Sermon Tone Analysis

Learning Compassion

The book of Jonah is a favourite of mine – wonderful prophecy and pictures of Jesus.

But why it is special to me is that the LORD has spoken to me personally in it and challenged me.

It is the chapter before us today that penetrated through to my core – it is the rather strange story of a gourd that grows up overnight only to die the next day.

The message of the chapter is a simple one: compassion!

Jonah was a prophet, he heard from God, had the right answers, knew God ….

But he lacked compassion!

That strikes very close to home!

I can be so analytical and correct in my doctrine but when it comes to feeling for my fellow man ….! Probably the reason the LORD gave me a wife and family was to try to teach some warmth to a cold heart.

In chapter 3 there had been a great response to Jonah’s preaching, the Assyrians believed יהוה’s message and repented, God’s anger was turned aside, greatest revival recorded in the Bible.

Surely that is the end of the story - chapter 4 deals with Jonah’s reaction to the revival.

Though he was very grateful for God’s loving-kindness and mercy to himself, he was none to happy when Nineveh was a recipient of it.

Like us, undeserving sinners soon forget they are objects of grace and mercy and think themselves superior to others and that others are unworthy to receive God’s mercy.

I know the grace of God toward myself and am extremely grateful for it but when it comes to others I am not so eager for grace and mercy to be extended.

I should not be preaching this chapter; I still need to learn its lesson!

How can the uncompassionate teach compassion?

Jonah had to be taught the lesson again that it is only by God’s grace and mercy and kindness that our life continues.

God had saved a wayward prophet from the ocean depths because of His loving-kindness - should He not show it to others also?

This quality which Jonah so appreciated, he now despises (v.2) because it is extended to others.

God rebukes the prophet: he must be shown that God loves all His creatures, not only sinful Ninevites but even dumb cattle.

*READ*

*Devoid of compassion [v.1-4] **v.1* – What displeased Jonah?

(Read 3:10) – That God had compassion!

That He relented and didn’t carryout the judgement that he had prophesied.

יהוה relented (had compassion).

Don’t you find this strange?

After all he had preached to them, didn’t he want them to listen and respond?

Here is the greatest revival, response, repentance ever recorded in the Bible – and he is not happy!

Prophets had a miserable lot – their message was almost universally rejected – here at last one has a positive response to his preaching and he is upset!

God listened and responded – here was יהוה’s hand evidently at work – he was dissatisfied!

We want people to be saved – it is hard to conceive this attitude, or is it?

Evan Thomas knows how hard it is to get Palestinians and Jewish Christians to fellowship together – the hurts run deep.

How would you like sitting in church next to someone who had raped your daughter or impaled your husband on a stake?

But we find it hard to overcome far less obstacles!

I know people who will not fellowship with another just because of something the other once said – don’t go to fellowship because they have ‘been hurt’!

They don’t know what hurt is!! How ready are we to forgive?

Love our enemies?

Do we want the Mongrel mob to be saved?

– Or what about the sexual offenders we preach to in the prison?

How comfortable would I be with one of them teaching in Sunday school?

Do I really want God to have mercy?

Muslim fundamentalists …. [Elizabeth Elliot went to live among the Aucas who had murdered her husband].

Jonah was incensed - he trembled, so great was his displeasure and burned with anger.

His prophecy had not come about - was his professional pride piqued?

Instead of wanting the hearers of the message to respond and repent, he wanted them to harden their hearts and be destroyed by God! Plain vindictiveness!

He was totally devoid of compassion.

It must have been frustrating to see this exceedingly wicked, godless, nation respond to one day’s preaching when his whole career of prophesying in Israel had brought about no large scale change of heart.

*v.2* - Jonah prayed and let his complaint be known to יהוה.

Jonah had not fully repented of his disobedience to God’s call, for here he is still justifying his action.

We see the real reason for his fleeing - it wasn’t fear of the Assyrians but based on a true knowledge of God’s character - he knew God was gracious, compassionate, and slow to become angry, abounding in loving-kindness and relenting concerning the calamity he intended.

Jonah had seen this nature again and again in יהוה’s dealings with His people - Jonah did not want to see this same goodness to be extended toward his arch enemies.

He knew God wouldn’t follow through with His judgment and that’s what happened.

*v.3* - He didn’t want to serve a God that showed kindness to his arch enemies.

Jonah no longer wanted to live.

There was no purpose for him anymore - he was a prophet but no longer wished to proclaim יהוה’s message, so what was left for him?

He had prophesied the destruction of Nineveh and it had not come to pass - he was a failure as a prophet.

