The Book of Jonah: When God’s Purpose Isn’t in Your Plansనమూనా

As we close out our look at the book of Jonah, let’s remember the setup to this final Chapter. Nineveh has just experienced a massive revival with just an eight-word sermon, and when God saw the people’s repentance, He relented of the disaster He was going to bring upon them.

Then Chapter Four begins with a shocking verse: Jonah is enraged! Rather than rejoicing that the people of Nineveh have turned to God, he is furious. And the conversation he and God have in this Chapter reveals why.

Jonah was happy to receive salvation, but he hated that his cruel, evil, violent, barbaric enemies were receiving that same salvation. His self-centered hypocrisy takes center stage for the rest of the Chapter as Jonah’s gladness in God’s mercy toward him is contrasted with his pouting anger when God’s mercy extends to others.

Finally, the story ends with no resolution. The curtain falls and we have no idea what Jonah ultimately said or did. Why? Because the point of this book is not what Jonah said or did. It’s what we as the hearers are going to do.

So let me leave you with seven questions we need to ask in our own lives after reading the book of Jonah.

1. Have you ever wanted your way more than God’s will? How many times has God said to you, “Arise, do this,” and you’ve arisen and done the exact opposite? Or just stayed put? In what ways are you even now resisting God’s Word in your life?
2. Are you inclined to settle for the comforts of people and places that are familiar to you instead of paying a cost to go to people and places that are foreign to you? How eager are you to go, especially if the people and places are threatening to you or perceived as your enemies?
3. How often do you pray for and desire the good of other people who may be considered your enemies? If a picture of your prayer life were displayed on a screen right now, how often would your enemies appear? Do you sincerely desire their good—enough to offer up prayer for them—or do you actually want to see them fail?
4. Have you ever questioned the justice of God or mercy of God? Do you ever see kindness toward wicked, evil people and think, “Why?” Or at least, “Where are you, God?” When someone does evil and seems to prosper, do you not wonder why or how in God’s economy that is right?
5. Is it possible for you to know about the character of God, yet not show the compassion of God? Is it possible that you have good theology—a right biblical understanding of who God is and how God loves the world—yet you have failed to show love for other people (particularly people who are unloving toward you)?
6. Do you sometimes care more about your earthly desires than others’ eternal destinies? Are there things—possessions you own, pursuits in your life, pleasures you love—that you prioritize more than leading people to eternal life?
7. What do you truly want more: a comfortable life in your nation or the spread of the gospel in all nations? The global purpose of God has always faced resistance from the nationalistic people of God. That’s Jonah’s story. And it’s our story too.

We are Jonah. His story is a mirror that reflects our hearts, minds, struggles, and sins. I hope we all walk away from this time not thinking about Jonah’s foolishness, but our own. For it is possible for us, like Jonah, to receive the mercy of God yet resist the mission of God. His mission obviously doesn’t come naturally to us. In and of ourselves, we are Jonah-like and sinful: we like comforts, we lack concern, we don’t like God’s commission, and we don’t like God’s character. But Jesus makes us a new creation, freed from sin for an entirely new purpose on this planet: spreading His saving message to every person in every corner of the earth.