Do you enjoy a glass of orange juice for breakfast or like to eat an orange or other fruit for a snack? Have you ever considered what is involved in producing this fruit? Have you ever wondered what would happen if a citrus tree produced bad fruit? Hosea uses agricultural language in the passages in Lifeway's Explore the Bible Study: The Sin Harvested, to describe the bad fruit Israel was producing because of sin.

My dad purchased a small citrus grove when he was a young man. He worked hard over the years to keep the trees healthy so they could produce good fruit. However, the trees always faced the threat of disease. Because of this he had to continually prune the trees, monitor the trees for disease, and spray the trees regularly. There were times when disease would take over a tree and that tree would have to be cut down, the roots removed, and a new tree planted. His work in the grove was non-stop.

My dad eventually sold the grove but the non-stop maintenance of the grove continued. Sadly, after decades of ongoing care the entire grove was no longer producing good fruit because of disease. The grove of trees that my dad worked so hard to keep healthy for decades succumbed to the diseases that threatened it, and all the trees had to be removed and replaced with completely new trees. 

My dad's experience illustrates what took place with the Israelites. Israel had continually ignored and neglected their relationship with the Lord. The product was disastrous. With each decision to rebel and do what was right in their own eyes, their relationship with the Lord drifted further and further away until God had to act on their sin. Just like a citrus grower who has to stop the disease that threatens his grove, God had to deal with sin because it was destroying His people.

As God’s people, we are to produce good fruit. Colossians 1:10 reminds us that, as believers, we are to “walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God.” We should realize by what takes place in today’s passage, that God will not ignore our sin because He wants us to produce good fruit.

First you will see that God will identify the sin that is preventing the production of good fruit.

God will identify the sin that is preventing His people from producing good fruit – Hosea 10:5-8

The first sin that was preventing the production of good fruit was false worship. This false worship involved a calf-idol that the residents of Samaria worshipped. This idol was in Beth-aven. Beth-aven means “house of wickedness/iniquity” and was a derogatory expression Hosea used for Bethel. This sacred place where Abraham once called on the name of the Lord had now become a place where his descendants cried out to Baal.

Hosea declared that God was removing the glory of this calf-idol. The calf-idol of Beth-aven the Israelites so deeply revered was to be taken into captivity by the Assyrians. False worship was not the only sin that needed to be pruned. 

Hosea also declares that the capital, Samaria, would be destroyed and her king would be like “foam” or a twig “on the surface of the waters.” All three centers of authority in the Northern Kingdom would be pruned – the king, the capital city, and the religious false-worship.

The idolatrous priests who rejoiced as they attended this idol were going to mourn over its loss. The people of Israel would experience feelings of shame when it was carried away into captivity. When the city was destroyed it “would be accompanied by the cries of a miserable people. They would cry out to the mountains and hills for a sudden earthquake to take their lives and end their suffering and shame.” (ETB Leader Commentary)

Everything that once was good and produced good fruit had now become diseased by the sin of compromise and false worship. The Israelites' hope for security had been placed in everything but God, and now they would suffer the consequences. Hosea’s prophecy was fulfilled in 722 BC, when Israel’s king Hoshea was taken into Assyrian captivity – 2 Kings 17:4.

In what ways might believers be acting in the same manner today? In what religious practices or governmental practices might we place our security over God? Do you think believers today would recognize when God is addressing their sins? 

The sins that were destroying the spiritual and moral health of the people of God did not happen overnight. They had been creeping in for hundreds of years. God had continually been pruning and shaping the people of God so that they might not succumb to the sins that would produce bad fruit. Sadly, they didn’t learn. Now God would have to take drastic measures so they could one day produce good fruit once again.

