Tawa Baptist

Does God care about these people?

Scripture: Jonah

Title: Does God care about these people?

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Jonah 1
  • Jonah 3
  • Jonah 4
  • Conclusion

 

Introduction:

Are you a glass half empty or a glass half full person?

–         For a long time I was a glass half empty sort of person

 

Forgive me, I’m forgetting my manners – allow me to introduce myself…

–         My name is Jonah, son of Amittai – you may have heard about me in Sunday school

–         I was born nearly 800 years before Christ, which makes me about 2,800 years old now

–         I know what you’re thinking – I look good for my age

–         Some of you may be wondering, ‘Why is he wearing that outfit?’

–         Well, I’m a prophet – this is what the future looks like baby

–         I’m just kidding – I wear it because it’s comfortable

–         Although, when you’ve lived as long as I have, you notice fashion does keep going around in circles

 

Anyway, as I was saying, I used to be a glass half empty person – in fact my wife would say I was a bit grumpy and cantankerous, on a good day

–         All I wanted was the quiet life – to be left in peace with my work, to ignore my neighbours and make an appearance at the synagogue just often enough to avoid a visit from the local Rabbi

–         As you can see, by the way I’m dressed, I don’t like to draw attention to myself – I have no interest in public speaking either

–         God knew this of course – he knew how much I valued my privacy and yet he completely disregarded all that and called me to be a missionary prophet

 

Sounds a bit grand, even wonderful, to say ‘I am a missionary prophet’ but I can tell you the reality is far from it

–         Being a prophet is an incredibly lonely life

–         It makes you famous & poor, which is a combination you want to avoid

–         The messages God gives are usually unpopular – warnings of judgement if you don’t change your wicked ways

–         In a society like yours where people are always bowing down to the idol of individualism and your media insists personal freedom be worshipped, no one likes to be criticised for the way they live their life

–         And on those rare occasions when I do get to bring a message of hope, people are usually so despondent they refuse to believe it

–         It takes a great deal of courage to risk hope when you’ve lost nearly everything

 

Jonah 1

That’s why I did a runner when the Word of the Lord came to me

–         Don’t ask me how I knew it was God speaking – some things you just know to be true in the core of your being

–         God said to me, “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”

 

My first reaction was to ignore God, pretend like I didn’t hear

–         But there is an inevitability about God’s Word – it gets under your skin – the more you try to ignore it the more it irritates you

–         It becomes an itch that just has to be scratched

–         I tried distracting myself by keeping busy but that didn’t work so, even though God was leading me to Nineveh, I set off in the opposite direction for Spain – that’s how much I didn’t want to do this

 

What you need to understand is that Nineveh was the capital city of Assyria, which you probably know as northern Iraq

–         The Assyrians were our enemies – I won’t go into it all but they did some terrible things to our people

–         And God wanted me to go to them as a missionary prophet, when I wasn’t even prepared to cross the street to give them the time of day

 

Now you might be thinking, ‘Surely Jonah you would jump at the chance to tell your enemies how rotten they are’

–         Well, you’re wrong. I knew God well enough to know his true motivation

–         God was sending me to Nineveh because deep down he really cares about them – why else would he give them a warning?

–         God likes to give people second and third and fourth chances – it’s just the way he is

–         I know this about God because he has been giving my people (Israel) hundreds of second chances for centuries

–         God is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love

–         He doesn’t want anyone to perish but wants everyone to be saved

–         Which is a real pain in the backside – because it means mugs like me get sent on a fool’s errand

–         I knew how it was going to turn out and that’s why I ran away

I guess I thought I would get away with it – I reasoned that if I didn’t go God would send someone else

–         I mean it’s not like I was anyone special – there were plenty of people more capable, more eloquent, more sociable, more charming than me

–         The Lord could use one of them

–         For a moment there I managed to convince myself that I was actually doing God a favour – I would probably stuff it up anyway

–         It never occurred to me that he would interfere with the weather

 

There I was, below deck, sleeping like a baby, while all hell was breaking loose above me

–         The men on board were seasoned sailors and they were scared for their lives, which tells you just how bad it was

–         As soon as they woke me I knew I was to blame

–         At that moment the psalmist’s words returned to me,

–         Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?

–         Still I wasn’t ready to give in – I thought, ‘God cares about these men, he isn’t going to let them drown because of me.’

–         It was like I was playing chicken with God and the lives of everyone on the ship – that’s how reckless I had become

 

Eventually they caste lots (which is like throwing dice or drawing straws) and my number came up

–         That’s one of the differences between you people today and the ancients

–         They didn’t believe in chance like you do

–         Nothing was random to them – everything had a purpose and a meaning

–         The spiritual realm was everywhere – the hands of the gods were directing fate. Nothing happened by accident

–         You call it superstition or luck and your post enlightenment, hyper-rational mind-set rules out the possibility of divine involvement

–         People today close their eyes to what they don’t want to see

–         No wonder you are starved for meaning

–         Your society may be rich, in material terms, but it’s spiritually poor

 

Anyway, enough about you, let’s get back to me – as I was saying, my number came up and I had to fess up

–         The storm was caused by my God – the same God who made the land and the sea – a God far more powerful than any other

–         And the Lord was doing this because I was running away from him

–         I told the sailors it was my fault and that if they picked me up and threw me into the sea it will become calm again

–         But they didn’t want to do it – they tried to save me by rowing to shore

–         There was I, a son of Abraham, one of God’s chosen people

–         I had grown up being taught the ways of the one true, living God, and I took my Godly heritage for granted, despised it even

–         These sailors didn’t even know the Lord – and yet they were risking their lives to save mine

–         Their religion was based on a lie (they worshipped idols) but their humanity was true

–         They loved me like a brother and they hardly knew me

–         I can’t tell you how much their actions touched me – as lonely as I was

 

When the storm got even worse, and they realised I was right, they reluctantly threw me overboard. The water became dead flat in an instant

–         Jesus did the same thing on a lake in Galilee 800 years later

–         People these days have no idea how powerful the Lord is – if you did you would show him more respect than you do

 

As providence would have it I met one of those sailors years later and he explained how profound his conversion experience was at the moment the waters became still

–         It occurred to him just how gracious and wise God is, turning my failure, my disobedience, into their salvation

–         If I hadn’t run away those sailors may never have known the power of God’s goodness

–         The old sailor’s eyes misted up when he told me that and I was humbled to silence

Of course that humility came years later with the benefit of hindsight – at the moment of being thrown overboard and hitting the water I was terrified

–         You New Zealanders are surrounded by the sea – you love going to the beach and swimming in the waves – but I’m a Hebrew, a land-lover

–         The sea reminds you of summertime and holidays but for me the sea represents chaos and death

 

I hadn’t been thrashing around in the ocean for long when a huge fish swallowed me up

–         Now I know that many people today struggle to believe this

–         Your culture holds up this ideal of being broad minded & inclusive and yet your imagination is too small to include this possibility

–         I’m not going to waste my time trying to convince you – arguments about the fish are a distraction

 

The point is: God is sovereign – he is in control of the outcome

–         He is able to work all things for good

–         I thought I was a gonna when that fish swam up

–         Funny how sometimes the things we fear most, the things we think will destroy us, actually turn out to be our salvation

–         It’s like that famous hymn writer William Cowper said…

–         God moves in a Mysterious way, His Wonders to perform,
He plants his Footsteps in the Sea, and rides upon the Storm.

–         Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take; the clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy and shall break in blessings on your head.   

–         I knew William Cowper – he was a glass half empty person, like me

–         During his lifetime he never really grasped how deeply God cared for him

–         But I’m not sure any of us do

 

I was three days and three nights in that fish and, after I had calmed down from the initial shock, it gave me time to think

–         I wrote a song of my own, which didn’t make it into the charts but did make it into the Bible.  Suffering is the mid-wife of art

 

Jonah 3

After the fish had spat me out on the beach the Word of the Lord came to me a second time: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.”

–         So this time I obeyed the Word of the Lord and went to Nineveh

–         Now, getting to Nineveh is not easy – it’s a journey of hundreds of miles on foot. There were no cars or aeroplanes 2,800 years ago

–         It actually took me weeks to get there, and I had to rely on the kindness of strangers the whole way

 

Naturally I thought a lot about what had happened to me

–         How God had given me a second chance and persevered with me despite my stubbornness

–         How he didn’t trade me in for a more reliable, lower maintenance missionary prophet

–         How his Word to me the second time was different from the first time

–         The first time he told me to ‘preach against the city’, but now his message was more open ended, more flexible – simply: ‘Proclaim the message I give you’ – which could be anything

–         I wondered what he might ask me to say – I guess that’s faith isn’t it, walking in trust, not knowing what the future holds

–         Which doesn’t suit me at all – I want to know beforehand, I want to be prepared

 

When I finally arrived in Nineveh it was as bad as I had imagined – domestic violence, child abuse, women treated shamelessly, bribery and corruption in the justice system, a huge gap between rich & poor and an economy fuelled by war mongering – How can people live like that?

 

The message God gave me was simple: “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned.”

–         It had to be simple really – I spoke a different language to them and, as I said before, I don’t enjoy public speaking. None of that mattered though

–         Even though I must have looked a pitiful picture to them the people believed my message – don’t ask me how

–         I guess some things you just know to be true in the core of your being.

