Majors In The Minors - Part 5 - Jonah
by George Newman
July 1, 2026 · Centerpointe Apostolic Church (Murfreesboro, TN)
Kind: teaching
Scripture: 2 Kings 14:23-27, Jonah 1:1-3, Psalms 139:7-8, Psalms 139, Jonah 2, Jonah 3:7, Jonah 3:10, Acts 2:38, Jonah 4:1-4, Jonah 4:9, Jonah 4:10, Jonah 4:11

Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/george-newman--majors-in-the-minors-part-5-jonah
Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page.
Free to copy and share with attribution.

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Tonight we're continuing our series Majors in the minors and I've enjoyed each of these weeks and the various teachers that we've had as they have taught us couple of words keep coming up throughout our series things like justice and mercy, righteousness, forgiveness and all these words are valuable to our Christian experience and for mankind in general. But tonight's minor prophet that we're learning more about is Jonah. And my first thought when pastor in fact he said it's a softball but and I I actually echoed that and said easy peasy. I know that Jonah and the whale. I got that story. There's nothing nothing wrong with that. I can do this. And so but just to be sure in fact I wanted to make sure that I had adequately prepared myself for the task and because of you are all wise people and I so I started researching the story and I began with the theologians Bob and Larry.

There are some great insights. You laugh but there are some great insights in that story. Now that's the 2001 version. I don't know what the new versions are but 2001 they were pretty good and pretty close to scriptures and kind of made me get think about some things and then yesterday I created a study group and we revisited this study from Bob and Larry and Adeline and Henry and Quinn were confirming a lot of my thoughts and what I knew about Jonah and what they knew and teachers Sister Tidrick your group of teachers are doing a fabulous job because they knew most of the story and were able to follow along. And so our knowledge is probably like yours.

Give you the the quick version. Jonah flees from God's commands. He gets on a ship to Tarshish. There's a big storm. He's tossed overboard. He's swallowed by a whale. He spends three days in that whale. Then he repents. Because he repents, the whale pukes. Now, I don't know if you've ever had or heard Brother Dennis Wickes, but he's a great children's evangelist from back in the day. And every time I get to this point, the story he told of Jonah and the whale comes back to my mind, and he had this statement when Jonah's exiting the whale, he says, "Now I know how the big chunk felt." Jonah heads to Nineveh, picking up the story.

Nineveh repents. Jonah gets mad. The end. We're we're pretty well have gotten all the way through. And for those that are just wanting to confirm, if you have watched the the Big Ideas version, Nineveh never slapped people with fish. Cheese curls weren't invented by the Ninevites. So that So, but there are some truths that we can pull out, that we can look at, and and something that that could make us think about, okay, this is a little different. I need to put a little more thought to than just being Jonah and a whale. And so, I want to kind of build a foundation for us here as we go forward. And just like everyone has done when we're talking about our prophets, we go back and we kind of give you a little history about them, and we talk a little bit about them.

And And so, first, who was Jonah? And you know, it He was a prophet. More specifically, he was a prophet to Israel. By this time in history, the the kingdom of Israel had been divided into two kingdoms. There was Israel with their 10 tribes to the north. There was Judah with their two tribes to the south. And Jonah actually prophesied during the reign of King Jeroboam the second. And as a rule we realize that the prophets of God, when they were speaking they prophesied to Judah and to Israel of the things that would come to pass if they heated or they did not heed the words of God. And so they would go around with the proclamation of what God had told them and they would give it and and hopefully Israel would take heed and they would repent.

If not usually God would spell out the consequences if you didn't. And so we we find that Israel and Judah keep going through this series. Sometimes they serve God other times they didn't. Back and forth and and the prophets had quite the job to bring forth all this word of God to them and try and keep them channeled in the right direction. It's sort of like what pastor has to do with us. He has to keep us channeled in the right direction as we're get us to heaven. That's the goal. And so if we heed his words and we heed the prophets words, we're going to life's going to be a lot better. And so it's in for Jonah we don't find many other mentions of him except in the New Testament when Jesus talks about him and then one other place in the Old Testament.

In 2 Kings 14:23-27, it says it this way. Jeroboam 2, the son of Jehoahaz Jehoash began to rule over Israel in the 15th year of King Amaziah's reign in Judah. And he reigned in Samaria 41 years. And he did that or did what was evil in the Lord's sight. He refused to turn from the sins that Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, had led Israel to commit. Jeroboam II recovered the territories between Lebo-Hamath and the Dead Sea, just as the Lord, the God of Israel, had promised through Jonah, the son of Amittai, the prophet from Gath Hepher. >> >> For the Lord saw the bitter suffering of everyone in Israel, and that there was no one in Israel, slave or free, to help them.

