Before you begin your Bible study, as a believer
in the Lord Jesus Christ, be sure you have named your sins privately to God the
Father.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to
forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
(Known, Unknown and Forgotten sins) (1Jn 1:9)
You will then be in fellowship with God, Filled with the
Holy Spirit and ready to learn Truth from the Word of God.
"God is spirit, and those who worship Him
must worship in Spirit and Truth," (Joh 4:24)
Worm and the
Plant
During the
dispensation of Israel, the Jews were both custodians of the Word of God and
responsible for its distribution. This made Israel a missionary nation. Abraham
was the first missionary under the title of “Hebrew,”
meaning, “the one who crosses the river.” Abraham crossed the river
Euphrates to evangelized the Canaanites. Three of his converts are mentioned in
scripture: Aner, Eschol, and Mamre.
That the Jews
failed to take the gospel to the Gentiles and some of the reasons for it are
discussed in, (Rom 10:2-3). However,
there were some exceptions. Jonah is a case in point, though he must be
classified as a reluctant missionary. Nevertheless, the grace of God overruled,
and Nineveh was evangelized in spite of the negative volition of Jonah.
Although the lessons from Jonah are numerous and fantastic, only one will be
emphasized — the lesson of the worm and the plant.
Summary of
chapter one
Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the
son of Amittai, saying. (Jon 1:1)
Jonah was a prophet in Israel and a believer. By
that I mean he had trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ for Salvation. In
the Hebrew his name means “Dove,” while the name of his father means “Truth” or
“Truthful.” Just how the Word of the Lord came to Jonah we are not told. We do know that before the canon of Scripture was completed,
God spoke to His prophets and special chosen people by means of dreams or
visions, by angelic messengers, and even face to face. But however the
Word of the Lord came to Jonah, when it came, it was in the form of a Command: Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and cry
against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me. (Jon 1:2)
Nineveh was
the capital of the great Assyrian Empire which at that time was becoming a
world empire. The city of Nineveh had a population of between 600,000 and
1,000,000 people. How do we know this? Besides extra-Biblical sources, the very
last verse of the Book of Jonah tells us that there were 120,000 children who
had not reached the age of accountability, living in the city of Nineveh! And
even figuring in the tremendous infant mortality rate of that day, 120,000
children would indicate a population of between 600,000 and 1,000,000. The
1,000,000 mark seems to be closer to it. It was probably the largest city in
the world at that time. The circumference, according to ancient historians, was
sixty miles. Its skyline must have been a marvelous sight with over 1,500
towers soaring above the walls, which are described as being as wide as city
streets and one hundred feet high. Three or four chariots could pass long the
top of the walls at one time. But as great as the city was in wealth and
splendor, it was even greater in wickedness. The Assyrians were not only the
wildest and toughest, but the vilest and most evil people on the face of the
earth. In fact, so vile were they that their wickedness was said to have
reached unto heaven. “Their wickedness,” God told Jonah, “has come up before
Me.” This does not mean that their sins were stacked as high as heaven, but
that the odor of them had reached God. This is an idiomatic expression in the
Hebrew which says in effect that Nineveh “stinks.” The stench is so rotten that
God can smell it in heaven. They have gone for the
super-super-duper wickedness; evil (False
satanic and human thinking) and sin. (Lust of the eyes; lust of
the flesh; and the pride of life; 1Jn 2:16)
Now suddenly,
God calls one of His prophets and says to him, “Arise, go to Nineveh.” Although
we do not find it in this passage, we will discover later on that Jonah evidently
had said that he would go. He made a vow, dedicating himself to the task, but
then changed his mind. Therefore, we read in, (Jon
1:3) But Jonah rose up to flee
to Tarshish... Tarshish, a famous Phoenician seaport on southern Spain, was
known for its smelters. We may also note the fact that if one wanted to go in
the opposite direction of Nineveh, which was east of Jerusalem, one would have
to go to Tarshish, which was exactly west of Jerusalem. So Jonah went in
exactly the opposite direction. He went “down to Joppa,” (The modern port of
Jaffa) and there he caught a ship, very likely a Phoenician ship, since these
did all of the traveling between Tarshish and Joppa. He paid his fare,
indicating that he had the financial means to go to Nineveh, except that he was
going in the opposite direction.
In, (Jon 1:4) we see the grace of God. In fact, it is
apparent from the very beginning of the Book. First of all, even though their
iniquity is full, God is gracious because He plans to give Nineveh yet another
opportunity for Salvation. When a nation reaches the point in its wickedness
and rejection where its evil will contaminate the rest of the world, God will
cut off that nation. Yet God never judges a nation
without first offering His grace. Jonah was the chosen vessel in this
case to warn of judgment to come, and also to offer God’s grace in Salvation as
an alternative.
The fact that
Jonah went in the opposite direction is not really so unusual. This is
something which man has practiced throughout the centuries, yet God is still
gracious — not only because He wants to do something
about Nineveh, but also because He wants to do something about Jonah, who is definitely a believer out of fellowship. It was
grace that “sent out a great wind into the sea.” The sea is the Mediterranean,
by which means Jonah was trying to get to Tarshish. Tarshish, incidentally, was
considered the end of the world! Just beyond Tarshish were the “Gates of
Hercules,” known today as Gibraltar. Out beyond that, as it was said in that
day, you would drop off into nothing. So Jonah was going just as far away from
Nineveh as his mind could conceive. He was going to the end of the world. “But
the Lord sent out a great wind into the sea,” resulting in a fearful storm.