God takes drastic measures when sin continually prevents His people from producing good fruit – Hosea 10:9-11

Throughout the Old Testament we see how God’s people continually rebelled against God by doing only what was right in their own eyes.  Hosea points to a specific incident to illustrate this. The expression “the days of Gibeah” illustrates Israel’s religious and moral decay. It is a reference to the events recorded in Judges 19–20 related to a Levite traveling with his concubine, the Levite allowing her to be sexually abused by wicked men, and the retribution and conflict that ensued as a result between the tribes of Israel and Benjamin, Gibeah’s tribe. Thousands on both sides were killed, leaving only six hundred men from the Benjamin tribe alive.

Hosea used this incident to point out that nothing had changed. Israel had continued to be spiritually bankrupt and morally corrupt. This continued rebellion was not going to be tolerated by God any longer.

Hosea also described Israel as a “well-trained calf,” that was strong enough to thresh, most likely referring to a cow separating the grain by walking around the threshing floor. While the cows did this, they were allowed complete freedom to eat while they worked. This presented a picture of the liberty Israel was enjoying before they were taken into captivity.  

The freedom Israel experienced only resulted in more sin and disloyalty to the Lord resulting in God placing a yoke on the “fine neck” of His people. They would lose their freedom and experience the oppressive yoke of exile.

Like a farmer who had to resort to drastic measures to prevent a disease from spreading, God was going to deal drastically with the sins of Israel.

When you observe the continued downward spiral taking place today, do you sometimes wonder when God is going to say, “Enough is enough”?

If you are a believer, do you have areas in which you continually compromise? Have you ever considered when God might say the same to you?

Allowing sin to take hold results in the production of bad fruit – Hosea 10:13-15

Here is the way Hosea described the bad fruit that Israel was producing:

• Israel plowed wickedness – What do you envision when you read this? How does one plow wickedness?
• Israel reaped injustice – How does plowing wickedness reap injustice?
• Israel ate the fruit of lies – In Genesis 3:1-5 we see man “eating the fruit of lies” presented by the Serpent, Satan – "Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit from the trees in the garden. But about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God said, ‘You must not eat it or touch it, or you will die.’” “No! You will certainly not die,” the serpent said to the woman. “In fact, God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Man ate the fruit of lies offered by Satan. Part of that lie was that man could become like God. Man has continually chosen to eat of this fruit of lies ever since, including the people of God, Israel. They quit depending on God and set themselves up as the center of their universe.
• Israel trusted in their own way and their soldiers (military might) –The ETB Commentary describes “their own way” like this: “It was everything their society was built upon. It was their syncretistic worship of calling out to the Lord while worshiping false gods, their disloyalty to their covenant with Him, their installation of kings without any consideration of God’s will in the matter, their seeking foreign alliances instead of seeking the Lord, their trust in their own military fortifications instead of in the Lord, their promiscuity, injustice, and violence.”

Read Hosea 10:14-15 again. What are your thoughts regarding how God was going to deal with their sin? Is it harsh? Is it not harsh enough? If you were holy God, how would you respond?

Read Matthew 7:16-20.  How does this help us understand the priority for producing good fruit if we profess to be followers of Christ?

How to Produce Good Fruit Again

There is one more passage we need to examine because it reminds us of what it takes in order to produce good fruit once again. Hosea 10:12 says this is how we can once again produce good fruit: Sow righteousness for yourselves and reap faithful love; break up your unplowed ground. It is time to seek the Lord until he comes and sends righteousness on you like the rain.

How do we sow righteousness for ourselves?

If we sow righteousness, what will we reap? (God’s faithful love)

What does it mean to “break up your unplowed ground”? How do we go about breaking up unplowed spiritual ground?

What actions would reveal that we are seeking the Lord until He comes?

When you see God’s promise to “send righteousness on you like the rain,” what does this communicate to you?

Examine your life this week and consider the areas in which you are producing good fruit. Thank God for the blessings of the fruit that is evident in your life because of your commitment to Him. If God has revealed to you areas in which you are allowing sin to destroy your ability to produce good fruit, confess that sin, make a commitment to sow righteousness, break up the unplowed spiritual ground, and seek the Lord!

