Factually Correct
This was a great evil to Jonah, and he was angry. Jonah 4:1
Evil To – The Hebrew expression, va-yera’ ‘el never occurs anywhere else in the Bible. It suggests an intense emotional reaction. As far as Jonah was concerned, God’s reluctance to exact justice on Nineveh and His merciful forgiveness of the sins of these people was a bitter pill to swallow. Uriel Simon[1] calls attention to just how twisted Jonah’s ethics really are. Jonah is angry over what should be a cause for rejoicing. In Jonah’s mind, what is good is evil. You can see the same backwards compassion in Nehemiah 2:10 where Sanballat and Tobiah consider what is good for Israel to be “a great evil.” Jonah is furious because his reputation has been impugned by God’s mercy. From his perspective, it is more important to be factually correct in doctrine than to be ethically motivated by compassion.
Are you laughing or crying? I remember being in a Sunday school class years ago when the leader railed against the girls who worked at the strip club across the street. “We can’t have anything to do with those sinners,” he shouted. “They are an abomination. They need God’s hand of judgment upon them. This is a moral outrage and it must stop. No one can tolerate a strip club across from a church!” Are you laughing or crying?
How many of us identify enemies in our lives on the basis of our rigid articulation of the facts? How many of us separate from others because of doctrinal disagreements, personal dislikes or “justifiable” disgust? We don’t realize that proclaiming release to the captives, restoring sight to the blind, setting free those who are downtrodden and proclaiming peace with God isn’t for them. It’s for us! We are the ones requiring lessons in compassionate identification. Why do we give water to the thirsty, food to the hungry and clothing to the naked? Because our acts of compassion bring us into intimate contact with our own brothers and sisters in need. We are changed. We are instructed. We learn who we are in the eyes of the other.
Today it’s acceptable to write a check, swipe a card or fill out a pledge. Such actions are noble, but I’m afraid they almost miss the point. Almost. After all, there is a lesson to learn in the return of God’s assets to His purposes. But there is a far greater lesson to learn in the real, physical acts of serving someone else. And there will always be someone else to serve. Without identification with the lost, we have nothing they need from us. You must walk the road of the wretched if your heart is going to understand the tears of the Savior.
Topical Index: evil, ethics, va-yera’ ‘el, Jonah 4:1
[1] Uriel Simon, The JPS Bible Commentary: Jonah, p. 36.
Sure we can’t agree to Jonah who was angry upon God’s compassion towards the repentance of Nineveh. Repentance of a sinner will draw forgiveness and compassion, won’t it ?
It’s a cheap grace to expect forgiveness and compassion without repentance…..and it’s not the message of The Truth. Both part, God and man shall do each portion.
And it’s clear that the wrath of God will fall upon the unrepent one !
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poor little Jonah- “in his mind”- he just couldn’t do what? poor fella.. he just was incapable of taking it all in. Even after witnessing firsthand (he was there?- right?).. lol!- sometimes you can be there and you not there I guess..- Mercy rejoices against judgment! “because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment! (James 2:13)
While the sealed coffin of Noah’s ark floating about on the watery grave of G-d’s judgment (without one leak by the way!)- those inside the boat sure did squawk and fuss alot for forty days!- but YHWH delivered them to new life. Jonah was expecting judgment- he witnessed mercy instead. G-d does tend to (always) surprise us – doesn’t He? Have trouble reconciling mercy and judgment?- kneel at the cross-(what will you find there?)
There’s a wideness in God’s mercy
like the wideness of the sea;
there’s a kindness in his justice,
which is more than liberty.
There is welcome for the sinner,
and more graces for the good;
there is mercy with the Savior;
there is healing in his blood.
There is no place where earth’s sorrows
are more felt than in heaven;
there is no place where earth’s failings
have such kind judgment given.
There is plentiful redemption
in the blood that has been shed;
there is joy for all the members
in the sorrows of the Head.
For the love of God is broader
than the measure of man’s mind;
and the heart of the Eternal
is most wonderfully kind.
