It Does No Good

“Then said the LORD, Doest thou well to be angry?” (Jon 4:4 AV)

A little context goes a long way here.  Jonah was called to be a prophet during the reign of Jeroboam II.  Jeroboam II was neither a very evil king, nor a good king.  His attitude towards the things of God was neutral at best.  He neither promoted the things of God nor persecuted them either.  During his reign of the ten northern tribes, he brought much prosperity.  Jonah was a minister in that kingdom of prosperity and had a ministry that was comfortable.  Nineveh lay to the eat of the two and a half tribes on the other side Jordan.  Nineveh routinely raided the outskirts of the Jewish kingdom and took away livestock, abused the residents, and harassed the tribes.  Over time, there was a natural prejudice against these raiders.  When the LORD called Jonah to preach to the Ninevites, the prophet did not want to go.  When he got there, he did not want to be there.  When he was through preaching, he did not want them to repent.  Jonah was a bitter man.  He was bitter for what they had done to his people.  He was bitter for being called away from such a comfortable life.  Jonah had anger issues.

One has to wonder how much fails to be done for the LORD because of bitterness.  Bitterness did not stop the hand of God on the Ninevites.  The only one to lose in all this was Jonah.  Because his heart was not right, we will receive no reward for his faithfulness.  What is even worse is he cannot even enjoy what the LORD did among his enemies.  When we harbor bitterness, we become a passive part of God’s plan.  God still worked.  The new converts still rejoiced.  The people of God still enjoyed respite from the raiders for a couple of generations.  The only one who failed to be blessed was the one God used to bring it all.  And what is worse is the blessings were robbed by the bitterness of his own heart.

Bitterness is one of those sins that is really deep in the soul.  It is hard to root out.  Peter said of Simon the sorcerer, he was trapped in the bitterness of gall.  This sense of anger over infliction of injustice is what drives it.  Bitterness is the end result of unrestrained narcissism.  When one’s universe revolves around self, everything and everyone else becomes competition.  If it doesn’t serve self, it is a threat to self.  Bitterness is an accusation against God that God is not fair.  This is why Jonah responded as he did when the LORD asked this question.  He stated it was good for him to be angry, even if it killed him.  His declaration of bitterness was directed towards God and was a dare for the LORD to kill him.  He would rather be dead and out of the will of God than be used of God to bring revival to his enemies.  This bitterness is a horrible and imprisoning sin.  One that needs to be forsaken.  One that needs be rooted out and destroyed.  Destroy it before it destroys you.