FRUSTRATED AND FORSAKEN

Jonah 4:1-11

By: Dr. Timothy F. Lee

"But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry. {2} And 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 before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil. {3} Therefore now, O LORD, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live. {4} Then said the LORD, Doest thou well to be angry? {5} 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. {6} And the LORD God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd. {7} But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered. {8} And it came to pass, when the sun did arise, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and wished in himself to die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live. {9} And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death. {10} Then said the LORD, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not labored, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night: {11} And 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 hand; and also much cattle?"

1. This has to be a God-inspired book. Man would have stopped after chapter 3.

2. All of us, just like Jonah, have a tendency to try to get ahead of God.

3. Jonah was convinced that he knew more than God.

4. His actions here are not completely surprising. He had run from God’s appointment before; he slept while the pagans prayed; he repented; and then he obeyed the Lord’s call to go to Nineveh.

5. But Jonah could not cope with success. He became discontented, hard and unmerciful.

6. Impulsive natures are often that way. This simply shows our need for Divine guidance.

7. Notice several thoughts in this chapter about Frustration and Forsaken.

I. THE DISPLEASURE OF THE PROPHET. He became unhappy with the whole situation.

A. He Was Displeased With The Results Of His Preaching (1) - "But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry." That doesn’t make sense to this preacher. Remember that the results of preaching is in the hands of God, no matter what it is.

1. He had preached what God told him to preach.

2. God’s warning of judgment is always an offer of mercy. You need to hear that warning today.

B. He Was Displeased With The Repentance Of Nineveh (2) - "And 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 before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil."

1. Jonah’s purpose for going there was to point them to God.

2. He could not have had the heart of a pastor.

C. He Was Displeased With The Reaction Of God (2) - "And 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 before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil."

1. He thought God had been too merciful with the Ninevites. Did you notice how merciful God has been to Jonah? Have you taken into account how merciful He has been to us?

2. This far-reaching mercy of God is offered to you today.

II. THE DECISION OF THE PROPHET. This is amazing. In the belly of the fish, he asked the Lord to spare him. Now he decides that life is not worth living.

A. Jonah’s Strange Request (3) - "Therefore now, O LORD, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live."

1. Life had become too burdensome for Jonah to go on living.

2. When you are angry with yourself, others, and God, you are living in misery.

3. Discouragement arises on every hand. Even to the point of driving souls to suicide. But life is really precious in the Lord.

B. God’s Solemn Response (4) - "Then said the LORD, Doest thou well to be angry?"

1. How gentle God is in pointing out Jonah’s wrong. But how probing the question.

2. God makes Jonah sit in judgment on himself.

3. In your discouragement, have you heard the Lord speak?

C. Jonah’s Soon Retirement (5) - "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." Jonah would have made a good Baptist. He knew how to pout.

1. Jonah was concerned with self-preservation. He built a booth. He didn’t need God. He quit the ministry again. He was on and off. God cannot use us if we are that way. Need to be consistent.

2. Jonah was concerned with self-speculation. He decided what ought to happen to the Ninevites. He hoped for the worse. He wanted their destruction, or to see them rebel. It didn’t matter as long as God didn’t rescue them. Some folks today want the church to fail. It never will!