Our Inadequate Self (2)

Jonah 4:5

New Living Translation

Then Jonah went out to the east side of the city and made a shelter to sit under as he waited to see what would happen to the city.

For Meditation

The patience of God! How refreshing and otherworldly!

After his perturbation, the Lord had just one question for Jonah because of a forgiven Nineveh (Jonah 4:1-3).

Is it right for you to be angry?

How do you answer the Almighty after throwing a tantrum in response to God for His goodness to the lost? Lost for words, Jonah takes his position somewhere, presumably to see God’s next move (5). The sun rose in fury. Reminiscing about Adam and Eve’s covering in Eden (Gen. 3:7), the shelter Jonah built to shade him proved inadequate (Jonah 4:5). But when has human effort been adequate for our comfort? It always falls short of meeting our needs, as Jonah needed better coverage from the sun’s intensified heat.

Then the Lord! I love it.

It is the turning point for all of us when our human efforts fail. God’s mercy kicks in, and grace steps up to our rescue. You will find this all over the pages of the Holy Scriptures.

After the Eden Fall and Adam’s weak effort to cover his nakedness, the Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them (Gen. 3:21). After the failure of Abraham and Sarah to help God with the Promised Child, God stepped in with the ultimate promise with a timeline that left Sarah struggling in her unbelief (18:14-15). When Joshua and his army failed with their human strategy to take Ai, oblivious of Achan’s sin and defilement of the camp (Jos. 7:1-9), God delivered the town to them on His terms (10-26). After the disciples failed to deliver the demon-possessed boy at the foot of the Mt. of Transfiguration, Jesus came to the rescue (Lk.9:37-42).

Our human efforts to get back to God over the ages always proved futile. The weight of our sin and the futility of our efforts became increasingly apparent until the full time finally came for the Savior’s advent to save us (Gal, 4:4-5). And as Paul says,

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly (Rm. 5:6).  

When Jonah’s shelter failed to give him the comfort he needed in the sun, God provided a leafy plant to shade his head and ease his discomfort (Jonah 4:6). That made Jonah happy (Jonah 4:6). However, to teach His prophet an object lesson, God removed the leafy plan the next day and caused the sun to rise with a scorching east wind to make Jonah unbearably hot. He grew faint. This time, he truly wished he would die (8). Does that sound familiar? How many have not cared for things other than human beings?

Jonah cared more about the plant that shaded him than the souls of the Ninevites. The citizens of Nineveh could roast in hell for all he cared, but he must preserve his comfort. What a sad commentary.

I thank God He showed Jonah that He cared more for humans than plants. He has saved us by this love that found expression in Christ (Rm. 5:8) and His efficacious sacrifice on the cross of Calvary. How can we not be thankful and share this love with the dying so that they, too, might receive the gift of life through Christ Jesus? 

Your challenge and mine.

Pray with Me

Father, thank you for your heart for the lost and perishing souls. May your loving kindness inspire your children to seek the lost, with intentionality as if you will come tomorrow. Amen.