Jonah wanted to die, and said, “It would be better for me to die than to live.” But God said to Jonah, “Do you have a right to be angry about the vine?” “I do,” he said. “I am angry enough to die.” But the LORD said, “You have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?” Jonah 4:8-11
The Creator and Preserver
Jonah was very angry because God turned from his threat to punish the people of Nineveh. God worked to bring Jonah to repentance. He caused a vine to spring up overnight, and the next day its large leaves gave Jonah relief from the intense heat of the sun. But the cold heart of Jonah was not melted by the mercy that God showed him. The next night, God provided a worm that killed the vine. When the sun blazed the next day, Jonah was left without shade. He was so distressed about the loss of the vine that he told God, “I am angry enough to die.”
God used that vine to teach Jonah an important lesson. Jonah merely had self-interest in the vine. His only concern for the vine was the protection and comfort it brought him.
God wanted Jonah to think about the vine from the viewpoint of the one who caused it to grow and cared for it—a perspective quite different than Jonah’s attitude. The grower and the gardener demonstrate a deep concern for the well-being of the vine. Then the Lord applied the lesson. He is the creator and preserver of all people, including those people in Nineveh. And there were many of them, many people whom God loved and wanted to save from destruction.
God is deeply interested in every person—no one is excluded from his love. His greatest desire is for people to live with him. That’s why he came into this world and was born a true human being. His complete focus was on our welfare, not on his own. He came to save us from death and give us eternal life.
Prayer:
Lord, teach me the extent of your great love. Give me courage to open my mouth to tell others about your salvation. Amen.
It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy. Romans 9:16
The Standard of Mercy
When you have a job to perform or an assignment to complete, you want to know what is expected. What does it take to get a good grade? How can you earn your paycheck? Judged competitions, whether in athletics, the arts, or entries at the county fair, have standards that judges use to determine the final score for each competitor.
We want to know God’s standards for our lives, too. God’s laws and commandments make demands and set expectations. Because we want God’s acceptance, we naturally look to those standards. We may assume that the better we follow God’s commandments, the more he will love and bless us, and the more confidence we can have that we will go to heaven.
But God’s law demands perfection, and none of us can achieve that. If the outcome depends on our performance, we will never get to heaven.
But our status before God does not depend on who we are or what we do. It depends on his mercy. Mercy is when God doesn’t treat us the way our sins and failures deserve. God’s mercy, flowing from his incomprehensible and unconditional love for all people, led him to fulfill the requirements of his law for us when he sent Jesus.
Our standing before God, our eligibility for heaven’s rewards, isn’t based on our performance. It is based entirely on the compassionate heart of God, the unconditional love of God, the astounding mercy of God. In love and mercy, he met standards for us and gives us his rewards as a gift.
What a relief! My failures don’t disqualify me. I don’t have to worry whether my performance is better than enough other people to make the cut. God forgives my failures and credits me with Jesus’ performance in my place. My position and prize are secure. Now I can obey him in joyful thanksgiving, confident in his love.
Prayer:
Jesus, thank you for loving me not based on what I do, but on your mercy alone. Amen.
“And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh?” Jonah 4:11
An Unanswered Question
A good plot reveals a problem that needs a solution. Then, the rest of the story resolves that problem. Maybe you’ve watched a movie that doesn’t work that way. The final credits roll, and the plot seems unresolved. The problem remains, or the answer doesn’t seem complete.
The question in todays’ Bible reading is from the last verse in the book of Jonah. God is speaking to his messenger Jonah. Jonah has complained that God is unfair for not destroying the wicked city of Nineveh. And he’s complained that God is unfair for letting a worm kill a vine that shaded Jonah’s head. For selfish reasons, Jonah cares about the vine, but he doesn’t care about a whole city of people in danger of being destroyed by God.
God asks him this searching question, “Shouldn’t I be concerned about this great city filled with people who need my love?” We don’t hear Jonah’s answer.
