Jonah 4 - The Folly of Jonah

We’re diving into Jonah 4 to uncover the folly of Jonah—his favoritism toward his own people, his forgetfulness of God’s mercy extended to him, and his flippancy in prioritizing a fleeting plant over thousands of souls. Even after the storm, the fish, and Nineveh’s repentance, Jonah remains unchanged, pouting in rebellion. This challenges us to examine our own hearts for similar deceptions. Join me as we confront these truths in Scripture. Let’s dig in and look to Jesus, our true hope!

Transcript

8 - Jonah 4 - The Folly of Jonah

Intro

• If you have your Bibles please turn with me to Jonah 4 and find verse 1.
  • Today we come to the final chapter in the book of Jonah as we learn what happened after Nineveh was spared.
  • We will divide this chapter into two weeks but from a broad view we will be examing…
    • The Folly of Jonah, which we will cover this week, then…
    • The Wisdom of God, when we return to this chapter in two weeks…
• As we examine the Folly of Jonah today we will see this unfold in three distinct ways…
  • In his favoritism…
  • In his forgetfulness… and
  • In his flippancy…
• As we consider his folly the challenge will be for us today to examine ourselves and to make sure that none of these are present in our lives.
  • With that let us read this short chapter and open in prayer. 

Jonah 4

• We just read the final verses of this short story but does it not feel like this should be the end of the story.
  • The way this chapter ends leaves us wondering, “What happened to Jonah?”
    • Or, perhaps to be a bit more pointed, we really are wondering…
      • Did Jonah ever repent?
      • Did he ever understand and change?
    • Unfortunately these are questions that will go unanswered for us, Jonah's story ends right here.
  • As he is found pouting like a child who did not get his way.
• The story of Jonah is one that is truly sad as we never see the main character progressing, learning, and growing.
  • Instead, what we find is that Jonah, even though he experiences the pursuit of God, the belly of a fish, and the mercy of God himself…
    • He never takes any of it to heart and is found just as rebellious at the end of the book as he is at the start.
    • I know this story is one that is fun to tell, it is exciting for kids as we share about him being swallowed by a massive fish.
  • Yet, it is one of the most alarming and saddening stories found in the scripture…
    • Let me remind you of the question we asked in our very first week in Jonah.
    • How can someone know God, know the Word of God, and have actions that are so contrary to what God desires?
      • The story of Jonah reveals to us the deep deception of the human heart and what darkness it is capable of…
      • Furthermore, it is not just this story but we could also look at church history and consider the things that Christians have tolerated at different points that oppose the Gospel.
    • We could talk about the abuse of power that has existed at different points…
      • Where people were kept in bondage to the priests and kings determined doctrine…
    • We could talk about the Christian Crusades and the atrocities that are associated with them…
  • However, let’s consider something a bit closer to home, something that has been a direct point of contention within our country.
    • Slavery existed from the inception of our country, it was a part of the world that existed and was a part of the country that was built.
    • However, along the way it became a point of contention and there arose those who desired to correct this wrong.
    • The most bloody war that has ever been fought by our nation was waged and at the center of it was those who opposed slavery and those who condoned it.  
    • This is not a history lesson, it just serves to bridge us over into some statements that we will read from sermons that were preached during that time.
    • As I prepare to read this, I know hindsight is 20/20, but at the same time it grieves me to consider the length that these men went so that slavery was justified to their people.
  • The first quote is from William G. Brownlow a Methodist Minister who preached a pro-slavery sermon in 1857, here is one excerpt.  
    • “Slavery was really established and sanctioned by Divine authority, among even God's chosen people—the favored children of Israel. Abraham, the founder of this interesting nation, and the chosen servant of the Most High,was the owner of more slaves, at one time, than any cottonplanter in South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, or Mississippi; or any sugar planter in Louisiana.” 
      • This man was justifying the actions of his day by pointing out that Abraham had slaves.
        • Well church, Abraham also had multiple wives, he also made it a practice to put his wife in danger by lying and saying that she was his sister.
        • Does that justify it for us?
          • Of course not! 
      • We have talked extensively about this on Wednesday nights, just because something was practiced by the patriarchs does not mean it should be practiced by us.  
      • What a statement though…
        • “Slavery was…santioned by Divine authority…”
    • Now before you go and say, well that was just a Methodist minister let me share with you a Baptist perspective just a few years later.
  • This was from a sermon preached by Ebenezer Warren in 1861 in Georgia, just a few months before the Civil War officially began.
    • He proclaimed to his church that…
      • “More than two thousand years before the christian era, slavery was instituted by decree of heaven, and published to the world by Noah, a “preacher of righteousness.” Here is the decree, Genesis 9:25-27, “Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants, shall he be unto his brethren. And he said, blessed be the Lord God of Shem, and Canaan shall be his servant. God shall enlarge Japheth and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.” The Jews descended from Shem, the Europeans and Americans from Japheth, the Africans from Ham, the father of Canaan.”
    • Justifying, arguing for slavery…
  • It is easy to look back at the sins of the past and point out the wrong we have done in this shared history that we hold.
    • We hear these statements and we rightly ask…
      • How can someone know the Word, be a Christian, a Pastor, a leader in his community and twist the word this way?
  • This is where we need to have a bit of self reflection, a bit of consideration for our day and time.
• We read of Jonah and ask…
  • How did he miss it so badly…
• We read history, at all points, and ask…
  • How did they miss it so badly…
• Let us reflect today upon the sins of man, the sins of our history, and pray that some not say of us in 150 years that they missed it so bad…
  • Looking back is simple; looking within is the challenge.
    • Well today as we consider Jonah let us strive to look in, to consider what we may be justifying in our lives and in our own church.
    • What scripture could we be ignoring or twisting or not placing within its proper context to justify something that is in opposition to God?
  • Let us truly test ourselves against the entirety of God’s Word to be sure that we are not deceiving ourselves.
• Let us begin to consider…