–         The people believed God and showed remorse for their wrong doing by fasting and wearing sackcloth

Fasting is when you go without food – it is an act of self-denial

–         Fasting is the opposite of celebrating

–         When you fast you have more time to pray and listen to God

–         Wearing sack cloth is a way of putting appearances aside

–         When someone puts on sackcloth they are saying I am spiritually poor and I’m not going to hide my poverty

The people of Nineveh were serious about their repentance – the king even issued a proclamation telling everyone to call on God for mercy and give up their violent ways. And the people did

–         When God saw they had turned away from evil, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened

 

Jonah 4

And they all lived happily ever after – except for me – I was not happy

–         Like I said before, I knew God was sending me to Nineveh because he really cares about them

–         It was God’s hope all along that the Assyrians would repent

–         God is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love

–         He doesn’t want anyone to perish but wants everyone to be saved

–         God will jump at the chance to let people off the hook, if they are genuinely sorry

 

I was so gutted I said, “Now, O Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.”

–         I did tell you I was a ‘glass half empty’ kind of person – but at that moment it seemed to me like the glass was completely empty

–         Not only did I have to live with the indignity of having my prediction unfulfilled (God didn’t make my words come true) – I just couldn’t face returning to my family and community

–         I knew people personally who had family members killed, crops destroyed and their homes burned to the ground by the Assyrians

–         How could I live with the shame of having helped my enemies

–         It was too much to bear – I felt like a traitor

And you know what God said to me?

–         “[Jonah], have you any right to be angry?”

 

Sullen and brooding I decided to give God the silent treatment

–         I wanted to put some distance between myself and the city, and between myself and God, so I walked East, even further away from the temple in Jerusalem

–         Have I any right to be angry? How could he ask that? Of course I do

–         Grace is fine when it’s for me and the people I care about, but mercy for the people of Nineveh, after all the suffering they had caused?

–         Where was the Lord’s sense of justice?

–         Cleary he cared about them but he didn’t seem to care about Israel, or about me.  I felt betrayed by God – whose side was he on?

 

God has a way of getting us to talk, even when we don’t want to

–         The Lord caused a vine, a leafy plant, to grow up beside me – it was incredible, sprang up overnight

–         The plant gave me shade from the sun – it was a comfort to me, my only comfort actually

–         Next day though God provides a worm to kill the plant

–         So that was my reward for obedience

–         I felt like Job – the Lord gives and takes away

–         The wind and sun was particularly bad that day – and I knew it was Him who was doing it

By this stage I could see the plant had been a real and living parable

–         You know you’re in trouble when God gives you a parable

–         Parables irritate you, they get under your skin and become an itch that has to be scratched – so I broke my silence and said again,

–         “It would be better for me to die than to live.”

–         I didn’t really want to die – I just didn’t want to be in pain anymore

–         I wanted to get off this nightmare carnival ride I was on

–         I wanted to get out of my head and feel good again

–         I wanted my cup to be full to overflowing

–         So God said to me, really softy and gently, “[Jonah], do you have a right to be angry about the vine?”

–         He was trying to help me feel better but I couldn’t see that yet. I replied,

–         “I do have a right to be angry. I am angry enough to die.”

–         I wanted God to feel my pain, to understand

–         He sits on his throne in heaven, makes his plans, gives his orders and expects us to carry them out, but does he know how difficult this life is, how hard it is to be human?

 

The Lord said to me: “You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?”

It was an argument from the lesser to the greater

–         I cared about that plant, even though I had done nothing to create it or look after it – how much more then should God care about 120,000 people (and their livestock) who he did create and who are far more valuable than a single vine

–         There was nothing I could say in reply to that – God had the last word

 

Conclusion:

Will asked me to preach today because my story fits with the theme of your self-denial campaign: ‘Where God leads’

–         Well, God led me hundreds of miles away from home to preach a message of repentance to my enemies

–         And why did he do that?

–         Because his purpose (his mission) is not all about me – and it’s not all about Israel either

–         God cares about my enemies (and yours)

–         Think about the person you care the least for in this world – God loves them – their life is precious to him

–         In fact he cares for all of his creation – not just human life

 

I said before that I wanted God to feel my pain, to understand, to know how hard it is to be human

–         Well, 800 years after I was born, he did just that

–         God became a man in the person of Jesus Christ of Nazareth

–         And he suffered terribly – he felt my pain alright, and then some

–         His cup was emptied completely and after he had tasted death, his cup was filled to overflowing with eternal life

Jesus’ experience was my experience

–         I used to be a glass half empty sort of person – then the Lord emptied me completely, but only so he could fill me again with something far better

–         Jesus’ coming fulfilled the purpose of my life

–         He can fill your glass too but first he’ll probably want to empty it and make you wait – and that’s the hard part

–         Hold on to God through the emptying and the waiting – it’s worth it in the end

 

Where is God leading you?

–         Maybe overseas but more likely just over the fence to your neighbour or to someone in your own family

–         Peace be with you.

Questions for discussion or reflection:

1.)    What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon?

–         Why do you think this stood out to you?

2.)    Are you a glass half empty or a glass half full person?

3.)    Why did God call Jonah to preach against the city of Nineveh?

–         Why do you think Jonah ran away?

4.)    Has God ever asked you to do something you really didn’t want to?

–         What happened?

5.)    How did God work Jonah’s disobedience for good?

6.)    Why do you think Jonah was angry after God relented from destroying Nineveh?

–         How did God handle Jonah’s anger?

7.)    Think of someone you don’t like or don’t care about

–         Take some time to imagine God’s love and care for the one(s) you don’t like

–         Ask God to bless your enemies

8.)    In what ways does Jonah’s story point to Jesus?

9.)    Where is God leading you?

 

Tawa Baptist

Good News for the Oppressed

Scripture: Nahum 1:11-15

 

Title: Good news for the oppressed

 

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • The message to Nineveh (and its king)
  • The message to Judah
  • Conclusion

 

Introduction:

Today we continue our series on the city of Nineveh

–         First we looked at Nineveh through the eyes of Jonah

–         Now we look at Nineveh through the eyes of another prophet, Nahum

–         Nahum is sort of like the Brussel sprouts of the Bible

–         You know it’s good for you but that doesn’t make it taste any better

 

In the book of Jonah, the people of Nineveh repented of their violent ways and God had compassion on them – He relented and did not destroy their city

–         Sadly Nineveh’s repentance did not last

–         Some decades later the Assyrians went back to their old ways of terrorism and torture

–         Fast forward 100 years or so from the time of Jonah and God has another message concerning Nineveh

–         This time Nahum is given a vision of Nineveh’s destruction

–         While Nahum’s message is bad news for Nineveh, it is good news for the people of Judah

 

We pick up the prophecy from verse 11 of Nahum chapter 1…

 

From you, [O Nineveh], has one come forth who plots evil against the Lord and counsels wickedness. This is what the Lord says:

“Although they [Assyria] have allies and are numerous, they will be cut off and pass away. Although I have afflicted you, [O Judah], I will afflict you no more. Now I will break their yoke from your neck and tear your shackles away.”

 

The Lord has given a command concerning you, [O king of Assyria]:

“You will have no descendants to bear your name. I will destroy the carved images and cast idols that are in the temple of your gods. I will prepare your grave for you are vile.”

 

Look, there on the mountains, the feet of one who brings good news, who proclaims peace. Celebrate your festivals, O Judah, and fulfil your vows. No more will the wicked invade you; they will be completely destroyed.    

 

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate this reading for us

 

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, the name Nahum means comforter

–         Although it might not seem like it to us (because of the strong language used in this book) Nahum’s message was essentially a message of comfort to the people of Judah who had suffered much at the hands of the Assyrians, for more than a century

–         It was a comfort to the oppressed to know that God was going to bring an end to the terror and violence of Assyrian rule

 

Today’s verses contain a message for two audiences – that is: Nineveh (in particular the king of Assyria who lived in Nineveh) and Judah (the Jews)

–         First, let us consider Nahum’s word to Nineveh and it’s king

 

The message to Nineveh (and its king):

One of the truly impressive things about Nahum, we believe, is that he predicted the downfall of Nineveh at a time when Assyria was at the height of its powers

–         I expect it would have taken a great deal of faith and courage for Nahum to say what he said against Nineveh

–         Violent dictators tend to take exception to individuals (like Nahum) who criticise their regime

–         Not only that but Nahum’s own people (the Jews) did not take kindly to false prophets or to false hope

–         To most people Nahum’s prediction that Nineveh would be destroyed would have seemed highly unlikely in the context

 

In the next Jack Reacher movie there is a scene where Jack Reacher is sitting in a diner (a café) and he gets arrested by a Sherriff

–         While he is in cuffs and still in the diner Jack says to the Sherriff

–         “In the next 90 seconds two things are going to happen. First the phone is going to ring and then you will be in these hand cuffs on your way to jail”

–         The Sherriff laughs at him and says, “That’s a hang of a prophecy”

–         Then the phone rings – next thing you see the Sherriff in cuffs and being taken away in a patrol car

–         Apparently the Sherriff was dirty and Jack Reacher had proven him guilty

 

Nahum’s prediction was a bit like Jack Reacher’s prediction

–         Just as the sheriff’s situation would soon be reversed so that he was wearing the handcuffs and not Jack Reacher, so too Nineveh’s situation of relative power would soon be reversed, even though it seemed highly unlikely in the context

 

In verse 12 the Lord says…

–         “Although they [Assyria] have allies and are numerous, they will be cut off and pass away…”

 

Nahum’s prediction (that the most powerful nation in the world would be ended) seemed unlikely, but that’s exactly what happened

–         In 612 BC – some years after Nahum’s prophecy – the Babylonians completely destroyed Nineveh

 

God’s message here isn’t just for Nineveh generally – the Lord has a personal message for the king of Assyria in particular

 

In verse 11, Nahum talks about one who plots evil against the Lord and counsels wickedness

–         This is a reference to the king of Assyria who was planning and scheming to destroy Jerusalem

–         God knew what the king was thinking and took personal offence at the king’s plans

–         To give you an idea of the evil character of the kings of Assyria, this is what one of them wrote about himself

–         These words were discovered by archaeologists – content may disturb…

 

I flayed [the skin from] as many nobles as had rebelled against me [and] draped their skins over the pile [of corpses]… I cut off the heads of their fighters [and used their heads to] build a tower before their city. I burnt their adolescent boys [and] girls… I captured many troops alive: I cut off, of some, their arms [and] hands; I cut off, of others, their noses, ears, [and] other extremities. I gouged out the eyes of many troops. I made one pile of the living [and] one of the heads. I hung their heads on trees around the city. [1]  

 

That gives you an idea of the kind of person the king of Assyria was

–         Not only did he torture & terrify people – he was proud of it

–         God is patient and slow to anger – but he’s also just, he won’t tolerate that sort of behaviour for too long

–         Given the terrible things the king has been doing the Lord says to the Assyrian leader…

 

“You will have no descendants to bear your name. I will destroy the carved images and cast idols that are in the temple of your gods. I will prepare your grave for you are vile.”

