Gracious and Compassionate God

FROM: JUNE 27- JULY 3, 2017

Topic: "Gracious and Compassionate God" Jonah 4:2

Jonah 3:10 "When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened." Therefore Jonah the prophet became angry. (Jonah 4:1 But Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry.) Jonah feels humiliated because of God's repentance of ending Nineveh. The people of Nineveh had repentance of their sins and that provoked God to repent of bringing His judgments upon that great city. But, how sad is the contrast between GOD'S FEELING FOR NINEVEH'S REPENTANCE TOWARDS HIM AND JONAH'S FEELING FOR GOD'S REPENTANCE TOWARDS NINEVEH! After Jonah had announced the destruction that would come upon them, now the prophet feels humiliated for the preservation of Nineveh. God had forgiven them! And he felt humiliated, he seemed to have remained as a false prophet. But if this is the way he saw this, to pretend that more than one hundred and twenty thousand people who lived there would perish, well it seems to be the desire of the devil rather than of Jonah himself. The curse that was to come to the Ninevites, if they did not repent, was annulled by the triumph of God's mercy (by giving them the opportunity to repent) over His righteousness. The book of Jonah begins when the prophet had to go to Nineveh to proclaim to those people the message of God (Jonah 1:2); he had to give them some strong news, he was going to announce something too big and important. That was his duty. But, Jonah felt that as a prophet he would remain humiliated if they repented, the city would not be destroyed as he announced to them; his pride mattered more to him than the salvation of many thousands. His duty was to shout all over the city of Nineveh about the iniquity, the wickedness that had already risen before God. And although he did not want to do it, Jonah did so and in this way God achieved for the people of Nineveh to repent from their sins because of that announcement for destruction. Angry, Jonah said, "Is this not what I said when I was still in my land?" (Jonah 4:2 "He prayed to the Lord, O Lord, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love. a God who relents from sending calamity.") God had said to him: "Preach, preach, let them know that within forty days Nineveh will be destroyed." (Jonah 3:4). "But his thoughts and feelings impelled him to go another way, so he fled far away escaping from God and from that call of duty. He had sailed to Tarshish, which was in the opposite direction of Nineveh. Jonah's claim in Vs. 2 was like saying to God, "I fled because of your generosity and mercy." The Lord answered him (Jonah 4:4) "And Jehovah said to him," Do you do well to be so angry?"). It was like saying to him, "Do you do well to be so angry, my dear and beloved Jonah, after I took you out of the fish and delivered you from the deep waters? Do you think that you are a good example as to have so much dignity and become angry in that way?" How cruel we become as human beings! Jonah made himself a hut of branches and leaves. (Jonah 4:5) "Jonah went out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city.") He awaited the destruction of Nineveh, although the people had repented. THERE WAS AMONG THOSE PEOPLE A DEPTH OF REPENTANCE! They were not like Israel, who had God and the prophets. Jonah knew that Nineveh was ignorant of the good of God for those who humble themselves. God provided a leafy plant, a gourd, to teach Jonah about his behavior and attitude. God made from the hut and the gourd a school of discipline to give the prophet a more illustrated and correct point of view. The Lord sent a worm that

terminated the plant that provided shadow (Vs.7) to Jonah. Let us understand from this, that little is needed to make our material comforts wither. We should silence our discontent, remember that when our "gourd" (calabacera) is gone, it is not that God has left us. He became so angry, to death. (Jonah 4:9 Then God said to Jonah, "Are you so angry with the gourd?" And he responded, "I am very angry, even unto death."). Jonah felt sorry for a plant that did not cost him any effort and, nevertheless, he was not feeling sorry for the multitude of people living in Nineveh. Jehovah did take pity on those hundreds of thousands of men and women who had repented. A soul is more than many gourds! Let us understand the great value of the souls for whom Christ died. What do we do today so that these people that surround us can achieve salvation? Do we flee like Jonah instead of teaching them God's great love !!!! Amen.