The Pouting Prophet

Jonah 4:1-10

“But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry.  And he prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.  “Therefore now, O LORD, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live.” (Jonah 4:1-3)

Jonah hated the Assyrians and refused to go to Nineveh when God told him to.  Three days and nights in the fish’s belly convinced him to go despite his hatred, but he was like a rebellious child, doing the least possible, to keep from receiving more punishment.   He offered no reason for hope, just the eight word message, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.”   He is so upset that they have turned to
God and will not be destroyed he asked God to just let him die. 

When the people of Nineveh repented of the sin, Jonah got mad and blamed God.  He had deliberately gone toward Tarshish because he was afraid those people would repent, and that if they did, God was a merciful God and would forgive them.  He was far more concerned about what he wanted than what God wanted.  Unfortunately many Christians today have a similar attitude and think they deserve great rewards for doing what God has told them.  Luke 17:10 says that if we have only done what we were commanded to, we’ve not produced anything extra and don’t deserve special praise or rewards.  “likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.”

In I Corinthians 9:16-17, Paul makes a similar statement.  “For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!  For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me.”  We’ve been commissioned to tell others.  It is our duty to tell others.  Our attitude about it is what will determine whether we receive rewards for doing it.  When we are resentful about having to do it, we cannot even have the pleasure of having done our job well.   

“Then said the LORD, Doest thou well to be angry?” (Jonah 4:4)

God asked Jonah if he had the right to be mad.  After all he was doing what God had told him to do, which was the job he had undertaken as a prophet.  Jonah never answered God. 

“So Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would become of the city.” (Jonah 4:5)

Jonah went out and set up a place to sit while he sulked and watched to see whether he would get his way or not. 

“And the LORD God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd.” (Jonah 4:6)

God caused a gourd vine to grow up over the booth Jonah had made and give him shade while he sulked, probably to remind Jonah that he did care about Jonah, and that he was God.  Jonah thoroughly appreciated the shade God gave. 

“But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered.  And it came to pass, when the sun did arise, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and wished in himself to die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live.” (Jonah 4:7-8)

The next day, a worm ate through the stem of the gourd, killing it.  A little later a strong east wind started blowing and the hot sun and east wind quickly dried out the gourd so the leaves blew away, leaving Jonah sitting in the sun, like he had been before.   In a very real, practical way, God showed Jonah that as God, he could bless him or not as he pleased.  Jonah reverted back to his pity party, insisting he would be better off dead since God wasn’t blessing him. 

“And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd?

And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death.

Then said the LORD, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night: And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?” (Jonah 4:9-11)

God again asked Jonah if he really had the right to be angry about God letting a gourd vine die.  Jonah insisted he did because the vine meant so much to him, justifying even his wish to die.  God then pointed out that the vine had was just a weed that had grown overnight, and Jonah had had nothing to do with its growth.  If Jonah thought he had that right to be upset about such a gourd vine which has no ability to think or make decisions, didn’t he think God had the right to be upset at the death of more than 600,000 people who God had created, who didn’t know how to choose what they should do, besides the thousands of cattle they had? 

Over the years, I have observed a lot of Christians with attitudes like Jonah’s.  Sometimes it is a pastor or missionary who has not attained the fame and fortune they hoped to get in the ministry or who keep looking back at some career they might have had if they hadn’t gone into the ministry.  Sometimes it has been a husband or wife who resents having to fulfill their marriage vows to a mate who isn’t as attractive or successful as they had hoped to make them.  Other people resent being stuck in a certain town or living in a house that is not as nice as they wanted because of where God has led them.   Like Jonah, they are more concerned with their own desires and comfort than with what God wants.

As I mentioned earlier, present day estimates place Nineveh’s population at 100,000-150,000 people,  Those estimates are based on the size and number of permanent structures in the inner fortress, the structures built by the wealthy or at government expense.  As the scripture indicates, the actual population of the area was at least four to six times that large, but since most of their homes were not constructed of such durable materials or protected by the walls, they have not survived.    Even official census records do not provide accurate population figures since they are primarily concerned with how many men are available for military service or to pay taxes.  As a result modern estimates of ancient populations are far smaller than ancient records indicate.  

Jonah’s prophecy to Nineveh

Jonah 1:17-3:9

“Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.” (Jonah 1:17)

The story of Jonah being swallowed by a fish is often mocked as being impossible, but there are several stories of men having been swallowed  by fish like creatures and survived, including one in 1758, a man named James Barkley in the 1880’s, and a man survived being swallowed by a shark in the English channel about 1926.  Tires, whole cows and horses, and sharks as long as sixteen feet have been discovered intact in some whales, so there is no question it is possible for them to swallow a person, even with normal fish, and the scripture says God prepared a special one. 

“Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish's belly, And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice.  For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me.  

Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple.  The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head.  I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O LORD my God.

When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple.  They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.  But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD.  And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land. ” (Jonah 2:1-10)

At first, Jonah was undoubtedly too scared to do anything but ask God to save his life.  After sixty or seventy hours inside the fish, surrounded by seaweed and water, he got serious about his relationship with God and recognized that he had lied to himself in thinking he could successfully rebell against God and caused his problems.  He recognized salvation could only come from the Lord, and promised to keep his promise to tell people what God had said, and to be thankful if he saved.  The fish beached itself and spirt Jonah out on the shore. 