The mariners
on Jonah’s ship were Phoenicians, accustomed to the sea. They lived most of the
time on the sea, but this was such a violent storm that it frightened even
them. They were so afraid that they began to dig out their gods and cry to
them. They were very practical, also. They not only prayed, but they tried to
change the ballast and the balance of the ship by ridding it of the cargo. Now
during all of this, there was one passenger who did not seem to be disturbed in
the least. Jonah was fast asleep “down in the sides of the ship.” This type of apathy is so apathetic it is pathetic. It is a
result of quenching the Holy Spirit. One
doesn’t sleep through a Mediterranean storm unless he is either totally
indifferent or completely calloused, and apparently Jonah was both.
So in, (Jon 1:6) we see that the shipmaster came to him
and woke him. The Hebrew word for shipmaster is rather interesting, actually
meaning the “upper-steersman.” He was the captain of the ship. “Call on your God,” he said to Jonah. “Get up and get with us on this thing. We all have different gods, and we are trying to get the
whole pantheon to give attention to this storm and do something about it.”
But when the storm continued, they decided to cast lots to see who had angered
the gods. (Jon 1:7) The lot fell on
Jonah. God used this to bring about His sovereign plan for Jonah.
These
Phoenician sailors are most commendable in their behavior. Instead of
immediately tossing Jonah into the water, they began to ask him questions to
determine of what he was guilty. What did this man do to cause his God to raise
up such a storm? Perhaps his occupation was a disreputable one which had caused
the wrath of the gods. Admitting that he was the cause of the situation, Jonah
told them he was a Hebrew and that he feared the Lord. (Jon 1:8-10) So
they said to him, (Jon 1:11) what should we do to you that the sea may
become calm for us? He said to them, “Pick
me up and throw me into the sea. Then the sea will become calm for you, for I know that on account of me
this great storm has come upon you.” (Jon
1:12) “Just dump me overboard,” Jonah was saying, “and you will all
survive.”
Notice: (Jon 1:13) However,
the men rowed desperately to return to land… They were not anxious to dump
anyone into the sea, even a carnal, out-of-fellowship, miserable believer who
deserved nothing better. They just could not bring themselves to do it. Do you
see the contrast? These heathen Phoenician sailors had
more concern for the ONE life than Jonah had
for the hundreds of thousands of people who lived in the city of Nineveh!
I wonder, how interested are YOU in those for whom Christ died? Jonah wasn’t
interested at all. One million souls for whom Christ died — and Jonah goes in
the opposite direction!
But here is
the amazing grace of God — God does not let Jonah go that way! In grace He seeks out His disobedient servant and puts him
in the midst of catastrophe. And God will do
the same thing to you that He did to Jonah. GOD WILL KEEP SHAKING YOU AND
SHAKING YOU UNTIL YOU GIVE IN TO HIS GRACE! You
will never be happy until you do, so you might as well save yourself a few
storms. Notice further how the unbelievers put Jonah to shame. They did
everything possible to save that ship without throwing him overboard, but when
the storm continued and they could not stabilize the ship, they were finally
forced to cast him into the sea. And we can see how
God used this carnal believer's disobedience to lead the entire ship to pray
and express faith in the LORD! (Jon 1:14-16)
God's plan goes on with us; without us; and or in
spite of us!
The prepared
fish
In, (Jon 1:17) we have the first thing that the Lord
prepared. And the LORD appointed a great
fish to swallow Jonah… Since this
is not a detailed study of the Book of Jonah, I am going to say just two things
about this fish: (1) Nineveh had a god that they worshipped — Dagon, the fish
god, and this will be a very important factor in the message Jonah would have
at a later time. (2) Since God, the Lord Jesus Christ, created everything, it
is no problem for Him to prepare a great fish; nor is it difficult for His
omnipotence to direct a great fish to the vicinity of a certain ship, even in a
storm. And so it follows that neither was it a great problem for that fish to
latch onto Jonah as he went overboard. This is ALL a part of the grace of God,
as we shall see as the lesson of the “worm” unfolds. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three
days and three nights, a miracle not only
for Jonah’s benefit, but for ours as well, designed to teach us the Truth of
the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. (Mat 12:40)
Summary of
chapter two
Chapter 2 is
a change of pace. This is Jonah’s “rebound” prayer, (Confession to God he is
out of fellowship) rather than a prayer for deliverance. Rebound is a technique
of the Christian life essential to the fulfillment of the plan of God. Without
rebound it is impossible to maintain fellowship with the Lord, to be filled
with the Spirit, or to produce Spiritual growth,
(The gold, silver and precious stones of; 1Co 3:12). The mechanics of rebound are
summarized in, (1Jn 1:9) as well and
many other passages, (Lev 5:5; Psa 32:5; Psa 38:18;
Psa 51:3; Pro
28:13).
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and
righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
(1Jn 1:9)
The
believer’s confession of sin to God is the basis for forgiveness, as well as
for the removal of Divine discipline. (1Co 11:30)
Although the suffering from discipline is “cursing,” cursing is turned to
blessing through rebound. The word “confess” means
simply to name or specify the sins and or admit being out of fellowship.
Since every sin which has ever been committed, or whichever will be committed
in the human race has been judged on the cross, God is faithful and justified
in forgiving the believer when he confesses. The result is restoration to
fellowship, making possible the continuation of the plan of God in the life of
the believer.
At this
point, (Jon 2:1-10) Jonah admitted being out of fellowship; and restoration to
fellowship was instantaneous!
Now, as a believer in fellowship, Jonah is prepared to do
the will of God. Then Jonah prayed to the
LORD his God, (Notice, HIS God — relationship) from the stomach of the fish, And He answered me. I cried for help from
the depth of Sheol... Here Sheol should be translated “hades.”
…You heard my voice.
(Jon 2:1-2) He was in the place of death, and yet
he was still alive! (A reference to Christ being
judged on the cross and being in Hades for three days and the nites; 1Pe 3:18-20)
Jonah took stock of the situation and said to himself, “I am inside the
fish and still alive, and if I am still alive, God must have a purpose for my
life.” He therefore applied the Truth of rebound and moved into the sphere of
“faith-rest.”
