Should I Not Be Concerned

The Word is first...

Jonah 4:1-11 (NIV)

Jonah’s Anger at the Lord’s Compassion

4 But Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry. ² He prayed to the Lord, “O Lord, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. ³ Now, O Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.”

⁴ But the Lord replied, “Have you any right to be angry?”

⁵ Jonah went out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. ⁶ Then the Lord God provided a vine and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the vine. ⁷ But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the vine so that it withered. ⁸ When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, “It would be better for me to die than to live.”

⁹ But God said to Jonah, “Do you have a right to be angry about the vine?”

“I do,” he said. “I am angry enough to die.”

¹⁰ But the Lord said, “You have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. ¹¹ But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?”

The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984

Jonah is NOT one of my favorite Bible heroes; in fact, it is hardly fair to use the term "hero" and the name "Jonah" in the same sentence. But what Jonah excels at is providing an example that helps us to more fully understand the God we serve.

One of the reasons I dislike Jonah is because he reminds me too much of myself. For instance, this passage opens with Jonah getting angry that things aren't happening the way he wanted them to. He was 'displeased and became angry.' Ding! That's me.

He prayed to the Lord and said "I told you so" to GOD. Ding! That's me.

He justified or rather, rationalized, his decision to be disobedient. Ding! That's me.

He acknowledges that God is "gracious and compassionate... slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity." He has the gall to say this as he himself is "testing the limits" and of One who knows no limits. It could be argued that he is abusing Grace. Ding! That's me.

Jonah was petulant. Ding! That's me.

Jonah did his best to make himself comfortable even as he was making himself suffer. He was insufferable. Ding! Me again.

Despite his insolent behavior to the CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE, God showed him mercy and did not smite him. God showed grace and gave him relief thus proving the accusation that He is "a gracious and compassionate God,... abounding in love... relents from sending calamity." I can almost hear God chuckling to himself about 'that poor child.' Ding! Hello!

And when Jonah failed to respond to the merciful and gracious compassion given by God, The Lord provided the appropriate motivation to get Jonah moving again. Ding!

Ultimately, Jonah was consumed with worry about him self. Though God was repeatedly showing Jonah object lessons in concern for others, all he could be concerned about was himself. Ding! I hate this guy!

End the end God makes it plainly known to Jonah what a selfish jerk he has been. While all Jonah can worry about is self, God is grieving over 120,000 Ninevites. God asks "should I not be concerned?"

What a lesson to me, to us all, about our loving and powerful God who can be concerned about one man and also about 120,000 or even 15,000,000 and still more. How then can I serve God and be consumed with my self? God is teaching me that I am to be concerned with others and specifically with the things with which He is concerned.

My prayer is that when the boat leaves for Ninevah, I'm on it. God give me the strength!

In His Grip,
Carl