For me, I would die, but better for you that I stay. That's not what Jonah's doing, is it? Jonah's not just saying, boy, this is really, really hard, and I think death would be easier. Jonah's not saying, boy, in light of who the Lord Jesus Christ is and what He's done, life and fellowship with Him, free from all the troubles and sins here, including my own indwelling sin, being with Him would be better than anything else here below. He's not saying that, is He? What is He saying? He's saying, hey, I'm gonna die. Now, when we say it that way, maybe you almost laugh and you're tended to think that's foolish. But sometimes that's the way we feel, isn't it? If I can't have it my way, if I can't have what I want, if I can't have the experience, if I can't have my will be done, well then I want to die. Maybe that's the extreme form of what you've heard or felt as a child. Well, if I can't have it, then I don't want to have anything at all. You ever see that with kids? They want some particular thing. Maybe a cupcake. Maybe a new toy. And what do they do if they can't have it? They stomp their feet. They whine. They fold their arms. And if they can't have what they want, they're not going to have anything at all. If I can't have my cupcake, if I can't have my ice cream, I'm not going to eat anything else. Sit here and be hungry all day. It's their protest, because they need to have what they want, and their will needs to be done. Sometimes we're tempted to feel that way ourselves, as adults even. We're so thoughtful and worried and concerned and anxious about things going a certain way, and if things just don't work out this way in my life, I don't know if my life's worth living. This is going wrong, that's going wrong. I can never feel right. Things don't make sense. There doesn't seem any way forward. Meaning this in particular, in certain circumstances. There's no way for me to get what I want. So I just give up. Why get out of bed? Why do anything to help anyone else? Maybe even why keep living? That's always there with us. Why? Why? Because from our earliest days, even to the later ends of our life, apart from the grace of God, we're the ones that wanna be God and we're the ones that wanna be in charge. We wanna be the ones to decide what our lives are gonna be about, not God. And if we don't surrender His grace and war against the flesh, life is gonna be very hard and painful. But what does God do at times like that to His children? When they're stuck, when they want their own will, not His will, what does He do? He makes them accept it. How? How does the Lord make His people accept His will? Well, as the Psalms beautifully say, He makes them willing in the day of His power. The Spirit comes and effectually draws them to Him with cords of love, and they find their wills changed and bent sweetly as they pray and as they read the Word, and as they realize they should desire what God desires, their desires change to what He is desiring. Amen, praise God, but sometimes he sends the fish to swallow you and spit you out. Sometimes he sends the gourd, which seems really nice. And other times he sends the worm, which doesn't end up working out very nice. And then the east wind comes. But all along the way, what is the Lord doing? Moving, teaching, changing us and our desires. because apart from the grace of God, when we don't get our way, we'd rather die. That goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden, isn't it? God says, you take the fruit of the tree and what will happen? You will die. What was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? The tree that said, who's gonna make the rules? Is God gonna make the rules or are you? I'd rather die than have God make the rules. and he takes the bite. Eve was deceived, we know that, but Adam wasn't. Well, there's some beauty here in the scripture of the Lord having Jonah express what we all feel, but perhaps what they'd say, to the nth degree, with death. But it's not just death Jonah wants. And maybe you can't relate to that extremity of death the way Jonah does, but maybe you can relate to this because it's closely connected. And the second thing Jonah desires is not death, we could say, but anger. Jonah's angry and he wants to be angry. He's angry and he wants to be angry. After he says in verse three, therefore now, O Lord, take I beseech thee my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live. What does he say in verse four? He gets to the heart, the motive of what's going on behind his desire to die. Dost thou well to be angry? Is it right for you to be angry? See, the anger is the problem that leads to the desire for death because what he wants is more important to him than what God wants. And God is going to teach him that what God wants is right and that he needs to accept it. That's what will come. That's what will come. But notice too, as God deals with what's behind that desire for death and in the case of Jonah, it's the anger, notice it doesn't say we have an answer here. Then said the Lord, doest thou well to be angry? So Jonah went out of the city and sat on the