1 00:00:01,080 --> 00:00:06,360 Our Scripture reading for today as we continue on in our study 2 00:00:06,360 --> 00:00:11,320 in the book of Jonah. We pick up the story at the end 3 00:00:11,320 --> 00:00:15,760 of chapter 3, turning our corner towards the conclusion in 4 00:00:15,760 --> 00:00:21,120 chapter 4, starting from chapter 3, verse 10. 5 00:00:23,040 --> 00:00:30,920 This is God's word for us today. When God saw what they did, how 6 00:00:30,920 --> 00:00:34,400 they turn from their evil way, God relented of the disaster 7 00:00:34,400 --> 00:00:36,160 that He had said He would do to them. 8 00:00:36,760 --> 00:00:41,080 And he did not do it. But it displeased Jonah 9 00:00:41,080 --> 00:00:45,960 exceedingly, and he was angry. And he prayed to the Lord and 10 00:00:45,960 --> 00:00:51,800 said, Oh Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my 11 00:00:51,800 --> 00:00:55,920 country? That is why I made haste to flee 12 00:00:55,920 --> 00:01:01,640 to Tarshish, for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, 13 00:01:01,640 --> 00:01:05,519 slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and relenting 14 00:01:05,519 --> 00:01:09,520 from disaster. Therefore now, oh Lord, please 15 00:01:09,520 --> 00:01:14,320 take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to 16 00:01:14,320 --> 00:01:18,800 live. And the Lord said, Do you do 17 00:01:18,800 --> 00:01:23,200 well to be angry? This is the word of the Lord. 18 00:01:23,880 --> 00:01:26,560 Thanks be to God you may be seated. 19 00:01:34,860 --> 00:01:40,180 My wife Kimberly and I sort of have this theory about people 20 00:01:40,180 --> 00:01:43,820 that you can kind of put us into two broad categories, 21 00:01:44,140 --> 00:01:48,180 particularly as it pertains to how we might wrestle through the 22 00:01:48,180 --> 00:01:52,580 differences in life. In our marriage, we actually 23 00:01:52,580 --> 00:01:57,720 have one person who's a bit of a overreactor in conflict, who 24 00:01:57,720 --> 00:02:01,280 tends to kind of dig in and want to kind of really get to the 25 00:02:01,280 --> 00:02:05,120 point of the issue. And we have another who prefers 26 00:02:05,120 --> 00:02:09,560 a more subtle way around things, who prefers things to just sort 27 00:02:09,560 --> 00:02:13,720 of be resolved on their own, maybe kind of dancing around the 28 00:02:13,720 --> 00:02:17,080 issues. I'll maybe let you imagine which 29 00:02:17,080 --> 00:02:21,520 of those 2 are my wife and I. But what happens is the 30 00:02:21,520 --> 00:02:24,680 withdrawal kind of as the as the attacker goes in, they actually 31 00:02:24,680 --> 00:02:28,120 want to tend to withdraw more. And that can tend to make the 32 00:02:28,400 --> 00:02:30,240 kind of the more aggressive person kind of like actually I 33 00:02:30,240 --> 00:02:32,240 want to get at it more and more and more. 34 00:02:32,520 --> 00:02:34,000 And it makes the withdrawal happen more. 35 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:37,360 And there's this kind of tends to be a disconnect until someone 36 00:02:38,040 --> 00:02:42,360 eventually stops the crazy cycle in that dance, as we like to 37 00:02:42,360 --> 00:02:46,000 call it. I sort of think that as we think 38 00:02:46,000 --> 00:02:50,320 about the missions conference last week in the book of Haggai, 39 00:02:51,360 --> 00:02:55,240 the main issue there was apathy. And if you didn't get a chance 40 00:02:55,240 --> 00:02:57,720 to be here, I encourage you to go back and listen to the 41 00:02:57,720 --> 00:03:00,040 messages because it was so encouraging to have Jaunty 42 00:03:00,600 --> 00:03:03,480 encourage us as a church. How do we think about this idea 43 00:03:03,880 --> 00:03:07,360 of apathy when it comes to the mission of God? 44 00:03:07,360 --> 00:03:09,120 But we're kind of back in the book of Jonah. 45 00:03:09,120 --> 00:03:13,120 So to kind of Orient us that we sort of have the the overreactor 46 00:03:13,520 --> 00:03:18,440 on the Jonas side and this idea of his anger towards the Lord at 47 00:03:18,440 --> 00:03:24,120 this idea of repentance. Apathy is a total lack of 48 00:03:24,120 --> 00:03:27,560 movements and emotion when a proper emotional response is 49 00:03:27,560 --> 00:03:30,960 called for. Anger when misplaced is an 50 00:03:30,960 --> 00:03:35,280 overused emotion, one that sort of calls to question the 51 00:03:35,280 --> 00:03:38,720 validity of the situation. Often because we feel there's 52 00:03:38,720 --> 00:03:46,120 injustice involved. We are just after the word had 53 00:03:46,120 --> 00:03:49,560 repented of what he would do to to Nineveh. 