The Folly of Jonah

• The chapter we read just moments ago represents the final snapshot we have of Jonah’s life.
  • Think about what he went through…
    • His rebellion landed him in the middle of a great storm upon the sea that led to him being tossed overboard and swallowed by a great fish.
    • There he dwelt for three days and three nights and though he cried to God from that place it was not with true repentance.
    • From there he reluctantly obeyed and made his way to Nineveh where he simply shared that the city would be overthrown in 40 days.
    • This led to a great awakening for that city, there was genuine repentance and sorrow over sin.
  • Through all of those things he should have been humbled, he should have been grateful for God allowing him to live and preach.
    • Instead what we find is him not being grateful but showing just how foolish he can be.
  • Let’s define folly as we step into our points…
    • Folly can be defined as…
      • ”the state or quality of being foolish; lack of understanding or sense.”
      • “a foolish action, practice, idea, etc.; absurdity:”
    •  So in what way do we see Jonah “being foolish” and have a “lack of understanding”, in what way is he being absurd?
• There are three ways we see this folly playing out in our text, let’s consider them together…
• First, we see this folly…

In his favoritism…

• Go back with me to the end of Jonah 3 and find verse 10.
  • We are going back to chapter 3 so that we can understand what has displeased Jonah in verse 1 of chapter 4.
    • Let’s read the end of Jonah 3 and the start of Jonah 4 as one continual thought.
  • Jonah 3:10-4:1
• Reading it this way really helps us to frame up what has “displeased Jonah exceedingly”.
  • The repentance of the people that he just preached to…
    • That always fires me as well…
    • Have you ever heard of a preacher being upset that the people responded to the preaching?
  • This is absurd, he is angry because God showed mercy as they responded to his preaching.
• Now I do want to point out that some of our Bibles have an asterisk on verse 1 and will place a differently worded verse that can either be found at the side or bottom of the page.
  • If your Bible has that you may find that it is read this way…
    • “...But it was exceedingly evil to Jonah, and he was angry…”
    • That is a bit different from “displeased”, so which way is it?
  • This word and its root is used 9 times throughout the book of Jonah.
    • The first use is in Jonah 1:2 and it reads…
      • Jonah 1:2 - “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.”
      • It is a word that is translated differently depending on the context.
    • It can mean displeasure, discomfort, it can mean evil, or calamity.
  • The reason we have this note with this other usage is because it could really be either one in this verse.
• To Jonah, he is not just displeased that God has shown grace to Nineveh he is calling it evil, it is as though he is charging God with wrong.
  • What is this rooted in?
• We’ve already named it, Jonah’s favoritism, and it is present all throughout this story.
  • He acts as though Israel has an exclusive contract with God and that the Lord is not allowed to offer grace and mercy to any others.
  • He demonstrates this in his lack of concern for everyone who surrounds him throughout this story…
    • The mariners, the Ninevehites, the pagan’s he references in his prayer in chapter 2.
    • He is as the Pharisee in the parable of Christ that justified himself by criticizing another.  
  • What he failed to recall was that the Lord is God of all creation, though He called a people to Himself and raised up a nation, He is still the God of all.
    • As such He has the right to show mercy and compassion on those who He desires.
    • Jonah failed to recognize that his people were not special because they chose to worship the correct God…
      • They were special because God set them apart…
    • The fact is that it had nothing to do with them and all to do with their God.
• Is this not the same also for us today?
  • Does our salvation not continually remind us that it is not because of anything in us but rather is only because of the great mercy and grace of our God?
  • Let us not foolishly act as though we are in Christ because we are deserving of it, the opposite is true.
    • If we are in Christ, it is not because of anything in us but because God has drawn us to Himself and poured out His mercy and grace upon us.
