Trouble with the nature of a holy God
Series: Holy – Holy – Holy | Bible text: Jonah 1–4; Matthew 12:40
Today we come to the second part of the summer sermon series, in which we accompany people as they go through life with their holy God. Last time we looked at the three friends Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego as they went all out for their God. They were ready to lay down their lives for him – but God saved them. This ultimately led to a great king who could not help but confess that only this God can save. Today we want to look at the prophet Jonah. He is one of the so-called twelve minor prophets. He experienced in his own body that only this God can save. What is exciting about Jonah, however, is that his book contains only one prophecy. But what makes this prophet so special? The book of Jonah impressively describes his journey with God. Quite honestly and without shying away from what others might think about him. It is about giving all glory to his holy God.
Jonah disappears
Jonah was a prophet, i.e. a man of God who foretold things in the name of God and was in His service. He worked in the heyday of the northern kingdom of Israel. At that time Jeroboam II reigned, who was the last great king before the fall of the kingdom. Jonah prophesied military success for him. «Jeroboam regained Israel’s territories between Hamath and the Salt Sea, as the LORD God of Israel had foretold through his servant Jonah son of Amittai, the prophet from Gat-Hefer» (2 Kings 14:25 NLB). The Northern Kingdom experienced a good time. The territory was again as large as before. Power was politically secure and the people were doing well. But in the religious sphere this was not so. For the Northern Kingdom had renounced their God. Therefore, he kept sending prophets like Jonah to exhort the people to repentance. Next Sunday we will deal with such a prophet. The prediction that Jeroboam II will regain the territories between the Salt Sea and Hamath is the only prophecy of Jonah addressed to his own people. For Jonah is commissioned by his God to go to Nineveh and proclaim a message of judgment there. This in itself is nothing new. The Israelites have repeatedly sent messages of judgement to other peoples. What makes Jonah unique, however, is that Jonah is to deliver this message to the enemies himself.
But who were these Assyrians? The Assyrians shaped events in the Near East for a few centuries. Until they were replaced by the Babylonians, they were a great power. Nineveh was the capital and a political and religious centre. The Assyrians were cruel and feared by their enemies. I would like to illustrate this with an example. When I was a student, I took the subject «Introduction to the Old Testament». It dealt with basic questions of the biblical books such as authorship, time of origin, structure, etc. I can hardly remember the details of the books. I can hardly remember the details of the lecture. But there is something I remember all too well, because it captivated me then and still does today. Namely, when it came to the warfare of the Assyrians. I have to warn you, this is not for the faint-hearted, but I will share it with you so that you get a picture of this great power. In those days, the dead were treated well. They burned them and took care not to desecrate them. But the Assyrians were quite different. When they attacked an enemy city, they took the dead members of enemy troops. They skinned them and harnessed them to their shields and attacked the city that way. Now imagine that you have to defend this town. Now, every time you shoot an arrow at a shield, you are literally shooting at people of your own people – dead friends and family members.
Jonah is now given the task of all things to bring the message of God to this people. «Set out and go to the great city of Nineveh! Cry out what I must bring against them, for their wickedness went up to me!» (Jonah 1:2 NLB). Jonah is sent to the hostile, cruel great power. What does he decide? No wonder – he runs away. Well done Jonah, save your skin. For what was the reason for his decision? «[…] He wanted to depart from the presence of the Lord». (Jonah 1:3 NLB). Because going to this people with a message of judgment is probably the worst thing that can happen.
So Jonah takes the next ship, which has the destination Spain. On the way, a big storm comes up. But Jonah doesn’t notice anything about it, he is fast asleep. The other sailors become more and more afraid and pray to their gods. So they also wake Jonah up so that he can pray to his god. But Jonah realises that he is to blame for the storm. Something is lost too quickly in this incident, I have to summarise the whole four chapters, but I would like to linger here for a moment. Because when it became clear that Jonah was to blame, they ask questions. «Tell us why this misfortune has befallen us,» they said, «what is your profession? What country do you come from? To what people do you belong?» » (Jonah 1:8 NLB). The answer comes promptly. «[…] I am a Hebrew, and I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who created sea and land.» (Jonah 1:9 NLB). Did you notice anything? What is his answer to his profession? He doesn’t give an exact answer, but only a «I worship the Lord». He describes his occupation as worship. I am convinced that the most important task for followers of Jesus Christ should also be worship. This should permeate everything.
Jonah turns back
Knowing that he will be responsible for the death of the entire ship’s crew if he stays on board, Jonah allows himself to be thrown into the water. At that moment, the sea calms down! «The sailors were seized with deep reverence for the Lord, they offered sacrifices to him and swore to serve him.» (Jonah 1:16 NLB). They could not help but worship the God of Jonah. Jonah sacrificed himself for the lives of others. For the consequence of disobeying a holy God is death! Is this so? No! For God is a gracious and merciful God. He does not abandon Jonah. «The LORD sent a great fish which swallowed Jonah. For three days and three nights Jonah was in the belly of the fish». (Jonah 2:1 NLB).
Even today, people find God in the most special places and moments. So did Jonah – he had his conversion experience in the belly of a fish. There he prays to his God and I want to share the last two verses of this prayer with you. «Those who worship false gods renounce your grace. But I will give thee thanks aloud, and offer sacrifices, and keep my vows. For help comes from the Lord. (Jonah 2:9–10 NLB).