 

Three consequences for the king of Assyria here…

–         He will have no descendants

–         His religion (everything he had sacrificed for & believed in) will be destroyed – which essentially means his life will have no meaning

–         And he will die – God will bury him

 

Now some people might think – gee that’s bit harsh of God

–         But in actual fact what we notice here is God’s mercy in punishment

–         God does not threaten to torture the king, as the king had tortured others

–         God takes no pleasure in the suffering of his enemies

–         His punishment, in this context, is annihilation – which is a relatively merciful outcome

–         The other kindness God shows the Assyrian king is to dig a grave for him – this is more than the Assyrians had done for their enemies

 

So that’s God’s message for the people of Nineveh and for their king personally

–         What then does the Lord have to say to the people of Judah?

–         Well it’s (mostly) good news for them

 

God’s message to the people of Judah:

Last week we were fortunate enough to spend some time in the South Island

–         One of the places we stayed at was affordable but a little bit dodgey

–         We woke up one morning to find that we were locked in our room

–         The door wouldn’t open from the inside so we had to phone someone to come and unlock the door from the outside

–         That was fine except the same thing happened the next morning, which was a bit more frustrating, not to mention dangerous

–         (Especially when the phone didn’t work at first)

–         Not sure what would have happened if the building had caught on fire

–         Having just spent the previous few days walking through some wide open spaces, I didn’t appreciate feeling trapped & powerless in a tiny room

–         Fortunately our incarceration wasn’t long

 

Judah were a trapped nation

–         “Decades earlier the Assyrians had subjugated and exiled the peoples of the northern kingdom [Israel] (2 Kings 17). They did not overthrow the [southern] kingdom of Judah at that time, but for almost a century… the Assyrians controlled Judah as a kind of puppet kingdom” [2]

–         In other words, Judah were essentially locked in their room, unable to escape Assyrian control

–         They were powerless to free themselves and needed someone to release them from the outside

–         This is essentially what God was promising to do for Judah in verse 13 where he says…

 

“…Now I will break their yoke from your neck and tear your shackles away.”

 

Shackles are like hand cuffs and, in this context, the yoke is a metaphor of oppression

–         A yoke is a wooden cross bar that fits over the neck of the ox

–         The farmer uses the yoke to control the ox

–         The Assyrian yoke (their means of controlling Judah) was going to be broken – this was good news for the captives

–         But the good news came with a little sting because just before this, in the second part of verse 12, the Lord says…

 

“Although I have afflicted you, [O Judah], I will afflict you no more.”

 

God is basically taking responsibility for Judah’s suffering

–         It was God who put the Assyrian yoke on Judah’s shoulders in the first place

–         On the one hand this is a difficult truth to face – God has had a hand in Judah’s affliction

–         But on a more positive note it does reassure us that God is in control of the situation

–         Just as he had the power to put the yoke on them, so too he has the power to remove the yoke

 

To give you some context the people of Judah had behaved badly themselves

–         They had been disloyal to the Lord and cheated on him by worshipping other gods

–         Consequently God tried to bring his people back into line using the yoke of Assyrian oppression

–         Unfortunately the Assyrians had gone too far and so God had to break the Assyrians’ power

 

The day would come when the Lord would give his people an easy yoke

–         As Jesus said…

–         Come to me all you who are weary and I will give you rest for your souls, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light

–         Jesus’ yoke is not one of fear or oppression – it is one of wisdom and freedom to do right

 

The message of good news for Judah continues in verse 15…

 

Look, there on the mountains, the feet of one who brings good news, who proclaims peace…

 

Here Nahum imagines the future with a messenger running through the mountains carrying the message of good news that Nineveh has fallen

–         Nineveh’s destruction will mean peace for the people of Judah

 

This word would give light to the people living in darkness

–         It would be like being in a prison camp during the Second World War and receiving word that the Allied soldiers had recaptured Paris and were on their way to Berlin

–         Or it would be like living in Syria and hearing the news that the war was finally over (for good this time) and life could return to normal

–         To those who believed Nahum’s message it would have the power of giving people hope to carry on

–         There was light at the end of the tunnel and it wasn’t a train coming

 

Nahum’s verse finds an echo in Isaiah 52, verse 7…

–         How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns”

 

This is the crux of faith really – believing that God reigns (that the Lord is in control of events) even when everything appears to be in chaos

 

Nahum 1 verse 15 continues with the words…

–         Celebrate your festivals, O Judah, and fulfil your vows.

 

Just as we have Christian festivals like Easter & Christmas so too the Jews have their religious festivals – community rituals for remembering their history & identity

–         By saying, ‘celebrate your festivals O Judah’, Nahum is encouraging the people to remain faithful to Yahweh

–         Remember who you are, stay solid in your faith, by continuing your normal patterns of worship

 

Most of the Christian life comes down to faithfulness

–         What we generally get in the Bible is the highlights of God’s dealings with humanity throughout history

–         We don’t get the whole 5 day test match

–         For example, we hear how Joseph went to Egypt and saved his family from starvation and then 400 years pass without much comment until Moses comes along

–         What happened in that 400 years between Joseph & Moses?

–         God had promised to give Jacob’s descendants the land of Canaan and yet there they were faithfully waiting in the land of Egypt, believing in the promise and passing on their faith to their children – simply trusting God to make good on his promise one day, somehow

–         Nothing spectacular – just remembering who they were and abiding in God’s promise – Being the people of God together

 

There’s a wonderful article in the latest edition of the Baptist magazine by Dr Greg Liston [3]

–         His article addresses the issue that while the Christian church is growing rapidly in places like Asia, Africa and South America, it is (generally speaking) declining in size, status and significance in western countries like ours

–         Some people respond to this decline by saying we need to do more and do it better – be more relevant, more polished, more innovative, etc.

–         The problem with this is that we end up taking the responsibility (and the stress) for the success of the church on our own shoulders – big mistake

 

Greg says the church’s deepest challenge actually lies – not in working out what we can do better, but in remembering who we are…

–         We need to remember that the church is not principally a human organisation, but one foundationally constituted by God’s Spirit

–         This means the church is not primarily a responsibility

–         Rather the church is a gift

–         So our job is not to make stuff happen

–         Our job is to join in with what God is already doing

 

As Mother Teresa is often quoted as saying…

–         ‘God has not called me to be successful, he has called me to be faithful’

 

Or, as Jesus says…

–         Apart from me you can do nothing

–         Abide in me and you will bear much fruit

 

Celebrate your festivals and fulfil your vows

–         We shouldn’t try to be something we’re not

–         Remember who you are and remain faithful in your worship as you wait for God to fulfil his promises

 

Chapter 1 of Nahum concludes with the words…

–         No more will the wicked invade you; they will be completely destroyed.   

 

This is the good news which makes it possible for Judah to wait faithfully

–         “The wicked” most likely refers specifically to the Assyrians

–         God is not making an unconditional promise here that Judah will never be invaded by anyone ever again

–         He is saying they won’t be invaded by Assyria

 

Sadly the people of Judah were not able to remain faithful to the Lord for long

–         And because of their unfaithfulness Jerusalem eventually fell to the Babylonians, as well, and the survivors were carried off into exile

 

Conclusion:

This part of Israel’s history is a bit sad really

–         Fortunately it doesn’t end there

–         In a kind of muted way Nahum’s prophecy points beyond the politics of his day to Jesus

 

In Luke 4, Jesus gives his job description – quoting from the prophet Isaiah he outlines what he came to do…

–         The Spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor

–         He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind

–         To release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour

 

The people of Jesus’ day, who lived under Roman occupation (which was similar but perhaps not quite as bad as Assyrian oppression) naturally thought Jesus had come to destroy Rome, as Nineveh had been destroyed

–         But Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world

–         He didn’t come for political revolution

–         Jesus weapons were not swords or spears

–         His weapons were grace & truth

–         Jesus didn’t come to wage war against flesh and blood

–         He came to destroy sin & death

 

Jesus set the captives free by healing people of their diseases

–         By casting out evil spirits

–         And through forgiveness

 

Jesus’ greatest victory was won by laying down his life and dying on a cross

–         Jesus’ resurrection is the sign of his victory over death

–         Our job is to be faithful in trusting Jesus and his resurrection

 

Let us pray…

 

 

[1] Quoted in James Bruckner’s NIVAC on Jonah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah,  page 29

[2] Tremper Longman III – page 798 of ‘The minor prophets’ (Nahum).

[3] Greg Liston, Baptist Magazine (NZ), ‘I believe in the Church, pages 4-6.

