This episode wraps up our study of Jonah, and the theme has been the hearts. We have reflected on the heart of God, the heart of the sailors, the heart of the Ninevites, and the heart of Jonah. Today, we turn our gaze inward and look at our own hearts. The author of this book does a fantastic job of grabbing the person reading and giving them a good shake. We look at the lessons that Jonah has for us as a church and ask ourselves some questions: What about me? Is my heart like God’s? What has captured my heart?
Transcript
Today, we wrap up our study in the incredible book of Jonah. Thank you for being there. If you have followed along in this journey, you know our theme has been the hearts we see throughout the book of Jonah. We have reflected on the heart of God, the heart of the sailors, the heart of the Ninevites, and the heart of Jonah.
How many more hearts are there you ask? And that is a good question, today, as we close this series, we turn our gaze inward. That’s right there is one more heart to look at and today the focus is my heart.
The author of this book does a fantastic job of grabbing the person reading and giving them a good shake. The way the author ends the book is extremely fascinating. At the end the reader is left hanging, suspended. Wondering what happened next? Did Jonah stay angry, or did he come around? And while you are sitting there wondering, you soon realize this is meant for me. What about me, how am I treating God? What has captured my heart? Do I look at anyone as a Ninevite?
If this is what happens to you, you are right where the author wants you and today, we take time to examine my heart. However, before we do that, let’s think a bit about the author. We don’t know for certain who wrote the book. Some think Jonah did, some believe it was handed down orally then written down much later. With the evidence we have no one can say for certain who wrote it. But If Jonah was the one who wrote this account, I feel good about where he ended up. If he wrote the book in such a way as this, it suggests he reached a point where he could look back and poke fun of himself. Most of us have events in our lives which we look back on with embarrassment. What was I thinking? I can’t believe I did this or that. Hopefully we get to the point where we learned from it and can teach others. I don’t think Jonah could have written this if he was still angry and bitter. As I mentioned we don’t know for sure who held the pen, regardless we know it was God who inspired and preserved it till today.
The Bible is truly remarkable in this way. It was written for specific people in a specific time, yet here we are, thousands of years later, reading it and applying it right here in our culture. This continually validates the Bible as a miraculous book to which we absolutely need to pay attention. Why does it still apply? How can it be so relevant and powerful generation after generation? Because this is much more than words on a piece of paper. Hebrews 4:12 comes to mind “The Word of God is living and powerful” the author knows humans and has given us truth that will never expire or be outdated. And for this we are very thankful.
Our lesson today is divided into two sections. First, we will consider a few personal questions, examining my heart. Then to wrap it up we will take a step back a close with a few big picture applications from the whole book of Jonah.
To understand where our heart stands, lets return to the final verses of the book of Jonah.
Jonah 4:10-11
10 But the Lord said, “You have had pity on the plant for which you have not labored, nor made it grow, which came up in a night and perished in a night. 11 And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left—and much livestock?”
God presents this final question to Jonah: And the question mark is the end of the book. As we think about the topic of my heart here are three questions for us to think about.
I. What Has Captured My Heart?
God points out that Jonah had more care for a plant than he did for these people. The plant moved his heart more than the great city of Nineveh. What has captured your heart?
As the reader sits there, wondering what happened to Jonah or why God ended the book this way, it is usually not long until we think about ourselves. We realize the plant represented Jonah’s comfort. It provided him with some relief. But more than that, Jonah displayed extreme emotion surrounding that plant. He was exceedingly glad when it came up, and then, when God took it away, he was exceedingly angry. It was just a plant we say, why all the emotion?
The challenge extends far beyond this plant and Jonah. The question for us today is: What has captured my emotions? What do I admire? What makes me exceedingly angry and what makes me very glad? Whatever it is, that is what has captured your heart.
This leads to the 2nd question.
II. Is My Heart Like God’s Heart?
All through this book, God is calling Jonah to think like He does, to adopt His perspective. As we saw Jonah was tough. What about us? Is my heart like God’s heart? Am I motivated by what motivates God? If the things that are motivating me aren’t even on God’s radar, that is not good. We can easily see it in Jonah. All caught up in plant while not affected by many people. But do we so easily see it in ourselves? Our hearts tend to get caught up in small things from God’s perspective, while the things that are important to God are small to us. We need to take a step back and inspect our hearts. Is my heart broken by the things that break God’s heart?
