that God always knows best and He always does what is
best for His children, Rom. 8:28; 2 Cor. 4:17. The safest and
sanest course of action is one of humble obedience and submission
to what life brings our way. Ill. Job - Job 1:20-22.)
C. V. 3 The Prophet's Request - To put it bluntly, Jonah wanted God
to kill him! He wasn't the first. Moses and Elijah both prayed for the
same thing, Num. 11:15; 1 Kings 19:4. Because he didn't get his
way and because he had to endure embarrassment, he wanted to
give up on life itself. What a sad commentary! (Note: But wait, how
many people have put their testimony to death and given up on
serving God because He didn't give them what they wanted? I will
just remind you again that obedience to what the Lord brings our
way is better than anything else you can give Him, 1 Sam. 15:22;
Rom 12:1-2!)
D. V. 4-5 The Prophet's Resolve - After Jonah is confronted about his
anger, he does not change his mind. Instead, he climbs a hill
outside the city, folds his arms and sits down to wait. He is probably
hoping the Lord will change His mind! Jonah doesn't get his way
about Nineveh and he doesn't get his way about dying so he just
starts to pout! (Note: There are lots of people just like Jonah in the
church! For some reason life has not gone as they had it planned.
Their response is not humble submission to the will of the Lord. No!
They just quit on Him! It does not say much for your love for Him or
for your devotion to His will when your disappointments translate into
disobedience and desertion on your part. I promise you that if you
decide to go to war with God over His will, He is going to win that
battle every time!)
III. V. 4:6-11 THE RESPONSE FROM GOD
A. V. 6 God Responds In Tenderness Toward The Prophet - The
Lord extended grace to Jonah, even when his heart was obviously
not right with God. The Lord graciously allowed a vine to grow over
the prophet's hut to give him shelter and comfort. (Note: Isn't it a
blessing to know that even when we walk outside the will of the Lord,
the Lord will still look after us and bless us? Ill. Elijah - 1 Kings 19:5-7; Ill. Peter and the disciples - John 21:6.) How many times has He
continued to bless and use you even when you were out of His will?
Thank God for His grace, Rom. 5:20!
B. V. 7-11 God's Responds By Teaching About Priorities - Just as
Jonah was beginning to enjoy the vine, God sent a worm to destroy
the vine. Jonah gets even angrier! (Note: He is getting a tiny taste
of the horrors of the Hell the Ninevites were headed to before they
were saved.) This time, God sets the record straight! He reminds
Jonah that Jonah cared more about a vine than he did the souls of
the people of Nineveh. People made in the image of God and
people who would have perished had He not intervened! (Note:
Every time I read this I get under conviction! Why? I see the same
attitude in my life all the time. We tend to get upset about things that
simply do not matter. Think about the last thing that made you mad.
Now, ask yourself this question: What will it matter in 100 years?
Friends, the only thing that really matters as we pass through this life
is finding God's will for you and walking in with all your power!
People are going to Hell and we are worrying about vines and other
comforts. Our priorities need to be refocused and narrowed until
they want only what He wants in all of life. That would please Him
and it would get His work done in the world! Eph. 6:6; Heb. 13:21;
1 John 2:17.)
Conc: What has your attention this evening? Jonah didn't care about the
eternal destiny of the people on Nineveh! All he cared about was his
reputation as a prophet and the foolish prejudices he carried with him
through life. He learned, or at least we hope he did, that God's will in this
world is all that really matters. Isn't it time we put aside all the things that
cloud our vision of His will? Isn't it time we put aside our hurts, our desires
and our wills so that we might be better able to do His will in the world?
Jonah suffered because he didn't care about God's will. What do you care
about today? If anything is more important to you than doing the will of God,
then I invite you to leave your booth and come to Him in humble obedience.