east side of the city and there made him a booth and sat under it in the shadow till he might see what would become of the city. Some hints here about how he answers God, even though it's not there in words. He tells God, kill me, I'd rather die than watch these people be saved. Just kill me. God says, is that something you should be angry about? And Jonah turns around and bows up the hill. And even though the people have repented, he wants to see them destroyed, so he sits there and waits. He sits there and waits, still can't surrender what he wants. But God also approaches him about anger again, this time about anger about the gourd. Anger about the gourd, and this will be key to understanding the lesson God teaches, we'll see that later. He's angry the people aren't destroyed. And he's angry when the gourd that is giving him a break from the sun and the wind that lets him have some nice shade and it's the horrible hot temperatures, he gets angry. Verse eight. And it came to pass, when the sun did arise, and God prepared a vehement east wind, and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and he wished himself to die. Notice again, to die. And he said, it is better for me to die than to live. These people, they're gonna be saved. Oh, the hot sun, this is too much, I hate this. I wanna die. Verse nine. God said to Jonah, doest thou well to be angry? Just like he asked before, but now it's different. Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? The Lord is setting him up. He asked about being angry about the people, and God's sparing the people, and now he's asking about the gourd. And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death. the implicit connection between anger and death, that not being able to have his will accomplished, is made directly clear in verse nine. A lot of the time, our desire to die, when it comes to frustration, that we can't have what we want, is born of anger and resentment, because we feel we should have what we want, but we can't. Not always. There can be times you're in just so much pain, physically, emotionally, and spiritually, you want to die. There can be times you feel so overwhelmed where you want to die. But a lot of the time, and in the case with Joe, And in the case with our flesh and indwelling sin, or maybe just the case for you, when you can't have your way and things don't go the way you think they should go, you get angry because this is right, or you're entitled. And you say things like, it's my right, it's my life, it's unfair. And that anger can give over even into the desire to not live anymore. Just like, well, if I can't have the food I want, I'm not gonna eat anything. And all kinds of other examples. Sometimes you think of the example of the sour grapes from the old fairy tales. The fox wants the grapes, but he can't get them. So what does he say? Oh, they're sour anyway. There's no good in them anyway. That death flows from anger because we want to have it our way. And what does Jonah want? What goes if we go from the death to the anger, thirdly, what's behind that? What's behind that? He doesn't want God to have pity. He doesn't want God to spare. He doesn't want God to have mercy. He doesn't want God to carry out his own plan. That's what we see in the second part of verse two. He prayed unto the Lord and said, I pray thee, O Lord, was not this my saying when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled from before unto Tarshish, for I knew that thou art a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness and repent as they of evil. I knew you would be merciful. I'm angry about it. I want to die. Same problem when it comes to the gourd, because this is all part of this lesson that the Lord is teaching Jonah and us. Same problem with the gourd. Notice, then said the Lord, thou hast had pity on the gourd. He didn't have pity on the people. For which thou hast not labored, neither made us to grow which came up in a night. perished in an island. You're upset about this plant that the Lord made grow overnight and then the plant dies and you're angry and you want to die about that too, Jonah? Note the contrast. We'll see this a bit further. Something as valuable as people's lives Something as valuable, we'll talk more about this later, as the lives of the animals and the work I have done, Jonah. I called you, I sent the storm, I sent the fish. Jonah, I've done a lot, I have a plan. You know the kind of God I am that I'm gonna show mercy. And you have a problem with me and all the work I have done to bring about this miracle of salvation that these people turn to me simply under the warning of destruction, the promise of destruction? You shouldn't be upset about that. And you're upset about a gourd? See the contrast? It's very clear, very powerful. The Lord's a great teacher. Jonah wants his desire, his desire of death, born out of anger because he doesn't want God to have God's will done and showing mercy. And it's the same for us, but maybe not the way we would think about it. Child of God, everything, everything God has done, is doing and will do in