Jonah’s Only Hope, and Ours

3/7/2021

So tell me? Why do you think Jonah was like that on the boat? Was he just naturally a jerk or what kind of history might have been involved? Specifically what kinds of things happen to a person that would tempt them to be like that? Is there a chance Jonah had a history? Is there a lesson in this for us if we actually think it through prior to the start of the book?

It seems like when they repented, his attitude was, “Well, isn’t that just great. I knew that would happen. I had a hunch God wanted to be merciful to them.” Maybe he was so prejudiced against Assyria because it was “the enemy” that he didn’t want any part of calling them to repentance? Maybe he wanted to see them go down?

And the history that could cause that could be... being brought up as a spoiled brat that doesn’t have to do anything they don’t want to do? Or being brought up in a lack-of-love environment that doesn’t think “bad people” deserve love and mercy?

He sure was a brat about the vine and the worm!

Did he feel better than them since he was an Israelite? Maybe he felt God had “let him down” in the past or he was holding onto something that he needed to repent of and how could God forgive “those people?”

Add the “vine” part in your assessments if you haven’t already. Maybe not two or three things going on, but one?

But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?” “It is,” he said. “And I’m so angry I wish I were dead.”

Anytime God asks a person, “Do you have a right?” and the person answers, “You bet I do,” that’s got to be a problem. Somehow he grew up with a sense of entitlement, that he had a right to get mad at God for telling him to do something he didn’t want to do or for taking something away from him that he wanted to keep.

The question I ask myself is whether I share Father’s heart for all Nations to repent and bow their knee to him or will I let any kind of prejudice/selfish agenda get in the way of being all into His plan. I plan to be “all in...” whether terrorist extremists or whoever... If he can save me, he can save them. And I’ll plan to be very happy if he does.

I’m on a bike ride so I haven’t had a chance to read all these yet. But while riding I thought, “If I can’t dig into the whys and histories of people to understand them and why they are tempted the way they are... especially when they are ‘different from me,’ then I will be like Jonah and not love those God calls me to love and understand.”

It reminds me a bit of the parable of the workers hired for the vineyard, where those who felt they deserved the full day’s pay were upset that others, who they thought didn’t deserve it as much, received the same reward. Like the stumbling stone that Jesus was to the Pharisees, when He spent more time with the people they deemed undeserving of salvation—while they had prepared and kept clean their whole lives, believing themselves deserving of salvation (or so they thought). Maybe Jonah thought he was deserving of the Lord’s favor (deserving of salvation and also a vine to keep the heat off), but didn’t understand the mercy of God to give a chance to people who didn’t deserve it, weren’t looking for it, and possibly persecuted messengers of it.

He certainly seemed to value way more how everything affected him, rather than deep abandonment to what God wanted. That had to be the result of a BUNCH of seeds along the way with little tiny things.... chances to love and give that he didn’t take.

There IS something to the self-pity attitude that he gave into (where God helping others is more about whether or not it is convenient/agreeable with Jonah than him rejoicing with God chasing/finding the one sheep that was lost)... something to that I can recognize, as I personally FIGHT to care only about what God cares about and squash every temptation to be “inconvenienced” or not endure long with someone who I think “ought to get it” by now... I do repent of every hint of that Jonah attitude!

Perhaps Jonah grew up in an unloving home... or a home where expected “good performance” came before love was given or shown. If he had never been loved unconditionally, it would be harder for him to give that away to others.

In chapter 4 Jonah says he ran away because he was afraid that God would be compassionate and forgive them. I’ve wondered if maybe his family had had a history with the cruel Assyrians. Maybe he had hated them for a long time instead of seeing the Assyrians had just been a tool of punishment for the sins of his own people. Instead of hating sin, maybe he had hated the tool of discipline.

Maybe...Sleeping through the storm and asking to be thrown overboard seems like a giving up/shutting down type of response. Maybe he’d had a past where people mistreated him and/or made him feel worthless like he could never do anything so 1) when things went bad on the ship and he was being disciplined he shut down. He didn’t see discipline as LOVE. 2) he maybe couldn’t fathom forgiveness for the violent and wicked Assyrians because maybe he was bitter about people who had mistreated him.

I was thinking about an aspect of Seeing God for who He Is. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” It seemed he was lacking that “fear of the Lord,” as he was able to be so angry with God and run away. His response to God’s question about whether he had a right to be angry was just flat-out that he did have a right, and he was so angry he wished he were dead. Seems like there wasn’t humility that asked a question—knowing who the Potter was and who the clay was.

