August 9, 2026

When God’s Love is Difficult

Preacher:
Series:
Passage: Jonah 1:1-16, Amos 5:1-6, 14-15
Service Type:

Introduction

  • Starting a new series in Jonah
    • The best well known of the ‘minor’ prophets
      • Yet the book of Jonah is about a story with only one prophecy
    • 2 Kings 14:25 – He was a prophet
    • A short story yet with much to teach us
  • An overview today
    • Reading the minor prophets can be difficult
    • Yet the prophets comprise a large part of the Old Testament
    • All of God’s word can teach us
  • The prophets revolve around 3 main crises
    • Neo-Assyrian crisis Amos & X from the North, Isaiah, Micah – from the South
    • Babylonia crisis – the Northern Kingdom has fallen, only Judah is left, the Assyrian kingdom has fallen – Nahum
      • The prophet of the exile – Ezekiel
      • When God’s people return – Haggai, Zechariah, Joel, Micah

Context

  • Jonah is a contemporary of Amos
    • Under King Jeroboam
    • Economically prosperous
    • But morally and ethically bankrupt
    • The threat of Assyria against Israel is still around 20-40 years away
      • Jonah’s disdain for the Ninevites is not about their maltreatment of Israel – this had not yet happened
  • Jonah is sent to prophecy to Nineveh
  • Amos is sent to Northern Israel
    • The contrast is stark – although both prophecy judgment
    • Israel think of themselves as a ‘special people’ rather than being a people chosen by God
    • God chastises Israel and abhors their sacrifices

Jonah – a story about a reluctant prophet

  • Commanded to go to the Assyrian capital – Nineveh
    • He is to preach the depths of God’s love and compassion
      • This can be challenging
  • Yet he goes to Tarshish in the opposite direction
  • So God sends a storm
  • A difference between Jonah’s knowledge and actions
    • He says one thing but does another
  • Jonah is thrown overboard
  • God shows mercy to Jonah by sending a fish to stop him from drowning
    • Jonah realises his sin, sings a psalm and rededicates himself to God (2:4)
  • God causes the fish to vomit him on dry land and reappoints him
    • Jonah goes to Nineveh and prophecies (3:4)
  • But the people repent (3:5)
    • Jonah is very angry at this (4:1)
  • Jonah does not have a sense of God’s love or compassion
    • He is challenged by God (4:4)
    • He is angry at the lack of judgment against people of great sin
    • Surely some people cannot be forgiven!
    • A mismatch between his theology and reality
  • A final lesson for Jonah – the shade of the plant, that withers
    • 4:8-11
    • God does not show mercy only to people like Jonah/like us
    • Jonah is prejudiced – he has a distorted view of the worth of people

A merciful and loving God

  • God is compassionate and His offer of restoration is open to the whole world
    • Even though we struggle to love
    • Who can comprehend the mind of God
    • So great is His mercy Example of Saul, Peter, Thomas
  • A challenge not to take the mercy of God lightly
    • The Ninevites repent
    • Israel does not
    • Are there sins we cling to?
    • Christ stands between us and God
  • God is love
    • 1 Cor 13
      • Are we sinning in these areas?
      • We can be honest and confess our sin to God
  • Christ refers to the sign of Jonah – Matt 12:39, 16:4
    • Jonah did not love the people of Nineveh and went far away from them
    • Christ loves us and comes to us
      • Even though we sin
  • Are you in a storm – rest in Christ
  • Call out to God and He will answer
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