The downloadable teaching helps provide more details for this study, along with some tools you can use in guiding a group Bible study. Be sure to use this as a supplement to your study of the Explore the Bible Study resources provided by LifeWay.

Do you believe people value loyalty today? Why or why not? How do you feel when someone isn’t loyal to you? Here are some synonyms that describe the act of being loyal: trustworthy, true, constant, steady, resolute, firm, devoted, steadfast, unwavering. All humans desire some level of loyalty from others. Yet our sin-broken lives constantly pull us away from the God-given desire to be loyal. We act with self-centered motives that sacrifice loyalty for fulfilling personal desires and agendas. The Explore the Bible Study: Hollow Promises , will examine man's struggle to remain loyal to God as described in the book of Hosea.

God’s Loyalty is Constant – Hosea 6:1-3

Hosea called on the people to turn to God. It’s evident by the words in this passage that God never stopped being loyal. He loyally stands ready and willing to renew and restore if His people will just return to the Lord.

Contingent on Israel’s repentance, the Lord promised to reverse the punishments He had exacted on Israel. The first promise was that God would heal what He had torn, an allusion to God’s promise to tear them to pieces like a lion (Hosea 5:14). Second, God promised to bind up the wounds of those He had wounded. 

Notice the words of Hosea 6:2. Consider how God uses this small passage to point us to God’s constant loyalty and love.  In Matthew 16:21 we are reminded that, “Jesus began to point out to his disciples that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders, chief priests, and scribes, be killed, and be raised the third day.”  

Then, in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17, God’s loyalty is described in this manner toward those who repent and turn to Him: “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, concerning those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve like the rest, who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, in the same way, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For we say this to you by a word from the Lord: We who are still alive at the Lord’s coming will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the archangel’s voice, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are still alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.”

God’s loyalty is demonstrated in Hosea 4:2 as He promises to restore His people to life. While describing this restoration, Hosea provided a partial glimpse of how God would restore Israel and bring about salvation to the ends of the earth through the Lord Jesus Christ.

Read Hosea 6:3 again. What does it mean to strive? Why does this passage say we should strive to know the Lord? If you knew God’s appearance was “as sure as the dawn” how would that change the way you lived for God?

How do the following passages describe what it means to strive if we profess to be Christians? – Philippians 3:12-21; Hebrews 12:1-2.

Even though the people of God constantly demonstrated a lack of loyalty, God remained loyal to them and stood ready to forgive. If the people of Israel would return to the Lord and strive to know Him, then they could depend on Him to return and save them just as surely as the dawn of a new day. It would be a new day for Israel. The Lord’s return would be as refreshing and invigorating as rain on barren land. 

Why do so many find it so difficult to “strive” to remain loyal to Christ?

God is loyal to us, but we can’t seem to remain loyal to Him. This breaks God’s heart as evidenced in the next passage. 

Man’s Disloyalty Breaks God’s Heart – Hosea 6:4-6

What does God’s question, “What am I going to do with you?” reveal about how God felt regarding His people’s lack of loyalty? How does God describe the love that His people demonstrated?

Like a frustrated father who must discipline his children but would rather not do so, God expressed His frustration with both Ephraim and Judah. No matter what He did to give them opportunities to turn back to Him, they refused. He had blessed them with fruitfulness, but they continued in their unfaithfulness (4:10). He gave them words of hope and also threatened them, but they turned a deaf ear to both. Because of His love for them, God would rather not have to punish them.

God’s love for His people had been unwavering, but their devotion to Him was fickle. The only thing reliable about Ephraim and Judah was their unreliableness.  Their heartfelt, loving, loyalty to God was as fleeting as a morning mist or dew that quickly vanished. How could the Lord deal with them as His covenant people when their loyalty to Him so easily disappeared? 