54 00:03:49,560 --> 00:03:50,960 The people of Nineveh, they repented. 55 00:03:51,160 --> 00:03:55,440 That which Jonah feared would happen has happened. 56 00:03:57,200 --> 00:04:02,160 The Assyrian nation, this brutal king that was known for utter 57 00:04:02,160 --> 00:04:07,640 corruption, desolation of the places they would conquer, they 58 00:04:07,640 --> 00:04:12,280 repented. They had a soft heart, even 59 00:04:12,280 --> 00:04:16,480 talks about the animals in the lands and their repentance in 60 00:04:16,480 --> 00:04:23,040 chapter 3, total repentance. Jonah has also remember he has 61 00:04:23,040 --> 00:04:25,600 repented as well. At least we'll kind of dig into 62 00:04:25,600 --> 00:04:28,720 that a little bit more. But he was in judgement, right? 63 00:04:28,920 --> 00:04:33,200 He was in the belly of the fish. He was gone down deep as his 64 00:04:33,200 --> 00:04:38,440 repentance talked about and the ward saved him. 65 00:04:38,680 --> 00:04:43,400 The fish vomited hit up as a sign of him coming out from the 66 00:04:43,400 --> 00:04:47,280 deep. But here we have Jonah, angry 67 00:04:47,280 --> 00:04:55,560 again at the mercy, grace and justice of our missional God. 68 00:04:56,720 --> 00:05:00,240 But let's not forget, Jonah has repented. 69 00:05:00,240 --> 00:05:02,400 He's a a chosen sermon of the king. 70 00:05:03,560 --> 00:05:06,280 So I really do believe continually God is calling us to 71 00:05:06,280 --> 00:05:13,120 see ourselves as Jonah's. In the story, we are Jonah, 72 00:05:16,760 --> 00:05:19,200 Jonah as the angry puppet he prophet. 73 00:05:19,200 --> 00:05:23,200 He shows us his anger through this movement of kind of an 74 00:05:23,240 --> 00:05:26,640 incomplete repentance that we're going to look through and kind 75 00:05:26,640 --> 00:05:29,800 of three different movements. He was hurled into the mission 76 00:05:29,800 --> 00:05:34,000 of God by the Lord. He unwantedly picks up this 77 00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:38,880 mantle, and now he's angry, and he's processing this anger 78 00:05:38,880 --> 00:05:44,160 through his head as he contemplates theology through 79 00:05:44,160 --> 00:05:49,680 his heart, as he processes his own feelings of injustice. 80 00:05:51,440 --> 00:05:54,960 And the Lord is pushing him to express himself through his 81 00:05:54,960 --> 00:05:56,640 hands. And I, I point this picture 82 00:05:56,640 --> 00:06:00,120 because I believe a wholehearted repentance involves the head 83 00:06:01,400 --> 00:06:06,000 goes down into the heart and it comes out in our hands. 84 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:10,360 So as we see ourselves as Jonah, may we kind of contemplate these 85 00:06:10,360 --> 00:06:14,400 three moment moments, these three movements and see 86 00:06:14,400 --> 00:06:18,360 ourselves and where we need to repent from in our thoughts, in 87 00:06:18,360 --> 00:06:24,560 our hearts and in our actions. So the head Jonah is really kind 88 00:06:24,560 --> 00:06:28,200 of putting into question theology proper the character of 89 00:06:28,200 --> 00:06:33,440 God himself, but it actually reveals the lack of 90 00:06:33,440 --> 00:06:38,080 understanding of his his own understanding of the word of 91 00:06:38,080 --> 00:06:41,360 God. Just repeat kind of these verses 92 00:06:41,360 --> 00:06:43,520 over us again. So we can see the contrast when 93 00:06:43,520 --> 00:06:47,400 God saw this is verse chapter 3, verse 10, when God saw what they 94 00:06:47,400 --> 00:06:50,240 did, how they turn from their evil way repentance. 95 00:06:51,200 --> 00:06:54,000 God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to 96 00:06:54,000 --> 00:06:59,960 them. He did not do it very quickly. 97 00:06:59,960 --> 00:07:02,800 We see the contrast, but it displeased Jonah exceedingly. 98 00:07:04,200 --> 00:07:07,160 Other translations saying instead of displeased Jonah 99 00:07:07,160 --> 00:07:10,720 exceedingly. It was very evil thing to Jonah. 