If our love were but more faithful,
we should take him at his word;
and our life would be thanksgiving
for the goodness of the Lord.
(Frederick Faber)
The sentiment is good, but did you notice the use of spatial metaphors in the description of God’s character in Frederick Faber’s lyrics? Just shows you how thoroughly we have accommodated to the Greek view of the world. More on this is coming in TW.
“This was a great evil to Jonah, and he was angry. Jonah 4:1
Hi Skip,
I’m glad you brought up this problematic aspect of Jonah’s attitude.
For me, this has aways been the most difficult point to understand.
The great evil that Jonah is so angry about is really in his own mind.
Because Jonah cannot except evil in himself, he projects it onto us.
God show us how to act, by counseling Jonah, then accepting him.
I’m not sure that Jonah projects his own inability to accept evil. But I am sure that Jonah is a man without compassion for his own kind. He is a strict legalist. The only thing that matters to him is the perfect execution of the Law, maintaining the standard of righteousness. For that, he is wiling to sacrifice everyone in Nineveh – and himself! Doesn’t that paint an accurate picture of many contemporary believers. They are so rule-bound (even in their “under grace” lives) that they are quite willing for those pagans to go to hell because they deserve it rather than weep over the lost city.
Thanks Skip!
I understand.
For me, it is a very strange story and somewhat comic.
Very powerful.
So true! So true! The legalists do not attract the damaged, hurting people to the Kingdom and the King. They repel the hurting sinners away from considering the abundant Life and healing available in Kingdom living.
The magnet is a community displaying compassion, identification, mercy, humility and an attitude of “we understand your pain. We too have suffered in the past because of our sinful rejection of the One who loves us, forgives us and offers us restored Life”. A community of followers of God’s Way whose lifestyle of deeply committed, mutually-supportive relationships and productive, society-enhancing work will get the world’s attention.
I think we can’t judge Jonah’s heart accurately only of the end side only. At the beginning,he ran away from the task of
speaking to the Nineveh.He just obeyed,after YHWH “punished” him.
It seems that Jonah didn’t like of their repentance,so he chose not to preach( keep silent) the message of YHWH to them. And after he preached,he found the repentance of the Nineveh which resulting YHWH’s forgiveness. Love always willing to tell others about their wrong doing so they can come to repentance and receive forgiveness.
“Am I not to feel sorry for Nineveh, the great city, in which there are more than 120,000 people who cannot tell their right hand from there left, not to mention the animals?”
Jonah 4:11
In the passage above, Yahweh God is addressing his prophet Jonah in a tone that reminds me of the one I use when I’m trying to get my wife to see my point when she is angry with me.
Obviously, my wife and I are not in a parent-child relationship and even when we are at odds, we know each other very well; having been together for 17 years, with two kids.
Just reading the passage above, it seems to me that Jonah is closer to Yahweh than Jesus is.
So while it might be accurate to call Jonah a “legalist” (I’m guessing that’s a spirit/letter issue), Jonah seems to be in excellent standing with God anyway.
In any case, I’m thinking Jonah is a prophet, so he is called upon by Yahweh to speak the truth as he sees it.
And he doesn’t like what he sees.
But, for that matter, neither does the prophet Jeremiah:
Why do scoundrels enjoy peace?
Jeremiah 12:1
Drag them off like sheep for the slaughter-house,
reserve them for the day of butchery.
Jeremiah 12:3
Yes Michael, sometimes we don’t understand the eyes of the prophets and could judge them falsely.
We need to learn more !
Thanks anyway.
Actually, a prophet is called to speak the truth as God sees it, not as the prophet sees it. To speak from his own evaluation is to be a false prophet since the Hebrew prophet is called to be only a messenger, not an author. This means that Jonah could not have been as close to YHWH as Yeshua since he exhibited disobedience, reluctance and resistant compliance rather than compassion. Nevertheless, YHWH does not cast him aside – nor does YHWH cast aside the people of Nineveh. Notice that Jonah never repents but receives the same compassionate care.
Skip,although they have “bad words” I believe, Jonah and Jeremiah are not the false prophets.