Notice the type of love and loyalty God cherished in Hosea 6:6. Why is loyalty valued by God more than religious rituals and practices?

Consider your own walk with the Lord. Going to church, singing worship songs, and giving an offering are good things when done as expressions of love and devotion to the Lord. But doing these things is an affront to God when they are done for selfish, deceitful reasons, when it’s about what we can get from God rather than our expressions of love for Him.

Next Hosea decried the sins of Israel and Judah and pointed to a coming judgment. 

Man Can’t Hide His Disloyalty (Sin) from God – Hosea 6:7–7:2

Hosea first gives specific examples of Israel’s apostasy by giving examples of sins committed by the nation’s forefathers going all the way back to the sins of Adam. Then he zooms in on the nation’s present condition. Israel was morally impure and ritually unclean. In their folly, the people of Israel failed to consider that God was watching them—their sin was not hidden from God.

Hosea 7:2 reveals something that everyone should remember about God regarding our disloyalty and sin, “they never consider that I remember all their evil. Now their actions are all around them; they are right in front of my face.” Imagine the constant heartbreak God felt toward His people. Imagine the heartbreak He feels when we aren’t loyally and faithfully living and loving Him and others. Yet, while Hosea highlighted the sins of the people and the priests, and a coming judgment, he also reminded them of God’s constant readiness to forgive and restore because of His loyalty and love.

What About Your Loyalty?

We expect our friends to be loyal. We want friends who keep their word. We want them to be dependable, respectful, and gracious. Our friends should expect the same from us. Why would it be different when it comes to God? God remains loyal to His people and expects them to remain loyal to Him in return. 

Think back on someone who was disloyal to you. How did you feel toward that person? How did you respond to them?

Can you blame God for feeling as He did toward His chosen people? Can you blame Him for feeling the way He does toward us when we aren’t loyal in our relationship to Him? 

What needs to change in your life so that your expression of loyalty is genuine and consistent?

The downloadable teaching helps provide more details for this study, along with some tools you can use in guiding a group Bible study. Be sure to use this as a supplement to your study of the Explore the Bible Study resources provided by LifeWay.

One of the most difficult offenses for us to forgive is unfaithfulness. The difficulty is even greater when someone has been unfaithful for an extended amount of time. The Explore the Bible Study: The Unfaithful Bride, focuses on the book of Hosea where Hosea is directed by God to marry someone who will be unfaithful. It’s a narrative that includes unfaithfulness, betrayal, prostitution, promiscuity, and adultery. Yet, through the instructions given to Hosea, we see a picture of God’s love for His people, even when they act unfaithfully toward Him.

The first verse in the book of Hosea indicates God called Hosea to be His prophet during the reign of Uzziah, a king of Judah, and that his ministry continued through the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, also kings of Judah. His ministry lasted for a period of at least thirty to forty years. Hosea’s ministry also occurred during the reign of Jeroboam II. 

The Lord’s first words to Hosea were unusual. God told Hosea to go and marry a “woman of promiscuity.” Let’s see how God uses Hosea’s life to help us understand more fully the grace extended to us, even when we are unfaithful to God.

Unfaithfulness Exposed—Hosea 1:2-9

How would you respond if God asked you to do what He asked Hosea to do?

In telling him to marry Gomer and to start a family with her, God was asking him to walk a difficult path. She was known to be unfaithful. Her reputation preceded her! We don’t know Hosea’s initial response, but he was obedient. He took her as his wife for a lifetime, even though she longed for the company of many men—possibly becoming a prostitute in the worship of Baal.

God was offering the entire nation of Israel a wake-up call. They were living in relative prosperity and felt pretty safe. They had also adopted many of the cultural beliefs and religious practices of their time. In God’s view, they were acting like prostitutes, refusing to stay faithful to their intimate relationship with Him.

What examples might reveal that believers are living promiscuous lives today? How has prosperity and success affected believers today? In what ways are we tempted to compromise God’s standards, even mixing in unbiblical cultural philosophy and practices into our belief system?