100 00:07:11,400 --> 00:07:15,520 The thing itself was evil to Jonah, as other translations put 101 00:07:15,520 --> 00:07:18,560 it. And I'll go on from the 102 00:07:18,560 --> 00:07:20,240 Scripture. And he prayed to the Lord and 103 00:07:20,240 --> 00:07:25,200 said, Oh Lord, is not what this what I said when I was yet in my 104 00:07:25,200 --> 00:07:28,800 country? That is why I made haste to flee 105 00:07:28,800 --> 00:07:34,160 to Tarshish, for I knew that you, you are a gracious God and 106 00:07:34,160 --> 00:07:38,600 merciful, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, and 107 00:07:38,600 --> 00:07:43,000 relenting from disaster. Those who know their Bibles well 108 00:07:43,000 --> 00:07:45,800 know where this citation comes from. 109 00:07:46,520 --> 00:07:52,680 It comes from the book of Exodus, chapter 34, verses 6:00 110 00:07:52,680 --> 00:07:56,440 and 7:00. And I don't know about you, but 111 00:07:56,440 --> 00:07:59,920 even as I read those names and those characters of God, we are 112 00:07:59,920 --> 00:08:02,320 meant. Our anger is meant to subside 113 00:08:02,880 --> 00:08:06,000 with each passing phrase as we think about who God is. 114 00:08:06,480 --> 00:08:15,400 Merciful, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, 115 00:08:17,800 --> 00:08:21,960 relenting from disaster. It's meant to take our anger 116 00:08:22,160 --> 00:08:24,120 away. And yet you kind of feel in the 117 00:08:24,120 --> 00:08:29,240 story, it ramps Jonah's anger up with each passing phrase. 118 00:08:30,960 --> 00:08:34,200 But I would say his it reveals his lack of understanding 119 00:08:34,600 --> 00:08:40,360 because what we're seeing here is how Jonah can't comprehend 120 00:08:41,400 --> 00:08:49,480 God's covenantal love for the people of Israel with God's 121 00:08:49,600 --> 00:08:55,000 justice and his hatred for evil. That would have been true for 122 00:08:55,000 --> 00:08:58,840 what the Assyrians had done. Jonah cannot comprehend how 123 00:08:58,840 --> 00:09:04,920 these two things are married together, God in his mercy and 124 00:09:04,920 --> 00:09:12,240 God and his justice. He even starts out this as a 125 00:09:12,240 --> 00:09:13,920 prayer, which we'll get to in a little bit. 126 00:09:13,920 --> 00:09:17,440 The fact that he prayed, but he uses the and it should be in 127 00:09:17,440 --> 00:09:22,360 your English Bibles, the all caps O Lord, that means Yahweh. 128 00:09:23,520 --> 00:09:28,560 So he is using the covenantal word for God, the personal form 129 00:09:28,560 --> 00:09:33,280 to God in his prayer, but he's not getting the person of God 130 00:09:33,280 --> 00:09:37,320 right. Actually, in that very same 131 00:09:37,320 --> 00:09:44,240 Exodus quotation, he just quotes verse 6 from chapter 34, verse 7 132 00:09:44,240 --> 00:09:47,640 immediately after if you were to flip to Exodus real quickly, it 133 00:09:47,640 --> 00:09:52,440 says, but who will not forgive iniquity, visiting the iniquity 134 00:09:53,040 --> 00:09:56,680 of the of the fathers on their children and on the children's 135 00:09:56,680 --> 00:09:59,720 children to the 3rd and the 4th generation. 136 00:10:00,960 --> 00:10:04,640 So in Moses's the the word of God that Moses received, we 137 00:10:04,640 --> 00:10:08,280 receive the love, the compassion, the mercy of God 138 00:10:08,720 --> 00:10:13,720 married with his justice, that he cannot forget sin. 139 00:10:14,600 --> 00:10:17,560 Those two things are together for Moses. 140 00:10:18,200 --> 00:10:20,920 And so we see here I'm in a picture of Jonah in his head. 141 00:10:21,360 --> 00:10:27,640 He is picking out a portion of God's word and using it against 142 00:10:27,800 --> 00:10:32,160 the word. Now to take any sort of 143 00:10:32,160 --> 00:10:36,360 Scripture misrepresentation, to apply it just a verse, maybe in 144 00:10:36,360 --> 00:10:39,000 a vacuum to a particular situation that would be 145 00:10:39,000 --> 00:10:44,280 dangerous in any situation for a human to do, to apply that to a 146 00:10:44,280 --> 00:10:47,760 wisdom situation here as we kind of contemplate what is the will 147 00:10:47,760 --> 00:10:50,640 of the Lord or try to discern what is right or wrong. 148 00:10:51,480 --> 00:10:56,720 But here Jonah is misquoting scripture to the person of God 149 00:10:57,000 --> 00:11:02,760 himself. An ultimate picture of 150 00:11:02,960 --> 00:11:07,680 foolishness. Proverbs 26 verse 12. 151 00:11:08,560 --> 00:11:11,960 Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? 152 00:11:13,280 --> 00:11:18,800 There is more hope for a fool than for him. 153 00:11:20,440 --> 00:11:25,080 In fact, the justice of God emanates from the person of God 154 00:11:25,200 --> 00:11:30,160 himself. We can only make sense of the 155 00:11:30,160 --> 00:11:34,920 crazy world that we live in now because our morality, our 156 00:11:34,920 --> 00:11:39,520 justice, our what is right emanates from the eternal God of 157 00:11:39,520 --> 00:11:43,880 the universe. We have not made this stuff up. 158 00:11:45,640 --> 00:11:48,320 It comes from the Word of God itself. 