Jonah

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

But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry. He prayed to the Lord, “Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. Now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.”

But the Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry?”

Jonah had gone out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. Then the Lord God provided a leafy plant and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the plant. But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the plant so that it withered. When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, “It would be better for me to die than to live.”

But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?”

“It is,” he said. “And I’m so angry I wish I were dead.”

 But the Lord said, “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?” (Jonah 3:10-4:11)

 

Yesterday’s sermon was based on this passage, and the point was that Jonah was angry about Ninevah because the people of the city were forgiven without sacrifice, recompense, restitution, or punishment. That was certainly part of it. I think another part was that, by forgiving, God seemed to choose wicked Ninevah over Israel. It was a good sermon and got my mind working.

Another element in the puzzle may have been that Jonah was angry that God had mercy on Ninevah, but not on the plant. Perhaps more to the point, He had mercy on Ninevah and not on Jonah because the plant that was providing Jonah with comfort died. His self-righteousness was probably self-centeredness. And we all do it.

Now, let’s take another step. Why didn’t Jonah like Ninevah? Not only did Ninevah not follow the Law, but it was brutal to the Israelites. Who in their right mind would not want to defend Israel against their enemy? How could God choose Ninevah over Israel when He had made promises to Israel? The Ninevites were evil?

God asked Jonah about the 120,000 people in Ninevah who didn’t know their right hand from their left, and about the animals Jonah was condemning. I suspect those 120,000 people were children. Did Jonah expect God to destroy them, too? God had in the past.

Why not this time? There may be many reasons and I’m not claiming to speak for God here, but let’s reframe the question. The problem was that Ninevah had oppressed Israel, continued to oppress Israel, and probably had no intentions of ending the oppression any time soon. For Jonah, the only logical solution was genocide. Of course, we should also keep in mind that Israel regularly violated God’s law, perhaps not to the point of genocide, but they weren’t innocent, and neither are we.

God implemented a different solution: convincing Ninevah to change their ways. Wiping Ninevah off the map would end the oppression, but so would the repentance of the Ninevites. In fact, if the Ninevites repented, they might help protect Israel from other enemies. This is the second option that is still ignored today. If  you listen to one group, the only way we can survive is if we punish the other guys or wipe them off the map.  In the next breath, we justify this position because if the other guys are given a chance, they will punish us or wipe us off the map. And we might be accurate. I’m not saying that violence and self-defense is never an answer. I am saying that it is not the only answer, and as long as we treat it as such, we’re no better than “they” are, or than Jonah was. We are denying God’s Word:

 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. (Ephesians 6:12-18)