Pastor Matt Goins opened a recent message by noting the hospitality of the host church and the value of fellowship with college students and fellow missionaries. He then turned to a familiar expression: a sacred cow. This refers to a tradition, practice, or way of thinking that people treat as untouchable. Such things are not always wrong. They can begin as good gifts from God, yet they become too important and must be protected at all costs. People defend them with phrases such as “we have always done it that way” or “that is just how I have always known it.”
A clear New Testament example appears in the Pharisees’ approach to the Sabbath. God intended the Sabbath as a good gift of rest that pointed toward the deeper rest found in a right relationship with Him. The Pharisees added so many extra rules that the gift itself was lost and the day became a burden. Jesus confronted that sacred cow. In the Old Testament, Jehovah God confronted a similar sacred cow in the life of Israel, a narrow-minded and self-centred mindset toward the nations. That attitude is seen clearly in the life of the prophet Jonah, especially in the episode of the gourd in chapter 4.
Jonah 4:5–11 records that Jonah left Nineveh, built a booth on the east side of the city, and waited to see what would become of it. He hoped for its destruction. In mercy the Lord prepared a gourd that grew up to shade Jonah from the heat, and Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd. Then God prepared a worm that destroyed the gourd, followed by a vehement east wind. The sun beat upon Jonah’s head until he fainted and wished to die. When God asked whether he had good reason to be angry for the gourd, Jonah insisted that he did, even unto death. The Lord replied, “Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night: And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?”
At this point Jonah had a heart problem. He showed more passion for a plant than for people. He loved God’s good gifts but not God’s purpose for those gifts. He had received mercy himself yet refused to extend it to others. God exposed the prophet’s inordinate affection for the gourd in order to confront a self-centred view of the nations. Followers of Christ must likewise beware of letting God’s goodness to them distract them from the mission of sharing that goodness with others. True missions occurs when believers love God more than His gifts and see others through the lens of mercy.
God’s Relentless Mercy
The first major emphasis of the message was the relentless mercy that marks God’s heart. In Jonah 4:2 the prophet prayed, “I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.” Jonah confessed that he already knew this character of God while he was still in Israel, which is why he fled toward Tarshish. He was glad for God’s mercy toward himself but did not want that same mercy extended to Nineveh.
This description of God’s character is an ancient formulation repeated throughout the Old Testament. Exodus 34:6 records that the Lord proclaimed Himself to Moses as “merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth.” The psalmist echoes the same language in Psalm 86:15: “But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.” God’s default posture toward humanity is mercy. He shows it by sending a prophet to call Nineveh to repentance, by using a storm and a rebellious messenger to turn pagan sailors to Jehovah, and by patiently dealing with Jonah himself through the storm, the great fish, and a second commission.
A holy God must judge sin, yet His first move is not a striking fist or a drawn sword. His first move is an outstretched hand of mercy. Judgment comes only after that mercy is rejected. This mercy finds its fullest expression in the New Testament. The Son of man came to seek and to save that which was lost. Second Corinthians 5:21 states, “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” Jesus quoted Hosea when He said He would have mercy and not sacrifice, and He declared that He came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. Those who have received this mercy are to extend it. Joy in the merciful God overflows in glad-hearted mercy to people. A harsh or judgmental spirit toward others because of their sin needs to be examined, for sinners act like sinners. The task of believers is not to shame them in their sin but to call them to freedom through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.
The Rebellious Messenger
The second emphasis concerned Jonah’s own heart as a rebellious messenger. Little is known of Jonah’s earlier ministry beyond a brief reference in 2 Kings 14 during the prosperous reign of Jeroboam II. Israel was experiencing territorial expansion and relative strength, so Jonah was likely comfortable ministering among his own people in his own land. God then called him to Nineveh, the capital of the cruel Assyrian empire. Archaeology has revealed the brutal practices of that empire, including impalement, dismemberment, and decapitation. Understandably, Jonah’s flesh recoiled from going to such a people.
Jonah 1:1–2 records the commission: “Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.” Jonah resisted. He fled. Believers today can face similar resistance. They may be serving God among their own people or enjoying a better life for their families and see no reason to go elsewhere. God’s ways are not always our ways. He desires to show mercy to all people and may call someone to an unattractive place for His glory.