Tawa Baptist

Nineveh Repents

Scripture: Jonah 3

 

Title: Nineveh Repents

 

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Jonah’s preaching
  • Nineveh’s repentance
  • God’s compassion
  • Conclusion

 

Introduction:

The Economist Intelligence Unit did a global livability study looking at the most “tolerable” cities to live in given crime levels, threat of conflict, quality of medical care, levels of censorship, climate, schools and transport links [1]

–         And they came up with a list of the 10 best cities in the world

–         There were 4 Australian cities in the top 10 and 3 Canadian cities

–         With Melbourne being rated the best city to live in, in the world

–         Auckland, NZ, came in tenth – which made me wonder whether they had considered Wellington at all

–         We lived in Auckland for 3 years and while it wasn’t too bad, Wellington is a way better city in pretty much every way

 

At the other end of the spectrum, if you google ‘most violent cities’ then Latin American countries are predominant

–         The city of Caracas, in Venezuela, is currently ranked the most dangerous with nearly 120 homicides per 100,000 people  [2]

 

Today we continue our series on the city of Nineveh

–         These days Nineveh is more of a province in northern Iraq

–         But in ancient times it was a significant city

–         Nineveh would not have won any prizes for being the most tolerable place to live but it was certainly up there as one of the most violent places

 

For two Sundays now we’ve looked at the city of Nineveh through the book of Jonah

–         This morning we pick up the story from Jonah chapter 3

–         I will be reading from the New International Version – the words will appear on the wall…

 

Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.” 3 Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh.

 

Now Nineveh was a very important city; a visit required three days. 4 On the first day, Jonah started into the city. He proclaimed, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned.” 5 The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.

 

6 When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust. 7 This is the proclamation he issued in Nineveh: “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let people or animals, herds or flocks, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. 8 But let people and animals be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence.  9 Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish.”

 

10 When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.

 

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate this reading for us

 

There are essentially three parts to this chapter…

–         Jonah’s preaching

–         Nineveh’s repentance

–         And God’s compassion

 

First let’s consider Jonah’s preaching…

 

Jonah’s preaching:

Robert Frost has a poem called Reluctance

–         The last verse goes like this…

 

Ah, when to the heart of man

Was it ever less than a treason

To go with the drift of things,

To yield with a grace to reason,

And bow and accept the end

Of a love or a season?

 

Jonah is sometimes described as the reluctant prophet – and for good reason

 

When God asked Jonah to go to Nineveh, Jonah protested and when his protest failed he tried running away

–         Then when God saved Jonah from drowning, by providing a large fish, Jonah was thankful but he wasn’t really sorry for running away

–         Nevertheless God wanted to give Jonah a second chance, so he spoke to the fish and the fish spewed Jonah out onto the beach

 

Once again God calls Jonah to go and preach to the people of Nineveh

–         This time Jonah obeys God, but only reluctantly

–         His heart is not really in it

–         ‘The drift of things’ (of everything in fact) is pulling Jonah towards Nineveh and yet it still feels to his heart like treason

–         Yes, Jonah obeys God this time, but it is a reluctant yielding to reason

–         Like a man subject to the change of seasons or to a love which is ending, Jonah is subject to forces he cannot control

–         The most sensible option available to Jonah is simply to go with it

 

We can’t be sure where the fish spewed Jonah out, but we do know that Nineveh was inland by quite a distance (about 500 miles north of Jerusalem) so it would have taken Jonah a fair while to walk there

 

Verse 3 tells us that a visit to Nineveh required three days

–         This probably means Jonah could reasonably expect to budget three days to proclaim his message in all of Nineveh’s public places

 

Jonah’s sermon, in a nutshell went like this…

–         “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned”

 

Now you might think, a short sermon is a good sermon

–         But this is too short

–         We know for a fact that Jonah could do better

–         Just last week we heard his beautifully composed poem about how God rescued him from drowning

–         Jonah delivered this poem in the belly of a fish where no one but God could hear

–         Now, when he is faced with an enormous audience, Jonah gives 8 words of doom (it’s actually only 5 words in the original Hebrew)

 

There are no illustrations or movie clips and no miracles to prove his point

–         There is no explanation of what Nineveh has done wrong, nor is there any specific application about what they can do to put things right

–         In fact, God’s name is not mentioned at all

–         If Jonah wanted to save Nineveh then we might expect him to be a bit clearer with the details

–         Instead Jonah’s message is blunt and vague

–         It appears that Jonah is forcing himself to obey God – all the time hoping that his message won’t be successful

–         To be fair to Jonah though, the people of Nineveh spoke a different language – so that may have been a limitation

 

Language is a funny thing

–         One word, spelt exactly the same, can have two quite different meanings

–         For example, the word bark can mean a loud noise, like a dog might make, or it can mean the covering of a tree

–         The word light can refer to a lamp but it can also mean not heavy

–         And the word cool – can refer to temperature but it can also mean something is really good or acceptable – as in, ‘that’s cool man’

 

The word, “overturned”, which Jonah uses in his sermon (hapak in the original Hebrew), has a double meaning [3]

–         On the one hand it can mean destroyed – as in God is going to wreck this city

–         But on the other hand it can also mean changed – as in God is going to transform this city, he is going to turn your world upside down so that your whole way of life is different

 

Jonah was hoping for the first meaning (destroyed) but he knew God well enough not to rule out the second meaning (changed)

 

Nineveh’s repentance:

Despite his half-hearted (reluctant) sermon, Jonah’s success as a preacher is unparalleled in history

–         The entire city from the least to the greatest (from the livestock to the king himself) took Jonah’s message to heart and very quickly repented

 

Apparently Jonah didn’t need to use the full three days to spread his message, because the people of Nineveh spread it themselves

–         They didn’t need the problem explained to them because they already knew what they had done wrong

–         The king of Nineveh certainly knew – he summed it up as…

–         “Let them give up their evil ways and their violence”

–         What’s more, even though Jonah never mentioned Yahweh’s name, verse 5 tells us the people of Nineveh believed God

 

Belief in God goes hand in hand with repentance

–         You can’t really have one without the other

–         If we believe in God it will inevitably lead to repentance

–         If belief doesn’t lead to repentance then we are just kidding ourselves

 

For example, if it’s cold and the clothes you are wearing are wet, then the best way to get warm is to get out of the wet clothes and into something dry

–         Simply thinking warm thoughts isn’t repentance

–         Actually changing your clothes (changing your behaviour) is repentance

 

The problem is, most people don’t want to get out of their wet clothes because they think, “I’m not that wet anyway” or “I’ll soon dry off” or “It’s going to make me even colder getting changed”

–         They’re not really facing the problem

–         In order to change our clothes we need to feel even colder

 

If we apply this metaphor to the people of Nineveh, then they were already cold, standing around in wet clothes, when Jonah turned up

–         Jonah’s message to them was, “You’re going to get hyperthermia & die”

 

The people of Nineveh didn’t need convincing – they were freezing and they knew what they had to do to get warm – change into some dry clothes

–         In other words, stop their violent ways and practice kindness

 

Real repentance only comes about when we realise just how cold & wet we are

–         So long as we hold on to the illusion that we are right – so long as we keep denying the truth and justifying ourselves,

–         So long as we keep saying, “I’m not that wet, I’ll dry off soon” – we can’t change

 

It’s harder for good people, respectable people (like Jonah) to admit when they are wrong – they don’t want to change their wet clothes, it’s too embarrassing

–         It was easier for the people of Nineveh to admit they were wrong because they could feel the coldness of their actions

 

Again it is ironic that Jonah (who has experienced God’s miraculous power & grace) is unwilling to say sorry and seek forgiveness

–         Yet the people of Nineveh (who have never experienced God’s miraculous power and only hear a message of judgment) are willing to repent and seek mercy

 

In Matthew 12 Jesus says to the men & women of his day…

–         The people of Nineveh will rise up at the judgement with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the proclamation of Jonah, and see, something greater than Jonah is here.

 

If the people of Nineveh listened to Jonah (a foreigner) and believed his message (as poor as it was), it seems crazy that Jesus’ own people did not believe Jesus’ message (as rich as it was)

 

In some ways the king of Nineveh shows more insight than Jonah himself

–         In verse 9, after making a royal decree for everyone to repent and change their ways, the king says…

–         Who knows? God may relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish

 

This is interesting for what it reveals

–         Unlike Jonah, the king of Nineveh seems to intuitively understand that God is free

–         Just because they have repented, it doesn’t automatically follow that God must forgive them

–         The king throws himself and his people at God’s mercy and hopes for the best

 

Earlier this week Brian Gillies sent me a link to an article about Henry Gerecke[4]

–         Gerecke was an American army chaplain during the second world war

–         He served in a field hospital in 1944 following the D Day invasions

–         He also saw inside the Nazi concentration camps at the end of the war

 

Gerecke was preparing to return to the US following the war when he was asked by Colonel Andrus if he would stay behind to act as a chaplain to some high profile Nazi war criminals (Hitler’s henchmen) as they stood trial at Nuremburg

–         Many people on the home front thought these Nazi’s shouldn’t be given the chance to make their peace with God

–         Consequently, Henry Gerecke (a Lutheran pastor) together with Father Richard O’Connor (a Catholic priest), were inundated with hate mail

–         What they were doing was thought to be anti-Semitic, unpatriotic and unjust – a kind of betrayal of the Jews and allies who had died at the hands of the Nazi’s

 

It was a difficult decision to make but in the end Gerecke and O’Connor felt that ministering to these loathsome men was what Christ would have them do

–         Christ too was criticised for keeping bad company but always maintained he came to seek and save the lost

 

Gerecke’s situation was similar to Jonah’s in that God had called Jonah to minister to his enemies – people Jonah considered beyond redemption

–         It would have felt like a betrayal of his own people

However, unlike Jonah, Gerecke and O’Connor were willing to serve and did not try to run away from God

–         Gerecke & O’Connor were not as successful as Jonah

–         Of the 21 men who stood trial, 11 were condemned to die and, according to Gerecke’s final report, only four of them…

–         “…died as penitent sinners trusting God’s mercy for forgiveness [and] believing in Jesus who shed his blood for their sins.”

