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Sunday Sermon Outline
STUDIES IN THE BOOK OF
JONAH- part 13 Chapter 4, verse 6- “prepared” is from
the Hebrew, manah- to weigh out or number (see Dan.5:25-same root). Applied to the LORD, it refers to His divine
initiative and sovereignty. That is, the LORD determines just how to deal with
His servants. Parallel to this is the
process of purging done by the Husbandman-Gardener to bring more fruit
to the Vine. Jonah is said to
be “exceedingly glad” of the gourd.
Along with his “booth”, it provides a cooling overhead and
attractive plant. What Jonah does NOT
see is just how God will now use this as an opportunity to instruct him. Chapter 4, verse 7-now God “prepares” (manah)
a worm to destroy the much-adored plant.
Jonah’s displeasure over this loss is declared in vs. 8-9. He became attached to the pleasure he
received from this simple plant. A
comment by Gerald May [Addiction and Grace] may be helpful here: “…addiction is a
separate and even more self-defeating force that
abuses our freedom and makes us do things we really do not want to do. While repression stifles desire, addiction attaches desire, bonds and enslaves
the energy of desire to certain specific behaviors, things or people. These objects of
attachment then become preoccupations and obsessions; they
come to rule our lives.” God lovingly removes the object of attachment so that the
Lord Himself remains the object of our surrender & hope! Removing the
object of addiction can be easily done in most cases, but removing the desire or internal attachment
is much more difficult. We are assured that those whom the Lord loves receives His careful
discipline- Heb.12:5. Changing desire is a life-long project. Chapter 4, verse 8- after removing the object of
attachment, the LORD then adds something that increases Jonah’s
discomfort: “a vehement east
wind” [NIV -scorching east wind].
Such winds are called “sirocco”
coming from the desert in the east. Temperatures rise 16-22 degrees
higher than normal making the sun feel more taxing, along with almost complete
loss of humidity. Under his loss of
the plant (object of his affection) and the suffocating heat, Jonah regresses
back to what he felt in vs.3. His emotional reaction to the altered and more
difficult circumstances is very negative. While we may judge Jonah harshly for his
attitude, we will be well to be cautious of
such judgment. Many of us have
experienced very positive emotions concerning some rather empty page 2 or insignificant events in our
lives, only to turn around and have negative feelings concerning the demands
of the Christian life that required us to restrain our tongue, initiate Bible
reading & prayer or simply to sit through a worship
service. Such misplaced values evidence themselves through our
inappropriate positive feelings as well as inappropriate
negative feelings. This misdirected emotional content betrays our own hard hearts and
stiff necks (Heb.3:12-13). Chapter 4, verse 9- the Lord again asks Jonah
whether it is right to be angry –this time adding “for the
gourd”. Jonah shows a seriously misplaced value with such anger
concerning his loss of the gourd. By removing the temporal gourd that had brought Jonah
pleasure, God was showing (by contrast) Jonah’s own hypocrisy. God has
spared the more important people of made Jonah feel good (the
gourd). Jonah’s resentment over
his loss of “creature-comfort” reveals his consciousness that people
(in this case, Jonah himself) are important. If the protection and provision for
“people” is a priority, then Jonah should have rejoiced over repentance. The Lord’s question “Is it right
to be angry for the gourd?” is intended to bring Jonah to see his own
hypocrisy. Such hypocrisy
reveals a glaring inconsistency between our beliefs and our practices. Because we are fallen beings there is always
some area of hypocrisy in our lives; that is, we do not always consistently
practice our own beliefs. Yet, blatant
hypocrisy that causes harshness or severity toward others
(Jonah toward Ninevites) will bring a sharp rebuke
from the Lord- see Matt. 23:13-15, 23-29. |