And because the Lord had not said he would had had not said he would blot out the name of Israel completely, he used Jeroboam II, the son of Jehoash, to save them. So, the scene is set that this is an evil time. This is when Israel is not doing what they're supposed to do. This is a time when when things are not going the way and Jonah has to come and try and get someone's attention. He has to try and and get the king's attention and say, "Look, it's time to turn around." And we don't know the history or the length of time that we have Jonah preaching and and prophesying to Israel, but we do know that he's been spending time being the messenger of God.

Doing his best to get the idea across to Israel that they needed to repent. That they needed to turn around. That they needed to follow God. That they needed to heed his word. They needed to go back to the to the to the books of the law and begin to revisit some of those things that they were supposed to do. To look at the words of David and remind themselves of what their history was and how God had persevered in taking care of them and saved them and been there for them time and time again. Yet, the Bible tells us that he basically was hitting his head against a brick wall. It wasn't going anywhere.

Jeroboam II continued in the evil that his forefathers had done before him. And so he begins working and and trying to do this it with all his gusto. That's all I can can say. He was trying and failing. But as we begin to discover who Jonah is, we find out that indifference between all the other prophets is that Jonah was the only one that was sent to a city in a nation that was not Judah or Israel. Now, Elijah he she he had been sent to Sarephath and Sidon during the famine during when it wasn't raining. He was sent to the widow's household and she took care of him. She gave him flour and oil and prepared meals and they said they they they were able to eat until the rain started again.

And then Elijah Elisha he wasn't sent so much. He prophesied to Syria, but Naaman came and found him when he was a leper and was healed. But of the prophets that we have in the Old Testament it's these three that actually worked outside of focusing their attention on Israel and Judah. And Jonah was the only one that was commanded to go and to preach the message that he had been preaching in Israel. He is commanded to go preach that to Nineveh. So, there's nowhere in Another fact is there's nowhere in Jonah that you will find a mention of an Israelite city or person except for the fact that he went to Joppa. We find out where he came from Gath Hepher.

That comes from 2 Kings. Other than that, we would not know where his journey had started. >> >> And so, let's look at the opening chapter here. If you've got your Bibles, like to read the first three verses of Jonah 1. Now, the Lord The word of the Lord came to Jonah. You know what I need to read it from? Yeah, I'm I'm reading. Had to make sure I had the right version that equaled what y'all are seeing. Now, the word of the Lord came to Jonah, the son of Amittai, saying, "Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it, for their wickedness is come up before me." But, Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.

He went down to Joppa and found a ship that was going to Tarshish. So, he paid the fare, and he went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. Now, first off, this is a guy that hears from God. This is a guy that has spoken for God. This is guy that should a guy that should be aware of who and what God is. And for some reason in his mind, when he gets this commandment to go and speak to the Ninevites, to tell them to repent that they've been evil, he says, "No, I'm going to flee from the presence of God." Talk about an impossibility. Yet, in verse 3, we find it's mentioned twice.

He tried to go from the presence of God. You can't get away from the presence of God. And for a man of God, it's already been written David had already written this in Psalms 139:7-8, "Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend into the heaven, you're there. If I make my bed in hell, behold, you are there. He had to remember those words. He had It had to come to his mind somewhere along the way, but for whatever reason, he decided, "Hey, I'm going to get away from God." You can't get away from God. You can't. In fact, if you go back and if you have time, study Psalms 139.

It's a beautiful passage of scripture because it reminds us that there isn't anything that God doesn't know, past, present, or future. It's a It's a chapter that you can hold close when you're worried or you're anxious or scared because it basically says God is there. In every situation, God is there. And so, it should have been something that he would remember and something that we should keep and and hold on to and read as much as possible because we need that reminder because we get caught up in our head, don't we? And we think, "Oh, it's nobody cares. Nobody's around. Nobody knows." But God knows. God knows. His presence is there. He's around. He sees.

