Bible Study:
Studies in Jonah by Neil Foster
Lesson 6


    • Jonah 4:1-11
      • Jonah 3:10-4:1
      • Genesis 12:1-3
      • Exodus 19:6
      • Romans 5:8
      • 1 Timothy 1:15
      • 1 Timothy 1:16
    • Jonah 4:2
      • Luke 15:11-32
      • Exodus 32:10
    • Jonah 4:3, 4, 5
    • Jonah 4:6-8
    • Jonah 4: 9, 10, 11

We've already discussed this some. Jonah was a Jew. Gentiles were like "scum" to them. The laws of Moses are full of rules for the Jew to keep themselves pure from the Gentiles. God's purposes for this separation are very clear. The Gentiles worshiped false gods and any social intermixing or intermarriage would bring the false god in quickly to defile and corrupt the Jewish people. This actually happened over and over again.

But God's desire for the Jew to be "separated" from the Gentiles for the purpose of giving them the best chance to be pure, did not mean that God did not love the Gentiles and that He did not desire to be merciful to them also.

God called Abraham out from among his own kindred in order that all nations might be blessed through him.

Look at the early statements of God concerning the nation Israel.

You see, separation was to be for purity, not for pride.

The Bible says God loves all sinners ---- for His Son was given to die for sinners, not for righteous people --- Not that God would not love righteous people --- But simply that outside of Christ there are no righteous people for Him to love.

And so, even in the Old Testament days, God's love for all sinners showed forth in His "reaching out" to Nineveh --- thru the preaching of Jonah.

But Jonah just couldn't stand it much less understand it. Listen to his words to the Lord.

Lord I didn't want to come here --- I told You when I was in Israel and You asked me to come over here and tell them that they were exceeding sinful, and because of it, they must be destroyed ---- I told You Lord, that it would be a waste of time because You would go soft and forgive them -- I know You, You are gracious and merciful and slow to anger and of great kindness and I knew You would be "eased" from Your wrath and from Your plan to destroy them -- And Lord, that's the reason I ran away to Spain ---"

Jonah was really trying to threaten the Lord like a kid does his parent. He was offering Him an indirect choice.

"Lord, I don't think this is fair, so if You are going to be this way and spare them, then go ahead and take my life -- I'd rather be dead."

"It is better for me to die that to live."

God's question to Jonah: "Jonah, is it right for you to be so angry?"

See, here it is, Jonah had sort of put his life on the line -- "Lord, if you spare them, then kill me --"

And then he goes out and sits and waits --- For what? Waits to see what God would do to the city.

You see, Jonah hoped and sort of expected God to do like Jonah wanted. That is, for God to destroy the city for its past evil. He sure didn't expect God to take his life, because he wanted to see what would happen to the city.

The rest of the chapter is God's attempt to teach Jonah something. And if we don't watch, we'll miss it.

Notice, Jonah had gone out there, outside the city, all on his own --- And he (without God's direction) had decided to sit and "wait it out."

The Lord does not forsake Jonah, He prepared a special plant "palm crist" or gourd and it came up in a night and was big enough the next day to give shade to Jonah.

(This is the second time the Lord has prepared something "special" for Jonah. First a great fish, now a fast growing plant.)

Remember now, Jonah had nothing to do with it -- he was planning to sit out there day and night without any gourd plant -- The plant was God's doing.

But Jonah was glad for it, because it gave him comfort.

But as the day came on, God prepared another special creature -- a worm to smite the plant and cause it to wither.

And then, as if to bring the lesson home solidly, God prepared an east wind that possibly blew the dying plant aside and let the sun beam down on Jonah -- And Jonah was faint and wished that he could die.

But he didn't want to get up and go back in the city to the shade of the buildings, and he didn't want to go on back to Israel. Instead he wanted to sit there outside the city waiting to see what God would do to it, and he sat there in misery wishing he was dead rather than admitting that he was wrong.

"Do you do right to be angry for the gourd?"

Let me express it a little differently: "Jonah, is it right for you to be angry because I destroyed the gourd?"

And Jonah said he thought he had a right to get made because God had not let the gourd live. One thing we can say -- Jonah was honest about his feelings.

But Jonah felt exactly opposite about the people of Nineveh. He was angry because God did not destroy them.

You see, Jonah had nothing to do with the gourd. He had made his selection to "sit it out" so to speak without the benefit of any gourd shade, so he had no right to complain if God gave and then took away.

God said to Jonah, "Thou hast not labored neither makest it grow--- And still you had pity on it --"

(120,000 children below the age of any understanding --)

CONCLUSION

Did Jonah learn the lesson? I assume so, since I assume he wrote the book.

The question is heave we learned the lesson? God loves all people and does not desire that any should perish.

Romans ?

But this does not mean that they won't perish ----

Nineveh met the conditions required. "They believed God." And He spared them.

Jesus said the people of His day would be judged by the people of Nineveh.

The conditions for God's mercy are explicit and exact. Believe Him."

Now that we have completed this little book, let's go back to the beginning and read it.


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