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God challenged Jonah’s nationalism

October 22, 2024
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Daily Scripture

Jonah 4:1-11

1 But Jonah thought this [“God stopped planning to destroy [the people of Nineveh], and he didn’t do it”—Jonah 3:10] was utterly wrong, and he became angry. 2 He prayed to the LORD, “Come on, LORD! Wasn’t this precisely my point when I was back in my own land? This is why I fled to Tarshish earlier! I know that you are a merciful and compassionate God, very patient, full of faithful love, and willing not to destroy. 3 At this point, LORD, you may as well take my life from me, because it would be better for me to die than to live.”
4 The LORD responded, “Is your anger a good thing?” 5 But Jonah went out from the city and sat down east of the city. There he made himself a hut and sat under it, in the shade, to see what would happen to the city.
6 Then the LORD God provided a shrub [footnote: Botanists disagree about whether Hebrew qiqayon refers to a climbing gourd plant, a castor bean plant, or some other shrub], and it grew up over Jonah, providing shade for his head and saving him from his misery. Jonah was very happy about the shrub. 7 But God provided a worm the next day at dawn, and it attacked the shrub so that it died. 8 Then as the sun rose God provided a dry east wind, and the sun beat down on Jonah’s head so that he became faint. He begged that he might die, saying, “It’s better for me to die than to live.”
9 God said to Jonah, “Is your anger about the shrub a good thing?”
Jonah said, “Yes, my anger is good—even to the point of death!”
10 But the LORD said, “You ‘pitied’ the shrub, for which you didn’t work and which you didn’t raise; it grew in a night and perished in a night. 11 Yet for my part, can’t I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than one hundred twenty thousand people who can’t tell their right hand from their left, and also many animals?”

Daily Reflection & Prayer

The book of Jonah revealed a God whose concern extended far beyond national boundaries. Jonah’s anger at God’s mercy toward Nineveh reflected his narrow nationalism. Like Jonah, we humans often struggle with the idea of God showing grace to those we see as enemies. The Hebrew Scriptures didn’t include this story to endorse Jonah’s attitude. God’s closing challenge to the angry prophet showed that “Jonah is about God’s compassion for all peoples.” *

  • Jonah was angry that God showed mercy to the Ninevites, Israel’s enemies. His reaction showed his belief that God should limit divine love to Jonah’s nation. Today we often encounter people with different beliefs or backgrounds. Is there any person or group of people you’d rather see God “zap” than see them repent? How can embracing God’s inclusive love help you better live out Jesus’ Golden Rule in your daily interactions?
  • Jonah quickly cared for something that benefited him, and God used that plant to teach Jonah about compassion. God highlighted the contrast between Jonah’s self-interest and God’s wide-reaching concern for all people. Do you ever find a similar contrast between your personal concerns and God’s broader perspective? How might adopting God’s compassionate view change the way you treat those who are different from you or even oppose you?
Prayer

Lord God, sometimes, like Jonah, I wish you’d hate people I hate. But you call me to change my attitude, not yours. Guide and lead me as I wrestle with that change of spirit. Amen.

GPS Insights

Picture of Denise Mersmann

Denise Mersmann

Denise Mersmann serves as the Care Coordination Director for the churchwide Care Central department at Church of the Resurrection.

 

My maternal grandparents immigrated from France when they were children. My grandfather was thirteen and my grandmother was six when their respective families made the decision to pack up and come to the United States. I don’t know a lot about the details, but I do know that their trip was not easy and there was a great deal of concern about whether it was the right choice.

The other thing I know is that for their parents, the move to another country, with all its risks, was to help provide the best life for their family. As a mom, I get that. From the first moment my husband and I saw our kids, that was our driving force as well. We wanted nothing but the best for them and were willing to do whatever it took to give them the opportunities to live their best life.

My grandparents, their parents, and their families were good, hard-working people who became great friends and neighbors to the people in the little Kansas community where they settled. They were well respected, and there was never a time where there was any sense that they were not welcome.

I don’t think anyone ever felt like my grandparents’ success was at the expense of their own. They didn’t see them as a threat, and in fact, their new neighbors seemed to want to learn more about Grandma and Grandpa’s heritage rather than force them to abandon it. In turn, my grandparents welcomed new recipes, traditions, and celebrations with the Italian and American families that had also moved to our small town.

It never occurred to me that someone would not want my grandparents to be their neighbors or want the best for them. In fact, this group of immigrants was supported and encouraged. They were welcomed with open arms. I’m so glad that my grandparents were surrounded by loving supportive people who didn’t feel threatened by their presence.

Now it’s my turn. It’s my time now to open my heart to people, to wish the best for them, to ask God to bless everyone with all His best. The joy of seeing other people succeed and do well doesn’t dimmish my happiness. It doesn’t matter where we are from, or where we are going, God loves us. He doesn’t love me any more than anyone else. That’s OK though, because just like a parent who has more love for each of their kids than they ever imagined, God has more than enough love for all of us.  Now it’s up to me to live up to God’s call to “love one another, as I have loved you.”

As I was growing up, the fact that Grandma and Grandpa came from France was a huge sense of pride for me. I loved that sense of adventure and desire to live outside their comfort zone. I love that they met and became the friends who are like family with everyone around them. Now I want to love like that and pray that someday my grandkids will see my life as an example of God’s love for everyone.

© 2024 Resurrection: A United Methodist Church. All Rights Reserved.
Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
References

* John Goldingay, For Everyone Bible Study Guides: Isaiah. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2015, p. 111.