And so, >> >> God is always there. And if you'll allow me a little leeway, I'm I'm not going to hit so much every verse in the first three chapters cuz I'm trying to get to chapter four, but I I just want to kind of give you some some notes along the way. Because as we know, 95% of us know this story of Jonah. But I want to flesh it out a little with some facts. And add some things. For instance, have you ever thought about how long it took Jonah to get to Nineveh? We read that by time chapter 3 comes along God commands him again after the fish has has puked him up and and says go to Nineveh and off he goes.

And next thing we see he's in Nineveh. Presto, it's like those 30-minute movies you are series you watch and the people are all across the world and back in the same day. You know, it just doesn't happen. And the same thing is happens here. And so let's throw up a map. There we are. Of of Jonah's journey. And let's let's just talk about it. Jonah is in Gath Hepher when he gets this first initial news that he needs to go and preach repentance to Nineveh. It says he immediately goes to Joppa. And we think that's a hop, skip, and a jump. But and for us it probably would. But we have to remember he's probably walking.

And the distance is is such that it's going to take him about 3 to 4 days. Now if he did and was wealthy enough to have a donkey, he might have gotten there a little closer to 2 and 1/2 to 3 days because the difference they say between a riding a donkey and walking is 25 miles versus 20 miles. Is what the an average person can do. They walk just a little faster than a man and as we know donkeys can be obstinate. And uh so there's probably some fits and starts that would go along the way as you're making your way to wherever you're going. So let's give it 3 days. Now from Joppa to Tarsus.

Now if you were if you remember from your history lesson that was in uh Bob and Larry's, it was on the farthest away you could go. It went that way. According to this map it goes that way as well. It was in Spain, and that was where he's headed. It's a journey of at least 2,000 mi. But we all know that Jonah doesn't make it. So, let's give him 2 to 3 days. Maybe 5 days. We know that he is then swallowed by a whale. The whale, we know he's in the whale for 3 days. Being curious, I said, "How fast does a whale swim?" And I found out the answer depends on if he's hungry or not.

If he's hungry, it's going to be 30 to 60 It's going to be 30 to 60 mi a day, depending on how hungry. So, so maybe a 90 to 180 mi would have been the distance that this whale traveled. Circling back, we don't know if he meandered, followed the followed the other fish, so he could eat what what the plankton or whatever was going on in and and where he was at. But we do know that's about what it takes for a sperm whale. I know it's called a fish. But for this for a whale, the biggest thing that we know of, that's about what it takes. So, it'd be like going He either went from Key West to Cuba or he went from Key West to the Bahamas.

One's 90, one's 180. It's just a difference of time that's going to take you to get there. He comes back. So, now we've got 3 or 4 days, 2 days, three another 3 days. So, we're at about 9 days, maybe 10. And then from Joppa to Nineveh. Means he has to go back Throw that map back up. So, he's all the way here at the bottom left, and then he's got to go all the way up and across. Now, he couldn't go as the crow flies cuz he had to follow the caravan and the trade route. And so, there's good chance that he was not traveling by himself. He was probably traveling with a caravan.

Um and so, caravans, traditionally, from what we know, they go a little slow. It was approximately 550 to 600 mi, 650 mi, they say, depending on which route they took. But But Jonah would have had to have joined them because he would need the protection from the from the raiders and the the people that would attack him along the way if he was by himself. It would be He would have to have food, substance, place to sleep. He'd have have to have that protection and the Not only that, he'd need knowledge of somebody that'd gone before him to get to Nineveh. So, he's got all this going. And so, when they look at it and they see how fast caravans go, they don't go fast much faster than than us walking.

So, 20 mi a day or so, they figure it's going to take between 35 and 45 days for this journey. The Bible leaves a lot out sometimes. It just says he went to Nineveh. The next thing we know, he's there. And so, basically, we're looking at it taking a month and a half to 2 months total for this to happen, for Jonah to arrive at Nineveh. And chapter 3, as I said, four states that the Lord just told him to go, and he went. And as I was thinking about it, here was a nugget of truth because I'm thinking of who Jonah was, doing the will of God may take you longer than you planned or wanted.

God says this, and it may go do this or be that or tell talk to them. Show this, share this, be a friend, whatever it was and it may take a little longer to do God's will than just instantly. But getting back to the story, as we delve into the various chapters, we have to give kudos to the to the crew of the ship. They didn't want to throw him overboard. Remember the story? He He's They They do everything in their power. They lighten the ship. They They get all the way through and and they try their best and then they finally throw him over and instantly the clouds depart and the sun comes out.

