Anger & the Heart.

Lessons from Jonah 4.

Jonah in a dry and weary land.

You are five hundred miles from home in a dry, hostile, and weary land. You have not slept in your own bed in several weeks and you are biased to a good night’s sleep (Jonah 1:1, 1:5, 3:2). You have just finished up a circuit of speaking for three days (Jonah 3:3) in Nineveh, with various stops each day to get the Lord’s eight-word warning out “Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown” (Jonah 3:4). The hospitality in this foreign land is not to your liking, you are ready to complete the mission and go home. You recall the Lord’s previous warning to a wicked people in the days of Abraham, and expect there might be a soon coming sulfur and fire storm from heaven (Genesis 19:24). Maybe your next step is to find a good spot with a view, outside of town to watch the fireworks, but the story has a turning point, and the turning point is “The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth” Jonah 3:5.

Even the King of Nineveh in his proclamation to his people states, “Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish.” (Jonah 3:9). Jonah was not expecting a national turning to belief and repentance.

What about today in whatever nation you reside, do you have a gloomy outlook on the spiritual forecast?

Map Source: Blue Letter Bible (Note: Nineveh is in modern day Iraq)

Jonah’ angry heart is revealed.

In this final chapter of Jonah, the ending is not what any reader is expecting, after what seems to be a great spiritual victory in chapter three, Jonah’s heart is revealed and it’s an angry heart. Jonah’s knows as a Prophet, that “for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires” (James 1:20). Jonah was probably taught in his schooling as a Prophet about the dangers of unrighteous anger and the wisdom that Solomon wrote “he who is slow to anger has great understanding” (Proverbs 14:29). The word, ‘anger’, repeated five times (Jonah 4:1, Jonah 4:2, Jonah 4:4, Jonah 4:9 x2) in Jonah chapter 4 for emphasis. Anger is a very common topic throughout the bible, the word ‘anger’ is repeated two hundred sixty-eight (268) times in the NIV translation of the bible, with the most repeated occurrences in the books of Jeremiah (32), Psalms (31) and Isaiah (23).

The Lord asks Jonah, Do you have good reason to be angry?

Here is text of the ending of chapter three and the beginning of chapter four.

“When God saw their deeds, that they turned from their wicked way, then God relented concerning the calamity which He had declared He would bring upon them. And He did not do it.” – Jonah 3:10

“But it greatly displeased Jonah and he became angry. ² He prayed to the Lord and said, “Please Lord, was not this what I said while I was still in my own country? Therefore, in order to forestall this, I fled to Tarshish, for I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity. ³ Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for death is better to me than life.” ⁴ The Lord said, “Do you have good reason to be angry?” – Jonah 4:1-3

Slow to Anger is an Attribute of God.

For me, I grew up in a divisive home, where my biological father had a short temper, and his anger and wrath were so destructive even some forty years has passed, and this memory of him sends shivers in my soul. If you are a parent, pastor, adult, leader of any sort, we should be cautious in how we speak with others, anger is normal but uncontrolled it can be very destructive to relationships.  One of the marks of maturity in the life of a follower of Christ is one’s relationship with anger to reflect the Lord’s character of ‘slow to anger'. The phrase ‘slow to anger’ is repeated fourteen (14) times in the scriptures to describe God’s character. Does a ‘slow to anger’ characteristic mark a reputation in your own life by others? If you are married ask your spouse to call you out when your anger is destructive rather than redemptive. If you need help in this area, connect with other believers and ask for help. Ask God if your interactions with others have an area that is hurtful or does not represent His character.

“When angry count to ten before you speak. If very angry, count to one hundred. - Thomas Jefferson.”

Application:

How does gentleness, kindness, and patience lead people to repentance? See these scripture references: John 4:15-29, Romans 2:4, 1st Timothy 1:12-17, & 2nd Peter 3:9?

What are some ways we can diffuse situations from anger being destructive in relationships? See these scripture references: Proverbs 15:1, Proverbs 15:18, Ephesians 4:25-30, and Colossians 3:8?

How have you seen destructive anger impact relationships in family, community and the church? How do you see anger issues in our current culture, give some examples.

Even though God is slow to anger, he does get angry, what are some reasons for this anger? See these scripture references: Proverbs 20:10, Mark 3:4-6, John 2:14-16, Romans 1:18-32.

Please email any prayer requests or additional questions/comments to: thesaltandlightdaily@gmail.com

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts;
And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.” - Psalm 139:23-24