But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” And the Lord said, “Do you do well to be angry?”

Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, till he should see what would become of the city. Now the Lord God appointed a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant. But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered. When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint. And he asked that he might die and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.” But God said to Jonah, “Do you do well to be angry for the plant?” And he said, “Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die.” And the Lord said, “You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night. And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?”—Jonah 4:1–11

Introduction

How do you like a book or movie to end? Do you like resolution? The epic quest is completed. The mystery is solved. The couple who you knew from the beginning was destined to be together is finally exchanging their wedding vows. Does redemption make you glad? The self-absorbed main character has been transformed to complete a selfless act. Justice prevails. The dragon is slain. The captives are free.

My guess is the majority of us love happy endings. These themes touch on the greatest true story—that of Jesus Christ. Yet until he returns, there are times when we only get glimpses of his victory. 

For some of us, as we look at our own life stories, happy endings seem elusive. Though this can show up in a hundred different ways, let me give you just two. For some of us, our hearts break over loved ones running away from Jesus rather than toward him. For others, we are the one running (whether publicly or privately) as we seek our own happy ending in broken cisterns, apart from God’s ways. What do we do when rebellion rather than redemption is a prominent theme our life story?

Today we come to the final chapter of Jonah. As you read it, it not hard to see that it does not have a happy ending. It lacks resolution, and redemption is far from view. Why? What does God have for us in this final chapter? I believe God is eager to use his word in this chapter to do heart surgery on us, wooing us to identify and lay down our arms of rebellion. As well, he wants to lift our heads. Through his powerful word, he desires to renew our faith and help us see afresh our Merciful God of Relentless Pursuit. 

Please pray with me. Father, you are the God of plentiful redemption! You are the lifter of our heads! Please come and work through your powerful Scriptures. May they accomplish your work, discerning the thoughts and intentions of our hearts. As faith comes through hearing, may you give us fresh faith! Please work through your word to lead us in the way everlasting. In Jesus name!

Our plan this morning is to walk through chapter 4 and look at it in two scenes:

1. Scene 1: Jonah’s Evil Reaction to Nineveh’s Repentance (Jonah 4:1–4)
2. Scene 2: The Lord’s Pursuit of Jonah to Rescue Him from His Evil (Jonah 4:5–11) 

SCENE 1: Jonah’s Evil Reaction 

But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” And the Lord said, “Do you do well to be angry?”—Jonah 4:1–4

You may be asking yourself, “Jonah’s evil reaction? Yikes, that’s not the Jonah I know.” Our aim is not to belittle someone who is not here to defend himself. Our aim is to see what God has written down for us in his word. Let’s begin by reminding ourselves what happened in chapter 3, and then carefully walk through the passage to see what the text says.

If this book had ended in Jonah 3, we would have had our happy ending. Last week we looked at the Lord’s warning to Nineveh. It was a “severe mercy” which produced stunning results: repentance that “spread across social lines” and even involved their cattle. 

Imagine if this happened through the ministry of one of our Global Partners. God granted repentance to everyone in their city or people group. How would we respond? Rejoicing! You could not hold back the news. Emails, videos, blogs, and stories from the pulpit. We would also respond, seeking to support them, sending ministry teams to aid in the work of discipleship.

Let’s look again at the verdict of the Lord, the Judge of All the Earth:

“When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.”—Jonah 3:10

Now let’s look at the first word in Jonah 4:1: “But.” This is a clue to the English reader—“Don’t miss the contrast here.”

“But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry.”—Jonah 4:1

The Lord relented from the disaster. God displayed his divine forbearance, passing over these sins (Romans 3:25). His justice would then be satisfied on the cross of Jesus Christ or in his eternal judgment. Yet, Jonah had the opposite reaction. We are given a clue in the ESV’s footnote—the Hebrew here actually says, “It was exceedingly evil to Jonah.” As God relented from his anger, Jonah’s anger ramped up. This is not a good picture. 

Let this hit home. Think back to what we would do if God gave stunning repentance through the ministry of our global partner. How would we respond if their prayer letter described the repentance in detail yet ended with these words, “I am exceedingly angry that God’s wrath is no longer upon this people!” How would we respond? We might read it twice to make sure we did not miss anything. We might call a pastor, or send a team to seek to redirect this beloved partner. If need be, we would remove them and replace them with another who would serve the new converts. This response is serious.

