Jonah vs Mercy

Jonah 4

Traditional masculinity tells males this idea of individual manifest destiny. Men are to go out and DO, and women get brought along. Consider dating, men have to ask, women traditionally have to wait to be asked. Men take the lead, make the decisions, and even control the outcome. Or so we think. Scripture describes all Christians as the bride of Christ. Are men really the go-getters, or are we all responders?

It’s time to overturn (hapak) everything again. The punchline of the story isn’t about redemption or repentance, but really about the agency of God. It’s designed to be read as a signal flare – showing us who we are in relation to God, hopefully putting us in a position of humility (unlike Jonah), and be challenged to ask ourselves some deep and difficult questions.

Why Mercy Instead of Perfection?

40 days hadn’t passed yet. Jonah found himself sitting down east of the city to see what would happen, yet he already knew. What was the point of all of this if God was just going to forgive anyway? He knew when God called him that they would seek mercy from the disaster, thus leading them to repent, thus leading God to relent from the threat. Why all the work? Nineveh didn’t understand what mercy was anyway, why not just snap your fingers and let it go? Jonah misunderstood mercy as much as the Ninevites. God didn’t act because they repented; God lead them to repentance so He could give mercy. Catch this; mercy is not a response, but a catalyst.

Consider what we understand about God’ plan of redemption: Creation – Fall – Redemption. It may read chronologically in that order, but in 2 Timothy 1:9-10 we are shown that redemption came before creation, making it Redemption – Creation – Fall. Mercy came first, it was the catalyst, not the response. This is because God is our romancer – He comes after us for relationship, not just appeasement. A relationship is found in the journey, not the destination.

Why Try if it’s All God’s Power?

This brings us to the next question. Jonah knew the Ninevites didn’t understand God’s mercy. He got angry because they responded with ignorant repentance. They took the get out of jail free card. They earned nothing. He then turned and got angry because of the vine withered. He didn’t understand the innerworkings of a plant but was mad over its failure. He did nothing to tend that plant. He missed this: God’s power is independent of our behavior. He doesn’t act because we do things. He acts and then we respond. He put too much power in humanity. The Ninevites were too evil to save; the plant too important to destroy, according to Jonah. He saw humanity as the instigator and God as the respondent. It’s a problem of who acts first. This is why our efforts to be righteous will always fail. We can’t take the first step; we can only respond. Thus, we step into righteousness as a response to the Holy Spirit’s regeneration in us. We love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). Our faith has nothing to do with merit, but His goodness.

Why the Constant Power Struggle?

The Ninevites were powerless to resist God’s mercy and Jonah was powerless to control the vine. The story of Jonah is not the story of Nineveh’s repentance or of Jonah’s anger. Making it about either of those gives them the power. Instead, (hapak) the main idea of this book is that God’s mercy and grace do not function on merit but are ordained purely by His sovereignty. The story of scripture is not humanity’s salvation, but of God’s revelation. We talk about repeated words in scripture – the most repeated word in the Bible is Lord/God (bet. 7-8k)! It is His story – He is the main character, the One who does the work, the One who comes after us! We are only the responders. Jonah needed to learn that his anger was not justifiable because he had no power. It wasn’t his plant. Nineveh wasn’t his enemy. All of Jonah’s encounters and experiences had nothing to do with Jonah – the sailors, the fish, nothing. In every step, God acted, and these things happened around Jonah. It’s not our power, it’s God’s. When Jesus was on trial, He told Pilate that all authority he had was given by God (John 19:11). Even then all power was with God.

Next Steps

Christians can get way too wrapped up in this idea of power and often think way too highly of ourselves and our “position” as saints. You are certainly blessed if you’ve been a believer for any length of time, but that doesn’t make you any more worthy or important. This isn’t about you. Don’t be proud because you are saved but be thankful for God’s favor.

1. Discuss with others the romantic “wooing” of God coming after us. See yourself as one desired, not one who earned it.
2. Stop trying to be righteous and lean into the Holy Spirit as He works in you.
3. Let go. Stop thinking it must be a certain way. It’s not about you.

The imagery of the bride of Christ should allow us to relax into a position of one who is protected and included. We don’t need to be in charge, we simply need to be there. Don’t miss out because you want power.