How would we answer? We might say, “Of course, God should be concerned about these people.” But are we? Do our lives ever reveal that we are more concerned about our own comfort than about telling people about Jesus? Do we let the differences that separate us from others keep us from sharing with them the news of the Savior who is for all? Do we let our lives get so filled up with our own busyness that we don’t have time to make sure our children are hearing God’s Word? God’s question for Jonah confronts us too.
Let’s rejoice that God was concerned not only for the great city of Nineveh but for a world of sinners in every century and millennium in need of his mercy. His concern wouldn’t let him sit idly by. It caused him to send his Son, Jesus, to seek and save the lost, suffering and dying for sinners—for you, for me, for all. Because he did, we don’t have to fear death and hell. What amazing grace! May God’s love move us to act in loving concern for a world of people like us who need his amazing grace, too.
Prayer:
Lord, forgive me for my selfishness with your amazing grace. Give me a heart like yours that wants all to be saved. Amen.
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Second Address to a Son: Wisdom Provides Protection
Proverbs 2
1 My son, if you accept my words, if you store up my commands within you, 2 by paying attention [1] to wisdom with your ear, by reaching out for understanding with your heart, 3 if indeed you call out for intelligence, if you raise your voice for understanding, 4 if you search for it like silver, if you hunt for it like hidden treasure, 5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord, then you will find the knowledge of God, 6 because the Lord gives wisdom. Knowledge and understanding come from his mouth. 7 He stores up sound judgment for upright people. He is a shield for those who walk in integrity. 8 He protects those who walk on paths of justice. He guards the way of his favored ones. [2] 9 Then you will understand righteousness, justice, and fairness—every good path, 10 because wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant for your soul. 11 Foresight will stand guard over you. Understanding will protect you. 12 It will save you from the evil way, from the man who speaks perverse things, 13 from those who abandon upright paths in order to walk in the ways of darkness. 14 It will save you from those who enjoy doing evil, from those who celebrate the twisted ways of evil, 15 from those whose paths are crooked, and from those whose ways are devious.
Wisdom Protects You From the Adulterous Woman
16 Wisdom will save you from the immoral woman, [3] from the unfaithful woman [4] with her seductive words, 17 who abandons the husband of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God. 18 So she sinks down to death, which becomes her house. [5] Her way of life leads down to the spirits of the dead. 19 All who enter her house never return. They never reach the paths of life.
Admonition to Live Righteously
20 This is how to walk in the way of good people, how to stay on the paths of the righteous. 21 Yes, the upright will live in the land, and people with integrity will remain in it, 22 but wicked people will be cut off from the land, and treacherous people will be torn out of it.
Third Address to a Son:
Wisdom Leads to the Lord’s Blessing
Proverbs 3
1 My son, do not forget my teaching. Let your heart keep my commands, 2 because they will add long days and many years to your life, and peace and prosperity [6] will come to you. 3 Do not allow mercy and truth to leave you. Fasten them around your neck. Write them on the tablet of your heart. 4 Then you will find favor and approval [7] in the eyes of God and man. 5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. 7 Do not consider yourself wise. Fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. 8 Then your body [8] will be healed, and your bones will be refreshed.
9 Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits from your entire harvest. 10 Then your barns will be filled to capacity, and your wine vats will overflow with fresh wine. 11 Do not reject the Lord’s discipline, my son, and do not despise his warning, 12 because the Lord warns [9] the one he loves as a father warns a son with whom he is pleased. 13 How blessed is the person who finds wisdom, [10] the person who acquires understanding, 14 because the profit it gives is better than the profit from silver, and its yield is better than gold! 15 It is more valuable than gems, [11] and nothing you desire can equal it. 16 In its right hand are the days of a long life. In its left hand are riches and honor. 17 Its ways are pleasant ways, and all its paths are peace. 18 It is a tree of life for those who hold on to it. Those who cling to it are blessed. 19 The Lord founded the earth by wisdom. He established the heavens by understanding. 20 By his knowledge the deep waters were divided, and the clouds drip dew.