YHWH helped Jonah to repent by sending him into the fish, many times YHWH put His people in difficult situation to help them of being repent……but many of the wicked have an easy and happy life ,never realize that he is going to the place of punishment.
Hi Skip,
Interesting point!
Must take the kids to school, but can’t resist a quick comment 🙂
I think Yahweh and Jonah agree that the Ninevehians are evil and stupid?
“Actually, a prophet is called to speak the truth as God sees it, not as the prophet sees it.”
Hi Skip,
If I may be so bold, I’ll argue against the statement above, with regard to the prophet Jonah.
In Jonah 3:2, Yahweh tells Jonah: “Go to Nineveh…and preach to them as I told you.”
Jonah obeys Yahweh, by making the one day journey and preaching the following words:
“only forty days more and Nineveh is going to be destroyed” in Jonah 3:5.
As you know, God saw the efforts of the Ninevehians to renounce their evil behavior in Jonah 3:9.
And then God relents, he does not inflict disaster on them in Jonah 3:10.
Now you could argue that Yahweh did not tell Jonah to say anything about forty days.
That Jonah said what he saw as the truth and it did not come to pass.
But I would argue that Yahweh gave Jonah some “prophetic license.”
And as a “results oriented” God, Yahweh’s primary objective for Jonah was to get the job done.
I’m a little confused why Jonah is so upset, but I don’t see any evidence for “legalism.”
Maybe Jonah is worried about his reputation; about being known as a false prophet.
In any case, if Jonah were a false prophet or a legalist, I don’t think Jesus would want to align himself with Jonah in the following way:
Matthew 12:40 For as Jonah was in the belly of the sea monster for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.
In conclusion, I would argue that Jonah is not a false prophet, but that he is not as close to God as Jesus, and not as good a model for man as Jesus.
Shalom,
I know that I am fighting an uphill battle on this one … but once more … in defense of Jonah …
“As far as Jonah was concerned, God’s reluctance to exact justice on Nineveh and His merciful forgiveness of the sins of these people was a bitter pill to swallow.”
Skip … I could not agree more with your comment … but I still think the bitter pill was related to the pending judgment upon Israel/Samaria … which I still contend Jonah would have suspected that Nineveh would play the role of destroyer.
Just humor me for a moment … 🙂 … Jonah would know of the pending prophecy/judgment coming upon Samaria. From a Jonah perspective, the Lord’s forgiveness of Nineveh was indeed a bitter pill. Not only does it set the stage for Nineveh to come upon Samaria (which they did) … but it must have destroyed Jonah to think that mercy was being given to the heathens but not to Israel.
Ultimately … as I stated previously …. Jonah at the end of the day does indeed have a problem with The Lord’s mercy … yet I still think it is less to do with the mercy and more to do with whom the mercy was dispensed too!
That’s it … no more debating … I have defended Jonah enough in this matter!
I agree that what we should marvel at is The Lord’s mercy … and I am not arguing that somehow Samaria got a raw deal in the matter. What the Lord did was righteous … everything He does is righteous … and Jonah should have clearly dealt with this reality regardless of his personal motivations, perspectives, etc. … Jonah wanted things his way … and we don’t have to completely agree upon the why!
“Just humor me for a moment … … Jonah would know of the pending prophecy/judgment coming upon Samaria.”
Hi Drew,
I’ll humor you for a moment, because you have given me a clue for another interpretation that is probably just as far fetched.
When Jonah says: “So now Yahweh, please take away my life, for I might as well be dead as go on living,” Jonah is ashamed.
In my view, Jonah’s negative feelings have nothing to do with lack of compassion or Jonah would not have saved the guys on the boat in the first place.
Rather. Jonah is angry and wants to die, because he already knew the end of the story; Jonah knew that he was going to look bad in public, like a false prophet.
It is Jonah’s ego at stake; that’s why Yahweh tries to help him, by burning his head with scorching heat.
And that’s what makes the story so funny: Yahweh applies the Heat to the point of death, but Jonah is still “fighting mad.”