159 00:11:49,680 --> 00:11:53,120 And so as Jonah is wrestling with his repentance in his head, 160 00:11:53,120 --> 00:12:00,080 we see the importance of lifting up the Word of God, being strong 161 00:12:00,080 --> 00:12:05,800 in its foundation and being ever humble as we come to it, right? 162 00:12:05,800 --> 00:12:09,400 We're supposed to come to this with humble hearts, expecting it 163 00:12:09,400 --> 00:12:15,240 to shape and to guide and to lead us, not from a place of 164 00:12:15,240 --> 00:12:18,480 trying to win an argument with the Creator of the universe of 165 00:12:18,480 --> 00:12:22,480 it. You were meant to feel the 166 00:12:22,480 --> 00:12:26,120 contrast between God and Jonah in these first verses. 167 00:12:26,120 --> 00:12:31,200 It's stark. It's meant to highlight the 168 00:12:31,200 --> 00:12:35,080 Ward's compassion and this battle of the head. 169 00:12:35,240 --> 00:12:39,480 We're supposed to see how high and lifted up the word is and 170 00:12:39,480 --> 00:12:45,440 how low we are. But his compassion on the 171 00:12:45,440 --> 00:12:48,680 nations. It's incredible, the overall 172 00:12:48,680 --> 00:12:54,160 structure of Jonah, how we have in chapters 1 and chapters 3A, 173 00:12:54,160 --> 00:12:57,000 picture of the gospel going out to the nations. 174 00:12:57,280 --> 00:13:01,800 In chapter 1, it's with the Pagan sailors and in chapter 3 175 00:13:01,920 --> 00:13:04,640 it's with the city of Nineveh, the Assyrians. 176 00:13:06,880 --> 00:13:10,000 And that's kind of sandwiches with between those these prayers 177 00:13:10,000 --> 00:13:12,600 of Jonah, these prayers of what we think are prayers of 178 00:13:12,600 --> 00:13:13,840 repentance. But we're really trying to 179 00:13:13,840 --> 00:13:19,000 examine that today. So I think this contrast is 180 00:13:19,000 --> 00:13:22,520 meant to show us the greatness of God's compassion. 181 00:13:24,560 --> 00:13:27,280 So this the, the tiny bit of compassion that Jonah has and 182 00:13:27,280 --> 00:13:29,960 the greatness of God's compassion. 183 00:13:31,440 --> 00:13:34,400 The Olympics are coming up in, in February, the Winter 184 00:13:34,400 --> 00:13:37,560 Olympics. I love the Olympics, but you 185 00:13:37,560 --> 00:13:41,200 when you kind of watch it for a full week and you see the 186 00:13:41,200 --> 00:13:45,760 athletes competing against other of the the best athletes around 187 00:13:45,760 --> 00:13:50,040 the world, we can start to be really diluted because we see 188 00:13:50,040 --> 00:13:53,280 them just, you know, running around that, that ring or maybe 189 00:13:53,280 --> 00:13:55,640 skating around that ring. That's coming up here soon. 190 00:13:56,040 --> 00:13:59,160 And we can kind of sort of kind of critique these athletes and 191 00:13:59,160 --> 00:14:03,160 say that one's looking kind of slow right now, or why isn't 192 00:14:03,160 --> 00:14:06,360 that one running faster? Because we're seeing the best of 193 00:14:06,360 --> 00:14:08,720 the best compete against each other. 194 00:14:10,200 --> 00:14:13,000 But imagine if they were trying to run a race against me. 195 00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:16,160 You would see their greatness on display. 196 00:14:16,160 --> 00:14:17,600 And that is what we're seeing here. 197 00:14:17,600 --> 00:14:20,720 That is the purpose of this is we're actually supposed to see 198 00:14:20,720 --> 00:14:23,720 the greatness of God's compassion on display. 199 00:14:23,720 --> 00:14:26,720 That is what's supposed to be happening in our heads. 200 00:14:27,840 --> 00:14:35,160 And that thought in our heads is really what's meant to melt our 201 00:14:35,160 --> 00:14:41,640 hearts. So Jonah, in his head, he was 202 00:14:41,640 --> 00:14:43,200 angry. And actually anger, they say 203 00:14:43,200 --> 00:14:45,920 kind of eventually it kind of starts in your head, even though 204 00:14:45,920 --> 00:14:49,760 it kind of expresses itself in fiery emotion, but it starts 205 00:14:51,640 --> 00:14:55,640 with a misplaced belief, a misunderstanding, something that 206 00:14:55,640 --> 00:14:59,800 you thought should be one way, but it is another way. 207 00:15:01,040 --> 00:15:04,760 And so in his heart, Jonah is wrestling with this. 208 00:15:04,760 --> 00:15:07,760 And that's where this angry prayer comes from. 209 00:15:10,040 --> 00:15:12,760 I love that we actually see in here that it's a prayer. 