God also tells Hosea that he and Gomer will have children and tells him to give them specific names that would serve as living reminders of Israel’s unfaithfulness. 

• Jezreel – Represented the judgment that would come upon the kingdom of Israel in general and specifically upon the house of Jehu, of which Israel’s present king, Jeroboam, was a part. 
• Lo-ruhamah – meaning “not loved” or “no mercy.”  What an awful name for a little girl! What it meant for the people of Israel was just as ominous. God would show mercy to Israel no more. 
• Lo-ammi – meaning “not my people.”

Consider God’s view of unfaithfulness of His people in the following passages: Jeremiah 3:8; Matthew 12:38-41; James 4:4. (hover over each passage and the verse will appear)

Have you ever considered the fact that acting unfaithful to God is spiritual adultery? How would understanding this change the way we view sin?

In chapter 2, Gomer’s behavior is exposed by Hosea just as God was always and is always exposing the sin of man, in this case Israel. But there was good news in this situation! God directed Hosea in chapter 3 to take Gomer back, even though she was now involved with another man. Hosea was to do this as an illustration of God’s love for Israel and, eventually, through Jesus Christ, God’s grace to all who would turn back to Him. 

Restoration Pursued—Hosea 3:1-5

We see in these passages a picture of undeserved grace and forgiveness. The Lord spoke to Hosea, telling him: Go again; show love to a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress.  Somewhere along the way, Gomer had wandered so far away from Hosea’s faithful love—she had ended up being sold as a slave. God instructed Hosea to redeem her from slavery, to buy her back despite her unfaithfulness. The price he paid indicates that he had scraped together everything he had to pay for her.

Hosea’s love was to be patterned after God’s love, a love that is given to those who do not deserve to be loved. The raisin cake reference indicates they had even turned to other gods. Consuming raisin cakes was part of Israel’s idolatrous ceremonies. 

How does Hosea’s response to Gomer reflect what Jesus did for us as described Romans 5:8? 

God used Hosea’s marriage to illustrate the salvation offered to all sinners through the sacrifice of Jesus as described in Romans 5:8, “But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. In the example of Hosea’s marriage, God exposed the unfaithfulness of Israel to Him. It equally exposes the unfaithfulness of all people, and it reveals the love Christ demonstrates to those who receive Him as Savior.

Christ, The Redeemer of the Unfaithful

Throughout the Bible, God continually points us to his plan to redeem the unfaithful and undeserving. That message began at the moment man chose to sin in the Garden. Then, in Genesis 15 and 17, God established a covenant with Abraham and his descendants that has been confirmed numerous times throughout Israel’s history. God promised Israel He would be faithful and would set the nation of Israel apart as His holy people (Leviticus 20:26; Deuteronomy 7:6; Deuteronomy 26:18-19). They were also instructed to consecrate themselves to the Lord and serve Him alone (Exodus 20:2-6; Deuteronomy 6:13).

Despite God’s love and this special covenant relationship, we see throughout the Old Testament the constant unfaithful, adulterous actions of God’s people. This unfaithfulness takes us to the book of Hosea and how God was going to expose their unfaithfulness once again while demonstrating His love for them.

Christ was the living embodiment of the bridegroom and faithful husband when He came, lived, died, and arose from the grave. He willingly gave up everything to redeem and restore those He loved.  While God’s covenant relationship with the Israelites remained, through His son, He formed a new covenant with all who believed in Jesus Christ and surrendered to His lordship. Those who believe are called the church. When we are saved by Christ we are redeemed and restored into a relationship with Him. He becomes our Bridegroom and we become His bride (the church).

Christ gave everything to free us from the bondage of slavery to sin and the consequences of our actions and to redeem us as His own.

How can understanding Hosea’s actions help you understand Christ’s actions on your behalf?