21 My son, do not take your eyes off these things. Guard sound judgment and insight. 22 They will be life for your soul and grace to adorn your neck. 23 Then you will walk safely on your way, and your foot will not stumble. 24 When you lie down, you will not be afraid. When you lie down, your sleep will be pleasant. 25 Do not be afraid of sudden terror, nor of the destruction of the wicked when it comes, 26 because the Lord will be your confidence. He will keep your foot from being caught.
Fourth Address to a Son:
Practice Wisdom Toward Your Neighbor
27 Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due when it is within your power to give it. 28 Do not say to your neighbor, “Go away! Come back some other time. I will give something to you tomorrow,” when in fact it is already with you right now. 29 Do not plan harm against your neighbor when he is living with you peacefully. 30 Do not quarrel with a person for no good reason when he has done nothing to harm you. 31 Do not envy a violent person. Do not choose any of his ways, 32 because a crooked person is an abomination [12] to the Lord, but God’s friendly guidance leads [13] the upright. 33 The Lord’s curse rests on the house of the wicked, but he blesses the home of the righteous. 34 Although he scorns the scornful, he gives grace to the humble. 35 Wise people inherit honor, but proud fools receive disgrace.
Footnotes
Proverbs 2:2 Or so you can pay attention
Proverbs 2:8 Or those who are merciful or those who have received his mercy
Proverbs 2:16 Literally from the strange woman, that is, one who is married to another man
Proverbs 2:16 Literally from the foreign woman, that is, one who is married to another man
Proverbs 2:18 The line is difficult and the translation is uncertain.
Proverbs 3:2 The Hebrew word shalom here contains both meanings.
Proverbs 3:4 Literally good understanding
Proverbs 3:8 Literally navel
Proverbs 3:12 Or disciplines
Proverbs 3:13 Or Wisdom. An issue throughout Proverbs 1-9 is when wisdom should be capitalized as the personal name of Lady Wisdom and when it is the common noun. Most translations do not capitalize wisdom in verses like verse 13 because of the parallelism with understanding. This decision also determines whether the English pronouns should be she or it. In Hebrew the noun for wisdom is feminine, so the pronouns in Hebrew are always feminine.
Proverbs 3:15 The meaning of this word is uncertain. It may refer to a specific gemstone, such as rubies or red coral.
1 The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel.
The Purpose of Proverbs
2 To learn wisdom and discipline, to understand sayings [1] that give insight, [2] 3 to acquire discipline to act sensibly, to acquire righteousness, justice, and fairness, 4 to give good judgment [3] to the inexperienced, to give a young man knowledge and foresight.
5 A wise person should listen, and he will increase learning. A person with understanding should obtain guidance 6 so he will understand proverbs, puzzling statements, [4] and the thought-provoking words of the wise. 7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of [5] knowledge, but stubborn fools despise wisdom and discipline.
Solomon’s Speeches About Wisdom
First Address to a Son:
Avoid the Company of Sinners
8 Listen, my son, to your father’s discipline, and do not forsake your mother’s teaching, 9 because they are a garland of grace for your head. They are jewelry for your neck. 10 My son, if sinners lure you, do not go along with them. 11 If they say, “Come with us. Let’s lie in wait to shed blood. Let’s hide and ambush an innocent person for no reason. 12 We will swallow them alive like the grave. We will swallow them whole like those who go down to the pit. 13 We will find all kinds of wealth and treasure. We will fill our houses with loot. 14 Cast your lot with us. We will all share one bag of money.” 15 My son, do not walk along the road with them. Do not set foot on their path, 16 because their feet run to do evil, and they hurry to shed blood. 17 How useless to spread a net in the sight of any bird! 18 Yet they set up an ambush for their own blood. They hide in ambush to take their own lives. 19 This is where the path leads for everyone who is greedy for stolen property: It takes away the life of those who possess it.