210 00:15:14,400 --> 00:15:16,760 And so it's kind of where you're seeing the contradiction, the 211 00:15:16,760 --> 00:15:19,600 contradiction of Jonah on display. 212 00:15:20,640 --> 00:15:25,600 His repentance was not quite full or wasn't complete in 213 00:15:25,600 --> 00:15:29,840 chapter 2, but he still goes to the Lord. 214 00:15:31,360 --> 00:15:36,280 That shows me what a picture of mercy for us as God's people. 215 00:15:37,680 --> 00:15:41,440 God has chosen us. He is soft in our hearts, even 216 00:15:41,440 --> 00:15:44,720 in our anger, even in our confusion, even in our missed 217 00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:50,480 place responses to go to Him in prayer. 218 00:15:51,280 --> 00:15:55,040 And ultimately, God responds to Jonah. 219 00:15:55,840 --> 00:16:01,640 So there is a covenantal relationship there in which 220 00:16:01,640 --> 00:16:06,560 Jonah's heart as it's raging, it can't break it, not because of 221 00:16:06,560 --> 00:16:10,880 anything that Jonah has done, because of the faithfulness of 222 00:16:10,880 --> 00:16:15,640 Yahweh, the covenant keeper. So even as we wrestle with where 223 00:16:15,640 --> 00:16:19,240 we might be on this journey of anger and where is our 224 00:16:19,240 --> 00:16:24,000 repentance in all this, we can always go to God and prayer. 225 00:16:24,640 --> 00:16:28,000 If God is softening your heart to it, go to him. 226 00:16:29,200 --> 00:16:32,720 Go to him in freedom that you even need to submit some of 227 00:16:32,720 --> 00:16:36,200 these thoughts, some of these misplaced understanding of his 228 00:16:36,200 --> 00:16:43,240 word at his feet and just say Yahweh, my covenant keeper. 229 00:16:44,720 --> 00:16:48,040 And I think even as we see the response of the Lord, there's a 230 00:16:48,040 --> 00:16:51,880 gentleness to it. There's a sense in which you 231 00:16:51,880 --> 00:16:56,400 even see kind of apparent who's parenting an angry child who 232 00:16:56,400 --> 00:16:59,760 doesn't understand why they're angry, and the parent is trying 233 00:16:59,760 --> 00:17:04,319 to just gently point them towards the right response of 234 00:17:04,319 --> 00:17:09,200 their hearts. If we have to learn something 235 00:17:09,200 --> 00:17:15,440 from Jonah's hearts, I think what we actually see there is 236 00:17:15,440 --> 00:17:23,560 that he has misplaced a love of Israel to be superior over his 237 00:17:23,560 --> 00:17:27,359 love for God. There's sort of an anxiety, 238 00:17:27,359 --> 00:17:29,040 right? There's an anxiety for Jonah 239 00:17:29,040 --> 00:17:33,360 about if God were to forgive this terrible nation, what then 240 00:17:33,360 --> 00:17:36,680 is supposed to happen to us? Remember, they were, they were, 241 00:17:37,400 --> 00:17:40,000 they were battling each other for territory and there was a 242 00:17:40,000 --> 00:17:44,160 terrible outcome if Assyria were to take over that place. 243 00:17:49,820 --> 00:17:54,020 Jonah is anxious about what it meant for the Shalom of God's 244 00:17:54,020 --> 00:18:03,640 covenant people, but he put that anxiety before his trust in the 245 00:18:03,640 --> 00:18:07,440 Lord. This, this can be really touchy, 246 00:18:07,440 --> 00:18:10,920 what I'm about ready to say. And so I ask for your patience 247 00:18:10,920 --> 00:18:12,480 with me as we think through this. 248 00:18:13,440 --> 00:18:15,600 And I think even what we did at the beginning of the service and 249 00:18:15,600 --> 00:18:19,120 honouring our veterans, we're trying to say that love of 250 00:18:19,120 --> 00:18:23,040 country is not a bad thing. I actually think God's Word 251 00:18:23,040 --> 00:18:25,800 points us to love our country and to seek for its flourishing, 252 00:18:25,800 --> 00:18:27,440 for its protection, for its security. 253 00:18:27,440 --> 00:18:31,840 Those are good things. But if that love of country, if 254 00:18:31,840 --> 00:18:37,160 that security is ever placed over the Lord, we've misplaced 255 00:18:37,160 --> 00:18:40,600 our loves. Love of God is always meant to 256 00:18:40,600 --> 00:18:46,280 be superior to love of country. And I think that's actually 257 00:18:46,280 --> 00:18:50,600 what's at the heart of God's question to Jonah. 258 00:18:50,760 --> 00:18:57,640 Do you do well to be angry? Angry over the right things, 259 00:18:57,800 --> 00:19:01,560 yes. But angry over a misplaced order 260 00:19:01,560 --> 00:19:03,840 of loves? No. 261 00:19:06,480 --> 00:19:11,960 Jonah has quickly forgotten that he has gone down to the depths. 