Jonah 4:1-5 - Warning Signs of Presumption

The first commandment is, “You shall have no other gods before me.” The Westminster Larger Catechism question 105 describes in great detail the sins this commandment forbids, listing things such as atheism, idolatry, and unbelief. And embedded in the long list is the word “presumption.”

One dictionary defines “presumption” as, “Behavior perceived as arrogant, disrespectful, and transgressing the limits of what is permitted or appropriate.” It’s crossing a line. Theologically speaking, the line between creature and Creator.

Presumption involves thinking or acting as if we know better than God – believing that we are justified in questioning His ways and plans. It’s positioning ourselves in a place of judgment over God, believing that He owes us an explanation for what He does. Presumption is the belief that your wisdom is greater than His, that you have a standard by which He falls short, and that your goodness, justice, and understanding is more reliable than His.

Every single one of us has been guilty of this on many, many occasions. We think, “What God let happen wasn’t fair.” “I’ve been faithful – my life shouldn’t be harder than theirs” “She shouldn’t be forgiven that easily.” “God shouldn’t bless him after what he’s done”

“God owes me something better.” “He shouldn’t let righteous people suffer like this.” “He’s taking too long. He should have answered by now.” “God needs to give me a reason.” “He expects too much of me in this situation.”

“God says “forgive,” but I won’t forgive this person.” “Obeying God’s command would put me at a disadvantage.” “This Scripture (or this sermon) doesn’t apply to me.” “It overstates the seriousness of my sin.” “God is against me. He’s being too harsh. He shouldn’t treat me this way.”

“If God would do what I want, things would be better.” “This shouldn’t be happening in my family, in this nation, in the world.” “I could do a better job than God in designing and ruling the universe.”

We’ve all done this, as if we were wiser or more just than God, and for it we deserve His condemnation and wrath.

Christ came into the world to free us from that condemnation. He took God’s wrath for our sins of presumption on Himself, as if He had the line in arrogance and disrespect. And in Him, we are forgiven by God and we can reject presumption.

But we need to recognize the warning signs. They’re on display in Jonah’s life at the start of chapter 4 (and before that, really). You can see them listed for you. When we are harboring self-righteous pride, resenting free grace, and resisting clear correction we’re guilty of presumption and we’re in danger. Those who are in Christ can’t lose God’s love and eternal favor, but we may suffer and fall into many sins because we think we know better than God. Jonah’s response is a warning for us.

Now, Jonah preached faith and repentance for sins to the wicked Ninevites – and, amazingly, they obeyed Yahweh. However, notice verse [1] again, “But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry.”

Jonah saw God’s mercy toward Nineveh as an evil thing. It horrified him. They were godless people; they had terrorized many nations, including his own. And in Jonah’s eyes, they didn’t deserve God’s mercy. They had gone too far.

It does seem that for Jonah, this was personal. They didn’t have the right to say, “Yahweh is our God.” Yahweh was for Israel only. And Jonah seems to fear what this will mean for Israel, which had been warned about its own idolatry and continually failed to repent. He feared God’s judgment of Israel, and rightly so.

And so here is Jonah, who not long ago openly defied God, thinking that he’s morally superior to them. Richard Phillips writes, “Jonah simply thought that there were sinners, and then there were sinners.” But God doesn’t categorize the way that humans do.

True, some sins are more heinous than others with greater earthly consequences. But James the brother of Jesus clarifies what the OT teaches, when he says, “Whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.” The first sign of presumption in Jonah’s life – the first indicator that he thought he knew better than God – was harboring self-righteous pride.

It’s understandable for spiritual conceit to rear its ugly head in your heart and mind. These thoughts and feelings are natural for sinners. But you cannot nurture them. Your sinful nature is – as C.S. Lewis said – putting  “God in the dock.” Putting God on trial – with you as the judge.

This kind of sin is especially insidious. It’s harmful in a slow, subtle, hidden way. We let it hang around, because whoever we’re judging has an obviously guilty record. That much is black and white. And so justify how we feel.

It’s reminiscent of the parable of the prodigal son and his older brother. The younger brother – the prodigal – was clearly guilty. No one was denying that. What the older brother couldn’t stand was the father’s mercy and grace towards him. Do you harbor self-righteous pride in some situation? Don’t let it just hang around.

Now notice verse [2] And he prayed to the LORD.” Hold on here a moment. This is actually an improvement. The first time Jonah was upset with God, he ran. This time, he prays. Jonah’s repentance in the belly of the great fish was genuine. But his idolatry is in deep. These circumstances really push his buttons.

So he prays, but he says, “O LORD, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.”

We looked at this statement back in our very first Jonah sermon. Jonah left for Tarshish because he didn’t want the Assyrians to turn to God. His philosophy was, “Grace for me, not for thee.” He wanted his people to repent and be blessed by God. He didn’t want the Assyrians to be blessed by God. They didn’t deserve it – which was true, but neither did the Israelites.

