Good Morning Friends,
“Jonah went out and sat down at a place east
of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to
see what would happen to the city. Then the LORD God provided a vine and made
it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and
Jonah was very happy about the vine. But at dawn the next day God provided a
worm, which chewed the vine so that it withered. When the sun rose, God
provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah's head so that he
grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, ‘It would be better for me to die than
to live.’ But God said to Jonah, ‘Do you have a right to be angry about the vine?’
‘I do,’ he said. ‘I am angry enough to
die.’ But the LORD said, ‘You have been concerned about this vine, though you
did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. But
Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell
their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be
concerned about that great city?’” (Jonah 4:5-11)
God provided this object lesson for Jonah to
point out a truth to him. Jonah had nothing to do with the life and death of
the vine that sheltered him. It was not under his control in any way. Yet, he
grew attached to it. It was important to him because of what it provided for
him. It was so important to him that he was ready to die because it withered
away.
The point God was making was that the vine
was important to Jonah, even though he had no responsibility for it and did
nothing to bring it about. How much more deeply would Jonah feel about
something that he made and for which he felt great responsibility. Such was
God’s concern for the people of Nineveh. God was concerned about them because
He had made them and provided for them and felt responsible for them. They were
so important to God that, despite their sinfulness, He would go to great
lengths to try to bring them back to Him, to give them another chance to
repent.
Jonah could not understand God’s concern for
Nineveh. To Jonah they were just an enemy for whom there should be rejoicing
when they were destroyed. For God, they were His dearly loved creation and His
responsibility.
Consider how important your children are to
you and to what extent you will go to provide for them and protect them. Such
is God’s attitude toward all the people of the world. They are his most dearly
loved creation and He will go to any lengths to bring them back to Him.
And God has invited us to be a part of that
endeavor which is so important to Him!
His, by Grace,
Steve
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