262 00:19:13,640 --> 00:19:16,560 And he said with his words that he repented, that he was 263 00:19:16,560 --> 00:19:19,480 acknowledging the words salvation. 264 00:19:21,800 --> 00:19:24,760 It's interesting. I was quickly brought back to my 265 00:19:24,760 --> 00:19:30,400 time in Italy. And they have been building 266 00:19:30,920 --> 00:19:34,600 their third metro line for about 35 years. 267 00:19:36,360 --> 00:19:38,920 And you might chuckle. Could you think of Italians that 268 00:19:38,920 --> 00:19:41,040 like to take their breaks? They like to take the whole 269 00:19:41,040 --> 00:19:44,040 month of August off for vacation, living that beautiful 270 00:19:44,040 --> 00:19:44,480 life? You might. 271 00:19:44,480 --> 00:19:47,040 Well, that's kind of makes sense then why it would take 35 years. 272 00:19:47,240 --> 00:19:49,880 But that's actually not the reason why. 273 00:19:50,960 --> 00:19:54,000 Whenever they start digging for this third line, it was the one 274 00:19:54,000 --> 00:19:59,080 that was kind of going through the center of the city where all 275 00:19:59,160 --> 00:20:03,680 of the old stuff was. And so you have to dig and they 276 00:20:03,680 --> 00:20:07,600 would keep finding more stuff. So they had to call in the 277 00:20:07,600 --> 00:20:10,040 special archaeologist to make sure they didn't damage any of 278 00:20:10,040 --> 00:20:12,360 the stuff, and they actually realized they had to keep 279 00:20:12,880 --> 00:20:18,600 digging deeper. That comes to mind because I 280 00:20:18,600 --> 00:20:21,000 think that is what happens when we get to this place of 281 00:20:21,000 --> 00:20:24,920 realizing our anger is revealing that our loves are out of order, 282 00:20:24,920 --> 00:20:29,880 that to keep digging deeper to the depths of God's love for us. 283 00:20:31,560 --> 00:20:34,800 I was also reminded of a really amazing story from this past 284 00:20:34,800 --> 00:20:37,840 week at the missions conference. You might not know this, but one 285 00:20:37,840 --> 00:20:42,240 of our church's members is a missionary serving in a country 286 00:20:42,240 --> 00:20:46,120 that I can't say the name of right now, translating the Bible 287 00:20:46,120 --> 00:20:49,400 into a new language. And she was sharing with me 288 00:20:49,400 --> 00:20:51,440 about the progress of that Bible translation. 289 00:20:52,080 --> 00:20:56,400 And they actually start with the book of Jonah for their Bible 290 00:20:56,400 --> 00:20:58,680 translation because of the narrative structure. 291 00:20:58,680 --> 00:21:01,600 It's fairly simple. And they're they're going from 292 00:21:01,600 --> 00:21:03,640 an oral language to a written language. 293 00:21:03,640 --> 00:21:06,240 And so they start with the book of Jonah. 294 00:21:07,520 --> 00:21:11,040 But in this particular country and in this particular village, 295 00:21:11,240 --> 00:21:13,760 they are very far away from any ocean. 296 00:21:14,520 --> 00:21:17,280 The deepest water that they have is, she said it's kind of like a 297 00:21:17,280 --> 00:21:19,320 little stream that might go this deep. 298 00:21:20,320 --> 00:21:23,360 And so as she was working with the people that try to translate 299 00:21:23,360 --> 00:21:27,120 them with these concepts of a deep, deep repentance, they had, 300 00:21:27,360 --> 00:21:30,000 they had no idea. They had to start using more 301 00:21:30,000 --> 00:21:34,000 abstract concept concepts to get them to understand the deepness 302 00:21:34,360 --> 00:21:37,600 of an ocean. And that was helpful for me 303 00:21:37,600 --> 00:21:40,320 because I, I think we take for granted that we have these 304 00:21:40,320 --> 00:21:42,960 different images from the Bible and can understand them in their 305 00:21:43,160 --> 00:21:47,040 full metaphorical sense and how it's meant to show us the deep 306 00:21:47,040 --> 00:21:51,360 compassion and deep love of our God towards us. 307 00:21:54,320 --> 00:21:58,960 As we think about our own anger and what it reveals about 308 00:21:58,960 --> 00:22:05,240 misplaced orders of love, how willing are we to go deeper with 309 00:22:05,240 --> 00:22:13,680 the Lord in our hearts? Are we willing to admit that we 310 00:22:13,680 --> 00:22:19,920 have put something security, sense of self, comfort, control, 311 00:22:21,120 --> 00:22:26,000 love of those things over our love for God? 312 00:22:27,120 --> 00:22:35,720 But to cry out, O Yahweh, and to hear the Lord's voice, do you do 313 00:22:35,720 --> 00:22:43,200 well to be angry? So that was the