JONAH: THE COST OF ANGER

When we look at the story of Jonah it is filled with highs and lows. First Jonah runs away from God’s calling and his disobedience leads to him being swallowed by a whale. Then Jonah displays a heart of repentance in Jonah 2 and God spits him back out of the whale. Jonah shares God’s word to the people of Nineveh and they repent, and revival begins to take place throughout the city. However, in Jonah 4 we see that Jonah is angry that God forgives the people of Nineveh, instead of punishing them for their evil ways before Jonah came with God’s word.

Nineveh was a city in the Assyrian Empire and the Assyrian’s were awful people who treated the Jewish people harshly. When you begin to understand this dynamic, Jonah’s distain for the people of Nineveh seems almost logical. The issue is that Jonah’s feelings towards the people of Nineveh caused him to become blind to what God was doing within the hearts of the people of Nineveh.

Anger is an emotion or feeling that is natural for us to express. Feelings are part of God’s creation. When Genesis 1:26-27 teaches that God made man in His image, it is because He made us relational, spiritual, and emotional beings, like Himself. However, in our fallen state, feelings can be both righteous and unrighteous. There is a such thing as righteous anger. For example, when we witness innocent lives being murdered in the womb, it angers us because we know that image bearers of God are being murdered. It is something that not only angers us, but also angers God.

Sinful anger comes from hate or unforgiveness. It stems from a place of selfishness and pride, like all sin does. Jonah clearly hated the people of Nineveh and had not forgiven them for the way they had treated the Hebrew people. When we allow sinful anger to control us, we become blind to what God is doing in our life and the lives around us. We must not be like Jonah and allow our anger for others cause us to be blinded towards the plan that God has for us and for them.

Reflective Questions:

1.     What is something that causes righteous anger in your life? How did you allow this righteous anger to impact your life?

2.     Is there sinful anger towards someone in your life? If so, why?

3.     Is there someone that you need to forgive?

4.     Is there someone that God wants you to love, but your anger is holding you back?

5.     How can you truly forgive someone so that your anger towards them does not take over your life?