The Church Called Jonah

  The Second Rebellion Jonah 4:5 : “Jonah had gone 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.” “Jonah had gone out and sat down at a place east of the city…” No sooner than Jonah has this second conversation with God and is asked by God, “Is it right for you to be angry?” does he hit the road again. We’ve heard the axiom, "It’s either my way or the highway.” This seems like the policy of Jonah in this particular story – when things don’t go his way, he hits the highway literally. He leaves Nineveh – the city he preaches against - the city that whole-heartedly repented of their sin. He leaves this city and finds a place to sit down.  Jonah was a man just like us, with rebellion imbibed in his bones. The last time he ran was when the Lord first commissioned Him to go and preach against Nineveh. Here we see him running once again. Just as running needs a break, so also running...

  # 26 – The Prophet’s Lamenting Jonah 4:1-4 – “But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became angry. 2 So he prayed to the LORD, and said, “Ah, LORD, was not this what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm. 3 Therefore now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live!” 4 Then the LORD said, “Is it right for you to be angry?” “But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became angry….”  Jonah preached, and the King and the people repented. When they repented, God relented from sending on them the punishment He had planned. When God relented, Jonah lamented. The first reaction by Jonah to God relenting was that of exceeding displeasure and anger. Those are perhaps two of the least expected emotions from a man of God in response to God relenting on pouring out his wra...

  The Divine Relenting Jonah 3:10 – “Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it.” “Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way…” In Jonah 1:2, God had told Jonah that the wickedness of the people of Nineveh had come up before the Lord. This means that the Lord was aware of their wickedness and hence sent Jonah with the message of warning of impending judgment. Here we see a similar, yet different thing that the Lord was aware of – He saw their works, that they turned from their evil way.  Many of us have grown up with a warped or lopsided understanding of God – that He is constantly watching us to see where and when we do wrong so he can punish or chastise us for the wrong-doing. We grew up with an impression of God as being stern and angry, who was not capable of love at all. That’s so far from the truth though.  God is loving, holy...