head, the heart 314 00:22:44,240 --> 00:22:47,640 in the hands. So repentance, it involves 315 00:22:47,640 --> 00:22:51,880 eventual action. Yes, we need to change our 316 00:22:51,880 --> 00:22:54,720 thinking. Yes, we need to pray to God to 317 00:22:54,720 --> 00:23:00,320 change our hearts. And yes, we need to respond with 318 00:23:00,320 --> 00:23:02,520 change. Action can be dangerous to do 319 00:23:02,520 --> 00:23:05,000 those in the wrong order. The wrong order gets us to 320 00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:07,920 legalism. But the right order is the 321 00:23:07,920 --> 00:23:11,920 complete sense of what does it mean to repent, to follow the 322 00:23:11,920 --> 00:23:16,000 Lord. So while we have the kind of 323 00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:20,960 repentance moments from Jonah in chapter 2, there's a clue here 324 00:23:20,960 --> 00:23:26,160 in the text that this prodigal prophet running away from the 325 00:23:26,160 --> 00:23:30,280 call of God has not fully repented of his ways. 326 00:23:31,360 --> 00:23:33,960 We can see it as we looked at the heart as head at his heart, 327 00:23:34,640 --> 00:23:39,240 but it follows in the actions. It's a sensitive topic because 328 00:23:39,240 --> 00:23:42,760 he actually is saying that he'd rather die. 329 00:23:44,320 --> 00:23:48,360 He'd rather die in asking the Lord to allow him to die than 330 00:23:48,360 --> 00:23:53,400 confront the compassion of his God on his perceived enemies. 331 00:23:54,800 --> 00:24:00,560 And the clue is that Jonah's repentance was not sufficient is 332 00:24:00,560 --> 00:24:03,360 that this is naturally not the first time that Jonah has asked 333 00:24:03,360 --> 00:24:06,560 for his life to be taken. Do you remember the first time 334 00:24:07,720 --> 00:24:14,720 since chapter 1 with the sailors on the boats, he actually calls 335 00:24:14,720 --> 00:24:18,520 for them to throw him into the ocean, that his life would be 336 00:24:18,520 --> 00:24:22,920 taken first. Verse 12 from chapter one. 337 00:24:23,040 --> 00:24:25,680 Pick me up, hurl me into the sea. 338 00:24:26,120 --> 00:24:27,840 Then the sea will quiet down for you. 339 00:24:27,840 --> 00:24:32,800 For I know it is because of me that this great Tempest has come 340 00:24:32,840 --> 00:24:39,360 upon you. And so that's my clue that Jonah 341 00:24:39,360 --> 00:24:43,640 hasn't fully repented yet. And I think as we go through the 342 00:24:43,640 --> 00:24:48,120 rest of chapter 4, that will become increasingly obvious to 343 00:24:48,120 --> 00:24:57,120 all of us. Instead of embracing God's 344 00:24:57,120 --> 00:25:01,800 radical compassion for the other, he is asking for his life 345 00:25:01,800 --> 00:25:04,840 to end first to a bunch of Pagan sailors who would eventually 346 00:25:04,840 --> 00:25:09,480 repent in the face of this action, and now directly to God. 347 00:25:14,280 --> 00:25:17,280 The compassion of the Word here, though, is that God's compassion 348 00:25:18,640 --> 00:25:23,640 first to Jonah and his calling, then to Pagan sailors and 349 00:25:23,640 --> 00:25:28,520 calling them to repentance, then to Jonah again in the belly of 350 00:25:28,520 --> 00:25:32,040 the fish, then to the king of the most brutal, murderous 351 00:25:32,040 --> 00:25:35,600 nation on the planet. This point even to the animals 352 00:25:35,600 --> 00:25:40,840 of the Assyrians, even in the midst of Jonah's anger, God's 353 00:25:40,840 --> 00:25:45,480 compassion is again on Jonah. He hears the rant, even the rant 354 00:25:45,480 --> 00:25:49,360 against him, misusing his character against him and 355 00:25:49,360 --> 00:25:55,800 responds with the soft question. As I think about our word, 356 00:25:55,800 --> 00:26:00,000 Jesus's compassion on the anger of the that he saw on his day. 357 00:26:01,160 --> 00:26:06,600 I was thinking of Matthew 23, the seven woes on the scribes 358 00:26:06,920 --> 00:26:10,480 and the Pharisees. Let me read just a little bit of 359 00:26:10,480 --> 00:26:14,160 this text over you today as you think about even the word Jesus 360 00:26:14,160 --> 00:26:18,080 and how He confronted anger. This is from Matthew 23, verses 361 00:26:18,080 --> 00:26:20,440 2 to 4. The scribes and the Pharisees 362 00:26:20,440 --> 00:26:22,800 sit on Moses's seat. These are the word, Jesus's 363 00:26:22,800 --> 00:26:25,360 words. And they do so and observe 364 00:26:25,360 --> 00:26:28,080 whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. 