Regardless of a specific missionary call, every follower of Jesus Christ is divinely commissioned to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. This is not passive participation. It involves sensitivity to evangelism in daily life, a desire to disciple others, devotion of passion and energy to eternal matters, and willingness to sacrifice time, talent, treasure, and comfort for the fame of Christ among the nations. It may even include giving approval for children to consider the foreign field when parents naturally prefer to keep them close.
Jonah eventually obeyed after discipline, yet his obedience was reluctant. Even reluctant obedience can be used by God. What happened in Nineveh was not about Jonah’s enthusiasm. It was about God. The power is in the Word. As Paul wrote in Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.” Believers are called to be God’s image-bearers in proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and calling for repentance and faith.
The Resulting Miracle in Nineveh
Despite the reluctant messenger, God worked a resulting miracle. Jonah 3:5 records, “So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.” The king even required the animals to fast. These pagan, cruel people did not merely believe Jonah. They believed God through the message Jonah delivered. True to His character, God relented from the threatened destruction. Jonah 3:10 states, “And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.”
This is a picture of the gospel. God in His righteousness must punish the wicked, so He calls for repentance and faith in His provision of salvation. Perfect loyalty is beyond the grasp of naturally sinful human beings. Therefore God Himself came in the person of Jesus Christ to be what we could not be and to take the punishment we deserved. Mercy is received when people repent and trust in the work of Christ on the cross.
Jonah’s Regrettable Mindset
One would expect the miraculous repentance of Nineveh to produce a worshipful response from the prophet. Instead, Jonah displayed a regrettable mindset. After God spared the city, Jonah 4:1 says, “But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry.” He was selective in his view of mercy. He wanted it for himself but not for them. In irrational self-centredness he asked God to take his life, declaring that it was better for him to die than to live after seeing Nineveh treated with mercy.
God still showed kindness by preparing the gourd to shade Jonah and deliver him from his grief. Jonah became exceeding glad of the plant. Then God prepared the worm and the east wind. Jonah again wished to die. He was more concerned about what happened to a plant than about what happened to a people. A sacred gourd does not have to dominate every affection. It can be something that has crept into one’s priorities and exposes self-centredness. Believers can drift into the same mentality for a season. An inordinate affection for a pet, possessions, a position, popularity, a sports team, a political party, entertainment, or material comforts can reveal itself when those things are threatened. Touching a sacred cow produces a reaction, just as it did with Jonah. When God asked whether he had good reason to be angry for the gourd, Jonah answered that he did, even unto death.
What Jonah should have done was repent. He should have seen his selfishness, acknowledged the character of God, and aligned his heart with the Lord’s mercy toward others. The burning question remains: do we share the heart of God or the heart of Jonah? The wickedness of Nineveh came up before God, and He sent a messenger. Another came down, not to flee God’s will but to do it: Jesus Christ. When our needs rise before Him, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. Will believers run toward the wicked with the message of salvation in the spirit of Christ, seeking and saving that which is lost?
Pastor Goins closed with a personal illustration from the mission field. Years earlier a valuable vehicle provided for the work was stolen. At the time he was able to say that God would provide. More recently another vehicle was damaged in an accident that was clearly the other driver’s fault. In that moment anger rose. The concern was more for the useful gift than for the people God had sent him to reach. Even long-time believers can experience the heart of Jonah for a season, loving God’s gifts more than God Himself. The call is to return to the merciful God, take His heart, and be what He wants His people to be in this world for Him.
Conclusion
The account of Jonah and the gourd still speaks. God’s character remains one of relentless mercy. He confronts every sacred cow that elevates good gifts above His purpose of reconciling people to Himself through Jesus Christ. Believers who have received mercy are commissioned to extend it, whether they stay or go, whether their obedience feels enthusiastic or reluctant. The power is not in the messenger but in the message and the Sender. May every follower of Christ examine what has taken hold of the affections and pray that God would reveal any sacred cow or sacred gourd that has crowded out love for Him and compassion for the nations.
