Grace Exposes the Fugitive from God

I asked this question at the beginning of the series: Why did Jonah run?

Answer: Because he knew the character of God, and that character did not line up with his own beliefs about who God should be concerning the people of Nineveh. (v.2)

• Remember Nineveh was the poster child for all that was evil and wrong with the world. They were enemies of God, enemies of Israel, corrupt, hostile, oppressive, and in Israel’s mind they were the scum of the earth. And they for sure didn’t deserve any sympathy, love, mercy, or grace. They deserved judgment. They deserved to burn.

• Jonah was a prophet. He had spent his life standing before God. He knew how it worked, he knew that when God spoke, it didn’t even matter what the message was, God spoke because he cared about the people he was speaking to. Even if the message was “40 days and Nineveh will be overthrown!” Jonah knew that God opening the door for connection with the people of Nineveh opened the door for the possibility of his mercy and grace being granted to them and that was not ok with Jonah.

• Last week we saw Jonah begin to preach in Nineveh and in a city that took 3 days to visit he had to get out of there after one day. Why? I believe it was because he saw people believing his message as he was preaching it and repentance spreading like wildfire through the streets and he couldn’t handle it.

• Most ministry leaders get mad because people don’t respond. Here Jonah is infuriated because they do! But he wasn’t mad at the people of Nineveh, he was mad at God. Argument: God is sovereign, he could have done something or prevented something, he didn’t, so now I have a problem with him.