365 00:26:29,440 --> 00:26:32,480 So it's a warning over them, for they preach, but they do not 366 00:26:32,480 --> 00:26:35,480 practice. They tie up heavy burdens hard 367 00:26:35,480 --> 00:26:38,480 to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders, but they 368 00:26:38,480 --> 00:26:42,320 themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. 369 00:26:42,320 --> 00:26:45,280 Their hands do not move. Verse 9. 370 00:26:46,080 --> 00:26:49,080 And call no man your Father on earth, for you have one Father 371 00:26:49,080 --> 00:26:52,760 who is in heaven. Neither be called instructors. 372 00:26:52,760 --> 00:26:55,040 You have one instructor, the Christ. 373 00:26:56,160 --> 00:26:58,960 The greatest among you shall be your servant. 374 00:26:59,840 --> 00:27:02,480 Whoever exalts himself will be humbled. 375 00:27:03,320 --> 00:27:07,120 Whoever humbles himself will be exalted. 376 00:27:10,120 --> 00:27:13,560 We'll go down to verse 37 and that chat that same chapter, 377 00:27:13,560 --> 00:27:16,880 Matthew 23. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city 378 00:27:16,880 --> 00:27:21,120 that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it. 379 00:27:21,120 --> 00:27:24,720 How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen 380 00:27:24,720 --> 00:27:26,520 gathers her brood under her wings? 381 00:27:27,120 --> 00:27:31,120 And you were not willing see your house has left you 382 00:27:31,120 --> 00:27:34,160 desolate. For I tell you, you will not see 383 00:27:34,160 --> 00:27:40,320 me again until you say blessed is he who comes in the name of 384 00:27:40,320 --> 00:27:43,800 the Lord. You see, Jesus meets the 385 00:27:43,800 --> 00:27:50,280 Pharisees anger with a righteous anger and anger that he has that 386 00:27:50,280 --> 00:27:56,480 he will ultimately willingly take on himself, not just for 387 00:27:56,480 --> 00:28:00,200 the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, but the for the hypocrisy of the 388 00:28:00,200 --> 00:28:03,800 nations. Jesus will take this on himself, 389 00:28:03,800 --> 00:28:09,200 not to make anyone political nation great, but to unite all 390 00:28:09,200 --> 00:28:13,360 nations under him for the sake of his glory. 391 00:28:15,400 --> 00:28:19,280 Jonah was an angry prophet praying that his heavenly king 392 00:28:19,280 --> 00:28:24,200 would bring a Kingdom that ultimately conflicted with God's 393 00:28:24,200 --> 00:28:30,160 love and his justice. Jesus was the far greater 394 00:28:30,160 --> 00:28:34,120 prophet who was angry with the false prophets of his time, 395 00:28:35,320 --> 00:28:41,080 acting as the King who would unite God's love and justice 396 00:28:41,680 --> 00:28:44,720 when he took his place on the cross. 397 00:28:46,520 --> 00:28:50,600 Brothers and sisters, let us pray to this better prophet. 398 00:28:53,840 --> 00:29:00,040 Oh Jesus, we thank you for the picture of your anger rightly 399 00:29:00,040 --> 00:29:06,400 placed, that the order of our loves are made right in the 400 00:29:06,400 --> 00:29:10,840 unity of your mercy and justice on the cross. 401 00:29:12,360 --> 00:29:16,240 Thank you as the nation's rage, King Jesus, that you are King 402 00:29:16,240 --> 00:29:20,520 over all the nations and that your plan for salvation brings 403 00:29:20,520 --> 00:29:24,280 about the peace, the peace of the nations, that as they are 404 00:29:24,280 --> 00:29:28,600 united in your salvation, King Jesus, in eternity. 405 00:29:30,600 --> 00:29:34,840 And thank you that as we wait for that coming when you will 406 00:29:34,840 --> 00:29:39,920 unite all nations and yourself, that you have given us the gift 407 00:29:40,200 --> 00:29:43,920 of your Holy Spirit. You have given us the promise of 408 00:29:43,920 --> 00:29:47,160 our sanctification. That as we wrestle with our own 409 00:29:47,160 --> 00:29:52,000 anger and the ordering of our loves, that you are here with us 410 00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:57,120 as our Yahweh, wrestling with us and who as a loving Father 411 00:29:57,720 --> 00:30:01,960 disciplines his children, You're in a loving conversation with 412 00:30:01,960 --> 00:30:03,160 us. Thank you God, that your 413 00:30:03,160 --> 00:30:05,800 kindness is what leads us to repentance. 414 00:30:06,080 --> 00:30:12,280 Help us to examine that well now and our confession and applying 415 00:30:12,280 --> 00:30:14,960 the Word as we go to the table as brothers and sisters in 416 00:30:14,960 --> 00:30:18,040 Christ, in Jesus name I pray, Amen.