your life is for your good. Everything God has done, is doing, and will do in your life is for your good. Now that's not a platitude. My parents got divorced too. My wife and I have had miscarriages too. We've lost people to cancer, too. We can all say, and we could take so much time to list off all the things the Lord has caused us to go through that cause us pain. Things that apart from God's work in our lives, we would be angry about, and we would wanna die because we didn't want this to happen. And you're still dealing with all the consequences of the things that have happened. things like divorce, things like miscarriage, stay with you a long, long, long, long, long, long time. But are you gonna tell the Lord it's not right of him? Are you gonna tell the Lord, I have reason to be angry about this? Are you gonna tell the Lord, kill me, I wanna die. What we need to do is heed the lesson that we'll see a bit further. Or, as we'll use the language in the last point, embrace the Lord's desire. As hard, as harsh, as contrary to expectation or want as it may be, we need to embrace the Lord's desire, His plan. Here, in this book, it's mercy. By extension, we can say salvation in Jesus Christ, which is exactly child of God, which is being worked out in your life right now. Right now. Well, despite our desires, which are so often sinful like Jonah's, because they don't find their rest, In the Lord's desires, the Lord makes preparations. The Lord deals with us in wise and patient ways, doesn't he? Is this how you would respond if you were God? Jonah comes and Jonah says, Lord, you are who you are, and you decided to sow mercy, and I'm angry, so kill me. You know what I think I would have done if I were God? You want it? You got it! End of the book of Jonah. He's done. Yeah, he was a faithful minister and prophet before, like we read about in 2 Kings. But now he's being rebellious. Sent the storm for you, I sent the fish for you. You came back and you carried out my will after that. And now you call me into question. You refuse to submit to my will. I'm done with you. But that wouldn't be merciful, would it? That wouldn't be kind, would it? That wouldn't be patient, would it? That wouldn't be all the things God is that even Jonah says. Gracious God, merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness and repentance, thee of evil. And Jonah and all of us should be really thankful the Lord is that way. Because we all deserve hell. We all deserve to be destroyed. Whether you're the Jewish patriot, or whether you're the horrible pagan city dweller, We all deserve God's wrath. But God is a God of love, of mercy and kindness who had a plan to redeem this world through the work of his son. So the Lord does in this great mercy, kindness and patience and slow to anger, the Lord does what he has done before. He has made preparations. He has made preparations. Do you remember the first preparations he made? The first preparations he made are the storm. But the Lord sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea. But the second preparation he makes is the fish, and it's very important because the same words are used. When it comes to the fish, and the gourd, and the worm, and the east wind." In chapter 1, verse 17, now the Lord had prepared a great fish. We talked quite a bit about preparation, and how the Lord prepared the fish, and how this was not an accident, and how this was all according to God's eternal plan, ultimately, that this fish would come and swallow this guy at this time, just as he is thrown overboard. That was part of the Lord's preparation. It saved the lives of the fishermen, and in the end, saves the lives of Jonah. But the Lord makes more preparations now in chapter four. He makes more preparations now. The first preparation is in verse six. And the Lord prepared a gourd. And then later, verse seven, but God prepared a worm. And then later in verse eight, and God prepared a vehement east wind. Just like he prepared the fish, God's got a plan. He's saving the fishermen, he's saving Jonah, he saved the people of Nineveh, and now he's teaching Jonah this lesson and us too. But notice these preparations, just like with the fish. Firstly, the gourd. The Lord God prepared a gourd and made it to come up over Jonah that it might be a shade over his head to deliver him from his grief. Jonah's in grief, sorrow, depression, probably bitterness, certainly anger and longing to die. What happens, the Lord causes the gourd to grow, that it might be a shadow over his head to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceedingly glad of the gourd. Oh, I'm thankful for the gourd, it gives me shade. I'm all upset and I'm angry and it's sunny and it's hot, but I have this gourd and I'm thankful for this gourd. You're thankful for those things in your life that give you relief from your grief, relief from the heat, relief from the trouble. Something comes along and it's so, so nice. That's the Lord's preparing. That's the Lord's preparing. But it wasn't just the gourd, it was the worm. But God prepared a worm. When the morning rose the next