“And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?””
Jonah 4:11 ESV
What a strange story to highlight our selfishness in contrast to God loving even my enemies. Lord, help me to be compassionate to everyone You put in my path…
”Then the Lord God appointed a plant, and it grew over Jonah to provide shade for his head to rescue him from his trouble. Jonah was greatly pleased with the plant. When dawn came the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, and it withered.
And the Lord said, “You cared about the plant, which you did not labor over and did not grow. It appeared in a night and perished in a night. So may I not care about the great city of Nineveh, which has more than a hundred twenty thousand people who cannot distinguish between their right and their left, as well as many animals?”“
Jonah 4:6-7, 10-11 CSB
We open this chapter thinking we should be celebrating because the ENTIRE CITY repents and is following God. That is amazing and only something God can do. BUT Jonah is angry because God is not destroying these people (his enemies)…God however is patient and gives this illustration to Jonah.
Jonah is so selfish: leaving the comfort of his home was too burdensome, giving his enemy an opportunity to repent make him gag, watching God show mercy on them makes him suicidal and then the shade plant dies and he is filled with vitriol. The only person Jonah cares about is himself.
God, it is amazing that You can use anybody for your purposes. Even people like Jonah, and someone like me. Keep me from my natural desire to be self focused. Help me to care about others like You do and allow me to recognize when selfishness is creeping in so that I can repent. I need You lord or I will follow my own desires and it will look just as ridiculous to others as Jonah looks in this chapter…I want to bring You glory, not bring trials on myself.
”Furthermore, both people and animals must be covered with sackcloth, and everyone must call out earnestly to God. Each must turn from his evil ways and from his wrongdoing. Who knows? God may turn and relent; he may turn from his burning anger so that we will not perish.
God saw their actions — that they had turned from their evil ways — so God relented from the disaster he had threatened them with. And he did not do it.“
Jonah 3:8-10 CSB
Jonah finally obeys and goes to Nineveh with Gods message: “you will be destroyed on 40 days!” Somehow, this is the perfect message they needed to hear…they turn, they repent and humbly request that God might change His mind. When God sees their actions and their change of posture, He shows mercy on them all.
Gods purpose is completed without the need for punishment! The people of Nineveh are surrendered to God and He is pleased. I know that God desires the same from us, to hear His message and instantly be convicted and our actions transformed! Not just for a day, or week or month, but real heart transformation that can be recognized by others and changes everything about us!
God, I am so blessed by your mercy, the way You change us by Your power when we recognize that You are right. That is definitely not what I deserve! You know everything about how I think, and act…you know my motivations and my attitudes…and shockingly, you still love me! I have been incredibly transformed by Your grace and mercy, I pray that my whole family and all my friends would experience that same delight of knowing You!!!
”As my life was fading away, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to you, to your holy temple. but as for me, I will sacrifice to you with a voice of thanksgiving. I will fulfill what I have vowed. Salvation belongs to the Lord.“
Jonah 2:7, 9 CSB
Once the sailors understand that Jonah is the reason for the ferocious storm, they throw Jonah overboard…and Jonah is drowning. In his last moments of life Jonah thinks about God, who he is running away from. It is as if everything becomes clear in a moment, he knows that God can save him.
Jonah prays to God, remembers that God wants us to be thankful and declares…only God can save me! The very One he was avoiding, the One Jonah was running away from, the One who gave him explicit instructions that Jonah was rejecting…the only One who could save him.
It’s a shame that Jonah has to be on deaths door to see things clearly. God, help me to be clear headed about You at all times. I know that I can be stubborn, but give me wisdom to look only to You, to nothing else! Help me to live in thankfulness to You so that I don’t think about myself too much. Help me to bring my family to You, after all, You are the only one who can save!
”“Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it because their evil has come up before me.” Jonah got up to flee to Tarshish from the Lord’s presence. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. He paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the Lord’s presence.“
Jonah 1:2-3 CSB
https://bible.com/bible/1713/jon.1.CSB
This well known story is still amazing to me. God tells Jonah exactly what to do and Jonah understands but does the opposite. We don’t know exactly why, but we know that he comprehends and then does the inverse of what God asked of him.
I am shocked by this because I feel like so much of the time I am eager to “know what God wants me to do”. This is typically in the big decisions in life and I really want to do the right thing, so that I don’t screw it up again! Lord, help me to change my motives…I want to do the right thing so that you would be pleased!
But then, I think about the small things in life where “I know exactly what you want me to do”, yet I do exactly the opposite by choosing sin. God help me to view every choice I make in light of the story of Jonah! I need to continue to seek you on the big things in life and be surrendered to please you!!! AND all the little choices every day require my surrender!!!
God, thank you for helping me to see the flaw in my motivation. Let me be pleasing to you as I walk with you so you don’t have to throw me overboard, just to follow your plan!
