Jonah 4:5-11 The End of the Story?

God and Jonah have a discussion. Jonah continues to whine. God teaches him a little lesson with an unpredictable plant. Just as God provided a fish, now he provides a gourd and then a worm and a scorching east wind. Sometimes we don't realize how generous God is.

Just as the story of the prodigal son ends with a strange awkwardness, so does Jonah. Three times in this chapter Jonah wants to die because he is so upset that God didn't wipe out Nineveh. In Jonah's defense, when a prophet preaches fire and brimstone and there ends up being no fire and brimstone, it can look bad on his resume. He wanted to see some fireworks!

There have been (and continue to be) too many times when I wished a person would see the "smite" button from God but instead they see blessing. I know I often find myself thinking that I am much more just and fair than God. And up shoots a plant...

Maybe it's a growth spurt at church...
Maybe it's a little extra cash we weren't expecting...
Maybe it's some unsolicited praise or recognition...

I really didn't make it happen. I didn't tend it or make it grow. And when it disappears or fades away, I get a little miffed. God may ask me if I have any right to be mad about it, but my response is simply, "Woe is me, I have it so bad, my life is so hard, wah, wah, wah!"

God's response is usually something to effect of:
"When I do what I want done through you, be content in knowing that you are working within my ultimate plans. Don't be so self-centered to think that it is all about you. There are many of my children that you don't know about that I am working to reconcile to myself. If I use your talents in the process - GREAT! If I use someone elses - GREAT! If I use your failure - it's not a failure. Your job is to enjoy a relationship with Me. My job is to work on people's hearts. When I do, enjoy it with me."

As we wrap up our reading of Jonah, take a minute and ask yourself if you a really okay with God working how ever God wants to work in this world. Or have you already decided how God should work things out and if it doesn't go the way you want, you will either say it wasn't God or you will question God's goodness. There are several places where Jesus has to remind the disciples that they are not the only ones who get it or are being used by God. Today, Jesus still has to keep reminding me that He is working and I need to be content with His plan, not mine.

That is a hard pill to swallow!

There is a lot more we could say about Jonah...maybe I'll write a blog or two about the topics I didn't get a chance to talk about (death being swallowed - see 1 Cor. 15:54; The gates of Sheol - see Matt. 16:18; vocation versus calling - Jonah 1:8 - what kind of work do you do? And more...).

I hope you've seen how Jonah was really a type of Israel (and I would say the Church today). Satisfied with the status quo, not wanting to shake things up, looking for physical and political security rather than God's will to be done. God made sure things got shaken up. Just as Jonah was given a fish, a plant, a worm, and a hot wind, so the First Century Church was giving persecution. What is God giving us today that we might regain a fire for Him?

Under the Mercy,
Jason