      • Is this not what Ephesians 2 tells us?
        • Ephesians 2:8 - “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God”
      • Therefore we have no basis for showing favoritism to others.
    • Knowing that there is nothing in us that makes us worthy of this great salvation…
  • So also we know that God is able to draw whosoever to Himself for His Glory.
• Even as we recognize this fact, the reality is that we can also show favoritism…
  • Otherwise we would not find the command from James to avoid it.
    • In James 2 he gives the example of someone coming to the assembly well dressed and in fine clothes and another coming to the assembly poorly dressed.
      • He urged the church to not show favoritism to one or the other.
        • He writes to them in…
        • James 2:1 - “My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.
      • We must also strive to avoid showing partiality toward one other for we are all on level ground before Christ.
    • The Gospel reminds us of this, and Paul spends much of his writing correcting this.
    • A good summary verse of it is found in…
  • Galatians 3:28 - “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
• So let us check ourselves and be sure we are not given over to this folly.
• Jonah showed folly in his favoritism and then…

In his forgetfulness…

• It is a foolish thing to be confronted with a lesson and then to neglect to remember that which we have learned.
  • Jonah gives us this living example of what not to do in his prayer, look again with me at Jonah 4 beginning in verse 2.
  • As we read this together let us consider what is on his mind and what he has forgotten.
    • Jonah 4:2-3
  • He is right in his recollection of who God is…
    • God certainly is gracious, merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
    • What Jonah has forgotten is not who God is but that he has also been a recipient of this grace and mercy.
• Has he forgotten that he rebelled?
  • Of course not, he referenced it at the start of his prayer.
    • Instead, what he has failed to remember, or failed to connect, is that his rebellion was just as deserving the wrath he craved for the Ninevehities.  
    • Did you hear that…
      • He had forgotten that he was just as deserving of the wrath of God as those pagan, idol worshiping, sin loving, Ninevehites.  
  • Jonah has forgotten that he was a fallen man and no better than those he came in contact with.
    • I remind you today that Jonah brings nothing to the table except his own fallen nature.
• This is not any different from us today.
  • We bring nothing but our brokenness, our sinfulness, our depravity…
    • Praise God that Christ is enough, because if it were dependent upon us we would all still be utterly lost.
  • Jonah would have done well to consider Isaiah 41:14…
    • Isaiah 41:14 - “Fear not, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel!  I am the one who helps you, declares the Lord; your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.”
    • The fact is it is not about Israel, it is not about Jonah, and it is not about us…
      • God is able to take the least of us and use us for His Glory and His Purposes.
      • I have said it before over this short series and it is applicable again today…
        • We are not important enough to mess up what God wants to accomplish.
        • To add to that, we have a serious problem if we think that success or failure is dependent upon us.
      • It is in the hands of the Savior…
        • The book of Jonah should prove this to us…
          • God takes a reluctant prophet and uses his disobedience to save a group of mariners.
          • He then takes this same man who is out in the open sea and miraculously saves him.
            • Thus providing a perfect illustration for the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord.
          • Then, even with Jonah’s faults and deficiencies the Lord still brings Nineveh to their knees.
        • Jonah pouts the whole way through, but he does not stand in the way of what God desires to do.
      • Church, let us not think so much of ourselves that we think we could stand in the way of what God wants to do.
    • If He has indeed saved us from our sins…
  • Then let us realize with all humility that He is able to accomplish whatever He desires through us.
• Jonah showed his folly in his favoritism, his forgetfulness, and…