Seems Jonah had a very high view of his THOUGHTS on how things should go. He didn’t wrestle with God like Jacob or respectfully discuss and ask God to change his mind like Moses. He seemed to consider his thoughts to be on the same level as God’s thoughts: what was fair, what was just, when God should be merciful, when plants should die...

A while back, someone said something to us and I wrote these thoughts down: Whether Muslim or Baptist or Atheist, we are not “against” others. We acknowledge and discern where they are and do not pretend that they are otherwise out of pity or prejudice. We do our best to call their sin (the specific things that separate them from God) what God calls it... but our goal is pushing and pulling them towards Jesus, not “our righteous side.” Knowing our own hearts and who we are apart from Jesus allows us to see others correctly. If we can’t see them correctly, then we likely do not see ourselves accurately. So at the very least, Jonah had a very skewed view of his own standing before God.

Maybe he felt like he had been hurt because he had spoken for God in the past. Maybe like Jeremiah and many others, he paid a price for it... only Jonah held a grudge against God because of it.

Over and over God was *providing* things (including the shade plant and its demise) for Jonah to learn by and see correctly, and over and over Jonah was determined that his own perspective was higher than that of his creator. Jonah had been so very happy about his own salvation and he made a vow to God but all that did not actually change his heart, which God made clear by providing the worm. It does seem clear that God was going to great lengths to help Jonah see his own heart.

It really seems to me like he could not see the bigger picture or see beyond how he felt in the moment. Even though he kind of knew God (enough to hear Him anyway), he just didn’t really See things two or three steps ahead, especially when he wasn’t happy/comfortable. I could see some of that coming from lack of parental training/authority...letting him get away with “That’s not fair” kinds of language...and not dealing with whininess and sloppiness of heart and mouth and body.

That kind of “that’s not fair” attitude and life keeps coming to mind, specifically related to two males within a few years of my age who’s lives have not flourished (last I knew). That taint is really destructive.

Based on the fact that Jonah quickly ran the opposite direction, felt good enough about it that he was in a deep sleep in the boat, and then let the crew cast lots before admitting that it was him who was causing the issue, it does seem like Jonah viewed himself as big stuff and was lacking the fear of God. I’m guessing in the past he lived a pretty independent life. Maybe bad parenting played into it (their lack of connection with God made it so that he didn’t learn true authority and respect for the I AM)? His world also seemed to revolve around him and whatever he thought was fair or made sense. He might have grown up always trying to find what would “make sense” or please him versus respecting that God is BOSS and knows BEST and then getting on his knees to find God’s heart on the item at hand.

What if people “back home” revered him and everything he said seemed to matter? What if HE had started to feel in control of his world? If he took the gift God may have given him and he “owned” it? And now God was persistently stripping him of his self-worth, self-importance, and self-“righteousness.” Maybe his view of himself was worth more to him than his own life at that point.

I’ve always had a hard time understanding the book of Jonah. In some ways, he reminds me of Elijah (but we’ll save that for another discussion :) )

Jonah clearly knew who God was and could hear Him, but he didn’t agree with God so he acted like a 2-year-old and threw a fit about anything he didn’t like. I’m really wanting to ask him when I see him, “Dude! What was all of that about?!”

Anyway, in trying to think what would make someone act the way he did: Running from God and clearly disobeying a direct command. Arguing and whining with God. Sulking anytime something didn’t go his way. Not caring about others when the ship is about to sink (sound asleep during the storm and didn’t admit the storm was his fault until the lots showed him to be the culprit). It has to stem from lack of leadership and discipline as a child and lack of love for others. Maybe he was abused and not disciplined and nurtured and helped the way he needed to be. God sure does go out of his way to show compassion towards him though. Telling him to go help Nineveh turn to Him. Not letting him drown in the ocean when he was thrown overboard, but preparing the whale to swallow him and take him ashore. Comforting him from the sun and then continuing to teach him a lesson by letting the worm take his shade. God’s long-suffering and care for Jonah takes center stage over Jonah’s very very bad character. And maybe that’s what I need to take away from it all instead of grimacing at Jonah’s attitude whenever I read his story. And the way it ends!

“Yes, even angry enough to die!”

But again, God showed him a lot of patience in the midst of training and refining his character.

