A Bitter Heart, 
A Merciful God



(3:10) Then God saw their [the people of Ninevah] works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it.  (Jonah 3:10, NKJV)

In such a great revival, Jonah the prophet should have been pleased.  It was, after all, the greatest single response to a sermon recorded in the Bible.  It may well have been the greatest in history.  Yet "it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became angry" (Jonah 4:1, NKJV).  Jonah was dismayed, depressed, and very bitter because God had shown mercy to the enemies of Israel.  Jonah ran from God's call on his life, not because he was afraid of the powerful army of Ninevah, but because he was afraid that God might forgive them.

Ninevah was the capital city of Assyria.  These people were indeed powerful in battle and ruthless with people.  They raped and pillaged in every town they conquered, stacking the decapitated heads of enemy soldiers at the city gate as a testimony to their power.  The Ninevites were pagans, whose immorality and idolatry was despicable.

Jonah naturally hated these people.  They had tormented Israel and its neighbors for years.  Yet God was calling Jonah to preach to these people.  Jonah resisted God's call because of his bitter hatred of them.  Did Jonah have a right to be angry with God for extending mercy to Ninevah?  God Himself asked Jonah this very question: "Then the LORD said, "Is it right for you to be angry?" (Jonah 4:4, NKJV).

You and I may consider it right to hate our enemies.  After all, one who trusts in the LORD Jesus Christ is a child of God (John 1:12).  Whoever persecutes a child of God has to answer to the Father, right?  This is true. But, we are commanded by Christ to "love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another" (John 13:34, NKJV).  More specifically, we are commanded to "love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.  Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful" (Luke 6:35-36, NKJV).

This is a hard teaching.  Yet consider that before you trusted in Jesus Christ as your LORD and Savior, you were an enemy of God because of sin.  In fact, God had to take the most extraordinary step of all by sacrificing His only begotten Son just to provide forgiveness for your sins.  If you had been the only sinner in the world, Christ would still have gone to the cross for you. Given the riches of God's grace and kindness extended to you in Christ, can you not forgive and bless even your enemy?

Jonah wanted to just die.  Then God gave him an object lesson.  As Jonah waited outside the city for God's judgment to fall, God raised up a plant in one night to provide Jonah shade for a day.  Then a worm came along and devoured the plant so that it withered away.  Jonah was scorched by the sun in the heat of the day.  He pitied the passing away of the plant.
 

But the LORD said, "You have had pity on the plant for which you have not labored, nor made it grow, which came up in a night and perished in a night.  "And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left; and much livestock?" (Jonah 4:10-11, NKJV)


The lesson is clear.  Sometimes we mourn more for the passing of material things in our life -- jobs, homes, cars -- then we mourn for the souls of lost people in our lives.  God has extended mercy to all through His Son, Jesus Christ. "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God" (1 Peter 3:18, NKJV).  God is willing to forgive your worst enemy. Are you? God gave His most prized possession, His only begotten Son.  To what lengths will you go to offer forgiveness to your enemy?  Ask for God's grace and help which is freely available to you through Christ (Hebrews 4:16) to cleanse your bitter heart with the love of Christ.







Our Creator God loves you and wants you to know Him! If you would like to contact this ministry for further information or questions, please send your e-mail to:
Email: ministryrequest1@WordTruth.Com
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Copyright 7/27/2000, Randy Lariscy.