What would the Assyrian repentance mean for the Israelites? Another famous OT prophet named Hosea came along after Jonah. Hosea prophesied that God would use the Assyrians to punish the Israelites for their idolatry and wickedness. One scholar points out, “Jonah probably realized that his actions in calling the people of Nineveh to repent would ultimately result in the destruction of his own nation,” which, in 722 B.C., about 50 years after Jonah’s life, is what took place. So yes, this was personal.

And it’s important to point out again what I said last week – that it was often the case that prophecies such as this would have implicit conditions built in. God was willing to withhold destruction when people responded in faith. Jonah could have prayed for that. He could go back to Israel and call his people to trust Yahweh and repent.

That’s not what he wants to do, though. Look at verse [3]. He says, “Therefore now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” Many people feel this way when God doesn’t do what they want Him to do. Many people feel this way when God demands something they don’t want to give.

Take, for example, the rich young ruler who approached Jesus. Mark writes that the man “ran up and knelt before [Jesus] and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” [18] And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. [19] You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” [20] And he said to [Jesus], “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.”

The man had a false sense of righteousness. He had hidden spiritual conceit, which Christ exposes. Mark says, “And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” [22] Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.” The young man walks away from God.

And this is what many people do. Rather than wish for death, they wish God dead. They attempt to cut God out of their lives. They think, “If this is how God is, then I don’t want to believe in God.” Jonah’s interaction and various experiences with Yahweh wouldn’t permit atheism. God had spoken to Him and miraculously delivered him from death. So he wasn’t going to wish God dead. Instead, he wishes to die.

Jonah would rather die than live in a world where God operates in this way. Why? Well, if we boil it down, if we really simplify it, based on the facts at this moment, what has actually happened? All that has happened is that Jonah’s enemies have humbled themselves before God and dodged His wrath. They haven’t come for Israel or done any more harm to anyone. All they’ve done is receive God’s free grace.

This is the second sign of presumption in Jonah’s life. Another indicator that he thought he knew better than God was resenting free grace.

In Luke 15, Jesus talks about the joy in heaven over one sinner repents. Here’s a whole city! So, great rejoicing in the heart of God; zero in the heart of Jonah. In Jonah’s mind, God got this one wrong. He forgives these people? What’s He going to do next, bless them? Is He going to give the covenant promises to them and teach them how to worship? Jonah doesn’t pray, “Oh God, send me back to teach them your ways!” “This is a wonderful start, LORD, what’s next?”

Now, granted, it’s difficult to see our enemies enjoy the mercy and blessings of God – when our hearts are hard. This is why Jesus teaches us to pray for our enemies. In Matthew 5, Jesus says, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.” This doesn’t mean that Jonah has fallen out of covenant with God. But he should be ashamed, and since we understand that Jonah wrote this, we understand that at some point, he was ashamed of his behavior here.

Ask yourself, “Where in my life do I quietly resent God showing kindness to someone I think doesn’t deserve it?” Ask yourself, “Who do I struggle to rejoice over when God blesses them?” “What person or group would I rather see judged than redeemed – and what does that reveal about my heart?” “Do I love receiving free grace while resenting when others receive it just as freely?” “Can I genuinely pray for God to bless the person who has hurt me – or do I prefer to hold on to their guilt?”

Now look at God’s response. Verse 4, “And the LORD said, “Do you do well to be angry?” This could be translated as “Is it right for you to be angry?” Is it good?

This is similar to what God said to someone else previously in the OT. When Cain, who later killed his brother Abel, gave a poor offering to God, Genesis 4 says, “[6] The LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? [7] If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, and you must rule over it.” Cain was not doing what was right. He resisted God’s correction, and he later killed his dear brother.

Jonah was not doing what was right. He too resisted God’s correction, and the next verse proves it. Verse [5], “Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, till he should see what would become of the city.”  This backs up in time a little bit, to before the end of the 40 days and the deliverance we saw at the end of Jonah 3. Jonah is not only skeptical of the Ninevite response to God’s call. He’s resentful and prideful, and he shrugs it off when God calls him out. This is the third warning sign of presumption in Jonah’s life: resisting clear correction.

Is there clear correction from God’s Word that you are currently resisting? Is there a command of God that you keep ignoring because of what it requires? Is there any place in your life where you functionally believe God’s way won’t work – so you’re choosing your own way instead? Who do you avoid because you don’t want to hear the correction they may speak? Do you get angry, defensive, or withdrawn when God or His people confront you?

God is willing to transform your thinking, desires, or habits – but you’re resisting. Ask yourself, “When was the last time I asked God to show me where I’m wrong – and I meant it?” Do you think you know better than God?

We’re going to the Lord’s table now, and as we do, we come face to face with the God who is far, far wiser and just than we are. And yet He’s made a way to remain just while letting sinners come to Him. He is both just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Jonah thought, “How can God just let their sin go?” He let it go on Christ. That’s why we can forgive. It’s how we are forgiven. Will you humble yourself before God today, and trust in Jesus Christ? The more we look to Jesus, the more we come to know and love Him, the weaker our presumption will become.

Let’s bow together in prayer.