 

Will those repentant Nazi’s be forgiven and make it into heaven?

–         God is free, so like the king of Nineveh the most we can say is…

–         Who knows? God may relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish

 

God’s compassion:

Jonah’s preaching was reluctant – half hearted

–         By contrast, Nineveh’s repentance was genuine – fully committed

–         But it’s God’s compassion which triumphs in the end

 

10 When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.

 

There are two sides to the coin of compassion

–         One side is entering into the suffering of another – sharing their pain

–         The other side is doing something to alleviate that pain

–         When we feel someone else’s pain as our own then we are motivated to relieve their suffering

–         So to have compassion is firstly to feel and then to heal

 

This is a picture of the memorial at Gallipoli

 

The story that goes with this memorial is that there was a wounded British soldier groaning in agony in no man’s land between the trenches

  • – At that moment a piece of white underwear was raised from the Turkish side and a well-built, unarmed soldier appeared.
  • – The Turk walked slowly towards the wounded British soldier, took him in his arms and carried him to the Allies’ side, before gently placing him down on the ground and returning to his trench.

 

There are some who question the accuracy of this story

  • – I don’t know, I wasn’t there
  • – Either way, it is a picture of compassion
  • – Feeling another’s pain and then acting to help & heal that person
  • – Feeling and healing

 

To say that God had compassion on the people of Nineveh means that he was affected by their sin (he felt the hurt they inflicted on each other) and he acted to heal that hurt – feeling and healing

 

God’s compassion wasn’t just a response to the people’s repentance

–         His compassion is seen long before that, when he sent Jonah to warn them

 

That God is compassionate and open to change tells us that the details of God’s will are not fixed in stone

–         Sometimes we are tempted to think of God’s will as a train travelling along the tracks

–         The thing about a train is that it can’t really deviate off the tracks – it has to follow the path laid out for it

–         And once the train gets up some speed it is very hard to stop, because it’s got all this weight (all this history) behind it

 

But I don’t believe God’s will is like a train following the tracks

–         I see God’s will as more dynamic than that

–         God’s will is like a 4WD vehicle

–         God can follow the road or he can go off road

–         If someone or something is in the way then God can easily stop to wait or change course to avoid a collision

–         Yes, he has a fixed destination in mind (the redemption of his creation)

–         But he also has the power and freedom to alter his course in getting to that destination

–         And that’s what he does in the case of Nineveh – God changes his course (without changing his overall purpose) and saves the city

 

Conclusion:

This morning we’ve heard that Jonah was a reluctant preacher

–         But despite his reluctance the people of Nineveh still humbled themselves in genuine repentance

–         And God had compassion on Nineveh

–         God is free and he uses his freedom to love his enemies

 

I’m conscious that today is September 11 – fifteen years since the attack on the Twin Towers in New York

–         The attacks killed nearly 3,000 people and injured over 6,000 others

–         In response to these attacks America declared a war on terror and thousands more died

–         So people might say the city of New York is akin to Nineveh, with its violence

–         Others say, no, it’s the terrorists who are more akin to the people of Nineveh

–         I suspect it’s not that black & white

–         All of our cities have violence in them

–         All of our hearts the seeds of terror

–         None of us can claim to be completely pure or righteous

 

I don’t think the events of 9/11 were God’s will

–         I think what happened that day grieved his heart and went against his will

 

Jesus points us to the will of God (to the compassion of God) when he says…

 

Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous…

 

 

Let us pray…

 

https://soundcloud.com/tawabaptist/11-sep-2016-nineveh-repents

[1] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/property/pictures/9477990/The-worlds-10-best-cities-to-live-in.html?frame=2311083

[2] http://www.businessinsider.com/most-violent-cities-in-the-world-2016-1/?r=AU&IR=T/#1-caracas-venezuela-had-11987-homicides-per-100000-residents-50

[3] James Bruckner, NIVAC ‘Jonah’, pages 90-91.

[4][4] http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2014/may-web-only/would-you-share-gospel-with-hitlers-worst-henchmen.html?start=3

Tawa Baptist

Jonah thanks God

Scripture:

Jonah 1:17 – 2:10

 

Title:

Jonah thanks God

 

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Jonah’s thanksgiving
  • Jonah’s hope
  • Jonah’s blindness
  • Conclusion

 

Introduction:

This morning we continue our series on the city of Nineveh

 

In today’s terms Nineveh is located in Northern Iraq and in ancient times was one of the strongholds of the Assyrian empire – Israel’s enemies

–         The two books of the Bible which have the most to say about Nineveh are the prophets Jonah & Nahum

 

A couple of weeks ago we started looking at Jonah

–         We heard how God asked Jonah to go to Nineveh to preach against its violence and wickedness

–         Jonah, who believed strongly in justice, didn’t think Nineveh should be given a chance to repent and be forgiven

–         So he got aboard a ship and sailed away in the opposite direction

–         But the Lord didn’t give up on Nineveh or on Jonah

–         God sent a powerful storm and, long story short, the sailors threw Jonah overboard

 

Today we pick up the threads from the end of chapter 1

–         Please turn with me to Jonah 1, verse 17 – page 897 in your pew Bibles

–         At this point Jonah is in the water, no land in sight and no life jacket – things are looking a bit grim for the prophet

–         From verse 17 to the end of chapter 2 we read…

 

17 At the Lord‘s command a large fish swallowed Jonah, and he was inside the fish for three days and three nights.

2 From deep inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God:

2 “In my distress, O Lord, I called to you,     and you answered me. From deep in the world of the dead     I cried for help, and you heard me. 3 You threw me down into the depths,     to the very bottom of the sea,     where the waters were all around me,     and all your mighty waves rolled over me. 4 I thought I had been banished from your presence     and would never see your holy Temple again. 5 The water came over me and choked me;     the sea covered me completely,     and seaweed wrapped around my head. 6 I went down to the very roots of the mountains,     into the land whose gates lock shut forever. But you, O Lord my God,     brought me back from the depths alive. 7 When I felt my life slipping away,     then, O Lord, I prayed to you,     and in your holy Temple you heard me. 8 Those who worship worthless idols     have abandoned their loyalty to you. 9 But I will sing praises to you;     I will offer you a sacrifice     and do what I have promised. Salvation comes from the Lord!”

10 Then the Lord ordered the fish to spit Jonah up on the beach, and it did.

 

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate this reading for us

 

Jonah’s thanksgiving:

In an address to the U.S. National Prayer Breakfast in 1994 Mother Theresa told this story…

–         “One evening we went out, and we picked up four people from the street. And one of them was in a most terrible condition.

–         I told the sisters, “You take care of the other three; I will take care of the one who looks worst.”

–         So I did for her all that my love could do.

–         I put her in bed, and there was such a beautiful smile on her face.

–         She took hold of my hand as she said two words only:

–         “Thank you.” Then she died.

 

I could not help but examine my conscience before her. And I asked:

–         What would I say if I were in her place?

–         And my answer was very simple.

–         I would have tried to draw a little attention to myself.

–         I would have said, “I am hungry, I am dying, I am in pain,” or something.

–         But she gave me much more; she gave me her grateful love.

–         And she died with a smile on her face.

–         Gratitude brings a smile and becomes a gift.”

 

Even though Jonah is in a dark and terrifying place

–         As close to death as one can come

–         He does not offer a prayer of complaint

–         Or even a prayer of confession

–         He offers a prayer of thanksgiving

 

It may not be immediately obvious to us that Jonah’s prayer is a thanksgiving because we don’t explicitly read the words, “Thank you God”

–         But we know it was a prayer of thanksgiving because it follows the same pattern as other Jewish thanksgiving psalms

 

Typically with Hebrew psalms of thanksgiving there is a retelling of the crisis in retrospect

–         That is, a looking back at the near death experience and an acknowledgment of Yahweh’s deliverance

–         And there is a promise or a vow to praise the Lord and offer sacrifices to him – as a practical way of saying thankyou

–         If someone does something nice for us then we might acknowledge that by sending them a thank you card

–         What we read in Jonah chapter 2 is the prophet’s ‘thank you card’ to God, for saving him from drowning

 

The first thing we note about Jonah’s prayer of thanksgiving is that it was composed in the belly of a large fish

–         I imagine the belly of the fish was cramped, dark, slimy and smelly

–         It’s not like Jonah had a pen and paper with a desk and chair and lamp to sit down and write

–         Which means that Jonah would have composed the psalm in his head (drawing on other psalms of thanksgiving with which he was familiar) and then spoken or even sung it out loud to God

 

Some people these days have a difficulty with a large fish swallowing a man whole and then vomiting him out 3 days later

–         They think if something is miraculous then it’s not historical

–         And so they explain the story of Jonah as a parable which, although made up, nevertheless communicates some very profound truths

 

Well, that’s one theory, but personally I have no problem with the miraculous

–         I think God could easily make a fish large enough to swallow a man – no problems with that

–         In fact it seems to me to be exactly the sort of practical joke God might play on someone like Jonah

–         It’s totally fits with God’s whacky sense of humour

–         Anyone who has experienced God’s sense of humour for themselves will understand what I’m saying

 

Where the story becomes difficult to believe is in the next chapter – in Jonah 3 – where the entire city listen to Jonah’s message and repent

–         That really stretches the imagination – but we’ll get to that next week

 

In Mother Teresa’s story, which I mentioned before, the dying woman simply said ‘thank you’ – she didn’t draw any attention to herself

–         By contrast Jonah attracts a lot of attention to himself

–         One of the striking things about Jonah’s psalm of thanksgiving is it’s self-centered-ness

–         Most of the psalm focuses on Jonah’s crisis – it’s I, I, I, me, me, me, most of the way through

–         I called, I cried, I thought, I went down, I felt, I prayed, I will sing, I will offer – and so on

–         With all this I, I, I, me, me, me, talk it’s little wonder Jonah gave the fish a belly ache and was vomited up

 

We don’t want to be too hard on Jonah though

–         After all he has been through a tough time and nearly died

–         In fact it is at the very cusp of death – at his lowest ebb – that Jonah finally prays to God. Verse 7…

–         “When I felt my life slipping away, then, O Lord, I prayed to you”

 

You may remember from a couple of weeks ago that Jonah did not pray when the storm hit

–         The pagan sailors were all praying and even called Jonah to prayer, but Jonah refused to talk to God

–         It’s only when he hits rock bottom that Jonah breaks his silence

–         And it’s only when he prays that God sends the fish to rescue him

 

It’s not like the sailors threw Jonah overboard and the fish swallowed him up straight away – No

–         God waits for Jonah to pray before he sends the fish

 

Sometimes we might be tempted to think,

–         ‘What’s the point in praying? God already knows what I’m thinking – he knows what’s in my heart.