Whoever does not worship the Lord renounces grace from Him. Renounces acceptance. Renounces forgiveness. Renounces life. All this is promised to people who confess God. Jonah expects help from God in the fish belly. In a desperate situation, at a point where he sees no way out, he prays to God. He confesses to him and expects help from him alone. What does God do? «Then the LORD commanded the fish to spit Jonah out on the beach». (Jonah 2:11 NLB). Only after three days did God respond. Have you ever been alone for a long time? Distraction comes in handy. But Jonah did not have this. But what he did have was much more significant. He had a deep, inner conversion towards God and He saved him. God is a gracious and merciful God, but also a consistent God. That is why Jonah is once again given the task of going to Nineveh.
Jonah has trouble with the nature of a holy God
This time Jonah carries out the mission. When he arrives in Nineveh, he announces the disaster of God. This is also the only prophecy in the entire book. «[…] Nineveh will be destroyed in 40 days!» (Jonah 3:4 NLB). Jonah must have been a gifted speaker. Because this simple message caused an earthquake. The people realise that they have not done the right thing. They turn back to the Lord. It was not their God until now, but they humble themselves. When God sees their behaviour, he has mercy on them. «When God saw that they had turned from their evil ways, he regretted that he had threatened them with disaster and spared them» (Jonah 3:10 NLB). Just as God was merciful with Jonah, so he is with Nineveh. But Jonah’s answer is not long in coming. He complained to the Lord, «Oh Lord, did I not say this before I left home? That is why I ran away to Tarsis! I knew that you are a gracious and merciful God, that you are patient and full of mercy, because you are sorry for the calamity.» (Jonah 4:2 NLB). Jonah has experienced God’s mercy and grace in his own body, but does not grant it to Nineveh. So his reaction to God’s action is remarkable. He prays: «So now make an end of my life, O LORD! I would rather die than live» (Jonah 4:3 NLB).
How should we judge the actions of Jonah? Is it not also understandable? He risks his life to bring the message to this city. It cost him everything. That is how it should be for the inhabitants of this city. I can imagine that Jonah was also very frustrated. For although messages of repentance are repeatedly given to their own people, they do not return to their God. Yet the capital of a world power at that time turns back through a single sermon! What about us. Are we happy for others when their friends, family, acquaintances come to Jesus? What does it do to you when this does not happen in your own environment? Do we also grant the grace of God to others, or only to ourselves?
Even though Jonah has considerable trouble with God now, God has not forgotten him. Jonah sits down outside the city and waits for disaster to come. God is also merciful in this situation and lets a castor bean bush grow to give him shade. The castor bean bush is poisonous to us humans. Nevertheless, Jonah is very happy about the shade, it cheers him up and he is content again. Although the shrub is poisonous, there is exactly one worm that is the castor bean’s predator and does not mind the poison. During the night, one of these worms comes and destroys the plant. This makes Jonah extremely angry again. Thereupon he is confronted by God, but Jonah’s answer is missing. God confronts him because he is merciful to people and animals that he himself has created. On the other hand, there is an angry Jonah who gets so upset because of a bush to which he has contributed nothing.
I would like to speak again briefly about the castor bean bush. As I said, it is poisonous and yet it serves Jonah to save him from the sun. Is this not also a bit of a paradox? In the preparation, this poisonous bush became an image for me to save. For God uses something deadly to save us humans. Jesus Christ, God’s Son, dies on the cross to bring life to us, his followers. It is precisely this Jesus who refers to Jonah when announcing his death. «Just as Jonah spent three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth» (Matthew 12:40 NLB).
What does the story of Jonah have to tell us? Perhaps something in the course of the sermon has already spoken to you. But I would like to briefly touch on another point here. Have you ever wondered who wrote the book of Jonah? It was Jonah himself! He himself does not come across as very praiseworthy. How do you deal with your own life story? Do you sweep everything under a carpet? Does everything shine superficially for you? How about taking Jonah as a role model? He admitted his weakness – to give God all the glory.
Invitation to you to become a messenger like Jonah. This starts with admitting that we sometimes go our own way. But this realisation can lead us to repent back to God. Through repentance, we are more open to doing what God wants us to do. But when we are on the way with God, it can happen that we are amazed anew, sometimes even indignant about the nature of our holy God. But it is precisely this, our life story, that we can use to give all glory to our God.
Again, I would like to give you three questions at the end. Choose one for yourself, answer it for yourself – and try to take a step towards implementation.
- Have you turned back to God and admitted to Him and to yourself that your own ways did not lead you to the desired goal?
- What part of your life story are you constantly polishing and hiding? Could it be time to stand by it and give God all the glory through it?
- Can you grant others that God is also merciful and gracious to them? Why can’t you rejoice with them?
Possible questions for the small group
Read the Bible text: Jonah 1–4
- Have you turned back to God and admitted to Him and to yourself that your own ways did not lead you to the desired goal?
- What part of your life story are you constantly polishing and hiding? Could it be time to stand by it and give God all the glory through it?
- Can you grant others that God is also merciful and gracious to them? Why can’t you rejoice with them?
- Where can you best identify with Jonah?
- Do you understand the image of the castor bush? What could this mean for you personally if God saves through death?
