Jonah 4:1-5 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became angry. 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. “Therefore now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for [it is] better for me to die than to live!” Then the LORD said, “[Is it] right for you to be angry?” So Jonah went out of the city and sat on the east side of the city. There he made himself a shelter and sat under it in the shade, till he might see what would become of the city.
We continue looking at Jonah, and find him in Chapter 4 displeased with God’s mercy toward Nineveh. The Assyrians were arch-enemies of Israel and among the cruelest nations in history. Instead of being elated that God spared 120,000 Ninevites Jonah preferred to see his own pronouncement of judgment executed by the Lord. “Let those Assyrians get what’s coming to them – they deserve to go to hell without any mercy for how they’ve treated Israel!” The Hebrew word “charah”, ” to be hot, furious, burn, become angry, be kindled” is a very strong expression for Jonah’s feelings as he leaves the city of Nineveh and sets up a shelter to watch what will happen – he seems to be hoping that God might change His mind and destroy Nineveh anyway.
Have you ever felt this way? Someone has really hurt you; really done evil to you more than once – you knew from God’s point of view he was “begging for a bolt” (of lightening), and you wished judgment would rain upon him. The last thing you want to do is warn him to stop; you want justice, not mercy; maybe even … revenge! Would you have the courage to admit that? To be really honest with God? Tell Him how disappointed you are that your tormentor hasn’t been hit by a truck or developed a brain malignancy?
Jonah’s honesty is commendable. How many of us would try to hide feelings like that, even from ourselves? “Please take my life.” Jonah says. But the Lord understands. Instead of condemning Jonah for his merciless attitude He tries to reason with His prophet. “`Is doing good displeasing to thee?’ He asks Jonah. Then Jonah’s misery is compounded when the plant God gives him for shade withers and dies. Depressed and angry, Jonah reveals the depth of depravity in human nature. ““It is right for me to be angry, even to death!” he pines. He cannot find joy in the mercy of God.
I shudder to think of what would happen to me if I received God’s justice for my sins. I would not want to wish His punishment even on my worst enemies. Perhaps Jonah didn’t realize that his own attitude was displeasing to God and also deserved His judgment. I’m so thankful for God’s mercy to us. We should bless our enemies and pray for those who despitefully use us; we should overcome evil with good. Mercy triumphs over judgment. The Lord gives us the power to be like Him. He did it by dying on the cross and rising from the dead, after three days. Jonah was a sign of this, remember?
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]A new driver for an interstate trucking company was having a difficult time. He found the long cross-country trips extremely tiring. The older driver who traveled with him, however, seemed to thrive on those long trips. He always seemed to look as fresh at the end of the ride as he did at the beginning.
There’s nothing we can do to earn God’s love, however if we want to experience His blessings we need to observe the qualifications that He’s given us in His Word. Psalm 112 details a whole list of blessings, but the key to receiving them is verse 1.
Looking at the relationship between “love and affection” (“chiba” in Hebrew) and “obligation” (“chova” in Hebrew), we find another closely related word, “chaver”, one of the Hebrew words for “friend”. Friends are people with whom we share love and affection and also a sense of obligation. Our God and Father wants us to be His friends, to share love and affection with Him and to carry the sense of responsibility and obligation which friendship requires.
We are called to be servants, are we not? Well, what does a servant do? He (or she) carries out the will of his master. A servant doesn’t tell his master what to do — he performs whatever tasks the master requests of him. A servant doesn’t choose what days or times it’s most convenient to serve his master. A servant’s function is simply to follow and obey his master’s instructions. A servant does not develop a vision for the master either. The master is the one with the vision — and he wants his servants to be ready and available to carry out that vision and bring it to fruition.
David is called a “man after God’s own heart.” Considering that he lusted after his neighbor’s wife, committed adultery with her, and had her husband murdered, the Lord’s description of him is remarkable. How could a man who was convicted a murderer and an adulterer also be called one after God’s own heart?
“Break up your fallow ground.” In this context, the Lord is referring to breaking up the ground overrun with weeds and thorns creating a hardness to produce righteous fruit.
This passage in Isaiah contains a poetic play on words which is lost to any reader but one who understands Hebrew. A word for word translation runs something like this: “If not you will believe (lo ta-aminoo), surely not you will be established (lo te-amenoo).” The three letter Hebrew root – “aleph”- “mem”- “nun”, is the same in both words, and the Holy Spirit through the prophet Isaiah is clearly playing on this root to emphasize His point. The same root letters are also used in the spelling for the familiar word “Amen” which literally means “truthfully”.