Jonah does not tell this to his supporters in a prayer email—he tells it to God. Look closely at the text. “And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O LORD, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country?” (Jonah 4:2).

He is saying in effect, “I told you, God!” And perhaps he even told others. “If I go, they will repent.”

 “That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish.”—Jonah 4:2

Again he is saying, “God, I was right to defy your word. You wouldn’t change my mission, so I went over your head. I took matters into my own hands. And I was right.” Jonah is doubling down on his disobedience. If he had to do it all over again, he would.

“For I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster” (Jonah 4:2). This is a Scripturally rich five-point outline on the character of God from Exodus 32 and 34.

The central issue here is God’s character. Jonah believed God’s propensity is toward mercy and that it is wrong. Jonah was judging God, for Jonah had judged the Ninevites and was convinced they deserved wrath. Jonah is showing that he is wise in his own eyes. Self-assured in his judgments. This is far too often our position as well. Jonah continues and unveils his purpose. 

Let me make a quick insertion here. Please do not get the idea that we are not to lay our complaints out before the Lord. We are to do this. Psalm 142:2 says, “I pour out my complaint before him.” We should use the Psalms of lament to help us bring our emotions, longings, and cries of “How long O LORD?” to him. These Psalms help us pray in a way that remembers: He is God and we are not. They also help us fight to trust in God’s good character. Yet Jonah here does the opposite. He places himself above God as his judge. 

Let’s look at how Jonah’s prayer ends. “Therefore now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live” (Jonah 4:3). To be honest, I have wrestled with this verse. What is the point? I think we are meant to see Jonah is giving full vent to his anger. The dam has broken, his fury if overflowing in full force. 

This is stunning … it is far removed from the happy ending we thought was coming as chapter 3 ended.  

Are you ready for the biggest surprise yet? Look with me at the Lord’s response.

“And the LORD said, ‘Do you do well to be angry?’” (Jonah 4:4). Stunning gentleness. Jonah has just berated God in the Supreme Court of the Universe. Yet the Lord relents. He does the same thing that he did for Nineveh—he stores up his wrath for the cross of Christ or judgment day.

And notice he asks a question. He invites Jonah to examine himself and respond, just like God did to Adam in the garden. God knows the answer. His asking is shepherding. He desires Jonah to see his heart and bring it to the Lord. Do you need God’s shepherding?

Application

This first scene is an opportunity for us. We should stop and consider if angry outbursts are a part of our stories. Here we see the unrestrained response of Jonah to a situation that he judges to be unacceptable and wrong. We know it is unrighteous, because it defies the very judgment of God. This pattern can be seen in many ways in our lives as well.

• It can lash back at the offence of a sibling.
• It can seethe just under the surface at the mistake of a coworker.
• It can escape in attacking words said to others about the injustice of a professor.
• It can come out in a sharp comment of frustration at the younger generation.
• It can fly like the pellets in a shotgun through social media, spraying descent to 100s of screens.
• It can respond harshly to justify oneself before a spouse.

We live in an angry world. And if we are honest, we are a part of it. I have been grieved recently by my angry reactions and moved by God’s word to confess it. Is unrighteous anger a part of your life?

Slow down for a moment and re-read Jonah 4:4, asking the Lord to search us with his question: “Do you do well to be angry?”

I believe God would call us to take at least two actions based on this verse:

1. Pray. Have you noticed the “plurals” in the Lord’s prayer. “Deliver us from evil.” Let’s pray as a church that Jesus would work to free us from unrighteous anger.
2. Press In. Is God inviting you to allow him to shepherd you in your anger? To forgive you, to help you see its sinfulness, to expose its roots, to partner with others in confessing it and praying for healing? Time does not allow us to give the attention that is needed to this critical topic. However, as I shared this with the pastors and ministers on Tuesday, they heartily supported me recommending the book Uprooting Anger by Robert D. Jones. This book is an excellent resource on this topic, which gets to the heart of the matter.

SCENE 2: The Lord’s Pursuit of Jonah to Rescue Him From His Evil

Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, till he should see what would become of the city. Now the Lord God appointed a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant. But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered. When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint. And he asked that he might die and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.” But God said to Jonah, “Do you do well to be angry for the plant?” And he said, “Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die.” And the Lord said, “You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night. And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?”—Jonah 4:5–11

Let’s look at verse 5. “Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city and made a booth for himself there.”

In the Bible, going to the east is often a bad sign. Jonah follows in the path of another angry man: Cain. In Genesis 4:16, Cain “went away from the presence of the LORD and dwelt [or sat] east of Eden.” (See Jonah: Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the Old Testament by Kevin J. Youngblood, page 165.) Again we see Jonah doubling down on his original disobedience. Rejecting the word of the Lord. He turned his back on the shepherding invitation.

Jonah 4:5 continues: “He sat under it in the shade, till he should see what would become of the city.” What is he looking for? Most likely, he is waiting for fire and brimstone to rain down on Nineveh.

But God has not forsaken Jonah. He does not leave him there. What we are about to read is a real life parable. Parables are stories that teach. Yet Jonah’s resistance led God to use more than words. God, who is in control of all things, orchestrated his created universe to instruct Jonah and to reveal Jonah’s heart.

Let me try to explain this parable before we look at it. Where Jonah is sitting (in modern day Mosul, Iraq) , the sun can be brutal. And on the day God ordained for Jonah, it was brutal. The sun, in this living analogy, represents the wrath of God. As God mercifully shades Jonah from the sun, he is demonstrating his relenting mercy, to show Jonah its goodness. Then when the Lord appoints a worm to attack and destroy the plant, and unleashes his wind, he is giving Jonah a small taste of his wrath—like the way a camp fire compares to the sun. Let’s quickly look at two important things:

• God’s purpose for this orchestration of his natural world
• And Jonah’s reaction to it

God’s Purpose and Jonah’s Response

In verse 6, we see perhaps the most encouraging words in this entire chapter. Just like Jonah unveiled his purpose in his prayer, the narrator unveils the Lord’s purpose in using the plant and the rest of the elements of nature. Look with me at the middle of verse 6, there we read he did this, “to save him from his discomfort.” Again, this is too important for us to miss, so the ESV helps us with a footnote. In Hebrew the same word discomfort can also mean evil. Why did God do this? To save (or rescue) Jonah from his evil.

James—in his book, chapter 1, verse 3—talks about this as a universal strategy of God with his people. James calls it, “the testing of your faith.” The word testing means refining, like the use of a crucible. A crucible is used to heat up metal in order to purify it. God brings various trails into our lives to refine us. When God heats up our lives, our unbelief rises to the surface. This is our opportunity to confess our sin and seek his help for the way out. It is our chance to ask for his power to turn from this sin and turn to God. The Lord was being a kind shepherd.

Jonah’s response to the plant is in the final phrase of verse 6. Don’t forget, the plant is representing—in real life—the Lord’s relenting mercy (holding back the scorching sun). “So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant.” Sadly, Jonah reaction to the relenting of God’s wrath in his life is the exact opposite to his reaction when God relented for Nineveh. In his life, he was exceedingly glad. When the Lord relented toward Nineveh, Jonah thought it was exceedingly evil. We need to ask ourselves just as we did in chapter 3, do we appreciate the wrath of God as we should? If we had a small sample of it, would we have a much greater heart for the lost?

Fundamentally, Jonah does not love his neighbor as himself (Leviticus 19:18, Matthew 22:39). He takes the complete opposite tact. We should dust off that far too familiar command of the Lord and hold it up to our hearts as a mirror. Am I loving my neighbor as myself? (Despite ethnicity, economics, the peace or lack of peace in our relationship, their morals, or religion?) Remember when Jesus received pushback—“Who is my neighbor?”—his answer was the Samaritan: the ethnic other, the religious other, the enemy.