day, his grief is about to be exacerbated. His relief he felt and the joy he felt because of the gourd that delivered him. Well, that's about to be taken away. God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smoked the gourd that had withered. It died, shrunk, and no longer was able to provide the same relief. Just like the gourd came from the Lord, so did the worm. Your relief, your blessing, that thing which seemed to be an indicator things were getting better, that being taken away is from the Lord too. Then the east wind, the east wind. A vehement east wind was prepared by the Lord, in verse 8, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah that he fainted. I don't know if you've ever been out in the sun all day. Maybe it's just a special pain I feel if I forget my hat. You don't have any shade, weather's getting East wind blowing, you feel like you're just rotisserie cooking, and the sun is pounding down on the top of your head. I like to imagine Jonah was bald, but I don't know. Makes it more vivid for me. And the Lord's preparations are lost on Jonah. And the lesson that the Lord is teaching is lost on Jonah. And because Jonah is having a hard time again, what does he yet again say? Because he can't have what he wants and his will is not being done, what does he do? Like with all of us, what does he want? I want to die. It is better for me to die than to live. Sometimes the Lord's preparations lead us to feel that way. Why? I mean, clearly, the Lord has got a plan. He prepared the storm, he prepared the fish, he prepared the gourd, he prepared the worm, he prepared the east wind. Why do we wish to die? Why do we become angry when things don't go the way we wish and the way we want? Because we're forgetting God's character. But Jonah didn't forget God's character. Some people feel like God is against me. Jonah knew better. Jonah knew that so well. Jonah trusted in God's mercy. That wasn't the problem. But some people get the character of God wrong. For some people, for Jonah in particular, it's the fact he can't have what he wants. Because God's sense of what is right is different than what Jonah's sense of right is. So God prepares the gourd, the worm, and the east wind. Think about that next time things are going well in your life. Think about that next time things go bad in your life. And you ask the question, is this from God? The answer is yes. Yes. The good times, the bad times, they're all from God. They're all part of his plan of salvation for you as a child of God. So next time you have the board, next time you see the worm, next time you feel the east wind, remember it's from the Lord. Remember Jonah. The Lord giveth, the Lord taketh away, blessed be the name of the Lord. Remember the Apostle Paul. He's had abundance, he's lost everything, and he has learned in every circumstance to be content. How? because he can do all things through the Lord, his Savior. He can do all things through Christ. Notice that takes us right back to Jonah. God's plan of salvation for sinners, God working all things together for good for his people, that's all connected to his purposes in Christ. It's amazing. The Lord uses the gourd, the worm, and the east wind to teach him the lesson about his plan and the salvation of the Ninevites, which was all about the same lesson he had to be taught about the fish too. And all of them very directly pull us back to he who is greater than Jonah, who accomplishes salvation by being in the belly of the earth. It's beautiful the way it all fits together. The character of God, the inclusion of the Gentiles, the hardness of the heart of the zealots like the Pharisees. It's beautiful. And notice this isn't just, shall we say, a divine symphony of history. I hope, child of God, you're experiencing these things, too, and understanding these things, too. Because the desire of the Lord is to teach Jonah a lesson. Because he taught Nineveh a lesson. and to teach us all a lesson. Well, we've seen Jonah's desires for his end. We've seen the Lord's preparations now. And now comes the Lord's desire in the teaching of this lesson as he takes the object lesson of the gourd and the worm and the east wind and applies it. And he applies it. Verse nine, and God said to Jonah, doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? Here's the big setup. This time Jonah's gonna answer, and this time God's got him, so to speak, rhetorically. Before, God asked him the question, doest thou well to be angry in verse four? Should you be angry that I show mercy and pity and kindness toward these Ninevites? Well, the answer is of course not, and Jonah knows that. But like somebody who can't have their own will, he pouts and storms off to go do things his own way. He's gonna watch the sea, the city be destroyed. It's as if he plugs his ears and says... But now he answers. Now he answers. The Lord has, shall we say, stirred Jonah up. He's made these preparations and he draws them out. Do you well to be angry for the gourd? This time he says, I do well to be angry, even unto death. Now the Lord zooms in. Now he's going to teach