Question: What does it say that we desire law for others but mercy and grace for ourselves?

Text:

But it displeased Jonah exceedingly,[a] and he was angry. 2 And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. 3 Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” 4 And the Lord said, “Do you do well to be angry?”

5 Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, till he should see what would become of the city. 6 Now the Lord God appointed a plant[b] and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort.[c] So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant. 7 But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered. 8 When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint. And he asked that he might die and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.” 9 But God said to Jonah, “Do you do well to be angry for the plant?” And he said, “Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die.” 10 And the Lord said, “You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night. 11 And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?”

Context, Context, Context: The reluctant, self-absorbed, narcissistic Jonah did not want grace and mercy for others. In this case, the “others” were the people of Nineveh. Yet Jonah had proclaimed an 8-word message to them, and many were saved: “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” (Jonah 3:4). And do you know what God did through that message? He saved people.

And we might think that Jonah would have rejoiced. But no. Jonah pouted. Why? Because it wasn’t about Jonah. It was about the message of redemption. It was about repentance and faith. And that infuriated Jonah. Jonah loved nothing quite so much as Jonah.

Encouragement: What does it say that we desire law for others but mercy and grace for ourselves? One of the beautiful works of the gospel is that it humbles us. It redirects our focus from being on ourselves, our own comforts. It makes us others-focused. Jonah very often failed to live out that transformation. He wanted mercy and grace for himself but he desired law for others. The pattern continues, sadly. How might we be of much more beautiful use if we desired others to experience mercy and grace as much as we long for those things for ourselves?

Introduction: This morning I was reading and thinking through the story of Jonah in the Old Testament book that bears his name. The opening passage is spectacular:

1 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.” But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord.

But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up. Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his god. And they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep. So the captain came and said to him, “What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call out to your god! Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish.” (Jonah 1:1-6)

Context, Context, Context: Jonah, writing and living in the 700s B.C, was a largely disobedient prophet of God. He was often plagued by self-interest, myopia, recalcitrance, and unforgiveness. He wanted grace but he wanted law for others. And often he found himself afraid and resentful.

Yet God was sovereign and Jonah was not. Stubborn, though? Yes and amen. Jonah was assuredly stubborn.

Encouragement: Ever sought to flee God? Ever thought, “Not today, Lord”? Ever sought to hide “down into the inner part of [your] ship? I certainly have. Yet God is sovereign. He knows what He’s doing–with Jonah, with you, and with me. The point of Jonah is that God is sovereign. God’s message is to go out. And He uses us (we who are often recalcitrant, fearful, and self-centered) to proclaim hope, truth, and redemptive grace to even the Ninevehs in our day.