–         Why bother saying it out loud?’

–         Well perhaps it’s because we need to own it

 

We’ve been watching that mini-series on Sir Edmund Hillary on Sunday nights – quite enjoying it so far

–         Sir Ed is depicted as a fairly quiet character

–         Kind of a classic kiwi bloke – holds it all in

–         Doesn’t really say how he’s feeling

–         At the end of last week’s episode the girl that Ed fancies is about to head off to Australia for 3 years

–         This girl knows that Ed likes her, but she (quite rightly) doesn’t want to do all the work in the relationship

–         Even though she knows that Ed likes her, Ed still has to be the one to say it out loud – she can’t say it for him

–         When Ed realizes that he may not see the girl of his dreams again for a long time he says,

–         “I wish I had found the courage to ask you out”

–         And that’s enough for him to get a kiss

 

It’s a similar thing with prayer

–         Yes, God knows what we are thinking but we must still say it out loud – he can’t say it for us

 

So Jonah finally prays and God saves him

–         But Jonah’s salvation is not yet complete because he is still in the belly of the fish and he won’t be able to survive there for long

 

Jonah’s hope:

In some ways this is Jonah’s finest moment – thanking and praising God (from the belly of the fish) before his deliverance is fully realized

–         It shows us that Jonah’s faith & hope in the Lord is strong

 

A team of child psychologists wanted to observe how different children respond to negative circumstances

–         So they filled a room with horse manure

–         And put a child in the room to see how he might react

–         The boy whined and cried and despaired that he was in a room full of smelly horse poo

 

Then the psychologists put another child in the room

–         The little girl immediately started tearing around and digging in the manure with an excitement that baffled the on-lookers

–         After a few minutes of watching this, they asked the child why she was so excited

–         And she replied, “With all this manure in the room, there’s got to be a pony somewhere”

 

The reaction of the second child is a picture of hope

–         Even though the little girl could not see a pony

–         She could see the signs of one

–         Her hope of finding a pony was strong because of the manure

 

What was it the Apostle Paul said?

–         For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

 

Paul’s point here is that hope is often strongest when things appear worst

–         Not when life is at its best

 

Jonah’s situation was significantly more life threatening than being in a room full of horse manure

–         Most of his prayer describes the horror of his situation

 

Generally speaking the people of Israel were not a seafaring people

–         They were afraid of the sea and other large bodies of water

–         For them the sea was a symbol of chaos as well as a symbol of deliverance by trial

 

Noah had to pass through the chaotic flood waters (in the ark) in order to save his family and the animals from death

–         The people of Israel had to pass through the Red Sea in order to be delivered from slavery in Egypt

–         And they had to pass through the river Jordan in order to enter the promised land

 

I expect Jonah was conscious of these stories of deliverance through threatening waters, during his 3 days & nights inside the fish

–         And I expect these stories of deliverance strengthened his hope

–         I imagine the smelly inside of the fish and sea all around were for Jonah like the manure was for the little girl

–         Where there is manure there must be a pony

–         Where there is a great body of water there must be deliverance

 

So Jonah’s faith & hope in the Lord was strong – he praises God for his deliverance even before that deliverance is fully realized

 

One of the implications here is that God’s salvation of us is normally a process – it happens in stages, not all at once

–         God didn’t magically transport Jonah to dry land or back to the temple (like in Star Trek when they say, ‘Beam me up Scotty’)

 

The first step of salvation for Jonah was God sending a violent storm

–         The second step was Jonah being thrown in the sea and nearly drowning before he finally cried out to God for help

–         The third step was being saved from drowning by a huge fish

–         Jonah could see where this was going – eventually God would return him to dry land

–         And so while Jonah was waiting for the next phase, he praised God

 

One of the things we do each Sunday is to come together to sing songs of praise to God

–         Some weeks singing songs of praise is easier than others

–         If things are going well and we are aware of God’s goodness in our lives, then no problems singing

–         But if we have had a hard week and we are struggling to see God’s goodness or we feel like we aren’t quite out of the woods yet, then it can be more of a struggle to sing about how great God is

–         This life is not perfect – there are times when God seems absent and we shouldn’t try to deny or ignore the feelings this raises for us

–         But it doesn’t help to dwell too long on those feelings either

–         While we are waiting for God to complete our salvation we can still offer thanks & praise to him in anticipation of what he will do

 

So if you feel like you’re wading through a lot of poo at the moment – just think, there must be a pony somewhere

 

Jonah’s blindness:

Having celebrated Jonah’s strength of hope from the belly of the fish we also need to acknowledge the fundamental contradiction we find in Jonah

–         Yes, Jonah is a thankful believer in Yahweh, but he is also a disobedient believer

–         And to make matters worse, Jonah is unrepentant

 

Once when the famous preacher and evangelist, Billy Graham, was driving through a small town in the southern states of America

–         He was stopped by a policeman and charged with speeding.

–         Graham admitted his guilt, but was told by the officer that he would have to appear in court.

 

The judge asked, “Guilty, or not guilty?”

–         When Graham pleaded guilty, the judge replied…

–         “That’ll be ten dollars – a dollar for every mile you went over the limit.”

–         Then the judge suddenly recognized the famous minister.

–         “You have violated the law,” the judge said.

–         “The fine must be paid – but I am going to pay it for you.”

–         He took a ten dollar bill from his own wallet, attached it to the ticket, and then took Graham out and bought him a steak dinner!

 

“That,” said Billy Graham, “is how God treats repentant sinners!”

 

Many of us have heard that message before – that God forgives and pays the debt for repentant sinners

–         (For those who admit their guilt and try to change their ways)

–         So we are not surprised or impressed by Billy Graham’s story

 

What would make the story more interesting is if the judge still paid the fine even though Billy Graham did not admit his wrong doing and was not sorry for speeding

–         This is basically what God does for Jonah – which is what makes his story so interesting

–         God saves Jonah, even though Jonah is not repentant

 

Nowhere in his psalm does Jonah say, “Woops, sorry Lord. I was wrong, you were right. Will you forgive me?”

–         Jonah may be thankful that God saved him but he’s not sorry for running away

–         Jonah is, in a sense, blind to some aspects of himself

 

The psychologist Carl Jung came up with a term he called the shadow side

–         For many years I mistakenly thought our shadow side was that part of us which was like the dark side of the force – the bad in us

–         But actually our shadow is more simply those aspects of our personality (both good & bad) that we are not aware of and can’t see easily or won’t acknowledge

–         So our shadow side is really our blind spot

 

Now the fact is we all have a shadow-side or a blind spot, including people of outstanding integrity and faith like Jonah

 

In verse 8 Jonah says, rather revoltingly…

–         “Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs. But, with a song of thanksgiving, I will sacrifice to you”

–         This is a clearer translation than what we have in our pew Bibles

 

It’s sort of like Jonah is saying here,

–         “I’m not like those scum bag idol worshippers. I’m better than them. You can count on me to make good on my promises”

 

What Jonah doesn’t realize is that after he was thrown overboard those pagan idol worshipping sailors became worshippers of Jonah’s God, Yahweh

–         And they did exactly the same thing that Jonah promised to do

–         They made vows and offered sacrifices of thanksgiving to Yahweh

–         So Jonah isn’t all that different to the pagan sailors

–         He just has the advantage of knowing more about God than they do

 

But there is an even deeper blindness in Jonah here because actually he is guilty of idolatry as well [1]

–         While Jonah may not literally bow down to images of wood or stone he has attempted to make God in his own image

–         He has tried to make God conform to his way of thinking

 

Whenever we put God in a box or reduce God so that he is smaller, more domesticated, more controllable and less free (as Jonah did) then we are guilty of idolatry

–         As we talked about last time the great Kauri tree of justice is so large in Jonah’s forest of belief that the small Sapling of mercy has no light to grow

–         In Jonah’s mind God is not free to forgive the people of Nineveh

–         Jonah has tried to make God conform to his way of thinking – and that’s basically idolatry

 

Jesus and the apostles in the New Testament had a lot to say about faith

–         And that’s because faith is fundamental to a relationship with God

–         We, finite beings, can’t be in a relationship with the infinite God without trust

–         Faith (trust) doesn’t try to control God – faith let’s God be free

 

Conclusion:

Jonah is a complex character isn’t he

–         He is sincerely thankful and genuinely hopeful but ultimately unrepentant

–         Nevertheless God in his grace breaks with our expectations and saves Jonah anyway

–         Salvation really does belong to the Lord

 

I’m not saying here that God is bound to save us even if we remain unrepentant – far from it

–         God may be patient but he’s no fool, so we shouldn’t push our luck

–         The point is: Deliverance belongs to the Lord

–         That means God is free – free to show mercy to whomever he wants, but also free to withhold his mercy

 

Like all the prophets of the Old Testament, Jonah points to Jesus

–         In Matthew 12, Jesus is asked to perform a sign or a miracle to prove his credentials but Jesus refuses saying…

 

“No! The only miracle (or sign) you will be given is the sign of the prophet Jonah. In the same way that Jonah spent three days and nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will spend three days and nights in the depths of the earth”  

 

Jonah may not have been perfect but God still used him to point to Jesus – in particular Jesus’ death and resurrection

 

It is Jesus’ death & resurrection we remember today as we gather around the Lord’s Table

–         The musicians will come now to lead us in sung praise as we prepare for communion…

 

 

Out Takes:

Another thing we notice about Jonah’s prayer is that the Lord’s temple features a couple of times

–         Verse 4, “…I thought I would never see your holy temple again”

–         And verse 7, “…I prayed to you [from the depths of the ocean] and in your holy temple you heard me.”

