Jump Start # 405 

Jonah 4:1 “But it greatly displeased Jonah, and he became angry.”

  When we left Jonah yesterday, he was praying from the belly of a whale. Seaweed was wrapped around his head and he was in a mess. He had a change of heart. The whale spit him out on dry land and in the third chapter Jonah goes and preaches to Nineveh.

  Nineveh was a huge city—it took Jonah three days to walk through it. The last chapter tells us that they had 120,000 who didn’t know “the difference between their right hand and left hand,” which probably means infants. The city repented. The king declared a city wide repentance. God witnessed their deeds and turned from punishing them.

  The fourth chapter begins with our verse. Jonah’s mad. The pouting prophet, the preacher with an attitude, had one of the greatest success stories in preaching. The entire city heard and changed. What preacher wouldn’t want that? His message got through. His sermon was a success. Instead, Jonah’s angry. He knows God. He knows God will give Nineveh a second chance.

  Jonah is much like the elder brother of the prodigal in Luke 15. He too, got angry. He was angry that the father was celebrating the prodigal’s return.

  Why is it that God’s people often get angry when wicked folks try to do what’s right? Folks will whisper. Some will shake their heads. It’s as if they want to see them crash and burn. The last chapter of Jonah is about God dealing with Jonah. The end of Luke 15 is about the father going out and dealing with the elder brother. Pouting because others are wanting to do right.

  Such ought to make us rejoice! We should long for all to come to Christ. What runs through these two stories, Jonah and the elder brother, may be jealousy and the thought that the wicked ought to be punished for what they did. They ought to suffer.

  Through all of this one forgets how God has been to us. How He has forgiven us, without first making us suffer, and how He has restored us. The gracious God is merciful to all who will turn to Him.

  Jonah presents another dimension for us to look at—a preacher who really doesn’t believe what he’s preaching. Jonah told Nineveh to repent, but he really didn’t want them to do it. Preaching involves first and foremost, the word of God. Preaching is about telling God’s word to others. Beyond that, preaching is an extension of the preacher. The passion, drive and heart of preaching is in the preacher who truly believes his message. When that is missing, the message becomes simply words. Preaching then becomes only a job and not a life.

  Yet in all of this we see the wonderful power of God’s word. Jonah’s heart was not in the message, but God’s power was in the word. Hebrews tells us that God’s word is living and active. Paul told the Romans that the gospel was the power unto salvation. The word “power” is from the same word that we get the word “dynamite.” Jesus said His words would set one free. The power of preaching is in the message and not the messenger. Someone who has great delivery but no message fails. Someone with so, so delivery but has something to say will make an impact.

  It is the word of God that connects us to God. It is the word of God that saves us. It is the word of God that builds us up. The preacher’s job is to deliver it. He is like the mailman. He brings the message. He is not to change it—just deliver it. That’s why Paul told young Timothy, “preach the word.” That’s the call for all preachers, simply, preach the word.

  The story of Jonah ends without us knowing what happened—again, similar to Luke 15 and the prodigal’s brother. Did either one get the point? Did they have a change of heart? Did they realize what a wonderful God we serve?

  God is so good—to all of us!

Roger