his object lesson. Thou hast had pity on the gourd. for which thou hast not labored, neither madest it grow, which came up in a night and perished in a night. You're angry about this gourd you didn't do anything for, and you wish it was still there. And should not I? Should not I? Who is the one who is gracious, merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness and repentance to people. Should not I spare Nineveh, that great city wherein are more than six score thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left, and also much cattle? Jonah, does it make any sense for you to be angry about this gourd? You can understand you're angry about the gore because it helped you and was part of your purpose and your cause. But what about me? My purpose, my cause, my work of salvation that I make the preparations for, that I design, that I work, you are my prophet. Should not I save them? And notice the end. There is no more to the Book of Jonah. You can read all the lost books of the Bible, the Apocrypha, the Pseudepigrapha, whatever, you're not gonna find Jonah 5. This is the end. Why end on question? Because the question is rhetorical and the answer is clear. Should not I spare Nineveh, that great city wherein are more than six core thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand and all so much cattle? Boys and girls, what's the answer? The answer is absolutely it's right for God to do that. Absolutely it's right for God to have His will be accomplished. Absolutely it's the right thing for God's purposes to stand forever. Nothing more needs to be said. Jonah has no comeback. It's like the book of Job in short form. Job's friends argue and argue, cycle after cycle after cycle, and eventually just run out of stuff to say. No more arguments. They've all been overturned. God's got him. He wasn't willing to deal with the truth of his situation when it's confronted with him. It was too hard a medicine. When God says, Therefore now, in light of him wanting to take his life, God says, dost thou do well to be angry? Of course it's not. But he's not ready to admit that yet. The Lord is kind and patient, doing what is best for Jonah and puts him in a situation where he will acknowledge who the Lord is and he will acknowledge the Lord's plan is best and he takes away his objections. And he takes away his objections. Well, a little more about verse 11, because some things in verse 11 can get a little confusing. Two things in particular. Should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand? What does that mean? Does it mean they can't tell the right from their left? Well, they don't know what they're doing. They don't know the basics. They don't understand. Some people say because they're talking about animals, they're talking about children. Because children have to learn their right hand from their left hand. But when it comes to pagan Nineveh, that was being used by God for His purposes in the destruction, like we read about in our previous messages, they don't understand who the true God is. They're not acknowledging Him. Before God and His Word and His wisdom, they don't know their right hand from their left hand. Congregational people out there in our culture don't know their right hand from their left hand. They can't figure out if they're boys or girls. They can't tell! Isn't that sad? They can't tell. People want to decide if human life has meaning or not. They can't tell. There's right and there's wrong, but they can't tell. Just like they can't tell the right hand from their left hand. They don't know. And sadly, they don't know because they turn their back on the source of all truth. Our culture has done that as a whole. Jonah did that too. He knew who God was, but he wanted things done his way, so he wouldn't listen. And the Lord had to patiently instruct him. Characterized by people who don't know their right hand from their left hand, they don't know. And God is choosing to show mercy on them in their ignorance, despite their wickedness. And that is his business and his call to make. But then this phrase is a little confusing too. Does God want to have a steak dinner? Does he want to make sure that people don't have to eat crickets the way some people want us to start eating crickets? What's going on? Why does he say in all so much cattle? Well, one thing is for certain. And I think this is interesting in the context. In the biblical way of thinking, what's more important? People, cattle, or plants? Well, in the biblical way of thinking, it's people, then cattle, then plants. What is Jonah so upset about? He's upset about a plant. He's upset about a plant. I've never met a vegetarian that doesn't mow the grass. I've met people who want to say all lives are equal and animals with a face shouldn't be eaten and all different kinds of things. I've met people that think of farming as cruelty when it's not, but no one, even if they think plants have a life of some kind that is moral and preserving, they all eat them too. Every, I don't know if you've ever met a Brevarian or a Breatharian, They believe you can get all the