God’s question at the end shows us what matters to Him. He specifically mentions the people and the animals. God specifically mentions 120,000 persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left. He really cared for them and for the animals. Before HOH I worked in residential construction and to this day when I drive by some houses I helped build, they mean more to me. I know it is only a house, but it means more because I helped build it, this is how I think God must have felt about the cattle. The people had His heart, and all the cattle which he created and knew all about. We see what tugged at God’s heart, but the question remains, is my heart like God’s heart?
III. Who Are My Ninevites?
Now let’s think about one more question. We have mentioned this before, and it is one of the main issues we see in Jonah. It is his outright disapproval and strong feeling against the Ninevites. So, our last personal question is who are your Ninevites? Or where is your Nineveh?
As Christians, we intellectually know that everybody deserves the gospel. That is the truth. But do we always feel that way? Jonah certainly did not, and that is our challenge. Think about it, is there anyone you would be disappointed to hear that they came to Christ? Anyone you are hoping someone gets God’s justice, which they so obviously deserve? We need to consider who irritates us, or who we are annoyed with, those we feel really do not deserve the gospel. Or the place in our mind we have already decided, I am not going there, I’ll serve God anywhere but not there.
That feeling—the feeling that some people need judgement, not mercy, sounds like Jonah. It is not right, yet we are so quick to go there. This is especially relevant in this polarized culture we are in. You know there are many opinions on everything, we have lots of discussions on many different viewpoints. And we are quick to label the other side dangerous and evil. They clearly haven’t thought this issue through, anyone with half a brain would know the truth is here, my way. On and on our thinking goes and we convince ourselves the other side is malicious, they really are evil.
We often see this issue played out globally, where people groups elevate themselves above an enemy, who they describe as terrible people. They might be called infidels, terrorists, enemies of God, or simply “evil people that we need to do away with.” The goal is simple, dehumanize the enemy. The danger of labeling the other side as wicked and evil isn’t a problem that is just “out there.” It applies to church problems, and even to smaller family problems. We are quick to label others.
The call from the book of Jonah is simple: Don’t do that. And If you are doing it, stop. Fight against wrong ideas and bad ways of thinking, not people. Jesus has given us the best weapon ever for this fight. He clearly taught us to love our enemies. How profound when we apply this, we soon won’t have enemies. Imagine if Jonah had done this. Thankfully we know God will be patient and slow to anger can we be this way in our treatment of others? Even those who our Ninevites? Yes, with God’s help it’s possible.
So, again, the three questions we asked were, What has captured my heart ? Is my heart like God’s heart? and Who are my Ninevites? This ends the first part of our discussion and the look inside at my heart, and our heart was the last heart we are going to look at in our thema of hearts throughout the book of Jonah. Now I’d like to switch gears a bit. And for the rest of the lesson let’s take a step back and think big picture. We’ll end by considering big picture applications we can take away from the book of Jonah.
III. The Bigger Picture: Lessons for the Church
1. A Lesson for Evangelism
First of all, think about the example of Jonah down through time. It has always been a challenge for God’s people regarding evangelism and how we reach out.
The lesson is clear: Let’s not be like Jonah. Let’s take His good news to the world, all are worthy. God clearly shows us His heart, and the message is for all people. The question is are we His people following Jesus commanded in the Great Commission? Are we going and making disciples?
When God told to Jonah to “Go” and he went the opposite direction. What are we doing with Jesus command to “Go.” Are we doing the opposite of what Jesus commanded? Are we keeping the good news of Jesus to ourselves? Are we staying? Jonah knew the gracious, merciful, loving God, but He didn’t want the Ninevites to know. Many of us know this same God, but are we telling others or are we like Jonah? Jesus command to “go” may mean across the street, out of state, or to another country. Many of us know the good news, the question is are we sharing it with others?
God has given us this short powerful book showing us His heart and reminding His people down through the ages, don’t be a Jonah, share my love with everyone.
2. The Reckless Love of God
A second big picture observation about the book of Jonah. Some have drawn an interesting comparison between the book of Jonah and the parable of the Prodigal Son. This connection lines up closely. Jonah in Chapter 1 is like the younger son. Running away from God and doing his own thing. Jonah in Chapter 4, angry, unrepentant, waiting outside the city while good things are going on inside. Here he is like the older brother.
Then we have the Father, following the angry elder brother trying to reason with him and bring him around to the right way of thinking. It is interesting to see the parallels in Jonah and the parable. Both challenging us with the reckless love of God toward His children.