In his flippancy…

• Look again with me at this story and how shallow Jonah shows himself to be with this plant situation…
  • Vs. 6
    • Remember, just a few verses before this he was exceedingly displeased because Nineveh repented and God relented of the destruction.
    • He is moving from one extreme to the other, angry that God showed mercy upon thousands of people…
      • Then exceedingly glad that a plant offered him shade.
      • Self centered, self focused, and concerned only with what happens to him.  
    • Unfortunately it only gets worse as the verses continue, look at verse 7…
  • Vs. 7-9
    • Well now we have swung back in the other direction, back to being angry…
      • All because the plant for which he did not labor or toil has perished in a day.
    • Flippant is certainly a word to describe this man in his folly.  
      • Driven by emotions, subject to whatever happens before him.
        • Can we take note today of how this is such a dangerous way to live…
        • What a chaotic existence that living this way brings about…
      • Yet so many that surround us are subject to this very existence, man really has not changed at all.
    • Is the world in which we dwell often driven by emotions that swing between extremes?
      • One moment depressed, the next ecstatic…
        • Not because of their actions but because of what has happened to them.
        • Chirstian, this is not how we are to live in this world.
      • Instead, we are to be grounded in the Word, founded upon Christ, which is a rock solid foundation that cannot be shaken.
    • Regardless of the events that surround us our attitude should be reflected in how Paul encouraged the church at Philippi to live…
      • He writes in…
        • Philippians 2:27-28 - “ Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, 28 and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God.”
    • As flippant as Jonah is we want to stand completely contrary, let us be grounded and stand firm upon the Gospel.
  • Not subject to our emotions but rather subjecting our emotions to the Word of God.
• There is one final way that Jonah shows himself flippant and it is truly shameful…
  • In his actions he shows that he cares more for himself than the world around him.
    • Think with me again at how little he cares for the people he interacts with…
      • The mariners are in mortal danger because he has fled from the Lord.
        • We never see him caring in that chapter, instead we find him sleeping.
      • The Ninevehites are in danger from the judgment of God and Jonah does all but cheer it on.
        • The bible tells us that there were 120,000 people in that city.
          • At least that is how most commentators take that verse.
        • Does he show any compassion or concern at all for those who are awaiting the judgment of God?
          • Not at all.
      • His life reflects just the opposite of the teaching of Christ…
    • Jesus said…
      • Matthew 7:12 - “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
    • Jonah lived completely contrary to that…
      • Thinking much of himself, little of others, and totally opposite to the heart of God.
  • He was careless and flippant with those who needed grace and mercy the most.
• Let us also be sure that we are not living as Jonah did but that we be the first to show compassion, to show mercy, and to be prepared to share the Gospel to those who need it the most.

Closing

• It is here we will draw to a close…
  • Consider what we have talked about today, consider our text and the folly of Jonah.
  • I would ask that you reflect upon it, reflect upon your life, and test you life against the scripture.
• Is there anything that the Lord is bringing to your mind that you have allowed that others could clearly see and call it for what it is?
  • As we pray and as the altar is open, let us yield ourselves to the Spirit of God and submit ourselves to Him.