nutrients you need from the air by breathing. They're out there, but even they eventually have to start eating some food. Here, Jonah has chosen to show pity on the lowest thing, plants. God is showing mercy on the things above that which Jonah shows mercy. It just further emphasizes the irony of what is happening. Jonah shows mercy on this thing that he has no love, care, or concern about. That is the lowest of things, plant life. And God, according to his marvelous character, shows love, care, and concern for these people and their animals. The irony, the contrast, as is thus the sudden ending. What a lesson that was for Jonah. He had to stop writing because he realized he didn't have an argument anymore. He realizes he can't argue more about being angry and it's right for him to be angry. That was clearly a lesson we could say for Nineveh. Nineveh learned it so much more easily so much more easily than Jonah did. All Nineveh had was the proclamation of their destruction, yet 40 days and Nineveh shall be overthrown. And the people of Nineveh believed God and proclaimed to fast and put on sackcloth from the greatest of them even to the least of them. For word came unto the king of Nineveh and he arose from his throne. And he laid his robe from him and covered him with sackcloth. Be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles saying, let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed nor drink water. But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth and cry mightily unto God. Yea, let them turn everyone from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. Who can tell if God will turn and repent and turn away from his fierce anger that we perish not? They have learned that lesson. Have we? Have we? Or are we still looking for Jonah chapter five? Do we see the wisdom, the brilliance, the value of accepting God's will, God's purposes, and work of redemption in Christ? Because after all, what we're talking about is exactly that. Just like we saw in the very beginning of our series from the Gospel of Matthew chapter 12, this is what the book of Jonah is all about. trusting in the Lord Jesus and in his work. Matthew chapter 12, beginning of verse 38. Certain of the scribes and the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. But he answered and said unto them, an evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign, and there shall be no sign given unto it but the sign of the prophet Jonas. For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the well's belly, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonas. And behold, The queen of the south shall rise up in judgment with his generation and shall condemn it for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon and behold a greater than Solomon is here. That's the lesson we need to read or rather learn as we read this blessed history as we have heard it expounded to us in the short series on the book of Jonah. That's the lesson for us to embrace salvation in Jesus Christ. And in light of the chapter we've considered this morning, to keep embracing it. Whether the gourd comes and the worm comes. or the east wind comes, just like the fish came. Everything is happening for your good, as you embrace the Savior in God's planning and work of redemption, even if you don't understand it. But to be self-righteous, to be angry, to wish for death, because you would have your way rather than God's, you're missing the sign of Jonah. You're robbing yourself of all the comfort, of all the hope that comes with trusting in the Lord. Besides, for those of you who are older brothers and older sisters, you've seen your brothers and your sisters stomp and say, they're not gonna do this, they're not gonna do that until they get their way. If your parents are being consistent, And maybe that's a big thing. Does that work? Does that work? No, it doesn't, does it? For those of you who are younger, and maybe it wasn't that long ago, you decided to stomp your feet and say, no, if I can't have it my way, I'm not gonna do anything. Does that work? Does that work? Don't do it to the Lord. It won't work. It won't work. He will either justly condemn you and destroy you because you refuse to trust Him, or graciously, for Christ's sake, what will He do? He'll send the fish. He'll send the gourd. He'll send the worm. He'll send the east wind. And He will bring you to Himself through all those things. to delight in His goodwill. After all, isn't that the best thing ever? The will of the Lord our God. Amen, let us pray. Our Lord and our God, our great Heavenly Father, help us to trust in Thee at all times and believe in Thee in every circumstance and situation. and to know by faith it will be what is best for us, despite how agonizing, difficult, and painful it may be. After all, Lord Jesus, it was thou who did suffer the hell of the cross, denying thy will for the will of the Father, and so guaranteeing our salvation. Help us, Lord, to think about these things and all of the troubles and struggles in our lives according to gospel logic. We ask this in Jesus' name, amen.