It's immediately when they when they do that and then we know that the Lord prepared a fish to swallow Jonah. >> >> And so we get to chapter two and chapter two basically is where where we get to the point where uh Jonah is in the whale and it's his prayer. And as you go through that prayer, it says he's praying from the fish's body or belly. He said, "I cried out to the Lord because of my afflictions and he answered me." It's in the first verses there. And I believe again we have the Cliff Notes version of this. It's been cleaned up a little. Because as I begin to try and place myself into the role or the the idea of being Jonah, I don't know and I don't think, just being human here, that the first thing I would do other than, "Oh, Lord, I'm here.

Help me, God." Other than that, I don't know how much praying and and just nice prayers like this I would be doing in the belly of a whale. He's in there 3 days. It doesn't take 3 days to get to this passage of scripture here in chapter 2. And as I begin to think about it, I think he might have been going through the five stages of grief. Think about it. Denial. I can't believe this is happening to me. Why in the world would it happen to me? I am a messenger of God. Yeah, I did wrong, but still, of all the good I've done, God, this one time. So, there's denial that it shouldn't be him.

Anger is the second stage. Really, God? You do this to me? Don't you remember who I am? I speak to kings. I am your messenger. King Jeroboam and I, we communicate. How is he going to know he has to repent? You've done this to me, your messenger. It's the second stage. Third stage of grief is bargaining. Okay, how about this, God? Since you obviously aren't going to kill me at this time, how about we figure out a compromise? Let Let's figure out how we both can be happy here. Let's make this work. You give a little, I give a little, we meet in the middle. Somehow I get out of this fish, but either way, we make it work.

You know what? How about I write a letter to Nineveh? After all, I can get the king's stamp. And so, it can be from one official to another. Maybe they'll recognize that. Will that do? And so, I have to feel that Jonah probably did that. He He was probably trying to get God to agree with things. And then, that fourth stage is depression. That's when it hits. I got to think this is got to be day two, getting close to day three. I got I got to feel that he's like going, "Why me? Why why why me? I I can't do anything right. I'll never get there. It's never going to happen. I'm going to die in here.

There's just I'm never going to get out of this fish. I stink. Look at my hands. Look at my I'm getting that puffy thing when you've been in the water too long. I'm going to die in this place if something doesn't happen. And then we get to the fifth stage. In the fifth stage it's acceptance. And I think that's where we get to at the bottom of this prayer that that Jonah's been given. Okay, God. I'm willing. If you look at the the last two verses or three verses of chapter two, he refers to the Ninevites. He said, "Those who regard worthless idols and forsake their own mercy. But I He's talking about about the Ninevites.

He says, "But I will sacrifice you. I'll do my part, God. I'll sacrifice to with the voice of Thanksgiving. Now, this means he's going to put a smile on. And he's going to be happy about it. All the way to Nineveh. He's saying, "God, I'll be there. I'll smile. I'll give your message. I'll do whatever. I'll make that sacrifice. I will pay what I vowed." When I begin to think about what what's that mean? I got a feeling somewhere long ago when he first started being a prophet of God. They had that discussion. Where God says, "I want to speak through you." If you will allow me and I'm I have a feeling that Jonah must have said, "Okay God, I'll allow that.

I'll do that. Yeah, I'll risk it. I know what I'm going to say is not right, but it's from you and I'm willing to do that, God." So I I refer back. It's not written there and again just George's interpretation. I think that's what he meant when he says, "I'll pay what I vowed. I'll fulfill my calling." But it's the last line of his prayer when he says, "Salvation is of the Lord." The realization of everything that had happened up to that point. The good and the bad finally came home to Jonah and he realized salvation is of the Lord. It's here. I'm in a I'm in the belly of a whale. >> >> I'm I'm sitting here in whatever muck, plankton, whatever was going on around him.

Seaweed, I don't know, but he's sitting there and he he comes to realization that just because he doesn't like the message and who it's going to. He realized he has no control because God is God. And salvation is of the Lord. And so he makes the determination in his mind, "I will do it." And verse 10 in the the New King James Version, the King James Version doesn't have it, but but it opens up and it says, "So." "So." Because you did that, because you got to this place, because you were at this point after you made a heartfelt repentance, it's then that God chose to speak to the fish. Now, I don't know what and I can't speak fish.