3. Rejecting Ethnocentricism
The third lesson addresses the attitude Jonah portrayed so well. He seems to have the idea that the Israelites were “up here” and they had the inside track with God. The Ninevites on the other hand were “down there.” Jonah didn’t want to see them saved T hey weren’t good enough for the gospel.
While Israel maybe had more of a right to feel this way than some other groups, many people seem to think they are the pinnacle of creation, close to God. This culture is somehow the best while all others fall short in some way. Afterall Jonah’s parents, and grandparents and great grandparents were God’s people, so surely he had something others didn’t right? But Jonah is wrong, and everyone thinking that way today is wrong. When we start thinking this way, even subtly, we are wrong. A word for this is ethnocentric and it’s the attitude that one’s own group is superior.
Israel was supposed to be a light to the nations. Yes, they did know God in a special way, but the purpose was to be a light. The church is similar, we know Jesus. That doesn’t make us better, but it should make us brighter. We are to be a light to the world. We must not automatically think of ourselves as elite. We are not better, or smarter, or more qualified, or whatever word we want to use, while everyone else is “down there”.
The incredible thing is that God does not leave Jonah to wallow in this attitude. We looked at God calling him out of it. If this is our attitude, God will continue trying to call us out of it. God, in His incredible patience and mercy, worked with His stubborn pouting prophet and He will do the same for His people if needed.
Reject the idea that I have an inside track with God. Throwaway the thought that God somehow needs me. Instead, understand His grace realizing He saved a wretch like me. Then go and tell others about His marvelous grace.
4. The Necessity of Repentance and the Hope of Jesus
The last observation to think about is the call to repentance. We saw the sailors repent. We saw the entire city of Nineveh repent. And here we see God calling Jonah to repent here at the end, but the book does not record his final response. So, the question persists past the end of the book. What happened? And what about us?
Repentance is the answer. It has been the theme of many preachers down through the ages, and it still rings true. That is what’s needed. That is where it starts. We must repent, turn from our wickedness, and walk with God and this invitation is open to everyone.
Look at Nineveh one last time, the message they received was simple and straightforward, you will soon be destroyed. They were willing to repent at that simple message. This example makes us wonder how complicated a message we need in order to repent. They had a clear, simple message, and they acted on it.
You know the message for us is much the same, God’s judgement is coming. Jesus is coming soon, are you ready? The prophet Amos said it timelessly, “prepare to meet your God.” God help us get a good grip on what is coming, like the Ninevites did, and when we realize the seriousness of the situation we will respond accordingly.
But if we think we are good people and we are doing everything right, repentance will not feel like a big deal. However, seeing ourselves for who we truly are—sinful people who will soon face judgement—leads us to repent and get right with God, because it is serious.
This is the heart of the gospel, we are sinful people, and we need something. We need someone. And that someone is Jesus. Jesus’ death and resurrection is the sacrifice needed for forgiveness. Today is the day of salvation, now is the time to repent and get right with God. And this call rings loud and clear through the book of Jonah.
Conclusion
So today we started by looking inward. The last heart we looked at in the book of Jonah was the heart of the reader, my heart. After those three questions we took a step back and looked at some big picture lessons, themes from the whole book. These are challenges to God’s people down through the ages.
To end our discussion and to finish our study in the book of Jonah I’d like to read two selections from the book You! Jonah! by Thomas John Carlisle. It is written in a style similar to the book itself and there are many lines which make you stop and think.
One poem, entitled “Tantrum,” perfectly captures Jonah’s extreme attitude. It describes Jonah after God spared the city.
“The generosity of God
displeased Jonah exceedingly
and he slashed with angry prayer
at the graciousness of the Almighty.
“I told You so,” he screamed.
“I knew what You would do,
You dirty Forgiver.
You bless Your enemies
and show kindness to those
who despitefully use You.
I would rather die
than live in a world
with a God like You.
And don’t try to forgive me either.”
This is staggering writing, but it lays bare Jonahs’ attitude we discussed earlier. Carlisle’s final poem, “Coming Around,” is a big challenge, especially when we consider the church and reaching out to the world around us.
It says, “And Jonah stalked
to his shaded seat
and waited for God to come around
to his way of thinking.
And God is still waiting
for a host of Jonahs
in their comfortable houses
to come around
To His way of loving.”
In our part of the world, comforts are readily available. We have many, perhaps caring more for our comfort than for the souls of people. We need God’s help in this, the challenge is real. This was the main gist from today, where is my heart? We must look inside, examine our thoughts and motives, then grow in what is good and repent of the wrong. Continually maturing, becoming more and more like our Father, as this is done our heart will mirror His heart.
