Jonah- the Reluctant MissionarySýnishorn

Jonah’s Angry Prayer 

Human anger is often a scary, unpredictable thing, and left uncontrolled, it can cause great harm. Running deep in the heart, anger simmers and festers until seemingly, out of nowhere, it erupts in destructive, hurtful and irrational behavior.

Surprisingly, this is exactly what we see in Jonah at this point in his story. Having been rescued from certain death at the bottom of the sea, he has also successfully completed his preaching campaign in which an entire city (a wicked one at that!) repents. This is incredible! One might expect that Jonah’s story would end on a high note, with everyone living “happily ever after.”

Instead, Jonah is angry--very angry. The Ninevites deserve hellfire and brimstone! They do not deserve love, compassion and grace. In a rant, ironically called a “prayer,” Jonah throws a description of God’s grace, mercy and kindness in God’s face. The words Jonah uses are a standard confession of the loving and compassionate character of God (Nehemiah 9:31; Exodus 34:6; Numbers 14:18; Psalm 86:5). This steadfast, unchanging character of God is almost always a cause for great hope and joy, but here it is the root of Jonah’s anger.

This is a strange picture indeed. A servant of God, a missionary and messenger of the good news of God’s love, is complaining about this good news. When God extended his steadfast love and mercy to Jonah, it filled him with grace and thanksgiving (Jonah 2:8). But when God extends the same to the Ninevites, it fills Jonah with anger. The darkest side of Jonah is exposed when it becomes clear that he would rather die than see ‘bad’ people receive God’s grace and forgiveness.

Jonah suffers from spiritual amnesia. He forgets that when he deserved to be fish food, God, in his grace and mercy, forgave him and saved him. Jonah wrongly believes that he deserves God’s grace but that the Ninevites do not. The good news is that God’s love is for the lost Ninevites of the world and for the self-righteous Jonahs of the world.

Like Jonah, we too may have a hard time accepting God’s grace for all people. We may embrace God’s grace for ourselves but despise the same grace for someone else. In frustration, we may become angry that God does not rule the world the way that we want him to. In response, God asks Jonah, and us, to examine our anger.

While Jonah is an example of humble repentance leading to gracious restoration, he is still a work in progress. Even humble, repentant and graciously restored followers of God can lose sight of God’s Sovereign plan for all people. Thankfully, the same God who loved the rebellious, runaway Jonah still loves the angry, self-righteous Jonah. What a comfort to understand that God’s mercy, grace and love toward us will never change or fade because it is not based on who we are, but on who God is!