This morning, I wrapped up my personal inductive study on the Book of Jonah. I was struck (again) by Jonah's attitude at the end of the Book.
One observation I made is that Jonah had received mercy, but he didn't want the Ninevites to know God's mercy. In fact, he is actually angry (literally burns or was inflamed with anger) at God's compassion. MacArthur, rightly connects this attitude of the heart to the Pharisees of Jesus' day.
And this caused me to pause this morning. Does my heart toward others reflect Jonah's or God's? Jonah is so wrapped up in his own self-righteousness and anger that he is more concerned with a plant dying (4:6) then the salvation of people.
John Pipers gives some insight that might help us understand Jonah’s heart.
"What gives so much force to the impulse of anger in such cases is the overwhelming sense that the offender does not deserve forgiveness. That is, the grievance is so deep and so justifiable that not only does self-righteousness strengthen our indignation, but so does a legitimate sense of moral outrage." (Future Grace, 265)
Jonah, believes, that the Ninevites don't deserve God's forgiveness and the reality is, none of us deserve God's mercy. For many of us, self-centeredness and pride keep us from loving people the way God calls us to. Not only, do we need to extend mercy to others, we must realize, we are in need of God's deep mercy!
As I concluded my time, in Jonah, I was led to Jesus' teaching in Matthew 9. The context is, He had just healed and forgiven the sins of a paralytic, ate with some tax collectors, rebuked the disciples of John and the Pharisees, restored a girl back to life and healed a woman, gave sight to the blind, cast out a demon and a mute man spoke. This displays, that Jesus was full of mercy and compassion. He practiced what He preached. He ends chapter 9 with this,
Mat 9:36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
Mat 9:37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few;
Mat 9:38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
Jesus saw the crowds need. Jonah didn't care. Jesus had compassion for them. Jonah was more concerned with his own wants. Jesus was self giving and Jonah was self preserving. Jesus was about His Father's Will. Jonah, sadly, was about his own.
One pastor put it best, "We tend to express more passion over the crash of a hard drive than over the souls of people who are in jeopardy of the wrath of God." (Christ Centered Exposition, pg. 58) Ouch.
Help us Lord. Give us a holy longing to see others come to know you. Forgive us for the times, we love like Jonah instead of Jesus. Give us a passion to see people saved for Your glory. Give us the grace, we so desperately need, to fight against our pride and arrogance. Lead us by your Spirit moment by moment. In Jesus name, Amen.
Pastor BC