The sailings are here, maybe they can tell me what a good fish language is for a fish to vomit. But God spoke to the fish, it says, and I'm not going to say God is God is God. But he spoke to the fish. The fish got sick and out came the big chunk. And so, from that point, we get done and we jump on to chapter 3. Everybody with me still? Chapter 3 opens up with God again commanding Jonah to go. And as he's going, I knew I was going to get to this point where I got 20 minutes left. It's a long way to go. So, we find that Jonah is commanded again and we've already talked about how long it took him.

So, he gets to Nineveh and the Bible tells us that Nineveh is is a 3-days' journey to get from one side to the other. Now, I measured it just before service on Google Maps. And if you go from the Cracker Barrel to Topgolf in Nashville, Cracker Barrel on Church Street, and you go all the way to Topgolf, you are at 34 miles. Nineveh was almost twice that. It's a lot of people, a lot of cities, and it says Jonah started at that point preaching and speaking and giving forth the message. And so, we go through this and because I don't have a lot of time, we know he's got He says, "You have 40 days to repent."

40 days and you'll be overthrown. And for whatever reason, however he said it, again, I believe that is the Cliff Notes version. I think there was more words spoken. I think there was things that he said. I think there was questioning people because of what would you do? We've all seen the guy on the street saying repent. And we've all walked by him. But I I got a feeling that he was able to get and start some conversations. Something about that point in his life and in his message he was starting to get people's attention. And so we know that it goes all the way up to the king. And we know that they proclaim a fast.

They put on sackcloth, which was a coarse uh cloth of of black goat's hair, they said. And they sat in the ashes and it went from the greatest to the least, the Bible says. And and the king comes and makes a proclamation. >> >> We find that in verse 7. It says, "Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Do not let them eat or drink water. But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth and cry mightily to God. Yes, let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that it is is in his hands. Who can tell if God will return turn and relent and turn away from his fierce anger so we may not perish."

Everything, man and beast. And and I I remembered that part from from reading it before, but I did not catch the part where it said man and beast beast had to be clothed with sackcloth. So, imagine trying to catch that cat. The donkey, the chicken. Clo- It says now, the Bible says all men and beasts. Everything had to be covered in sackcloth. They were busy. I It's hard when you think just think about that for a moment. Put that in your mind. >> >> Those of you that have dressed up your dog or your cat, you know how hard that was. Those silly little outfits that they like to put on YouTube or Instagram.

Imagine doing that to every single beast. Every single animal. But they did it. And so that's why we have verse 10 in chapter 3. It says, "Then the Lord so saw their works." And then they did work when you think about it. "And they turned from their evil way and God relented from the disaster that he had said he would bring upon them and he did not do it." That's a great story. That's a great example of what God will do if we repent. That that's the beautiful part and that's the part I remember probably the most when I when people would ask me to give a a quick version of Jonah. God's Jonah went, said repent, they repented, and God repented and said he would not do it.

But it's in chapter 4 that we get to the fun part. It's because here it's where I feel we as Christians can get the most direction and and input from because we've already talked about mercy. We've already talked about God moving and doing and it's been a a throughout these times, these weeks that we've talked on Wednesdays about what God is able to do. God saw their works. He saw it. Remember that that means we just can't say it with our mouth, but we have to actually do it. We have to do it. The The Bible word The we've used it before the Bible's word of Acts 2:38, repent, that that uh English word that says turn around, there has to be a turning in us.

We have to do things They had to purpose in their minds. So, God saw that saw that they turned from their evil way, from the violence that they had in their lives and the way they acted. And God repented. But it's in verse 4 or chapter 4 that we get to the point where where we as Christians have to kind of pay attention. And in the New Living Translation, it says it this way, "This change of plans greatly upset Jonah, and he became very angry. So, he complained to the Lord about it. Didn't I say before I left home that you would do this, Lord? That is why I ran away to Tarshish. I knew that you were a merciful and compassionate God, slow to get angry, filled with unfailing love.

Oh, what a horrible God. You are eager to turn back from destroying people. Just kill me now, Lord. I'd rather be dead than alive if what I predicted will not happen." And the Lord replied, "Is it right for you to be angry about this?" And here is where we get to the rubber meeting the road. It's here where we have to go back to his the end of his prayer when he said salvation is of the Lord. Somewhere along the way Jonah forgot that. Somewhere along the way he forgot that the whole reason God had sent him was because if they repented he was going to save them. If If they would do the things that sometimes we can get in our minds how God should operate.

