Summary: Jonah's Problem
1. Jonah's Prayer v's 1-4 Note His :- (a) Frustration In Prayer 1 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry. “It was evil to Jonah, a great evil.” God’s burning anger “cooled off” when the Ninevites repented, but Jonah’s anger was “kindled” when God did not destroy Nineveh.
(b) Fervour In Prayer 2 And he prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.
Note the Revelation Of :-
His Sin Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish Jonah probably wanted God to destroy Nineveh for three reasons: (1) as a loyal nationalist, he despised non-Israelites (cf. 1:9); (2) he believed that idolaters had forfeited any opportunity to be shown mercy (3) the prophets Amos and Hosea had recently announced that God would sovereignly use the Assyrians to judge unrepentant Israel (Hos 9:3; 11:5) and take them into exile (Amos 5:27). If God destroyed Nineveh, the Assyrians would not be able to destroy Israel. The better solution would have been for Jonah to work for the repentance of Nineveh and Israel.
His Sovereign For I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.
His Grace, His Mercy, His Longsuffering (Patience) His Goodness, His Truth.
His Salvation for I knew that thou art a gracious God
Eze 33:11 Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
Isa 28:21 For the LORD shall rise up as in mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act.
(c) Failure In Prayer 3 Therefore now, O LORD, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live.
Ex 34 Moses on Mount 5 And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. 6 And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, 7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation. 8 And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped.
Elijah 1 Kings 19:3-4 And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there.
4 But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.
(d) Focus In Prayer 4 Then said the LORD, Doest thou well to be angry?
Physically woman with rabies list of those to bite
Emotionally man shooting mule & cows
Spiritually Eph 4:26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: 26 When angry, do not sin; do not ever let your wrath (your exasperation, your fury or indignation) last until the sun goes down. Resentment Destroys Our Peace (vv.1-2) Resentment Distracts Us From Our Purpose (vv. 3-4) Resentment Diminishes Our Productiveness (v. 5) Resentment Distorts Our Perspective (vv. 6-7)
David & Svea Flood Congo Missionary. Boy had grown up to be a missionary evangelist to his own country - which now included 110,000 Christians, 32 mission stations, several Bible schools and a 120-bed hospital
2. Jonah's Protest 5 So Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would become of the city.
(a) Separation So Jonah went out of the city
A. We resist the call to pray when we are angry 1 Thess. 5:17 Pray without ceasing.
B. We resist the call to love when we are angry John 15:12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. John 13:35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.