Clearly if the people and king of Nineveh were starting to feel the weight of the wickedness of their nation, there is no way Jonah could have known that “bigger picture.” None of us will ever be able to see the scope of the “bigger picture” which is why we sure do want to search the heart of God and trust His Directions. It did come to mind as very intriguing that not very many rulers would have responded the way the king of Nineveh did, nor the people! I can’t imagine a whole nation wearing sackcloth and ashes and the response of the ruler taking off his crown and joining his people, declaring even the animals and pets were to fast and wear sackcloth. Criminals urging each other to behave. Amazing. But Jonah didn’t even want them to repent. He wanted the shade of the vine so he could relax and watch their destruction in comfort. One thought regarding Jonah being the fruit of terrible parenting—yes, I can see that. (the sin of the parents had consequences for four generations, and simply the pain of being abused...). But we’ve also seen some of the wicked Israelite kings who had sons who rose to be Godly. And we have certainly seen that amongst even ourselves. Many surpassed their parents by the time they were 18 or 19 years old. God WILL help us to see our own hearts. And sometimes He goes to great lengths to help us see that we might be fooling ourselves if we think we “repented” and were “sorry” and “made vows.”

In a time when honor was worth dying for, I’m sure a prophet’s honor was at least in part tied to prophecy coming true, and I’m sure there was no small shame in a sense of “bait and switch” from the God that he spoke for. But God wanted to illustrate to Jonah through the vine that Jonah’s honor should not weigh on him like the souls of a city. Maybe this wasn’t the first time Jonah felt he was treated unfairly by God.

Despite how nasty Jonah’s anger was I’ve been warmed recently over the last year and it keeps coming to mind, by God’s response of asking him TWICE patiently, “Is it right for you to be angry?” It’s so like Him to, at times, ask a question like that.. to try and draw Jonah close and get him to consider and be soft instead of just telling him what a petulant child he was being! As said above, God’s long-suffering and care take center stage!!

We just read all of this together in a living room and someone noted that it reminded them of the “prodigal son” older brother.... while the younger son squandered his father’s wealth, the older son squandered his LOVE.... he missed the queues and tears that told him what mattered to his father.... he missed his father’s broken heart.... and just loved himself... no doubt comparing himself and his self-imagined “righteousness”... (Another it’s-not-fair-ite!)

Before this dialogue, I’d never even thought how much of a cop-out it was that Jonah recommended getting thrown overboard rather than immediate repentance! I think I see some lessons THERE!

The bitter root and judgment against God for “letting him down” in some previous and undisclosed event or events is obvious. Sleeping in the boat, not caring if he’s thrown overboard, whining about the vine... and the amazing “Song” and clear relationship with God are all the product of a legitimate but human-gifted and called man of God, who is loved by God despite his shallow impudence. Jonah thought he was gone and dead when heaved over the side of the boat, and yet his Abba knew and loved him, and saved him despite being a selfish prideful jerk with his HUGE mistakes. God kept “letting him down” it seemed to Jonah, messing with his “logical” expectations and acting on His own character and timing and priorities—that obviously did not match Jonah’s overly-simplified expectations, apparently even before our look into his story begins. The attitude was already present. He knew God CLEARLY (read the Song again) and had been God’s man previous to the episode we read about. His faith in God as a PERSON had not failed, but he was severely questioning how he could himself play on a playing field of God’s choosing that did not reflect the “rules” of Jonah’s understanding or character. Was he damaged from childhood or parenting bad leadership? Probably. But he still became God’s man. And yet there really is no doubt that Jonah had allowed, as Elijah and others, despair due to a sense of “betrayal” due to Jonah’s shallow and limited dimensional understanding. Jonah allowed the despair and disappointment to take root and to become an unstable bitterness. That was a BAD mistake. But, clearly God’s love and patience were there... because the CORE of Jonah was a dialog with and worship of God.

That CORE is the only hope—but the “hope that does not disappoint”— that ANY OF US HAVE.

I was overhearing the children listening to Jonah in the other room and heard the phrase “three days and nights.” Of all the prophets that Jesus might have compared himself to, one of them was Jonah: “No sign will be given, except the sign of Jonah.” Jesus saved our sinking ship and was disowned by God, for our sins, but loves us anyway. God put himself/Jesus through 1000000x the “unfairness” that Jonah faced, and came through it without the slightest bitterness or despair. Jesus is sooooo Good... through and through.

Amen.