And then he does it. Something we just can't explain. We get caught up on some situation or some some theological point. I'll just say it that way and and discussion and it becomes one of those things we just hold on to with all our might and then God does something that we just like, "Really?" We've got to remember we've got to let God be God. If God isn't God, then he's just like us. So, we have to allow him to be him. Allow him to have that that that leeway. I Years ago I talked about putting preached a message about putting God in a box. Box of my thoughts, the box of my ideas, the way I identified God and and he had to stay in this box.

And he had to form and and work in this way. That's not what happened here in Nineveh. That's not what happened with with to Jonah. Jonah had that box. He's a messenger of God. He's sent to Israel. He's the one that proclaims the truth of God to Israel. He's the one that's coming to get salvation to Israel. If they do what I'm telling them God said they're going to be saved. And it didn't happen that way. He He wanted to He wanted to see God do something like like he had promised. And so we find that after God says, "Is it right to be angry?" I don't know the time frame that all this takes place, this repentance, if it's inside the 40 days or it's outside the 40 days.

I have a feeling it's inside the 40 days for this reason. The next verse says that Nineveh or that Jonah goes ahead and he finds him a place outside the city where he can watch. Because he knows Nineveh, they have a reputation for being evil. He knows Nineveh and Assyria are the worst of the worst. And he knows that God said if they didn't change, and so he's expecting him to go back. And so I got a feeling that he went and found him a place where he could see the whole thing and he was waiting cuz he wanted to see the shock and awe. He wanted to see the thunder of God come down.

He wanted to see earthquakes. He wanted it to be so bad that 600 miles away Israel would feel the aftershocks of what happened in Nineveh. That was his Somehow he lost the mercy of God. He wanted the anger of God. He wanted the judgment of God and not the mercy and the grace. And so we find that he climbs there and and and you know the story. He builds him a little shelter. He gets under it. It gets hot and God lets a big plant grow up and it shades him. And then God prepares, just like he prepared the plant, he prepares the worm and it goes away quickly. The caterpillar eats it up, it withers, it dies.

And then it says the sun comes out and then there's a hot, strong wind that comes from the east and it blows across. And he's so miserable. We get to the end of the passage. As we go down through there, we find that Jonah says it's better for me to die than live. It's better for me to die than live. What kind of a person would want to hold God to that level? That would not be thankful for what God's able to do in the life of somebody else. One of the greatest things about my life is not that I see God It's a good thing that I see God do it. Yes.

But it's the fact he's done it for me. Because of all people I know who George really is. I I I I know where George is from. I know what George has done. I know what George is is capable of if he was given the inch. If he If he didn't withhold or or step over that line. But God in his mercy and in his grace. So who am I to get to the place where I would be mad that God would do it for someone else? I think that is a blessing when I see that. When God steps in and begins to work in someone's life, begins to change it. And does a work in them.

But in verse nine, we're back to these these verses these chapters last three all have 10 verses in them. And so we get to nine again and says God said to Jonah, "Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?" He brings it right down. It's a plant. It's a plant. Oh, sorry sister Chastity. It's a plant. With Plants die. It's It's the natural progression. It happens. There's only a short expectancy for a plant. And God's trying to get Jonah's attention cuz he says, "You're worried about a plant. Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?" And Jonah has the to say, "It is right for me to be angry.

I'M SO ANGRY I I COULD JUST DIE." THAT'S PRETTY ANGRY. Jonah had gotten more caught up in the identity of of something temporary rather than something that was eternal. He got caught up in in something that only had a short expect Texas expect Texas. I'll forget it. Something that lives for just a short time versus something that lives forever. My wife will tell me that word. She's a Canadian. They know how to pronounce everything. Um But the the the fact of the matter is he's caught up in worrying about this short span versus the human beings that are there. And And God's trying to get his attention. And that's what he does in verse 10.

He says, "You have had pity on the plant for which you did not labor. You had no effort in it. You didn't make it grow. God did. Which came up in a night and perished in a night. Let verse 11. There is more verses. Sorry about that. And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who cannot discern between their right hand right hand and their left hand. And much like livestock. So I begin to look at it and said, "120,000 Nineveh was pretty big." Then as I begin to study, I the the the scholars say that actually meant children. Because they didn't come to discern between their right hand and their left hand.

