Jonah: Mad That It Worked
from Exodus Series on SermonAudio Hosted by Charles Sebold
In "Jonah: Mad That It Worked," Charles Sebold continues the Sunday evening series through the Minor Prophets with the book of Jonah. Hosea, Joel, Amos, and Obadiah set the stage; Jonah asks what happens when God shows mercy to His people's own destroyer, and His prophet cannot bear it. Keeping a running scorecard, the lesson shows that everything in the book obeys God: the wind, the sea, the pagan sailors, the great fish, the repentant king of Nineveh, even the cattle in sackcloth, the plant, the worm, and the east wind. The lone holdout is God's own spokesman, who flees downhill to Joppa and Tarshish. From the belly of the fish Jonah's psalm confesses the truth at the heart of Reformed faith: "Salvation belongs to the Lord." A five-word warning is enough for Nineveh to repent, because God's Word is powerful, and God does not change His mind but graciously recognizes the repentance He Himself produced. Yet Jonah is furious, quoting the creed of Exodus 34 as a complaint: he fled because he knew God is gracious, merciful, and relents from disaster. God's closing question, whether He should not pity Nineveh, confronts every believer who quietly hopes certain enemies never reach heaven. Grace for ourselves can seem obvious and grace for our enemies outrageous, but no one's sin overwhelms God. The lesson closes with Christ, the One greater than Jonah, who slept through a storm, went down in obedience, rose after three days, and sends His people gladly to the nations, as Peter learned at Joppa when the gospel opened to the Gentiles.
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