The Truth About Ourselves
We have reached the final chapter of the Jonah series and this series continues to reveal truths of who God is as well as the truth about humanity. In Jonah 4, we see that Jonah has left the city of Nineveh but has left with a sour taste in his mouth. This reaction is interesting as a whole city that was beyond redemption has been saved by God’s grace and instead of rejoicing, Jonah is angry and upset. We might put our hands on our heads and think how he could react that way, but we too can react in that way when we see others having second chances. Deep down, we are filled with pride, bitterness and anger. There are two truths about Jonah’s character that are revealed in Jonah 4 and will shed a light on ourselves:
Jonah proved to have a very prejudiced heart (v.2)
We see that God is gracious and merciful as he has saved the city of Nineveh. We would think that this truth revealed about God would make us appreciate him and be in awe of how compassionate God is towards us. However, Jonah accuses God of being too compassionate and soft towards the people of Nineveh. Jonah is annoyed by God’s character even though this is who God is consistently (Exodus 34:6-7). In Jonah’s mind, he thought that God was still going to destroy Nineveh because of their reputation. He was mad that God didn’t act the way that he wanted God to act. This proves that God will never act out of character no matter how much we act out. God still showed that he cared for Jonah while he was seething with anger and he did this by providing Jonah with shade while he was waiting for God to change his mind. We can also be prejudiced like Jonah, we want God to act the way that we want to especially when it comes to people. We fail to understand how forgiving God is. Jonah’s heart was far from God because his heart was far from God’s heart. We should leave the judgement of others to God and be reminded of how loving God is. Let us look at others through God’s lens and when we do this we can understand that God’s heart is for the people and he involves us to be a part of this plan.
Jonah proved to have a very self-centred heart
Even though God showed his love towards Jonah by providing shade from the hot sun. God also showed his authority by taking it away and instead of being thankful for what God had done, Jonah said it would be better for him to die than to live. He was even frustrated with God when he took the shade away, which shows that he could care less if Nineveh was destroyed. He only cared about himself and only wanted God to care about the people that he cared about. He was upset that the kingdom of God was open to anyone who was willing. It’s always easy for us to think that we would never act in this way but how much of what concerns God concerns me. God is always concerned about people. Can we say that we care about people the same way God does, especially when we know what will happen to those at the final judgement or when people die without knowing who God is and end up in hell? The biggest takeaway is that all types of people matter to God and his grace is for all. At the end of the day, God’s plan and purpose are greater than ours. Our plan’s do not compare and what matters the most is God and his way.
Father God,
Thank you for your saving grace and compassionate heart. Thank you for showing us mercy even when we don’t deserve it. You show us how much you love us by caring for us in ways that we can never imagine and choosing us even though the truth points to how far away we are from you. I pray that we can see those around us the way that you do and that we treat those around us with your heart.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen