3 remarkable lessons in grace from Jonah 23 June 2021
Jonah 1:1-3, 3:1-6 & 10, 4:1-11
Key verses: Jonah 4:2 “for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishing.”
The story of Jonah is one the most familiar stories in the bible. What we read in the first two verses of chapter 1 sets the tone for the rest of the book, “Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai, saying, Go at once to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before me.” While the spotlight seems to be on Jonah and his response to the call of God and the eventual outcome, there is a thread running through this book that deserves attention. When we look at all that takes place, one truth stands out that the book of Jonah is all about the grace of God.
Throughout this book we see the unmistakable hand of God’s grace in action. Grace has been defined in several ways. Some say it is God’s “unmerited favour”, others that it is “the goodness of God to undeserving people.” For me grace is “God’s riches at Christ’s expense” in other words you get from God something that you don’t deserve. Though each definition comes to the same basic conclusion that it is not from anything we have done but something freely given by God. This is what makes it so difficult for the world to grasp causing people to ask, why? Why would almighty God lavish grace upon fallen men and women? the reason is because He loves us. There are 3 lessons about God’s grace in this book.
1. God’s grace has no boundaries – What do you know about the Ninevites? History books tell us that they were a violent and brutal people with no regard for life. Nineveh was known as the city of blood. So why would God extend grace to such people? Peter tells us why in 2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance.” This is because God’s grace has no boundaries; His grace reaches down low to pluck us from the fire. Look at what is happening in ch1, we read about the sailors, who Jonah had put in harm’s way. We see that these men were pagans; each man cried out to his own god v4-5 after finding out that Jonah’s disobedience to God is the reason for the great storm and the ship about to be wrecked. Something amazing happened v13-15 the same men who were crying out to their own gods are now crying out and calling upon the name of Jehovah, v16 says “Then the men feared the LORD even more, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows” they were convinced that Jehovah was the true God. God’s grace has no boundaries and will touch the unsuspecting soul, it blesses others for your sake. We see this in the life of Joseph, were his Egyptian master and house was blessed Genesis 39:2-5. God’s grace at work, He blessed an ungodly man for the sake of His servant Joseph. God’s grace has no boundaries.
2. God’s grace is for us just as we are – What can we say about Jonah? God called him to this work, so Jonah was a man of God. The fact that he ran away tells us that he was not all that he could be or needed to be. We can learn from this that God’s grace is for us just as we are. This is no excuse for sin, and we should not for a moment think that God condones sinful behaviour and gives us license to sin because He doesn’t. We should be comforted to know that He will work with us until the end. How many people do we read about in scripture that were not shining examples in every area of their lives? Look at the stories of Moses, Samson, Gideon, David, and many others who seemed to not be qualified, and even failed God miserably, yet through God’s grace proved to be mighty men of God. Have you ever wondered why God puts up with us? When we consider all the promises that we make to be better and do better, then ask how we respond to such behaviour and are we as forgiving. God’s grace is for us just as we are, He is patient with us, and He teaches us to be patient with one another. Jonah still had a work to do and after being thrown overboard God provided certainly not as we would expect. Jonah was swallowed by a great fish where we read in Ch2 a wonderful prayer “Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the belly of the fish saying, I called to the LORD out of my distress, and he answered me; out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice.” v1-2 and “As my life was ebbing away, I remembered the LORD; and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple. Those who worship vain idols forsake their true loyalty. But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Deliverance belongs to the LORD!” v7-9.
So Jonah, buried in the darkness of the fish’s belly, cries out to God, relents and promises to obey the Lord’s call. The lesson here is that God’s grace is for us just as we are and finds us where we are, even when running in the wrong direction.
3. All are worthy of God’s grace – When Jonah arrives in Nineveh we see that God had already prepared the people and His message is received. We read in Ch3 “When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. Then he had a proclamation made in Nineveh: – – – – Human beings and animals shall be covered with sackcloth, and they shall cry mightily to God. All shall turn from their evil ways and from the violence that is in their hands. Who knows? God may relent and change his mind; he may turn from his fierce anger, so that we do not perish. When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it.” v6-10. Jonah did what God asked and the people repented, we see Jonah sitting outside of the city the huff of all huffs all he can see is God not doing what He said He was going to do. After all that God had done, and all that Jonah did, it seems that he did it all under protest, I often see myself here. There is one more lesson about grace that God is going to teach Jonah and us. Ch4 reveals that Jonah was angry that God chose to turn away from the judgment He had planned for Nineveh and this blinded him to the miracle that God had done. The people of Nineveh are saved and we see that God reaches out to Jonah and teaches him a beautiful lesson of grace by using a plant. Even though Jonah is in a huff, God still cares for him and provides shelter and a lesson in grace, because the next day He takes the shelter away. God challenges Jonah and opens his eyes “God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the bush? And he said, Yes, angry enough to die. Then the LORD said, You are concerned about the bush, for which you did not labour and which you did not grow; it came into being in a night and perished in a night. And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left” v9-11. In the New Testament we see Paul opening up himself to the church of Corinth speaking of the thorn in his flesh, something which had troubled him for a long time and like Jonah he could have been disappointed that God appeared not to be answering his prayer. Listen to Paul’s response saying of God “But he said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness”. 2 Corinthians 12:9.
With God grace has no boundaries, His grace is for us just as we are and this means that God extends His grace to whomever He pleases; and all are worthy of it, because that is the nature of grace. With God grace has no boundaries. We sing the hymn ‘Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me’ and it says much of grace, though I think like much of our life as Christians it falls far short of what God has given and continues to give. Let us know with surety and say that God’s grace is sufficient for us, because His power is made perfect in our weakness. Praise God for His grace is amazing.