Like Elijah, when his message from יהוה failed, Jonah asked יהוה to take his life [though in Elijah’s case the word came to pass but didn’t produce repentance, in Jonah’s case the word didn’t come to pass but did produce repentance - Jonah was concerned with his reputation as prophet, Elijah’s concern was for the state of the people].

*v.4* - יהוה doesn’t specifically answer Jonah’s complaint - it is patently ridiculous to complain against God’s kindness and goodness - it is the illogical ravings of an angry man.

יהוה points Jonah to examine his statement - does he have good reason to be angry?

Does he, of all people, have reason to criticize God’s merciful and compassionate nature, when it was God’s kindness, mercy and compassion that rescued him from a watery grave?

יהוה’s response directed Jonah to consider the mercy that he had received.

He was an object of mercy, why should others not be also?

We stand only by יהוה’s grace - who are we to say which other undeserving should not also be recipients of it?

We are like the man forgiven so much, yet doesn’t want those in debt to him to be forgiven (Matt 18:21-35) or those paid the same at the end of a full day’s work (Matt 20:1-15).

Should Jonah be angry because others had received grace just as he had?

Though miraculously delivered himself, Jonah had not yet learnt to have compassion for others.

In his fit of rage he had become focused on himself (those wishing themselves dead are always overly taken up with themselves and their own situation) - so God, in His unbounded love had not given up on Jonah, continued to teach the introverted prophet to look outside himself and have compassion for the lost, for those who face death.

In the ship Jonah was unconcerned for the perishing sailors (cf.

1:5, 6) he was dispassionate about death, unconcerned even for his own death (1:12; 4:3), he was unconcerned over the death of innocent Nineveh (3:10-4:1, 11).

Where is our compassion for the lost, our concern for those on their way to imminent destruction?! Jonah knew God, knew יהוה, was close to God on an individual level, heard His voice, but he had no compassion for others!

Sound familiar?! Jonah had to be shown that God loves all His creatures, not only sinful Ninevites but even dumb cattle and plants (v.6-11).

*God’s character: compassionate [v.2] /- gracious, compassionate, abounding in loving-kindness/* Jonah knew God, knew יהוה’s character - he knew He was gracious, compassionate, and slow to become angry, abounding in loving-kindness and relenting concerning the calamity he intended.

This is the nature of יהוה that was revealed to Moses on the mountain (cf*.

**Exodus 34:6** */Then the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in loving-kindness and truth;/ - cf. also Num 14:18; Psalm 86:5, 15; Joel 2:13).

This is יהוה who is: GRACIOUS, COMPASSIONATE, SLOW TO ANGER, ABUNDANT IN LOVING-KINDNESS, PITYING and RELENTING concerning calamity.

Jonah had seen this nature again and again in יהוה’s dealings with His people - Jonah did not want the Assyrians to receiveit.

He knew that God would have compassion.

Jonah despised God’s inherent goodness because it was extended to those other than Israel - national and spiritual pride.

Jonah judged Assyria as undeserving of God’s mercy - he judged!

- placed himself above God!

Though Jonah didn’t want the knowledge of God to come to the Gentiles, Jonah is a clear prophecy that this is יהוה’s intention: to extend His mercy and salvation to Gentiles also - both sailors and Ninevites.

This was a radical departure from the Jewish thinking of the time.

Isaiah took up this theme but it was not a welcomed concept (cf.

Luke 4:24-29).

Compassion is part of יהוה ‘s nature.

*Compassion on the uncompassionate [v.5-6] **v.5 *– Jonah doesn’t respond to יהוה‘s question – in petulant anger he left the city, he wasn’t talking with יהוה anymore.

Jonah was preoccupied with the city (3x in this verse), he had done the task given for him, now he did nothing - he just sat (2x).

He went out of the city having finished his preaching - he didn’t stay to instruct those penitent sinners in the way of יהוה whom they were so desperately seeking.

He did not want to be contaminated by the unclean goyim.

He didn’t nurture them for still he hoped for the destruction of the city.

Still wanting his prophecy to be fulfilled, he wouldn’t let it go even though יהוה had relented.

יהוה had compassion but there was none in the heart of this prophet – he wanted the full force of יהוה ‘s wrath to strike them in judgement.

He sat outside the city watching it - watching for its destruction - maybe even praying for it.

East of the city is on the city furthermost from the land of Israel - he was still moving away from God.

In the scorching Mesopotamian sun he would soon perish, so he constructed himself a temporary shelter, sitting in the shade, anticipating, longing for Nineveh’s destruction.

*v.6* - As יהוה appointed a fish (cf.

1:17), He now appointed a plant to grow up.

He taught Jonah compassion by having compassion and showing compassion.

Jonah showed no compassion, but still יהוה had compassion on him because that is His nature, His character.

He causes the sun to rise on the just and unjust.