4 This change of plans greatly upset Jonah, and he became very angry. ² So he complained to the Lord about it: “Didn’t I say before I left home that you would do this, Lord? That is why I ran away to Tarshish! I knew that you are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. You are eager to turn back from destroying people. ³ Just kill me now, Lord! I’d rather be dead than alive if what I predicted will not happen.”

⁴ The Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry about this?”

⁵ Then Jonah went out to the east side of the city and made a shelter to sit under as he waited to see what would happen to the city. ⁶ And the Lord God arranged for a leafy plant to grow there, and soon it spread its broad leaves over Jonah’s head, shading him from the sun. This eased his discomfort, and Jonah was very grateful for the plant.

⁷ But God also arranged for a worm! The next morning at dawn the worm ate through the stem of the plant so that it withered away. ⁸ And as the sun grew hot, God arranged for a scorching east wind to blow on Jonah. The sun beat down on his head until he grew faint and wished to die. “Death is certainly better than living like this!” he exclaimed.

⁹ Then God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry because the plant died?”

“Yes,” Jonah retorted, “even angry enough to die!”

¹⁰ Then the Lord said, “You feel sorry about the plant, though you did nothing to put it there. It came quickly and died quickly. ¹¹ But Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness, not to mention all the animals. Shouldn’t I feel sorry for such a great city?”

Jonah 4

Dear God, oh, how you love us. It’s all right here. I was talking with a man yesterday about his fear that his sins will keep him from your presence and out of heaven. I tried to encourage him that your love is deep. What you are looking for is our hearts and repentance, not our perfection. Yes, you slowly (very slowly) form us into your likeness if we pursue you, but you also work with us where we are. This man seemed to have deep sins that concerned him. I reminded him that both David and Moses killed people, but they repented well.

So now I see Jonah being bitter about the idea that he isn’t your favored one. That he doesn’t have a monopoly on your love and forgiveness. Even the Ninevites can earn your love and forgiveness. Who were the Ninevites? Apparently, this was the capital for the Assyrians, so the king of Nineveh was a powerful person. But they were also cruel. They conquered and killed. They threatened and laid waste. Honestly, I’m not sure why you singled them out for 1.) destruction and 2.) salvation. But what I want to think about today is Jonah.

Jesus had this weird teaching. He told us to love our enemies. When someone is coming at me and strikes me on the face, Jesus calls me to turn the other cheek. When I read this story yesterday, the Ninevites reminded me of the Prodigal Son and Jonah reminded me of the older brother. One thing I like about Jonah is that he owns his foolishness. He tells you exactly what he thinks about you and your plan. What I think people who want you to not forgive others forget is that if you were to take the perspective that there is a line I can cross that is irredeemable and unforgiveable, they might actually find themselves on the wrong side of the cut line. I gain nothing if you don’t forgive my enemy. But I could lose everything if your forgiveness becomes conditional.

Father, I have so much heaviness in my heart. I have some things at work that are making my heart heavy. I have friends who are suffering. I have family who are suffering. I woke up at 2:00 this morning and never could go back to sleep. I wasn’t worrying about anything one thing in particular, but the weight of all of it made me lie awake. Maybe I should have gotten up and prayed. Maybe I should have come in my study here and done this. I didn’t. Instead, I looked for distractions. So help me to love others. Help me to be at peace. Help me to lead and help me to serve. Help me to remember the bad example of Jonah. I want to carry your message of love and repentance to everyone I meet today.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen