MISUSING SCRIPTURE – AGAIN!

As we discovered when we listened in to Jonah’s prayer from inside the fish, the man knew Scripture. In that example, he repeatedly quoted from the Psalms. Now, as he furiously attacks God for being gracious, he quotes Exodus 34 – but he does so in a way that weaponises Scripture, in a shocking assault on the character of God Himself. Tim Keller observes,

‘Jonah reads the Bible selectively, ignoring the latter part of Exodus 34:7 that speaks of God not leaving ‘the guilty unpunished’. He creates a simplistic picture of a God who simply loves everyone without judgement on evil. He uses the sacred text to justify his inordinate indignation, anger, and bitterness.’ 11

Once again, Jonah misuses Scripture. Scholars also notice that, in Jonah’s short prayer, the word 'I’ or ‘my’ occurs no fewer than nine times in the original language. He is consumed with his own opinion about what God should do, he is overwhelmed with crushing disappointment, and as we’ll see tomorrow, he is literally losing the will to live.

Jonah 4:2-3

Exodus 34:1-7

Let’s be careful of a ‘cut and paste’ approach to Scripture, especially when we use it to support our own opinions. Keller writes:

'Whenever we read the Bible in order to say, "Aha! I’m right!”; whenever we read it to feel righteous and wise in our own eyes, we are using the Bible to make ourselves into fools or worse, since the Bible says that the mark of evil fools is to be “wise in their own eyes”

(cf. Proverbs 26:12).' 11

To ponder: Are there parts of the Bible that you have a tendency to ignore or avoid?

KILL ME, LORD

Talk about ingratitude! A Yahweh-controlled fish saved Jonah’s life – and now his repeated prayer is for death. And the reason for his suicidal tendency was the nature of God. Jonah just could not face serving someone who would do the kind of things that God was doing. Oblivion was more inviting. This is stubbornness to the extreme – but it also shows that, in a way, Jonah has learned very little. He still wants to run away – but this time, he looks to flee, not to a distant country, but to the grave itself.

READ

Jonah 4:3

1 Kings 19:1-18

Unresolved anger has a disabling effect in our life, strangling hope, tripping us up. And it causes us to forget even the most vivid lessons. We might think that Jonah’s trip through storms and fish guts would have provided him with a lasting and memorable education. But now he’s back to square one. He’s heard the call of God twice, but despite hearing, he doesn’t understand. Perhaps we have also been knocked down by anger for too long. We have watched, even enviously, as others have gone further in God than we have. Sometimes we have almost resented brand new Christians with their bright, hopeful faith. Maybe we have wished that life itself would end, because it’s all too much.

FOCUS

Jonah 4:3

Let’s think again. Let’s not keep running from God, but come to Him with our protests. If you feel that you’re at the end, I beg you: please reach out for help. Let’s learn from our past, and take the first step towards a better tomorrow.

Prayer: When hope is gone, help me to want to live, learn, and grow, Lord. Take me forward. Enable me to choose life and love again. Amen.