First Poem About Wisdom: Wisdom Calls but Many Refuse
20 Wisdom calls out loudly in the street. In the public squares she raises her voice. 21 At the noisy street corners she calls out. At the entrances to the city gates she speaks her words: 22 “How long will you gullible [6] people love being gullible? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing? How long will fools hate knowledge? 23 If you respond to my warning, I will pour out my spirit for you. I will make my words known to you. 24 Because I called, but you refused to listen, because I stretched out my hand, but no one paid attention, 25 because you ignored all my advice, and you did not accept my warning, 26 therefore I will laugh at your calamity. I will jeer when terror strikes you, 27 when terror strikes you like a violent storm, when calamity strikes you like a windstorm, when trouble and distress come upon you. 28 Then they will call to me, but I will not answer. They will look for me, but they will not find me, 29 because they hated knowledge, and they did not choose the fear of the Lord. 30 They would not accept my advice, and they despised all my warnings. 31 So they will eat the fruit of their own way, and they will be stuffed with their own schemes. 32 Therefore the wandering ways [7] of the gullible kill them, and the complacency of fools destroys them. 33 But whoever listens to me will live in safety. He will be secure, without fear of evil.”
Footnotes
Proverbs 1:2 Or axioms
Proverbs 1:2 Or discernment
Proverbs 1:4 Or prudence
Proverbs 1:6 Or enigmas
Proverbs 1:7 Or prerequisite for or most important part of
25 If we live by the spirit, let us also walk in step with it. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another and envying one another.
Bear One Another’s Burdens
Galatians 6
1 Brothers, if a person is caught in some trespass, you who are spiritual should restore such a person in a spirit of humility, carefully watching yourself so that you are not also tempted. 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way fulfill [1] the law of Christ. 3 For if someone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 Let each person test his own work, and then he will take pride in regard to himself and not his neighbor. 5 For each man will bear his own burden.
6 Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with his teacher.
7 Do not be deceived. God is not mocked. To be sure, whatever a man sows, he will also reap. 8 Indeed, the one who sows for his own sinful flesh will reap destruction from the sinful flesh. But the one who sows for the spirit will reap eternal life from the spirit. 9 Let us not become weary of doing good, because at the appointed time we will reap, if we do not give up. [2]10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who belong to the household of faith.
What Matters: A New Creation, Not Circumcision
11 See what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand. 12 Those who want to look good in the flesh are the ones who are trying to compel you to be circumcised. Their only reason is so that they are not persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13 As a matter of fact, those who are circumcised do not keep the law themselves. But they want to have you circumcised, so that they can boast about your flesh.
14 But far be it from me to boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world. 15 In fact, in Christ Jesus [3] circumcision or uncircumcision does not matter. What matters is being a new creation. 16 Peace and mercy on those who follow this rule, namely, on the Israel of God.
17 Finally, let no one cause me any trouble, because I bear the marks of the Lord Jesus on my body.
18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen.
Footnotes
Galatians 6:2 Some witnesses to the text read in this way you will fulfill.
Galatians 6:9 Or reap without ever getting tired, or reap without ceasing
Galatians 6:15 Some witnesses to the text omit in Christ Jesus.
2 Look, I, Paul, tell you that if you allow yourselves to be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you. 3 I testify again to every man who allows himself to be circumcised that he is obligated to do the whole law. 4 You who are trying to be declared righteous by the law are completely separated from Christ. You have fallen from grace.
5 Indeed, through the Spirit, we by faith are eagerly waiting for the sure hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision matters. Rather, it is faith working through love that matters. 7 You were running well! Who cut in on you, so that you are no longer persuaded by the truth? 8 This persuasion is not from the one who calls you. 9 A little yeast works through the whole batch. 10 I am confident in the Lord that you will have no other opinion than this. But the one who is trying to disturb you will pay the penalty, whoever he is.
11 Brothers, [1] if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? Then the offense of the cross has been abolished. 12 If only those who are upsetting you would also cut themselves off! [2]
13 After all, brothers, you were called to freedom. Only do not use your freedom as a starting point for your sinful flesh. Rather, serve one another through love. 14 In fact, the whole law is summed up in this one statement: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” [3]15 But if you keep on biting and devouring one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.
Flesh Opposes Spirit
16 What I am saying is this: Walk by the spirit, [4] and you will not carry out what the sinful flesh desires. 17 For the sinful flesh desires what is contrary to the spirit, and the spirit what is contrary to the sinful flesh. In fact, these two continually oppose one another, so that you do not continue to do these things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the spirit, you are not under the control of the law.
