Preaching and Living the Jonah Story

A couple days ago I preached the Jonah story. I told the whole story during my sermon which is not really that unusual for me cause I love to summarize (perhaps even “dramatize”) Biblical stories and none other lends itself to such things better than Jonah.

Here are some details that might have not caught your attention: Notice that we are only given one little episode of Jonah’s life. Notice that we know so very little about the actual person. Notice that it does not end on a bright and cheery note. Notice that it should not be considered a story for children due to it’s graphic nature-violence, adult situations (Jonah considers committing suicide), and perhaps language (since Jonah did have some interesting interactions with sailors). Notice also that Jonah was perhaps one of the most successful evangelists (given the extensive nature of the repentance that happened in Nineveh….everyone, even the rulers of the people turned) in the Bible, but ended up angry and alone. Although most of these details make the book tragic and sad, they also make us laugh because they reflect so much of what we know about human beings….even ourselves if we are brave enough to admit it!

Jonah put a message out to the Ninevites. It says that Jonah should give them the message that he receives from God (3:2). The reader is never privy to the content of the message. We only hear what the Ninevites hear (3:4) “forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.” It seems to be an abbreviated message. It seems to just be a threat….it only implies that they should turn to God and be spared. The people of Nineveh believe God. They literally throw themselves at God’s mercy.

The huge irony that has left me baffled and a detailed that I failed to even mention as I preached it is found in this. Jonah prays it right in 2:8 (New Living Translation): “Those who worship false idols, turn their backs on all God’s mercies” or (NIV) “Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.”

His words seem to be right, but his heart is a long ways from right. His lips wrote a check that his legs couldn't cash. He was serving God on his terms not on God’s terms. (See Matthew 15:8 also Isaiah 29 saying: “these people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.”)

And our friend Jonah is sulking under a withered plant. Could it be that Jonah had forfeited grace and mercy. What was his worthless idol? What are ours?