 

God designed the temple to be a safe, peaceful and ordered space

–         In the temple there is a place for everything and everything in its place

–         The sea (or the ocean) is the complete opposite to the temple

–         The sea is dangerous, messy and chaotic

 

Don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone – pave paradise, put up a parking lot.

–         It’s often when we lose stuff, when we are cut off from the people and places we love that we truly realize just how much we value them

–         Jonah had been running away from God and from the temple but when faced with the prospect of never being able to return he suddenly realized what he had

 

https://soundcloud.com/tawabaptist/4-sep-2016-jonah-says-thanks

[1] Refer Terence Fretheim, ‘The Message of Jonah’, page 103, for more on this

Tawa Baptist

Jonah’s Justice

Scripture: Jonah 1:1-16

 

Title: Jonah’s Justice

 

Structure:

  • Introduction – Nineveh
  • Jonah and God (vv. 1-4)
  • Jonah and the sailors (vv. 5-16)
  • Conclusion

 

Introduction:

Today we begin a new sermon series on the city of Nineveh

–         According to Genesis, Nineveh was founded by Nimrod (the great grandson of Noah and a mighty warrior & hunter) [1]

–         Archaeologists have found pottery at the site of Nineveh which dates back to 3000 BC – so Nineveh was a very ancient city indeed

In Old Testament times Nineveh was located in the Assyrian Empire – what we today would call Northern Iraq (about 220 miles north of Baghdad)

–         The Assyrian Empire doesn’t exist anymore but back in the day the people of Nineveh were Israel’s enemies

–         At the height of their powers (during the 7th Century BC) the Assyrians controlled a vast area – reaching down through Palestine into Egypt

–         The residents of Nineveh had a reputation for cruelty and violence

–         Consequently the city of Nineveh was considered an evil place – sort of like Sodom & Gomorrah or Babylon

 

The two books of the Bible which have the most to say about Nineveh are the prophets Jonah & Nahum

–         We are going to start our series on Nineveh by looking at the book of Jonah and, depending on how that goes, we may look at the book of Nahum later in the year

Jonah was a prophet who lived in Galilee (that’s the northern part of Israel)

–         We read about Jonah in 2 Kings chapter 14 – where he successfully predicted king Jeroboam II would recapture some of the lands of Israel to restore its former borders

–         In other words, Jonah gave the king of Israel confidence to fight and reclaim lost territory for Israel

–         This was a good message to bring – a patriotic message

 

It also tells us Jonah lived and prophesied in the 8th Century BC, so he came after Elijah & Elisha, but before Jeremiah

–         Jonah was a contemporary of Amos & Hosea

Please turn with me to Jonah chapter 1 – page 895 in your pew Bibles

–         We can’t be certain but the story of Jonah is probably set about 750 years before Jesus when the Assyrians were on the rise – just before they became a super power

–         From Jonah chapter 1, verses 1-16 we read…

 

One day the Lord spoke to Jonah son of Amittai. 2 He said, “Go to Nineveh, that great city, and speak out against it; I am aware of how wicked its people are.” 3 Jonah, however, set out in the opposite direction in order to get away from the Lord. He went to Joppa, where he found a ship about to go to Spain. He paid his fare and went aboard with the crew to sail to Spain, where he would be away from the Lord.

 

4 But the Lord sent a strong wind on the sea, and the storm was so violent that the ship was in danger of breaking up. 5 The sailors were terrified and cried out for help, each one to his own god. Then, in order to lessen the danger, they threw the cargo overboard. Meanwhile, Jonah had gone below and was lying in the ship’s hold, sound asleep.

6 The captain found him there and said to him, “What are you doing asleep? Get up and pray to your god for help. Maybe he will feel sorry for us and spare our lives.”

 

7 The sailors said to each other, “Let’s draw lots and find out who is to blame for getting us into this danger.” They did so, and Jonah’s name was drawn. 8 So they said to him, “Now, then, tell us! Who is to blame for this? What are you doing here? What country do you come from? What is your nationality?”

9 “I am a Hebrew,” Jonah answered. “I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made land and sea.” 10 Jonah went on to tell them that he was running away from the Lord.

 

The sailors were terrified, and said to him, “That was an awful thing to do!” 11 The storm was getting worse all the time, so the sailors asked him, “What should we do to you to stop the storm?”

 

12 Jonah answered, “Throw me into the sea, and it will calm down. I know it is my fault that you are caught in this violent storm.”

 

13 Instead, the sailors tried to get the ship to shore, rowing with all their might. But the storm was becoming worse and worse, and they got nowhere. 14 So they cried out to the Lord, “O Lord, we pray, don’t punish us with death for taking this man’s life! You, O Lord, are responsible for all this; it is your doing.”

 

15 Then they picked Jonah up and threw him into the sea, and it calmed down at once. 16 This made the sailors so afraid of the Lord that they offered a sacrifice and promised to serve him.

 

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate this reading for us

Irony - polar bear

Jonah & God:

Here we have a road sign saying, ‘Watch for ice’, with a polar bear slipping over in the background – this is a picture of irony

 

Irony, in this sense, is when the situation seems to reverse normal expectations

–         We wouldn’t expect a polar bear to fall over on the ice, so it is ironic

–         The book of Jonah is full of irony – especially chapter 1

 

The story begins with God telling Jonah to go to Nineveh to speak against it because of its wickedness

–         This is not what Jonah expected

–         Normally in the Old Testament when prophets were asked to speak against foreign nations they simply did it from the relative safety of Israel

–         But in this situation, God actually wants Jonah to go to Nineveh in person

 

The difference is this…

 

If you preach against your enemies at home, then people will applaud you

–         They will take heart and gain hope from your message

–         Not only that but your enemies are unlikely to hear your message and therefore even less likely to change their ways and be forgiven

 

But if you go to your enemies and preach to them, then you are putting yourself at great risk

–         It would be like God saying, ‘Go to ISIS controlled territory (in Iraq) and preach against their violence’

–         You would expect to be killed

–         Having said that, there is an outside chance they will listen, change their ways and be forgiven – after all, you wouldn’t expect God to send you unless he thought there was some possibility of success

 

Jonah doesn’t like what God is asking him to do so he lodges a protest with God

–         The opening chapter doesn’t record Jonah’s protest – it presents Jonah as silent on the matter

–         But chapter 4 makes it clear that Jonah had words with God before going

–         As we shall see, Jonah was not afraid of dying

–         Jonah was afraid he would be successful – that the people of Nineveh would be conscience stricken by his message, repent and be forgiven

 

This also is ironic – a prophet who doesn’t want his message to be successful

–         Jonah didn’t think God should forgive the Assyrians

–         Jonah believed in justice and forgiveness isn’t fair

–         Just as there was no room for Jesus in Bethlehem – there is no room for forgiveness in Jonah’s heart

Instead of obeying God, Jonah goes to Joppa, pays his fare and gets on a boat bound for Tarshish – in Spain

–         Now Tarshish is in the opposite direction from Nineveh

–         In Jonah’s day Tarshish was considered to be on the edge of the known world

–         The point is, Jonah was trying to get as far away from Nineveh (and from the presence of the Lord) as he possibly could

 

Now when it says that Jonah was wanting to flee from the Lord, it doesn’t mean that Jonah somehow thought he could outrun God or go somewhere that God wasn’t

–         As a prophet Jonah knew that God was present everywhere in the world

–         Jonah ran away from Israel because Israel reminded him of the Lord and he didn’t want to be reminded of what the Lord wanted him to do

 

The band U2 have a song, ‘Where the Streets Have No Name’

–         The words go like this…

 

I want to run, I want to hide

I want to tear down the walls that hold me inside

I want to reach out and touch the flame

Where the streets have no name

 

‘The walls that hold me inside’ are the things that restrain us and make us feel trapped on the inside

–         And I interpret ‘Where the streets have no name’ to be a place that is unfamiliar to you – a place you don’t know at all

 

I’m not sure what Bono meant by those words but they speak to me of a person (like Jonah) who is wanting to run away from something but feels trapped

–         If you’ve lived in the same place for a while then you build up this library of memories – some of them good and some of them bad

–         And those memories are attached to places – to streets with names

–         So every time you go down a particular street it reminds you of something – perhaps a failure or a regret or even worse, something good that you’ve lost

 

My grandfather used to take me fishing when I was kid

–         We had some great times in this little aluminium dingy of his

–         He was good to me – we were close

–         When he died I inherited the dingy

–         Funny thing is I never took it out on the water again

–         I can’t really explain it but perhaps it reminded me of my loss

–         Fishing without my grandfather just wouldn’t be the same

 

I reckon Jonah wanted to go somewhere completely new where the street names didn’t have any memories attached to them – where he wouldn’t be constantly haunted by what God wanted him to do or by what he had lost