This is
exactly what God wants you and me to do. If you find that you are still alive,
(And you may have to pinch yourself to make sure) then you can begin to realize
that as a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, THIS MESSAGE IS FOR YOU. If you
are still alive, GOD HAS A PURPOSE FOR YOUR LIFE!
Now, you may be sitting out in the middle of the Mediterranean in a storm, or
you may be sitting in the fish’s belly, as it were, in God’s area of
discipline, or God’s woodshed, but regardless of where you are, the very fact
that you are still alive and breathing means that God has a purpose for your
life, so you might as well get with it and stop fighting it, whether you are on
the Mediterranean, in the fish’s belly, or under the plant of self-pity. Rebound and keep moving!
Then notice,
(Jon 2:3) for You had cast me into the deep.… Who cast Jonah in to the deep?
We would say the Phoenician sailors, but Jonah doesn’t look at it that way.
Remember that Paul said he was a prisoner of Jesus Christ, not of Nero. Now,
here is Jonah saying, “...GOD CAUSES all things to
work together for good to those who love God,
(Believers in fellowship and growing to Spiritual
maturity) to those who are called according to
His purpose, (Of being blessed in time and
rewarded in eternity) (Rom 8:28).
Here I am,
taking a ride in a ‘submarine,’ and though I don’t like it, I am still alive;
therefore God must have a reason for my being here.” He continues in, (Jon 2:3) by relating how he went under the
water. (Divine judgment to Jonah and to Christ)
(Jon 2:4) cf. (Job
13:15; Psa 69:1-36; Mar 15:34) So I said, 'I have been expelled from Your sight. Nevertheless I will look again toward Your holy temple.
Jonah is saying, “Here I am, sitting in the midst of this fish, in a place of
death, and yet I know that I am going to be in fellowship in his temple again.”
(1Co 3:16) Now that’s a perfect
combination of the faith-rest technique.
(Jon 2:5) Water
encompassed me to the point of death... He wants to make it clear that he
was inside the fish, and that the fish was down forty fathoms. He is in a very
difficult situation, as was Christ, explained in, (Spiritual
death, judgment, Hades and even a reference to the Weeds-thorns around His
head; Jon 2:5-6) cf. (Mat 27:29-30) Again Jonah expresses his faith,
as he gives positive testimony to his deliverance, based on his relationship to
the Lord.
In, (Jon 2:7) he mentions that fact that even though
he fainted, HE
REMEMBERED the LORD, And my prayer came to You, Into Your holy temple.
In, (Jon 2:8) we see an interesting
phrase, “Those who regard vain idols, (Are false satanic and
human thoughts that are put above God's THOUGHTS! Psa 138:2; Col 3:5) Forsake their faithfulness,”
(To God and His Word; Jer 17:13)
To “regard vain idols” is to think you can have anything in
life that will make you happy, whether in fellowship or not. The believer in
Jesus Christ who thinks he can be happy and at the same time disobedient to
God, is categorized under the phrase of, “Those who regard vain idols...”
What does
“vain idols” mean literally from the Hebrew? It means to kid yourself. They
that they try to “kid themselves” believers who forsake
their faithfulness to God and His Word; ONLY hurt themselves. (Pro 8:36) You can
deceive yourself and others. NOT GOD! If you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, your life
belongs to Him, and you are here to serve and honor Him by being faithful to
God; by STAYING IN FELLOWSHIP AND THINKING WITH HIS THOUGHTS! (Luk 14:26-35) Nothing in this life
will make you truly happy apart from fellowship with God the Holy Spirit!
There is NO SUBSTITUTE for occupation with Christ!
What is the result of living a lie, or kidding yourself? “They forsake their
faithfulness” “their faithfulness” is a reference to God, with emphasis upon
His grace. We forsake the source of grace!
Then he has
something else to say. But I will sacrifice to You With the voice of
thanksgiving... (Jon 2:9). “My sacrifice is not going to be an
animal sacrifice. My sacrifice is going to be my
Thoughts and voice! I am restored to
fellowship. ...That which I have vowed I will
pay. Salvation is from the LORD. And I will go
to Nineveh and preach the Word of God. I despise the Assyrians — I hate
them so much I went in the opposite direction.” Do you know why Jonah went in
the opposite direction? Oh, you’re going to say that he didn’t want to be a
missionary. Not at all. Jonah did want to be a missionary, but he wanted to be
a missionary to his own people. He wanted to proclaim God’s Word to the Jews,
but not to the despised Assyrians. The Assyrians were a bunch of jackals, vile
and evil. To the Jews they were the scum of the earth. NO ONE wanted to go near
the Assyrians. And of all the Assyrians, the city of Nineveh was the epitome of
rottenness. Jonah was afraid that the grace of God
would spare the sinful city. If he went to
Nineveh and proclaimed the Word of God, he knew those people would get SAVED! And
he despised them so much that he did not want the Ninevites to be saved. He did not want them to go to heaven. He wanted them to roast in hell forever! So that is
why he took a one-way ticket to Tarshish. He figured that he could do his
country a great favor, since he believed that the conversion of the Ninevites
would infringe upon the privileges of the nation Israel and put an end to their
Spiritual monopoly. You see, Jonah understood
something of the grace of God! cf. (Jon 4:2)
Where did
Jonah get the colossal nerve to thank God for deliverance while sitting in the
middle of a fish? Jonah! You’ve got a lot of nerve! You’ve just disobeyed the
Lord, the Lord put you in the woodshed, and there you sit in a fish’s tummy
thanking God for deliverance! For three days he
didn’t ASK God for deliverance — he THANKED
God for deliverance! Do you know why? He understood the grace of God! HE
BELIEVED IT, and then he THOUGHT WITH TRUTH! (Jon 2:7-9) cf. (Pro 22:17-19)
God could not say “no” to a man who would trust Him.
(Jer 39:18) Did
you read what I said? God cannot say “no” to a man who will trust Him. (Heb 13:5) God’s grace
must honor the Divine operating asset of FAITH IN GOD AND WHAT HE THINKS AND
WHAT HE COMMUNICATES! (Heb 11:5-6)
Now, Think about this: God took one of the sorriest of
prophets, as illustrated by his attitude, put him back on dry land, and
permitted him to preach the greatest revival the world has ever known, One
million converts is a mighty good revival record. One million converts in what seems to be about three days of
preaching! It is the grace of God that will deliver a man out of a
fish’s belly, a man who had turned his back on the Lord, and give him such a
tremendous privilege. Now, Jonah KNEW the grace of God. He understood is so
thoroughly, and he claimed it so strongly by faith, that notice what happened.
At the end
of, (Jon 2:9) he said, “I will pay my
vow.” What is his vow? Proclaiming the Word of God to the Ninevites. And this
tells us something else. Except for this little confession of Jonah, we would
not have known that when the Word of the Lord first came to Jonah, Jonah had
said, “Yes, Lord, I will go.” And then he tiptoed down to Joppa and got a
ticket going the other way! Now he says, “Lord, I’ll do it. Even though I said
I would before, now I will do it.” And what was his vow? It was using his voice to praise the Lord; and to give the
Gospel. ...Salvation is from the LORD. (Jon 2:9)
Then the LORD
commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah up
onto the dry land. (Jon 2:10) Here is a great rebuke to Jonah and to
believers of all time, right down to you and to me. I wonder if you see it?
God’s Command to His irrational creatures is more readily OBEYED than His
Command to His rational creatures. The fish was irrational — the fish obeyed.
Jonah was rational — Jonah disobeyed. The fish obeyed the voice of God, whereas
Jonah disobeyed the voice of God. You know, Jonah might still be sitting down
there if the fish had said, “Not me, Jonah may be ready to pay his vow, but I’m
not ready to pay mine — not on your life, God,” and fanning his tail in the
direction of heaven, took a deep dive into the Mediterranean. He might still be
down there, Jonah might still be inside, and Nineveh might still be waiting for
the Gospel. There is an application to us: It is
better to be a dumb brute beast and OBEY the Word of God; than a smart, rational, cocky, egocentric member of the human
race and DISOBEY the Voice of God!
Samuel
said, "Has the LORD as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices As
in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
And to heed than the fat of rams. "For
rebellion is as the sin of divination, (Demonism)
And insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry. (Sin
and demon worship) Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He
has also rejected you from being king." (And
if we do not OBEY; and overcome the lust of the eyes; lust of the flesh; and
pride of life; (Rev 3:21) we will
not rule in the Millennium) (1Sa 15:22-23)
Summary of
chapter three
Now the Word of the LORD came to Jonah
the second time, saying. (Jon 3:1) When the Word of the Lord comes a
second time, it is nothing more or less than sheer grace. I hope we understand
that Jonah did not deserve to be the greatest evangelist of all time. He did
not deserve to be a missionary or to have the honor and privilege of Preaching
and Teaching about Christ. But the Word came a second time, Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and
proclaim to it the proclamation which I am going to tell you. (Jon 3:2) So Jonah arose and
went to Nineveh according to the Word of the LORD... He finally OBEYED. You see, he has learned a great lesson!
...Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a
three days' walk. (Jon 3:3) That
is, it would take a person three days to walk across it. If the average person
could walk about twenty miles a day, it would be about sixty miles across the
city. This would be comparable, perhaps, to Los Angeles. Then Jonah began to go through the city one day's walk; and he cried
out and said, "Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown. (Jon 3:4) Strangely enough, we do not have the
message of Jonah. He preached for hours on end, but we do not have the content
of his sermon. One phrase only is revealed from his dynamic message, yet the
essence of it can be reconstructed. Everywhere he went in the city of Nineveh,
he would see the fish head, the half fish and half man, the statue of Dagon,
the fish-god. Every time he would stand under one of these fish-gods, he would
point to it and say, “I was swallowed by a ‘fish’ because I disobeyed the God
of heaven, the Lord Jehovah, and the Lord spoke to my heart concerning you.
Just as I was swallowed by a fish, your fish-god will destroy you! Because you
have turned your backs upon the only Savior, He is going to destroy the city.
Your wickedness has come as a bad odor to Him. Therefore, if you do not believe
in the Lord Jehovah, (Jesus Christ) if you do not trust in Him, this city will
be destroyed.” But all that is recorded is this one phrase, “yet forty days,
and Nineveh will be overthrown.”
There is a
great Principle here, THAT GRACE ALWAYS COMES BEFORE
JUDGMENT. God would give them forty days. Now if God simply wanted to
overthrow them, if He was not desirous of saving Nineveh, all He needed to do
would be to hit that city just once, and Nineveh and its’ inhabitants would
disappear. But what does He do? He sends in a
preacher who has a Testimony, a preacher who had been miraculously delivered
from certain death in the bottom of the sea, inside of a fish — and a fish-god was the demon-god of Nineveh! What a tremendous Testimony to the true God, the Lord
Jehovah, who has power over the fish-demon-god! And this Testimony would
be a means of presenting the Gospel. Jonah was a
sign to the people of Nineveh. If God in His grace could deliver Jonah from
death, He could deliver them from the bondage of sin, as well as from
idolatrous slavery to Dagon.
