Make the Jonah Vow
As we come to the end of our mini series on Jonah and God’s voice, I am struck by the story of Jonah and his pity party under a temporary shelter. On the one hand, I think that if Jonah really knew God, he would not carry on this way. On the other hand, Jonah does not need to have a perfect knowledge of God to serve Him. For some reason, I can’t cut Jonah much slack and I hold him to a higher standard. I’m certainly missing the point though, that God speaks and we listen and we act on his speaking, even when we don’t approve of the outcome.
We may not like what God is about to do or bring about, but we submit to His will and His words and something mysterious and wonderful takes place, in this case, the temporal and eternal salvation of a notorious city and its gangster like citizens.
Why this story is graced with this passage is a fascinating mystery to me. It’s a famous passage of course, but here it is again from chapter 4.
4 But the Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry?”
5 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. 6 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. 7 But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the plant so that it withered. 8 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.”
9 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.”
The usual use of this passage is to distill the idea that people of all kinds matter to God. I find that to be trivial. Of course they matter to God. God created them, loves them and would do anything for them. I suggest this passage is about our emotions, both deep ones and surface ones. Anger is mentioned three times, peaceful rest once, waiting to be vindicated once, suicidal ideation twice. The passage is filled with anger, rage, fear, sadness, loneliness, a momentary happiness and its shade. As you read it, you begin to feel Jonah’s pain. As a pastor, I sure do. Still, much of his emotional activities are completely unwarranted and shortsighted.
The key take away is found in God’s twice asked question. “Is it right for you to be angry?”
We are all vexed by this extreme emotion, Anger. People often tell me of times when they think it’s appropriate to be angry. Who am I to argue with them? Sometimes I even agree with them. Nevertheless, there is something important about Anger that God wants us to face. An interesting and thought provoking quote might be worthwhile here.
“Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret.” — Ambrose Bierce
If you want my most honest opinion about this passage, it’s about identity. Anger is an emotion that comes out most strongly it seems when someone else has misidentified us. Call me a liar for instance and you will likely induce my anger. I’m not a liar I fire back. How dare you identify me in that way. No, you are the liar. This psychology of identity is important to God. We need to know who we are in God, not so much who we are apart from God. When our identity is hidden in His or intertwined with His, we are not easily misidentified. We know we are His and nothing can shake that. I submit to you that this is God’s wish for His servants, that they will know whom they serve and why they serve Him and go forth boldly in His name.
Jonah still had some learning to do I would say. Me too. In the end, Jonah kept his promise just as God kept His. Near the middle of the book, we find this.
2:9 But I, with shouts of grateful praise,
will sacrifice to you.
What I have vowed I will make good.
I will say, ‘Salvation comes from the Lord.’”
The vow that Jonah made was twofold, I will sacrifice to you God. And I will tell people that You are their salvation. His capacity for gratitude seems a bit stretched, but he comes around eventually. Jonah feared God but was slow to respond. The Ninevites feared no one but responded to God immediately. Kind of shocking I’d say. Jonah is about a rich and full Gospel story. That story bears close study and rich rewards for it is the revealed and spoken Word Of God.
All in all, this text is not bad for a mission statement. You and I both know that we are not always ready to carry out God’s will with shouts of grateful praise, but when we do, amazing things can happen. Argue with God if you like, He can take it. Run away from Him if you must, but know this, He’s not going to give up on you. He has a plan and purpose for you. Make the Jonah Vow.
