Sunday, May 3 — The God Who Loves the City You Hate

The Book of Jonah does not end with revival. It ends with a pouting prophet under a dead plant, and a question God asks him that He is still asking us.

Jonah 4:6-11 — KJV

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 laboured, 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 sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?

Jonah 4:6-11 — WEB

6 Yahweh God prepared a vine, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to deliver him from his discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the vine. 7 But God prepared a worm at dawn the next day, and it chewed on the vine, so that it withered. 8 When the sun arose, God prepared a sultry east wind; and the sun beat on Jonah's head, so that he fainted, and requested for himself that he might die, and said, "It is better for me to die than to live." 9 God said to Jonah, "Is it right for you to be angry about the vine?" He said, "I am right to be angry, even to death." 10 Yahweh said, "You have been concerned for the vine, for which you have not labored, neither made it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night. 11 Shouldn't I be concerned for Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred twenty thousand persons who can't discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much livestock?"

Explanation

Jonah has just watched the biggest revival in the Bible. The entire city of Nineveh, from king to cattle, has repented. If Jonah were a modern preacher, he'd be on every podcast this side of the Jordan. Instead, he stomps out of the city, builds himself a cranky little booth on a hill overlooking Nineveh, and sits down to watch — hoping that maybe, just maybe, God will change His mind and burn the place down anyway. He actually tells God, back in verse 2, that he ran in the first place because he was afraid God would forgive these people. I knew you were a gracious God. That's the problem.

So God, tender and patient as always, teaches him a lesson that would be funny if it weren't so serious. He makes a plant grow up to shade Jonah's head. Jonah is, the text says, exceedingly glad about the plant. For one verse of the book, Jonah is happy. Then God sends a worm, the plant dies, the sun comes up scorching, and Jonah melts into self-pity. It is better for me to die than to live. All because of a plant.

And God asks the question the whole book has been walking toward. You cared about the plant. You didn't grow it. You didn't labor over it. It came up in a night, and perished in a night. And you — you are so angry over this little vine. Should not I care about Nineveh? One hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left — plus all the animals.

The book ends on that question. No resolution. No confession from Jonah. Just the question hanging in the air, waiting for the reader — waiting for us — to answer.

This is the higher patriotism, and it is the whole point of our week. Earthly patriotism says, my city matters because it is mine. God's patriotism says, every city matters because they are Mine. Jonah's heart was big enough for a plant he didn't grow but not for a city full of confused, lost, beloved human beings. God is gently exposing the scale of Jonah's compassion — and ours.

Who is your Nineveh this morning? A country on the other side of a border dispute? A neighborhood you've stopped driving through? A political party you've decided is beneath prayer? An ethnic group, a class of people, a generation younger or older than yours, a family member you've written off? Ask honestly. God always has one in mind for us.

The higher patriotism is not less love for your country. It is a love so ordered by God that it spills over the borders. God loves the city you hate. He loves the person whose name makes you flinch. He prepared a plant, a worm, and a whole book of the Bible to ask you — gently, persistently — if your compassion is as big as His.

Today is Sunday school. We save you a seat.

Thought for the Day. God loves the city you hate. He always has. He is asking if you are ready to love it too.

Reflection Question. Who is your Nineveh — the person or people whose name catches in your throat when you try to pray for them — and what is one specific step toward loving them this week?

Prayer. Lord, we are all a little bit Jonah. We care about our comforts more than our neighbors. We can grieve a dead plant and shrug at a hurting city. Enlarge our hearts. Give us Your patriotism — the higher kind, the kind that refuses to stop at a border or a party line or a prejudice. Show us our Nineveh, and walk us back into it, not to condemn it, but to love it like You do. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Today is Sunday school. We save you a seat.