But Jonah was greatly displeased and became furious. He prayed to the Lord: “Please, Lord, isn’t this what I said while I was still in my own country? That’s why I fled to Tarshish in the first place. I knew that You are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to become angry, rich in faithful love, and One who relents from sending disaster. And now, Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.”
The Lord asked, “Is it right for you to be angry?” Jonah 4:1-4 HCSB
As a child, I remember the story of Jonah and the whale. I remember how God called Jonah to go to Nineveh, but Jonah fled to Tarshish and went aboard a ship. Then God sent a great storm and Jonah was thrown overboard. He was swallowed by a huge fish, where he spent three days and nights, before being vomited onto dry land. Jonah was given a second chance. He decided to do as the Lord said and go to Nineveh. Nineveh was a huge city and it took him three days to go through the entire city. But when his message reached the king, they turned back to God. What a great story, right?
Well, Jonah didn’t think so. Because when they repented and turned back to God, Jonah was furious. He has gone through all this trouble and God just forgives them and moves on. Jonah was sure that he would see God’s wrath at work on these people, but no.
In our scripture passage today, Jonah is angry at God because He did not bring calamity against Nineveh. How often do we watch our enemies, hoping that God will destroy them? God sent Jonah to lead these people to repent, and they did. God then relented and had compassion on them. Now, I imagine that after all Jonah had been through over the sins of these people, that he arrived there with a chip on his shoulder. He probably got there thinking how happy he would be when God brought disaster on them. But they listened to him, they repented and turned to God. Now it doesn’t say that Jonah knew a single soul in Nineveh. We know that his refusal to do what God asked him at first, led to a great deal of trouble for him. God could have allowed that fish to spit him out in the water and he could have drowned. He could have drowned when he was thrown overboard in the storm. It could have been much worse for Jonah when he refused to obey God, but God got his attention, kept him safe, and gave him a second chance to do as he had asked. Isn’t this the same thing God did for Nineveh?
I used to want disaster to fall on my enemies. I will admit it. I wanted to see them suffer. I wanted to be able to raise my fist in the air and say, “Yeah, you mess with me, you mess with my God! That’ll teach you!” But that’s not what God wants. God loves my enemy as much as he loves me. He wants to see them turn from their evil ways and be saved. I have learned to want what God wants. I have learned that it is much better to love my enemies and pray for those that persecute me (Matthew 5:43-48). I have learned to not gloat when my enemy falls (Proverbs 24:17-18). I have learned that if my enemy turns to God, then I gain a brother or a sister in Christ. I have also learned that if my enemy continues in their wicked ways that God will give them over to their evil desires (Romans 1:24) and they will face more disaster than I would ever wish on anyone, even my fiercest enemy. Now I will admit, this takes a whole lot of prayer. I have to pray regularly for God to remove bitterness and anger from my heart. I have to pray daily for God to fill me with his Holy Spirit so that the other stuff has no room in my heart.
Jonah was angry because God did not show great wrath on this city after Jonah went through all this trouble to get there. Jonah never wanted to go there in the first place. But Jonah failed to realize that God could have been a lot less compassionate on him when he failed to do as God told him to do.
The first part of Jonah teaches us that we can run from God, but we can’t hide. This second part of Jonah teaches us that God has called on us to witness to others. God wants us to go out there and bring as many people to heaven with us as we can. God wants all His children to come to Him. When our enemy turns from their evil ways and turns to God, they will no longer be our enemy. They will be a brother or sister in Christ. They will be a victory won.
My prayer for you today is that you ask God to remove bitterness, anger and resentment from your hearts. Galatians 5:15 tells us, But if you bite and devour one another, watch out, or you will be consumed by one another. Be consumed by the Holy Spirit, not by bitterness and anger.
Often times, we are like Jonah. We need forgiveness, but we refuse to forgive. Matthew 6:15 tells us that if we don’t forgive others, then God will not forgive us. Don’t set yourself up for failure, by refusing to forgive. We all sin and fall short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23). None of us are worthy of God’s forgiveness and grace, but he freely gives it when we turn to Him. We are instructed to give it just as freely. Vengeance is God’s business (Romans 12:19) leave that to Him. Our business is to focus on Him and the goal of winning others to Christ. And I don’t know about you, but I thank God for giving us more than one chance to get it right!
Have a great day!