Why is it important to understand that, as sinners, we are just like Gomer, unworthy to be redeemed but pursued by God through Jesus Christ to be redeemed and restored into a right relationship with Him?

Take some time this week to examine your life for areas in which you may be guilty of failing to be totally faithful to God. What actions do you need to take to demonstrate your faithfulness to God? For what do you need to ask for His forgiveness?

The downloadable teaching helps provide more details for this study, along with some tools you can use in guiding a group Bible study. Be sure to use this as a supplement to your study of the Explore the Bible Study resources provided by LifeWay.

 

In your opinion, are people growing angrier today?  What results have you personally experienced or observed from people who are consumed with anger? Do you feel angrier today than you have in the past? You will discover in the Explore the Bible Study: No Compassion, that Jonah had an anger problem that God had to address. Perhaps He needs to address this issue in many of us as well.

From angry airline passengers, to business customers, to drivers on our highways, we seem to be experiencing unchecked and uncontrolled anger like never before. Many times, social media platforms become places where this anger spews out like a free-flowing stream of lava burning away anyone and anything in its path.

As believers in Christ, we realize we are sinners and have been saved by grace through faith. But let’s be honest. Things we face may unleash upon those around us, pent up anger that has been brewing for weeks, months, or years. This kind of anger distorts our view of other humans and causes us to grow callous to their need for a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Many times, anger causes believers to quit caring about other people's relationship with Christ or lack thereof.

After Jonah initially received his commission, attempted to run from God, was thrown into the sea, was saved by God and placed back on dry land, the Lord once again commissioned Jonah to go to Nineveh (Jonah 3:2). This time, the prophet did as the Lord commanded him. Jonah went to Nineveh and proclaimed God’s word to its people.

When the people of Nineveh heard Jonah’s message, they believed in God (Jonah 3:5). When the king heard the message, he also believed. He commanded every person and animal to begin a fast and be covered with sackcloth as an expression of repentance before the Lord (Jonah 3:7-9). Consistent with His character, when the Lord saw them repent and turn away from their sin, He relented of bringing the disaster He had declared through Jonah and refrained from doing it (Jonah 3:10).

After the Ninevites repented and God relented, Jonah became consumed with anger, resulting in God having to deal with him regarding his anger. Let’s look at the results in Jonah’s life and consider how we can avoid this kind of anger during the times in which we are living. 

Anger Unchecked: Robs us of Compassion – Jonah 4:1-4 

When Jonah saw the city still standing forty days after he proclaimed God would destroy the city in forty days, he was consumed with anger (See Jonah 3:4).  Jonah didn’t want to go to Nineveh because he knew God would pour out His mercy and forgiveness if the people of Nineveh repented. They repented, and God relented in His judgment. Because of his view of the Assyrians and their acts of violence toward Israel, he had no compassion for them. He did not want God to show compassion to the wicked people of Nineveh. Jonah knew God but did not approve of His ways. Now, in verse 4, Jonah challenges God for God’s lack of anger, so God challenged Jonah in regard to his anger. 

God asked Jonah in verse 4, “Is it right for you to be angry?” What is the obvious answer when God asks this question?

What did Jonah’s anger do to his view of people who needed God? In what ways might we respond the same way?

The obvious answer to God’s question was “no,” but Jonah refused to reply and persisted in his fuming rage over what God had done. Assyria was ranked as the most feared, hated nation in the ancient Middle East during the mid-700’s BC. If you consider all the Assyrians had done to Israel, you might think Jonah’s anger was justified and the people didn’t deserve compassion. But, as God’s people, this is not how we are to respond to people who are far away from God. We are to warn them as Jonah did, give them an opportunity to repent, and if they do repent, we are to rejoice with them.

How difficult is it for you to rejoice when someone is saved who you once considered an enemy, or who had mistreated you, or who practiced a lifestyle that was in direct conflict with God?

Jonah’s anger robbed him of the compassion of God for those who were far away from God.