“And the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time, saying, Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.  

So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days' journey.  And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.” (Jonah 3:1-4)

The second time God told Jonah to go to Nineveh, he didn’t refuse.  It was one of the largest cities in the world in that day, and took three days to cross the city and her suburbs.   Because there was no efficient means of moving large amounts of food, there had to be enough farmland inside the city and in the suburbs to provide all the fresh produce and meat, so that the population density could not be as high as it is today.  The fortress at the center of the city enclosed an area of about three square miles.  It is estimated to have had 100,000-150,000 inhabitants. 

Like cities such As Las Vegas, Chicago, or New Orleans, Nineveh was known for their tolerance of prostitution, murder, robbery, drunkenness, and other crimes.  Jonah went a single day’s into the city, shouting that in forty days Nineveh would be destroyed.  His warning spread like wildfire and the within a few hours the entire city had heard. 

“So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.  For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.  And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water: But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands.  Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?” (Jonah 3:5-9)

The people of Nineveh were concerned about the growing crime rates and took Jonah’s warning seriously and acknowledged what they were doing was wrong.  The king and government officials took the lead and set the examples, making proclamations that the wickedness and violence would no longer be tolerated.  Though Jonah had said nothing about God changing his plan if they stopped, they hoped he would.  Wicked as they were, the people of Nineveh were more receptive to God’s word than Israel was at the time.   

“And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.” (Jonah 3:10)

Because the People of Nineveh had turned from their sin, God did not destroy Nineveh, and the Assyrian Empire continued to grow.  They would survive for another two hundred years.  

The Rebellious Prophet

Jonah 1:1-16

From 11 Kings 14, we learn that Jonah prophesied during the reigns of Joash of Israel and Joash of Judah.  This puts his prophecies around 825 BC, approximately a hundred forty years before the Assyrians conquered Israel.  It was a period of judgment on Israel because they had turned to Idolatry. An understanding of Assyrian history helps in understanding Jonah’s prophecy.

The Assyrian Empire began around 1770 BC.  It was a fierce dictatorship allowing no freedom in the countries they conquered.  Eventually their subjects rebelled and they were taken over by the Hurrians, a Hittite group, about 1680 BC.  About 1400 BC, the Assyrians broke away and started rebuilding, eventually conquering even Babylon.  The Aramaens rebelled and conquered thaemabout 1076 BC, but the Assyrians regained power in 934 BC.  They moved their capital to Nineveh and began their last period of expansion.  In an effort to prevent future rebellions they became even more dictatorial and cruel, torturing and murdering people indiscriminately. 

“Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.” (Jonah 1:1-2)

God was aware of the wickedness of the Assyrian  Empire and told Jonah to go to Nineveh, and warn them of his impending Judgment.   Nineveh was about six hundred miles to the east of Israel.

“But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.” (Jonah 1:3)

Jonah knew the history of the Assyrians and that they were becoming a threat to Israel again.   He hated them and refused to go and warn them for fear they might listen.  Instead, he went to the coast and found a trading ship headed in the opposite direction, toward southern Spain.    It would take weeks to get there.

“But the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken.  Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep.  So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not.: (Jonah 1:4-6)

God sent a violent storm, perhaps a typhoon or hurricane, and the waves were so violent the there was danger of the ship breaking up.  Terrified, the sailors began to cry to the gods of their different religions and to throw their merchandise overboard to lighten the ship, reducing the amount of water they shipped and the stress on the framework.  Unawares, and with nothing else to do, Jonah had gone to sleep.  The ship’s captain woke him up and told him he had better start praying if he didn’t want to die. 

 

“And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.  Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us; What is thine occupation? and whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of what people art thou?” (Jonah 1:7-8)

Usually the sailors would have considered such storms normal but this was so bad they suspected a supernatural cause.  They prayed and cast lots in an attempt to determine who had done something so bad as to make the sea Gods so angry.  The lot identified Johan as the culprit and the sailors began asking who he was and what he did in and effort to find out what he had done. 

“And he said unto them, I am an Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land.

Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, Why hast thou done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them.  Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous.” (Jonah 1:9-11)

Jonah told them that he was a Jew and a prophet of the God who created the earth. and that he was going to Spain to get out of doing what God had told him to do.  Desperate to save themselves, the sailors asked what they would need to do to pacify God’s anger. 

“And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.  Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring it to the land; but they could not: for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous against them.” (Jonah 1:12-13)

Jonah told them that to satisfy God’s anger, because it was his refusal to obey that caused the storm, they would need to throw him overboard.  Not wanting to have his death on their conscience, the men tried to row the ship to shore instead.   They storm was so bad they made no progress so that they couldn’t remain on course.   

“Wherefore they cried unto the LORD, and said, We beseech thee, O LORD, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, O LORD, hast done as it pleased thee.  So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging.  Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the LORD, and made vows.” (Jonah 1:14-16)

Finally it got so bad the men decided their only hope of survival was to do Hat Jonah said and throw him overboard.  They prayed and asked God not to hold them accountable for causing his death by doing what God said.  When they threw him overboard the sea started settling down immediately.   As a result, the sailors developed and extreme respect for God, and offered sacrifices to him.