Then the people
of Nineveh believed in God,(Literally
— the Lord Jesus Christ)... (Jon 3:5)
The Hebrew word for believe is “amen,” which is our Anglicized word “amen,” and
is the strongest word in the Hebrew language for faith. It is used of Abraham
when “Abraham believed (‘Amened’) in the Lord; and he counted it to him, (It
was credited to his account) For righteousness.” (Gen
15:6) Here we have one million people
— the whole city — who
turned to the Lord. As a result of their Salvation, they began to do certain
things to indicate that they were believers and to evidence their change of
mind. (Sackcloth) They proclaimed a
fast. A “fast,” remember, is a time of occupation with the Lord, a time of
prayer and self-examination, a time of meditation, and a time of abstaining
from the ordinary details of life, such as food. (To cut of the old sin nature)
Notice that from the greatest to the least, from the highest person in the city
to the most insignificant — and this included the Emperor of the Assyrian
Empire — all turned to the Lord!
When the Word reached the king of Nineveh,
he arose from his throne, laid aside his robe from him, covered himself with sackcloth [A change of mind] and sat on the ashes. [Forgiven
sins --- representing Faith in Christ and or
Rebound] (Jon 3:6) This is also the oriental way of demonstrating a complete
change of mental attitude. And this was his
Testimony that he, too, was a believer, and that since God was gracious enough
to give them forty days’ warning, he would accept the grace of God; he would
trust in the Lord. Then to demonstrate that he
believed in the Lord, he took off his kingly robes, and sat in an ash heap.
Furthermore, he published a decree throughout the entire city, and the rest of
the city did likewise. (Jon 3:7-9)
When God saw
their deeds, that they turned from their wicked way, then God relented concerning the calamity which He had
declared He would bring upon them. And He did not do it. (Jon 3:10) God relented — that is, God changed
His attitude toward the Assyrians. Do you know HOW He changed His attitude?
God provides the Stimulus:
Christ being judged for the sins of the whole world. (1Jn 2:2) Response:
our choice, to believe or not. Result: God
gives us eternal life or the Lake of Fire. God
controls the Stimulus and the Result of His plan and we control
the response. The Sovereignty of God; and the free will of man. (Jer 18:1-12; Rom 9:17-33)
Here is a whole city of rotten, vile, evil, filthy sinners who were now born
again. Since they changed their mind they were now children of God and now are
on the right side of God's plan; given by an anthropopathism,
(Showing God as changing His mind. We can change our mind; not
omniscient God! 1Sa 15:29) One
million children gathered in, in approximately three days’ time. Will He
destroy His children?
God is obligated to
treat them and ALL believers the same way; it is all up to us; we either OBEY
or disobey. WE ADJUST TO THE JUSTICE OF GOD OR THE
JUSTICE OF GOD WILL ADJUST TO US!
"It shall come about that as the LORD delighted over you to prosper you, and multiply you, so the LORD will delight over you to make you
perish and destroy you; and you will be torn from the land where you are
entering to possess it.
(Deut 28:63)
If Jonah had
been writing this account apart from the Holy Spirit, he would undoubtedly have
concluded the Book at this point. So far, it is the report of his great
evangelistic work. He could send quite a missionary report back to Jerusalem.
“One million souls in three days,” and that would have been an excellent place
to terminate it. But remember, God the Holy Spirit wants to teach us something,
and although the results of Jonah’s revival almost stagger the imagination, it
is not the end of the story. There is a tremendous message of a worm which God
prepared, so we must move on and learn the message that God had, not only for
Jonah, but for Israel, and now, many thousands of years later, for us.
Jonah’s
reaction to revival: chapter four
But it greatly displeased Jonah and he
became angry. (Jon 4:1) Now, isn’t
that amazing? Here is an evangelist that is not satisfied with his results. One
million converts didn’t mean a thing to him because he hated the Ninevites! He
despised them so much that now he gets mad at God for saving these people. Oh,
what a man Jonah is! Jonah himself is saved — and how was he saved? BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH! (Eph 2:8-9) Nor is that all! After Jonah was saved, God gave
him a wonderful privilege, and what did he do? He went in the opposite
direction! God graciously gave him the opportunity of rebound, (1Jn 1:9) but notice, the Word says, “But it greatly displeased Jonah and he became angry.” He is
MAD AT GOD! Now, don’t laugh at Jonah. Remember that you and I have been
mad at God, too. It is blasphemous, but it is true. Believers get mad at God
and blame God for their troubles — “Operation Patsy.” Jonah is just loaded with
this, “God doesn’t treat me right” attitude. Now, suppose you had the privilege
of winning one million souls to Jesus Christ in three days — would you be mad at
God? The twists of the old sin nature are fantastic! (Jer 17:9)
In, (Jon 4:2) Jonah prays again. His first prayer in
Chapter 2 was a prayer of rebound, a prayer of faith, thanksgiving, and
victory. It was a prayer which demonstrated the grace of God and the power of
faith-rest in the life of a believer, for no matter
how low he goes, if he rebounds; God will always hear, even at the bottom of
the sea! But notice this prayer: He
prayed to the LORD and said, "Please LORD, (Watch the next phrase
carefully) was not this what I said (A Hebrew idiom which means; “ was not this
what I said to myself”) while I was still
in my own country? Therefore in order to
forestall this I fled to Tarshish... Do you remember why he fled to
Tarshish? Because he was afraid that God would spare Nineveh if he gave them
the Word of the Lord. This reveals that Jonah knew
the power of the Word, as well as the grace of God. Jonah knew that if he ever reached Nineveh and opened his
mouth and gave them the Scripture, they would be falling over themselves to
accept Christ; yet he hated the Ninevites so
much he just could not stand to see that happen. Why, he would rather
sit around in Jerusalem and have only five or six converts in a couple of
years, or even a couple of decades, than go to those Gentiles. He would prefer
to sit down in a nice easy place and watch one of the greatest periods of apostasy
develop; in all Jewish history.