Read Matthew 5:43-48. How can this passage protect you from letting anger rob you of your compassion?

Sadly, Job’s response is just how many of us might respond. We just walk away so we can hold onto our anger. Job walked away to the east of Nineveh where he hoped to watch the city be destroyed. God wasn’t going to give Jonah a free pass because of his anger. God provided a plant for shade and then took it away, which brought Jonah’s anger to a boiling point once again.  This time his anger revealed his attitude of entitlement.

Anger Unchecked: Produces an Attitude of Entitlement – Jonah 4:5-9

There is an element of comedy in this situation. Jonah has walked away to pout and positions himself to watch the city. If it had been in today's setting, he might have a bag of popcorn and a soft drink in his hand as he sits to watch the drama unfold. While sitting in his shelter ready to watch the “show,” God provides a plant for shade, then sends a worm to eat the plant! Then God sends a scorching wind. With the sun beating down and the wind blowing, Jonah is just about to faint. This time God asks, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?” And, this time Jonah answers, “Yes, it’s right!”

Jonah's attitude of entitlement prompted him to confront God. Jonah was enraged when God showed compassion on people whom Jonah hated and whom he felt didn’t deserve God’s mercy. However, he was delighted when God showed compassion on him by providing a plant for shade.

Jesus said there is great joy in heaven when sinners like the people of Nineveh repent (Luke 15:7,10). In contrast, Jonah was angry when the Ninevites repented. Jonah’s since of entitlement caused him to lose God’s perspective.

Consider how you might respond to the following questions: What right do we have in expecting God to show us favor and not show favor to others? What right do we have to dictate to God what He should and should not do?

If we become angry at God because we think we deserve His grace more than “they do” (whoever “they” might be), then we have allowed anger to fester into a sense of entitlement that God must deal with as He did with Jonah.

Things weren’t going Jonah’s way, and he wasn’t even pretending that he was happy. This is when God reminds Jonah of His grace and mercy.

Anger Unchecked: Blinds us to God’s Grace to the Lost – Jonah 4:10-11

God pointed out the absurdity of Jonah’s caring for a plant that he neither planted nor nurtured, yet taking issue with God for caring about the hundred twenty thousand people made in God’s image along with their large number of livestock in Nineveh. What’s more, the people of Nineveh were ignorant of the things of God. Jonah was much more culpable for his actions, given his background as part of God’s covenant people and as a prophet of God. 

Jonah expressed deep emotion toward what should have evoked the least amount of care—the plant! Christians can likewise become so concerned about their own safety, comfort, and well-being that they do not prioritize those who do not have a relationship with Christ. God’s calling is not only a privilege but also a responsibility to take the gospel to those who have not heard it.

THE END BUT NOT FINISHED!

At this point, the book of Jonah comes to a very abrupt end. Jonah’s response to God is unclear. Perhaps the story was left open ended so that we could put ourselves in Jonah’s position.

Hopefully Jonah came to his senses and repented of his unchecked anger that:

1. Robbed him of his compassion for those who are lost.
2. Produced in him a sense of entitlement.
3. Blinded him to God’s grace for the lost.

What about you? How are you dealing with anger? Have you lost your compassion for others, especially those who are lost? Do you have a sense of “Christian” entitlement? Are you blind to the grace God offers those who are lost?

If you realize you are just like Jonah, don’t wait until God sends a worm to eat a plant! Ask God to forgive you and to protect you from the anger that is boiling up in you. If you aren’t angry, ask God to protect you from becoming angry like Jonah did. We should all pray God will help us see the lost through His eyes of compassion; that we will share and show the good news of Jesus with a heart of love and not a heart of anger toward those who are far away from God.

The downloadable teaching helps provide more details for this study, along with some tools you can use in guiding a group Bible study. Be sure to use this as a supplement to your study of the Explore the Bible Study resources provided by LifeWay.