19 Now the works of the sinful flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, complete lack of restraint, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, discord, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, [5] drunkenness, orgies, and things similar to these. I warn you, just as I also warned you before, that those who continue to do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the spirit [6] is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful flesh with its passions and desires.
Footnotes
Galatians 5:11 When context indicates it, the Greek word for brothers may refer to all fellow believers, male and female.
Galatians 5:12 Using sarcasm, Paul sharply implies that if the Judaizers were so interested in circumcision, castration might be even better for them. See what Jesus said about false teachers in Matthew 18:6.
Galatians 5:14 Leviticus 19:18
Galatians 5:16 In this section, the spirit refers to the new nature in contrast with the sinful flesh.
Galatians 5:21 A few witnesses to the text omit murders.
8 Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. 9 But now that you know God, or rather are known by God, why are you turning back again to the basic principles that are weak and miserable? Do you want to be enslaved by them all over again? 10 You carefully observe days, months, seasons, and years. 11 I am fearful about you, that somehow my labor for you was wasted.
12 I beg you, brothers, become like me, for I also became like you. You did me no harm. 13 You know that, because of a weakness of the flesh, I preached the gospel to you the first time. 14 And you did not despise or disdain the test my flesh gave you. Instead, you welcomed me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus.
15 So where is this blessed attitude of yours now? Yes, I can say for a fact that, if it were possible, you would have plucked out your eyes and given them to me. 16 So then, have I become your enemy by telling you the truth? 17 Those people are eager to win you over, but not in a good way. Rather, they want to alienate you, so that you will be eager for them. 18 But it is always a good thing to have someone eager in a good way—not just when I am present with you.
19 My children, I am suffering birth pains for you again until Christ is formed in you. 20 I wish I were present with you now and could change my tone, because I am perplexed about you.
An Illustration: Hagar and Sarah
21 Tell me, you who want to be under the law, are you really listening to the law? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman, and one by the free woman. 23 However, the son by the slave woman was born according to the flesh, but the son by the free woman was born through a promise. 24 These things can be used as an illustration; namely, the women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children into slavery. This is Hagar. 25 You see, [1] this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and she corresponds to present-day Jerusalem, because Jerusalem is in slavery along with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem that is above is free. She is our mother. 27 For it is written:
Rejoice, barren woman who does not give birth. Break forth and shout for joy, woman who does not suffer birth pains, because the barren woman has more children than does the woman who has a husband. [2]
28 Now you, [3] brothers, like Isaac, are children of the promise. 29 But just as back then the one who was born according to the flesh persecuted the one who was born according to the Spirit, so this is also the case now. 30 But what does the Scripture say? “Throw out the slave woman and her son, because the son of the slave woman will certainly not receive the inheritance with the son of the free woman.” [4]31 For this same reason, brothers, we are not children of a slave woman, but of the free woman.
Christ Set Us Free
Galatians 5
1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not allow anyone to put the yoke of slavery on you again.
Footnotes
Galatians 4:25 Some witnesses to the text omit You see.
Galatians 4:27 Isaiah 54:1
Galatians 4:28 Some witnesses to the text read we.
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“Every minister of the gospel needs encouragement,” says Kevin Walker, director of staff ministry at Martin Luther College (MLC), New Ulm, Minn. “So a once-a-year conference provides the opportunity for […]
In late August, Daniel Kroll and Stephen Gerling and their families arrived in Dakar, Senegal. They are the first WELS missionaries to serve in this area. As WELS works to […]
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, God has entrusted the young people of our synod to the spiritual care of Christian parents, pastors, teachers, youth leaders, and fellow believers. At […]
Karl R. Gurgel, the tenth man to serve as president of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, was called home to heaven on September 13, surrounded by his wife, Barbara, (pictured […]
Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in Mequon, Wis., is investing in a building project for blessings now that have impacts into eternity. Earle Treptow, seminary president, describes why this is the moment […]