–         For Jonah, Spain was a place where the streets had no name

–         A place where he wouldn’t be reminded of the Lord

–         Of course, Jonah’s action in running away from God was like playing with fire – reaching out and touching the flame – he would get burned

 

Now at this point God has a choice

–         He can either replace Jonah – cut him loose and ask someone else to go to Nineveh in his place

–         Or, God can go after Jonah and turn him around

 

We’ve just completed a series on the 23rd Psalm and have learned that the Lord is not inclined to cut his sheep loose

–         If a sheep wanders off and gets lost then the Lord (who is a good shepherd) goes looking for that sheep in order to restore it to the flock

–         This is exactly what God does with Jonah

–         God, in his goodness, pursues Jonah – he doesn’t give up on him

 

Verse 4 tells us how God sent a wind on the sea that was so violent the ship was in danger of breaking up

 

Jonah & the sailors:

It must have been a pretty bad storm because the sailors, who were used to high seas, were terrified

–         The fact they threw cargo overboard tells us this was a serious situation

 

But throwing cargo overboard is not the first thing the sailors do

–         These sailors are not atheists – they are pagans

–         They don’t know about Yahweh, the God of Israel, and yet they are still religious in their own way

–         Their first response is to pray – each to his own god

–         Their gods are not real and have no control over the elements but the sailors don’t know that

 

What makes this scene highly ironic is that Jonah (the prophet) is fast asleep while the pagan sailors are praying

–         We would expect Jonah to be leading the prayer meeting, not sleeping through it

 

That Jonah is able to sleep so soundly through such a violent storm tells us that his conscience is not disturbed

–         We would expect Jonah to be feeling some degree of guilt or shame and therefore not to be sleeping well – but apparently he is comfortable with the decision he has made

 

Why is that?

–         Well some people might say it’s because Jonah has hardened his heart

–         But I don’t think so – that doesn’t fit with Jonah’s character

–         He’s actually a fairly sensitive bloke

 

I reckon Jonah is able to sleep easy because, in his mind, he is acting with integrity

 

Jonah’s belief in justice – that people should get what they deserve – is so strong that it allows no room for God’s grace or forgiveness

 

You know how in a forest the larger trees overshadow the smaller saplings

–         So the light doesn’t get through and those smaller plants don’t ever get a chance to grow

–         Well it’s a bit like that with Jonah

 

In Jonah’s heart and mind justice is the really big, dominant tree in the forest – and mercy or forgiveness is the sapling that just doesn’t get a chance to grow

–         Jonah believes the people of Nineveh should not be given an opportunity to repent and be forgiven

–         In his mind that wouldn’t be fair, not after what they’ve done

–         God has to prune the trees of justice in Jonah’s mind to let the light of his grace through and allow the saplings of forgiveness to grow

 

Any guilt that Jonah may feel as a consequence of disobeying God is absolved by his self-imposed exile

–         Jonah is consistent – if he doesn’t obey God’s word then he doesn’t deserve to live among God’s people

–         Which may be part of the reason he takes himself off to Spain

 

Unfortunately, acting with integrity doesn’t guarantee that you are right

–         It is possible to be perfectly consistent and yet still be wrong

 

It seems to me that Jonah has confused justice with God

–         While it is true to say that ‘God is just’

–         It does not automatically follow that ‘justice is God’

–         God is free – both free to punish and free to forgive – that’s what makes him God

–         If God had to submit to Jonah’s idea of justice then he wouldn’t be God

 

The captain has to go and wake Jonah

–         “What are you doing asleep”, he asks, “Get up and pray to your god for help. Maybe he will feel sorry for us and spare our lives.”

 

Irony again

–         The pagan captain is basically saying to Jonah, “Pray for mercy”

–         This is what Jonah should be saying to the people of Nineveh

–         But Jonah doesn’t believe in mercy – he believes in justice

–         Despite the captain’s call to prayer Jonah doesn’t pray at this point – he is giving God the silent treatment

 

The sailors draw lots to find out who is to blame

–         We can’t be sure, from this distance in history, what ‘drawing (or casting) lots’ involved, but it was something like throwing dice

–         If your number came up then you were it

–         Surprise, surprise, Jonah’s number comes up

 

The sailors ask Jonah a series of quick fire questions and Jonah responds…

–         I am a Hebrew

–         I worship Yahweh, the God of heaven who made land and sea

–         And, I’m running away from the Lord

 

Now the sailors are even more afraid

–         But their fear this time is different

–         At first they were simply afraid of dying

–         Now they’re afraid because they have become aware they are in the presence of such a great and powerful God

–         It’s that sense of wo-oh – this is for real

–         We are not alone, we are in the presence of someone or something that we do not understand and cannot control

 

The sailors are absolutely shocked that anyone would disrespect their God like that – especially a God so powerful

 

The waves were getting worse so the mariners ask Jonah, “What should we do to stop the storm”,

–         And Jonah replies, “Throw me into the sea and it will calm down”

 

Now this is a brave and interesting move by Jonah

–         There was more than one way to stop the storm

–         Jonah could have cried out to God for mercy and forgiveness

–         The Lord would have stilled the waves and the sailors could return Jonah to Joppa

 

But Jonah doesn’t do this – sadly his integrity gets in the way

–         Jonah wouldn’t ask for forgiveness and mercy for himself all the while expecting justice and judgement for the people of Nineveh

–         No – if they deserve justice, then so does he

–         Jonah may be wrong but at least he is consistent

–         Jonah would rather be thrown in the sea and die than ask the Lord for forgiveness – that’s how tight his integrity is

 

As Terence Fretheim points out…

–         “Jonah admits that he is guilty, yet he will not repent. And so he will satisfy God’s justice. He will take upon himself what he deserves…

–         In a clever move Jonah has here succeeded in throwing the ball back into God’s court. He will show God how to act justly” [2]

 

We the audience are left wondering, ‘How will the Lord respond?’

 

That Jonah is willing to sacrifice himself to save the pagan sailors also shows us that Jonah wasn’t against Gentiles (or non-Jews)

–         Jonah’s resistance in going to Nineveh wasn’t a racial thing – it was a justice thing

 

Like Jonah, the sailors have integrity too

–         They are not about to throw Jonah overboard if they can help it

–         Ironically, they try to repent on Jonah’s behalf – they try to row back to shore

–         But it’s no use – you can’t repent for someone else, they must do it for themselves

 

The wind and waves just get worse

–         In the end they realise there is nothing else for it

–         The sailors pray to Jonah’s God – to Yahweh – asking for mercy,

–         “O Lord, don’t punish us with death for taking this man’s life”

 

Yet again we see the irony…

–         Jonah won’t pray to the Lord (he won’t ask God for mercy, even though he knows he’ll get it)

–         But the pagan sailors do ask, even though they’re not sure of the outcome

 

As soon as they throw Jonah in the drink, the sea goes calm

–         At this the sailors fear the Lord

 

The Hebrew word for fear (yara) is the same as for worship

–         So to fear the Lord (in this context) is to worship the Lord

 

The sailors have been pretty consistent through all of this

–         They have been afraid the whole way along

–         But the nature of their fear has changed

–         In the beginning, when the storm started, they were afraid of dying

–         But in the end, when the stormed ceased, they feared God

 

Two quite different types of fear

–         When you are afraid of dying then you tend to do stupid things

–         But when you fear the Lord, you make better choices

–         The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom

–         The sailors’ fear of the Lord led them to offer sacrifices to him and promise to serve him

 

Again there is this beautiful irony

–         Jonah’s disobedience to God results in the sailors’ conversion

–         God doesn’t waste anything, especially not our mistakes

–         If Jonah hadn’t got on that boat to Spain the sailors would never have come to know the Lord

–         They would never have experienced the reality of God’s power like they did in that storm and the calming of the storm

–         Nor would they have met a prophet like Jonah to interpret God’s power for them

 

And that’s the fascinating thing right there

–         God’s power in and of itself was not enough to change the sailors

–         The storm is inarticulate – it doesn’t make sense

–         God’s power by itself just makes the sailors more afraid of dying

–         The sailors need Jonah to articulate God’s purpose in the storm

–         When Jonah interprets the events for them then the sailors’ fear is transformed from soul destroying appeasement to life giving worship

 

We might think the part we play in God’s plan of salvation is unimportant

–         And while it doesn’t depend on us entirely God does give us a vital role

–         Like Jonah we may be called upon to interpret God’s power

–         The wonderfully ironic thing is that it’s through his weakness that Jonah interprets God’s power

–         It is when Jonah confesses his wrong doing that the sailors come to know God’s grace

 

Conclusion:

Some Biblical commentators are pretty hard on Jonah

–         They think the moral of the story is, “don’t be like Jonah”

–         But I don’t think that’s point at all

–         I like Jonah – he is honest and he is brave

–         And most importantly he points to Jesus

 

The name ‘Jonah’ means dove

–         Doves were used by the poor, in ancient Israel, as a sacrifice to the Lord

–         If you couldn’t afford a lamb or a goat then you sacrificed pigeons or doves instead

–         Jonah (the dove) sacrificed himself – he put himself at risk – for the sake of those who did not know the Lord

–         Remind you of anyone?  (That’s right – Jesus)

 

Jesus had integrity – he believed in justice, but not at the expense of grace and mercy

–         God is free – free of our expectations

–         We must have a belief system (a theology) which is spacious enough to allow room for both justice & mercy

–         We don’t want to let the tree of justice grow so large that the sapling of forgiveness has no light to grow

 

Let us pray…

 

https://soundcloud.com/tawabaptist/21-aug-2016-jonahs-justice

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[1] Genesis 10:8-11

[2] Terence Fretheim, ‘The Message of Jonah’, page 88-89.