"… the earth beneath bared me in forever. But you brought my life up from the pit, O Lord my God." (Jonah 2:6)
The Reasoning
Take just a second with me and think of the darkest part of your life. I know this is a blog and you might be completely zoned out or whatever, but just think with me for a second: What stresses you out when you think about it? What is burning on your mind? What is that thing that aches in your heart in the morning as soon as you wake up?
That's your pit. Whatever is dragging you down and makes you feel hopeless is your pit. It could be tangible (such as persecution) or it could be intangible (such as a state of mind). It could be a situation that you have to deal with or an emptiness that can't be dealt with. Whenever the pit is mentioned in this blog series, it is that to which I am referring. Keep that in mind as we continue on with the story of Jonah.
Chapter four is where the real lesson is taught to Jonah (and to us!). Apparently, the whole fish episode wasn't enough. We find out the reason behind this unreasonably strange course of events. After Jonah was vomited out of the fish, he preached boldly to the people of Nineveh just as God commanded him. The people heard and "they turned from their evil ways" (3:10). It is important to note that God's plan was carried out. Despite Jonah's failure and fear and selfishness, God ultimately did what he wanted. Our will is never greater than God's. Our will is never greater than God's.
The two verses that hinge chapter three and chapter four are perhaps the strangest two verses that sit back to back in the entire Bible:
"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," says verse 10…
… and is immediately followed by verse one…
"But Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry."
This is the Jonah, right? This is the same Jonah that listened for the voice of God? This is the same Jonah that was confidently praying for God's mercy, right?… the same one who preached to the people of Nineveh? God's mercy and compassion angered him? Verse two plainly tells us why: "This is why I was so quick to flee 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." Jonah ran because he didn't want to save Nineveh. He wanted them to go to Sheol. He hated their sin so much that he wanted to stop God from saving them. See, Reader, this is the essence of human pride. We'd rather stay true to Hammurabi's erroneous code of "eye for an eye" than allow God to carry out his salvation plan for all mankind. It starts wars. It enhances gossip. It's the reason we'd rather sit in our pews than feed the poor. After all, what have they done to deserve to be saved? Shoot, even John, Jesus' so called "Beloved", wanted to cast down fire upon an entire village (Luke 9:54). We're all guilty of damning people like Jonah did. We all want to play God and save the people who we think deserve salvation. Instead, we must realize that the True God came to save ALL men and women… regardless of nationality, social status, level of proclivity to sin, age, background, etcetera. God loves all of us just as much as he loves his son Jesus (Isaiah 54:10, Matthew 10:30, John 3:16, 14:20, 15:9, 16:14-15, 1 John 4:4:9).
His laments continue: "Now, O Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live," (v.3) Finally! Finally, Jonah gets it! Yes, Jonah, it is better for you to die than to live. Jesus would say, "the man who wants to save his life will lose it…," (Matthew 16:25). Marriage provides a wonderful illustration for this point. (Marriage, by the way, perfectly depicts our relationship with God in more ways than I can comprehend! Absolutely wonderful! Check out Romans 6-8!) A couple years ago I was with my older brother when he was just days away from marriage. I asked him what he was feeling. "Marriage is like death," he said. My family and I laughed and poked each other with our elbows. One of us sighed, "… Oh, Ryan…" as if to dismiss his comment as pessimism. He didn't crack a smile. He went on to explain the necessity of death for marriage. In other words, he is saying goodbye to selfish pleasures; he is killing the Bachelor Ryan so that he may resurrect as Husband Ryan. In much of the same way, we must die to ourselves in order to serve God. We must live for his glory setting aside our ways for his ways. Because, after all, "… love is as strong as death…" (Song of Songs 8:6). Jonah says that he'd rather die than live. I would agree with him. I want God to spend my life.
What would happen if every time we found ourselves in a "pit" we faithfully thanked God? What would our lives look like if we were in a perpetual state of faithfulness unto our Creator? Could it be that God occasionally brings us to the point of exhaustion so that we have nothing else to do but cry out to Him? Could it be that this is where God wants us all… with our backs up against the wall in surrender ready to die for Him? Yes, yes, yes! We must die to ourselves and let God live within us. Where there is sin, he offers mercy; where there is death, He offers life (Romans 5:20, John 10:10). Without him we have nothing. Without God's judgment we are left with our own… which is always Hell. Therefore, look at your "pit" with the new eyes you have. It should look very different. It should look like a gift.
The Vine
God's response to Jonah's laments is similar to the way he responded to Job's: "'Have you any right to be angry?'" (4:4). Sassy! To further his point, God places Jonah in another hellish scenario in which Jonah can do nothing but cry out to God. He is placed in the pit yet again. So, Jonah sulks in the desert. While he's sitting there in the desert God provided a vine to shelter him from the sun's heat (v.5). This strange story gets even weirder as God takes away the vine that he that he made for Jonah. Again, Jonah wants to die because it's so hot (v. 8). As Kempis said, nothing from God is insignificant… so what is the point of the vine if God simply takes it away by morning? God does what He likes to do in all of us: He expands Jonah's horizons. The life of a believer is full of these types of situations. God is constantly trying to show us the massive wide-angled view of his plan. Our God is a Consuming Fire (Hebrews 12:29) and sometimes he speaks through a "scorching east wind" and a "blazing sun" to show where we fit in the history of mankind.
God plainly explains to Jonah: "You have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow… But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand who cannot tell their right hand from their left and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?" (vs. 10-11). Basically, the Lord is telling Jonah to take his eyes off of himself and to place them on the bigger picture. Jonah, stop looking at your own discomfort and be mindful of what I am doing! You didn't create Nineveh any more than you created the vine. I create ALL things. So often we try to fit God into our lives while we miss what He is trying to get accomplished right before our eyes. It helps me from time to time to establish what the "vine" is in my life lest I get caught up in the discomfort of its green, thorny branches.