But the drama moves on. In verses 7–8 we see the Lord turn up the heat in his real-life crucible for Jonah. The plant is “attacked” and “withers.” God “appoints a scorching east wind,” and the sun “beat down on the head of Jonah.” And as we might expect Jonah asks for the Lord to relent—it is so bad that he says, “It is better for me to die than to live.” Jonah has been confronted, in living color, with his evil in his desire for Nineveh to experience God’s wrath. God’s intent is that Jonah repent and receive the Lord’s rescue. But would he be humbled? Verse 9 shows us the answer.

In verse 9, the Lord calls the question. “Do you do well to be angry for the plant?” And in hard-hearted defiance, Jonah replies, “Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die.”

Jonah is putting on display what Proverbs 3:11 is warning us about when it says, “Do not despise the Lord’s discipline.” Here Jonah is shows his detest for the Lord’s corrective work. Does the Lord have your heart? Can he correct you? Remember, the Lord opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Please let him shepherd you. It is for your good, and the good of others!

In the final two verses of this book, God reveals his heart to us. His aim is that God’s people might be stirred up in faith and desire a heart like his. In verse 10, we see the Lord rebuke Jonah saying (paraphrase), “Your care for the plant is out of proportion. You are not even God. I the Lord am intimately involvement the plant. I made it, sustain it, and I was involved in its beginning and oversaw its final moments. You did none of that. Yet you pity it?”

In this God argues from the greater to the lesser. We should ask, how intimately does he care for humankind? Everyone one on the face of the earth has been “knit together” by the Lord in a “mother’s womb.” (Psalm 139:13) God has actively provided for each one, making “his sun rise on the evil and on the good” and sending “rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:45). If God cares intimately for the plant, and for each person, should he not pity 120,000 persons whom he has made in his image and in whose lives he has had so much active involvement?

What is more, this huge group of lost people—and many around us—“do not know their right hand from their left.” He is not making a comment on intelligence. He is making a spiritual point. Spiritually speaking, they are without experience and knowledge of the Lord. They are ignorant of his biblical words and unfamiliar of his ways. May this stir up great pity for the lost. Rather than judging them, we should plead with the Lord to be merciful in seeking them, instructing them, saving them, and shepherding them.

Seeing Jesus in Jonah

God has been so kind to display his character in the book of Jonah. But there is more! Hebrews 1:1–2 says, “Long ago, at many times, and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets.” In the past, God revealed his character though Moses, as well as Isaiah and many others. As we have seen in this series, his work in Jonah and this book displayed his relentless mercy. But wait, there is more, the writer of Hebrews continues. “But in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son.” God took on flesh in the person of Christ and entered the story. The one who is the radiance of the Glory of God, has put his relentless mercy on grad display!

Consider just one sliver of revelation though Jesus relentless pursuit of another city, Jerusalem.

• While Jonah, “made haste to flee” from speaking to Nineveh, we read in Luke 9:51 that, “Jesus set his face to go to Jerusalem.”
• In this chapter, we saw that Jonah judged Nineveh’s repentance to be exceedingly evil and he was angry. Yet Jesus had the opposite reaction. When speaking about the topic of Jerusalem’s rebellion, Jesus’ compassion was kindled and he overflowed with these words, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it!” Remember Nineveh’s positive reaction. “How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!” (Luke 13:34–35).
• While Jonah exited the city that he despised and went out to the east, Jesus entered the city he loved on a colt. Luke 19:41 says, And when he drew near and saw the city (Jerusalem), “He wept over it,” saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day, the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.” He went on to lament the destruction that would fall upon them.
• While Jonah watched the city from afar hoping wrath would fall. Jesus hung on a cross, crucified by the people of Jerusalem, in order to completely drain the cup of God’s wrath for every rebel who would put their faith in him.

O Bethlehem, marvel at our Merciful Jesus—the God of Relentless Pursuit!

As we close, let’s return to the question we asked in the beginning: What do we do when rebellion rather than redemption is a prominent theme our life story?

Application for Those Rebelling

For all of you for whom your story bears some resemblance to Jonah, his life story was written in human history for you. The Lord desires to help you to see the ways in which your heart is resisting the Lord—either in all out rebellion, or in some secret two-faced way.