Four “I
knew’s” of, (Jon 4:2). ...For
I knew that You are. (1) A gracious and
compassionate God... compassion
is grace in action. To respond in a gracious manner
when you are wronged rather than to strike back is to show mercy. It may not be deserved, but so what? Neither did we
deserve anything from God! (Luk 6:35)
So, knowing well what God was like, he said, You are a gracious and compassionate God, (2) slow to anger, (3)
and abundant in
lovingkindness, (4) and one who relents concerning calamity. (Divine judgment and or discipline) Jonah was not a
new convert; he was a man who knew God. Jonah was a man who understood the Word
of God. He understood from, (Isa 30:18)
that God was “tapping His foot,” as it were, waiting to pour out His grace.
Jonah knew the Lord well, he understood the grace of God, and that is why, down
in the belly of the fish, he finally began to offer a prayer of rebound, faith
and thanksgiving. But though Jonah appreciated God’s
grace for himself, he could not bear for others to receive the same mercy and
grace.
(Jon 4:3): Therefore
now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for death is better to me than
life." Here
is Jonah, giving way to the old soul kink, the arrogance complex of self-pity
and self-glorification this happens when we have preoccupation with self,
others, as well as things and circumstances. (Jas 3:14-16) “I wish I were dead.” Think of it! He has thanked the
Lord in, (Jon 2:7) for his deliverance,
yet he turns right around and says, “Take my life, Lord; I’ve had it, Lord!”
Jonah’s reaction strikes a familiar chord, for it is a basic tendency in the
old sin nature — man just cannot bear for those he
hates to be treated in grace! But, how does the Lord deal with this?
“The Lord launched one of His atomic thunderbolts, and Jonah was seen no more
upon the face of the earth.” Is that what we read? No! No! No!
The Lord’s
gracious question. (Jon 4:4): The LORD said, "Do you have good reason
to be angry?" “Do you have a right to be mad at me, Jonah?” Even the
Lord’s question is sheer grace. God is still speaking to this prophet who is
again out of fellowship, the prophet who now whines, “I
wish I were dead.” Filled with self-pity, Jonah misunderstood the
question.
Why did God
ask this question? Why did God say, “Do you have a right to be angry?” He asked
it for several reasons: (1) God had saved Jonah in the first place; (2) He had
delivered Jonah from discipline; (3) He had provided a field of service. God
was saying, “Jonah, do you realize that you have eternal life? Do you realize
that your sins are forgiven and blotted out? Jonah, do you realize that
credited to your account is the righteousness of God? Do
you realize that I have blessed you exceedingly abundantly above all that you
could ask or think? Jonah, do you realize that the only reason you are alive
today is because of My grace? Do you realize that you have had a tremendous
Testimony? Jonah, do you realize that you have lived in the belly of a
fish and have been vomited out on dry land again — the only one in all of
history? (That we know of) My grace has been extended to you without measure —
you are on dry land, you are alive, you are here, and by the power of the
Spirit you have proclaimed the gospel with the result that a million people
have received Christ as savior!”
And when we
come to the New Testament, Jonah is still a sign of God’s grace. (Mat 12:38-41) Jesus said that Jonah was a
demonstration of God’s grace! And that “the men of Nineveh will stand up with
this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because they repented,
(Changed their mind) at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, Something greater
than Jonah is here.” Jesus said, speaking of
Himself.
But Jonah
misunderstood the gracious question. Hoping that God was just delaying a bit
and that He was still going to destroy the city, Jonah said, “Well, I’d better
get out of the city now because God is going to make this an ash-heap.” So
Jonah trots up to a hill on the east side of the city where he could have a
good view of the city with its fifteen hundred towers and magnificent
hundred-foot-high walls.
Then Jonah went out from the city and sat
east of it. There he made a shelter for himself and sat under it in the shade
until he could see what would happen in the city.” (Jon 4:5) Indicating that Jonah had a hunch it
would be destroyed. He provided himself with a box seat and is waiting for the
glorious event that he always wanted to happen — the destruction of Nineveh.
But instead
of the ruin of a city, we see the ruin of the soul of
Jonah. Soon we will see the Virtue love of
God. Oh, Jonah! No tenderness, no compassion, no
love, no grace, just a soul full of satanic and human thinking. And yet,
by this time, the people back home have heard about the revival, the
“newspapers” have published it in Jerusalem, the “Jerusalem Herald” has carried
headlines, “Great Revival in Nineveh — Jonah Wins a Million in Revival,” but
instead of going home rejoicing, Jonah is sitting on a hill eagerly awaiting
the destruction of Nineveh. I can just hear him: “Hit ‘em today with that
thunderbolt! Now, Lord, hit ‘em, hit ‘em!”
The sad thing is that our hearts are often just as hard
concerning the people in the U.S.A.
How long has it been since you have had a heart of compassion for those
who are lost right here? For people to
be born into God's family and the desire to give them Truth so they can grow
up? This will happen if we learn to stay in
fellowship and put God and His Word first in our THINKING!
But turning
around and seeing His disciples, He rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind Me, Satan; for you are not setting your mind
on God's interests, (Thoughts) but man's." And
He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, (His own will, plans,
desires and words; 1Jn 3:16) and take up his cross (Deny the sin nature's satanic and human thinking and lust pattern; Gal 5:24) and follow Me. "For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for My sake and the
gospel's will save it. "For what does it
profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? (The new
Spiritual nature man; 2Co 4:16; 2Pe 1:4) "For what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
"For whoever is ashamed of Me and My Words in this
adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of
Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with
the holy angels." (Mar 8:33-38)
The prepared plant
Apparently the shelter didn’t work. No doubt Jonah
was a poor carpenter and the shelter didn’t last. Now, exposed to the desert
climate, Jonah will be a victim of sunstroke unless something happens. (Jon 4:6): So
the LORD God appointed a plant... This plant is the Palma Christi, (Victory of Christ!) or the Ricinus plant of the
Mid-East. It grows eight or ten feet high and affords ample shade. But he wants
to see the destruction of Nineveh, and being a “donkey,” a very stubborn and
vindictive person, he is going to sit there until God hits that city and blows
it to bits. Do you know why the shelter collapsed and God didn’t keep Jonah in
it? Jonah had built the shelter himself; God wants to prepare the shelter.