And so So God was bringing it to Jonah said, "There's 120,000 children that would perish. and you're more concerned about a plant. Nineveh, if every if they counted all of that and that represented 1/5, there was over 600,000 souls in Nineveh. And God's trying to get Jonah to get concerned about what's really important. He's trying to get him to understand that there's mercy being extended to someone that needed mercy and he's worried about a plant. Sometimes we get caught up worried about little things. The Bible says the foxes spoil, little foxes spoil the vine. Sometimes we get caught up and we get so bent out of shape about some little thing that in the scheme of things it does not matter.

When we talk about the salvation 2 and 10, the salvation or 2 and 9, salvation is of the Lord. When we think about salvation and the saving of someone's soul we have to get outside of our comfort zone. We have to get outside of our preconceived thoughts. You see, Jonah's one reason he was he wanted Israel to repent so bad. He wanted them to change their ways and he couldn't believe that Nineveh the wicked people would do that. We've got to be the place that everyone that comes to the altar, everyone that comes, no matter whether the the best person or the worst person we celebrate that because we have to understand there's eternity at stake.

God is being merciful and he is dispensing his mercy as he will. And God was trying to get Jonah to get to that point where he would say it's all about you, God. It It Get him to say salvation is of the Lord. And I think it's interesting that at the very first when he's angry with God in chapter 4 he said he prayed to the Lord. And he said, "For I know you are gracious and a merciful God. Slow to anger and abundant in loving kindness. One who relents from harm." He understood. He He had to know who God was and that's what we've got to get in our mind. When we go out and about and we start going in the highways and the byways and we start reaching or start witnessing to someone, we have to realize that we're going as messengers like Jonah from God.

And that we can give them the knowledge and get that person the knowledge that we serve a God who is gracious and merciful. He's slow to anger and abundant in loving kindness. He's one who relents from doing harm. Can you imagine what that message means to a sinner? You can't go too far and God not be there. You You're never going to be unloved because God loves you. You You You never can can be a place where he won't forgive you. In the Old Testament before we get to the New Testament God's already establishing his identity. God's already saying and giving us the example. He's already showing Israel, "Hey, I'm going to reach all mankind.

I'm going to save the worst of the worst. I'm going to make I'm that my love and my forgiveness is that available to all. That's the message that we have. That's the hope that we have. That's the the story that we have to give to others. We should never have a reason not to say who and what God is. And to be able to say salvation is of the Lord. Praise God. Let's stand. >> >> The Bible says that and and our scholars say that the reason why Jonah ended so abruptly this way, we don't get any follow up, we don't get any of this is because the argument that God made to Jonah pointing out the the disparity between a plant and humans was such that Jonah had no answer.

Because he realized his folly. That he had gotten all caught up in the things that would go on. But as I was driving here tonight and God and I were just kind of going over this, I begin to think about what what was it like for Jonah when he went back home? When he arrives back, he's been gone at this point probably 90 days. You got 40 days, you got the 45 days it took to get there. You know, and he's got to go back. So he he's gone maybe a 100 almost maybe a half a year. Disappeared. The messenger of God had disappeared. What were people asking? And what was his story? And I got a feel that somewhere along the way Jonah said, "Hey, let me tell you about a great story of mercy."

God sent me to Nineveh. Nineveh? What in the world would God do sending you to Nineveh? You're our prophet. GOD DOESN'T CARE. THEY'RE HEATHENS. OH, but you just got to understand. They they were bad, but they heard the message of God. And while I was there, I taught them a little bit about the law and talked to them about doing some right living and and their lives changed. God did a miracle. It's amazing what God did. God was there. God moved. And I got to have a feeling that somewhere along the way in that journey, Jonah was a smiling guy. He was no longer angry. He was no longer sad because of what had happened.

Again, that's my version. You can write your own version later. We don't have time for it now, but I That's That's just the way I feel because in the end, I have a feeling he understood that our God is merciful. And our God is willing to go to the farthest extreme to save someone. And no one's too far for him not to save because he is a God of mercy and he's gracious. He's love He has loving-kindness. And he's willing to do whatever it takes for us. Can we just pray right now? Lord, I thank you for your glory. I thank you because of who you are, God, and the way that you have moved in our lives.

I'm so thankful, God, that you didn't withhold mercy and grace from me. So thankful that you reached out, dear God, and worked in my life and allowed me to feel you, dear God. Be with us, God, as we go from this place. Protect us over this weekend. Bring us back safely on Sunday, God. Let us have a great and glorious time. We love you, Lord, and we praise you in Jesus' name. Amen.