If this is you …

• Do not follow Jonah’s example! Turn!
• Do not despise the Lord’s discipline! Respond!
• Today you have heard his voice, do not harden your heart!
• Turn from your sin.
• Lay your rebellion out before the Lord with your words—that is what confession means.
• Ask for Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross to pay the price for your rebellion against him. 

Application for the Broken Hearted

For those of you whose hearts break over loved ones running from Jesus, or for those of us that have become apathetic believing change for them is not possible …

• Use God’s word (here and throughout the Scriptures) to fight doubts. If God can save Nineveh, and the mariners, and transform the heart of murderous Paul, he can certainly reach those we love.
• Let God’s relentless pursuit of the rebellious stir up the embers of your prayers. Ask the Lord to use the storms in their lives to help them “Fear the Lord exceedingly” (Jonah 1:16). For those who are on the throne of their lives, ask the Lord to grant them repentance to come down from their throne, turn to the Lord, and sit in ashes (Jonah 3:6).
• Let God’s loving longsuffering example cause us to seek him for that fruit of the Spirit to press on in loving pursuit when the road is long.

Let’s pray.

Sermon Discussion Questions

Outline

1. Scene 1: Jonah’s Evil Reaction to Nineveh’s Repentance (Jonah 4:1–4)
2. Scene 2: The Lord’s Pursuit of Jonah to Rescue Him From His Evil (Jonah 4:5–11)

 Main Point: The Lord is the merciful God of relentless pursuit, therefore today is the day to repent from every rebellion. What is more, his character can fuel our hope as we plead for him to pursue those we love who have not yet turned to him.  

Discussion Questions

• The final chapter of Jonah leaves us with unanswered questions. This can be an opportunity to discuss the book as a small group and be sharpened by our dialogue. What outstanding questions remain for you as we conclude this book?
• As you think back over the entire book, what aspect of the story most displays the glory of our Merciful Lord? Why do you answer the way you do?  
• In the sermon, the first scene (Jonah 4:1–4) was described as “Jonah’s Evil Reaction to Nineveh’s Repentance.” Does that land on you as harsh, appropriate, or somewhere in-between? What evidence from the passage leads you to your conclusion?
• In Jonah 4:6, we read that the parable that the Lord wrote for Jonah on the pages of human history was intended to save him from his discomfort (which in Hebrew [see the ESV footnote] can also mean “evil”). Do you agree that in this the Lord was being a Good Shepherd? Why or why not? See James 1:2–4 if you need help.
• The Lord has the final word in this book (Jonah 4:10–11). As he describes his heart toward the lost, how can his words shape our hearts toward unbelievers? What other portions of Jonah might have a similar effect? 

Application Questions

• Look again at Jonah’s anger in 4:1–3. What are some of the more universal elements of ungodly anger present in these verses? Where do they show up in our lives? What rationalizations do we make to minimize sinful anger in our lives? How can we pray for each other in relationship to sinful anger?
• As you consider the book of Jonah, what aspects of the story expose the ugliness of disobeying God? How do these truths apply to “smaller areas” of rebellion that we may be tempted to minimize? Are there any areas of rebellion, great or small, that you would desire to confess and have us pray for your healing in line with James 5:16?
• As you consider those you love who are running from the Lord, how are you tempted to lose heart in relationship to their turning to Jesus? What specific portions of Jonah might we use to bolster our faith in God’s desire and ability to save when those in our lives are running from him?
• What instance of our merciful God’s relentless pursuit of Jonah or the lost stood out to you most? Compare his pursuit to your pursuit of others. In what ways have your prayers or pursuit of the lost waned from relentless intensity? How can we pray for you and for them?

Prayer Focus

God’s character has been on display throughout the book of Jonah. Spend time recalling his character and activities in prayer, and thanking him for the ways these aspects show up in your life. Confess to the Lord any areas of sin this passage revealed, including but not limited to sinful anger, hidden sins of rebellion, lack of faith in his ability or desire to save, as well as lack of love for the lost or those in your spheres of influence. Ask God to fill you with the fruit of the Spirit in relation to the areas that you confessed, including love, longsuffering, gentleness, kindness, and self-control. Finally, ask him to help you marvel at the greatness of Jesus in a way that overflows onto others.