THE DIVINE SOLUTION IS THE ONLY SOLUTION! THE HUMAN SOLUTION IS NO SOLUTION!
So, he sits
there in the sun; but one night up comes the Pamla Christi, ten feet high —
wonderful shade — and this is the first time in the whole Book where it says of
Jonah that he was glad or happy. Isn’t it strange what it takes to make some
people happy? Here is a man with a thrilling Testimony, a man who can say, “I
sat in the belly of a fish forty fathoms deep in the Mediterranean praying to
the Lord ....” My, what an exciting Testimony he had!
(As we ALL have been disobedient to God and then
delivered; and NOW have a grace Testimony!) “And
the Lord was gracious and gave me another opportunity for service. As I
stood at the gates of Nineveh, I looked up at Dagon, the fish-god, and I began
to say, ‘I have been inside of the fish, and I stand
here to tell you that even as my God in heaven delivered me from the fish, He
can deliver you from your sins. Unless you trust in the Lord Jehovah,
(Jesus Christ) this city will be destroyed, and you will spend eternity in the
Lake of Fire.” Forty days before eternity begins for Nineveh! Oh, what a privilege, what a joy!
But you never
read that Jonah was happy about giving that message. You do not read about
Jonah being happy about anything. The only indication that Jonah was happy at
all seems to be that he liked the accommodations of the Phoenician ship on the
way to Tarshish — at least he liked the bed — in the storm he was sound asleep;
now he is really happy. He is happy because of a measly, ten-foot Ricinus plant
on the east side of a hill by Nineveh! He really loves that plant. So
the LORD God appointed a plant and it grew up over Jonah to be a shade over his
head to deliver him from his discomfort. (Oh,
the grace of God!) And Jonah was
extremely happy about the plant. (Jon 4:6) But his
happiness over the plant was merely a selfish joy over his own comfort.
Notice the inconsistency: Jonah was angry and full of self-pity because God
would not destroy one million people. On the other hand, Jonah is very happy because he personally has some shade. I wonder, do you and I think only of our own comforts while
thousands are perishing for whom Christ died? Are we so occupied with the
details of life that we have lost the perspective of grace?
But God
prepared the plant, for with the plant God will reveal to Jonah, and to us, His
Own plan with regard to the destruction of Nineveh. Although God loved those
people, even as He loved Jonah, He could not express
His love until His righteousness and justice had been satisfied. His
righteousness cannot have fellowship with sinful man; His justice demands that
sin be punished. The perfect, sinless Son of God
would satisfy God’s righteousness and justice by paying the penalty for man’s
sins with His death on the cross. Since the Father is propitiated,
(Satisfied) by the cross, man can be reconciled to God. All who will receive His substitutionary sacrifice on their behalf by
faith are recipients of God’s grace in Salvation. God is now just to
forgive the sinner and give him eternal life. He is free to express His love; He is free to change His policy toward the sinner; because the sinner has changed his attitude toward God.
His love meets the sinner at the cross. God can
treat saved mankind in grace without inconsistency.
"For God so loved the world, that He
gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in
Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. (Joh 3:16)
The prepared
worm
But God appointed a worm... (Jon 4:7) God prepared
a worm to get Jonah’s eyes off of self; to take away his self-pity, vile
selfishness, and un-mercifulness, as well as to teach him, and us, the grace of
God. Jonah must learn that grace is not a
monopoly; it does not belong to Jonah alone, or even to the Jewish race, but to
the whole human race! God appointed an "attack worm" to show
Jonah that Jesus Christ would die for the sins of the whole world, and that He
loved the Ninevites as much as he loved the Jews.
But God appointed a worm when dawn came the
next day and it attacked the plant and it withered. There is an interesting
thing about that worm. It was just a little, insignificant, measly worm. No
bird on the east side of the hill could swoop down and get that worm. Jonah
could stomp around all day in his sandals, and he could never have destroyed
that worm. There wasn’t anything in this universe
that could have destroyed that worm! That worm
had a job to do, and he went at it the way we ought to! God will use
this small, insignificant thing to teach the most significant lesson to every
believer. Jonah will grieve for the plant; yet God would have grieved
infinitely more over a destroyed Nineveh, for when Christ would die on the
cross He would bear every sin of every Ninevite; He was judged for every
Assyrian.
That worm
destroyed an eight or ten foot Palma Christi. A little old measly worm ate that
plant right out from over Jonah. Jonah probably watched the worm, but he was
helpless, because God had prepared this worm, and because God has a message for
us, just as He had a message for Jonah in that day regarding that worm. WHEN GOD PREPARES ANYTHING, that thing or person had better
move! God not only prepared a worm, but God has prepared you and me. We
have a responsibility. God prepared a worm, and that worm destroyed the only
thing in Jonah’s life that he cared for. And what do you suppose Jonah did
about that?
The prepared
wind
When the sun came up God appointed a
scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on Jonah's head so that he became
faint and begged with all his soul to die, saying, (Again!) "Death is better to me than life."
(Jon 4:8) You never saw a man
feeling sorrier for himself, with the possible exception of Elijah under the
juniper tree! Then God said to Jonah,
"Do you have good reason to be angry about the plant?" This time
He adds something to the question. Before, God had said, “Do you have a right
to be angry?” But this time He asks, “Do you have good reason to be angry about
the plant?” And what do you think Jonah said to that? And he said, "I have good reason to be angry, even to death."
(Jon 4:9) He
is defying God now. His heart is hardened against the Lord!
Then the LORD said, "You
had compassion on the plant for which you did not work and which you did not
cause to grow, which came up overnight and perished overnight. (Jon 4:10) Now here is the analogy: "Should I
not have compassion on Nineveh, the
great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know the
difference between their right and left hand, (120,000 children who have
not reached the age of accountability) as
well as many animals?" (Jon 4:11)
Here is the heart of God!
If Jonah
could be grieved, even willing to die over a measly, inanimate plant, how much
more would God grieve over the destruction of Nineveh? There was an analogy
between Nineveh and the plant — and this is the
heart of God —
Virtue love, grace, compassion, tenderness and affection toward all members of
the human race. That’s why CHRIST DIED FOR ALL. (Exod 34:6)
God was
saying to Jonah, “If you’ve become attached to that
plant which served you and gratified you, and yet you didn’t plant it, you
didn’t water it, you didn’t tend it or prune it, you didn’t have a thing to do
with it, if you can love that gourd, cannot I
love, cannot I have compassion on people whom I have created — on people for whom Christ will die? If you are
willing to die for a plant, cannot I die for those I
love?” (Joh 12:24-26) God has
compassion even for cattle, for they are living things. Now what is the point?
The point of
the worm is this: While Jonah had been the recipient
of God’s grace in Salvation and again the object of His mercy in the great
fish; he did not want Nineveh to have the same. Yet God has Virtue love for the whole human race. When Christ was crucified on the cross, He died for every
person who ever lived, or ever will live. (1Jn 2:2) Those who believe in Him are His representatives. Jonah
represented Him in a past day; we as believers are His representatives on earth
today. We are commissioned by the Word of God as
ambassadors to see that everyone hears the plan of God for Salvation and how to
growth to Spiritual maturity. (2Co 5:20;
1Ti 2:4) There
are places in this world where there is one missionary for a million people! The reason is that we are too occupied with the “plants” of
this life. Plants represent the details of life. (Luk 14:15-24) We are
more interested in money, success pleasure, social life, friends, loved ones,
etc., than we are in the souls of men.
Now the plant
is a relatively insignificant thing. (Mat 6:30)
Yet I wonder, are you more interested in the insignificant “plants” of life
than in the souls for whom Christ died? What is it in your life, in my life,
that keeps us from having a Virtue love and compassion for souls? Why is it
that the average believer in Jesus Christ wants God’s mercy and grace extended
to him when he sins, but never wants God to pour out His grace on some other
believer who offends him. He wants every other believer to be disciplined right
down to the last dregs, be he wants God to let him go scott free.
How many
times have you thought way down deep within yourself about some other believer
whom you despised, “I hope God pours it on him.” Then when you are out of
fellowship, when you’re down where that person is, you say, “Oh God, have mercy
on ME.” You want God to have mercy on you, but on no one else; you want grace
to be a monopoly! One of these days, a little worm could move into this church
and knock the whole thing out. And any other church too. Watch out for the
worm. God will prepare a worm, don’t ever kid yourself. We are a church because
of the grace of God. We are not a church because we are so great. In ourselves
we are nothing. Whatever our church is, however it has grown it is because of
the grace of God and the Word of God, not because of any person, including
myself. Grace depends on Who and What God is
— not who and what we are!
We don’t
care, as long as we have our “plant.” Where is the tenderness, where is the
love, and where is the compassion? Why, we’re sitting
under the plant, and every time a little flicker of inconvenience or
frustration comes along we feel sorry for ourselves, we call out for the
grace of God. We want God to pour out all of His grace upon us, but we don’t want anyone else to have it. Grace is
not a monopoly, and God prepared a worm to teach Jonah that lesson.
God went on
to say, “Look here Jonah, look down at that city. You want that city destroyed;
you’re sitting up here waiting for it, yet down there are 120,000 children.”
Jonah could become upset over a plant, but he was indifferent to the
destruction of 120,000 children. These are questions
we must answer to the Lord. God
has been preparing worms throughout the centuries, and there are thousands and
thousands of local congregations which have been destroyed completely, for God
had to prepare a worm.
And then we
all have personal plants, some detail of life which often excludes Truth. It
may be something materialistic, for in this country we are in bondage to
materialism. It may be a person, it may be a thing, it may be some social
activity, it may be the pattern of your life — whatever it is — let the worm
tell you something. Whatever it is, that plant will go!
If God has to take it out by a worm, it will go with all the misery and agony
of your soul. We are here to serve Him, and none of
us will ever be happy until our hearts are tender and filled with compassion
toward others. (1Jn 5:2)
Jonah won a
million people to the Lord, but afterwards, his heart was hardened. So God
prepared a worm to teach Jonah the value of the human soul, to remind Jonah of
His matchless grace. Many times Jonah had been the recipient of grace, as have
we. Did he not want others to have this grace? Do we? A worm rises up to preach
the greatest message of all time — the matchless, infinite, endless grace of
God! So that His grace might be available to all, God PREPARED A CROSS. But when the fullness of the time came, God
sent forth His Son... (Gal 4:4) And He Himself bore our sins in His body on
the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to
righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. (1Pe 2:24) For
by GRACE you have been saved through FAITH and that not of yourselves;
(Salvation) it is the gift of God. (Eph 2:8)
“Where there
is no vision, (The Teaching of Truth) the people are unrestrained...” (Pro 29:18) The people without Christ are
perishing, because we have no vision of their needs. We have no vision of the
cross where Christ died for their sins. Therefore, as in the past when God
prepared a worm, so right down to the present, God still prepares those worms, and it would be better for us, in our own souls, to get
into the “sackcloth and ashes” of rebound than
to face the discipline of the Divine worm and miss the glory of the plan of
God!
The fruit of the
righteous is a tree of life, And he who is wise wins souls.
If the righteous will be rewarded in the earth,
How much more the wicked and the sinner! (Pro 11:30-31)
End
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