“But … God appointed a worm….” (Jonah 4:7)
The word translated ‘appointed’ in the verse above comes from the Hebrew וַיְמַ֤ן (way·man). In the book of Jonah, God ‘appointed’ וַיְמַ֤ן (way·man) a fish, a vine, a worm and a wind. So what does this have to do with life in 21st century Australia?
We were each asked to share a favourite Bible verse at a gathering last week up here in Sydney. I shared ‘the worm verse’. In fact, as I write, I’m still here in Sydney, drafting this blog post on a bench by the river in Parramatta.
Jonah’s story – a prophecy
Perhaps the first ‘cross-cultural missionary’ in the Bible could be said to have been a grumpy guy named Jonah. God sent him to great metropolis of Nineveh … so he fled in the opposite direction by ship.
God appointed [וַיְמַ֤ן (way·man)] a fish to swallow Jonah up after he was tossed overboard … there’s a backstory there (Jonah 1:17). After Jonah had seen the metaphorical though not literal light, God commanded the big fish to vomit him ashore.
In fact, this whole saga was a prophecy lived out by the reluctant missionary. Jonah’s time in the belly of the great fish and eventual resurrection, so to speak, pointed to what the coming Messiah would endure (see Matthew 12:40). Hindsight is 20/20.
Jonah’s message taken seriously
Take two. Reluctant Jonah went to Nineveh and proclaimed God’s warning about imminent destruction, as he had been instructed. In response, the king of Nineveh and the people and all their animals (herds and flocks) fasted and put on sackcloth and cried out to God for mercy.
Can you imagine the sight and sounds of all those animals bleating or lowing in vain for food while wearing sackcloth? The people of Nineveh took God’s words seriously. In response, God turned back from his anger.
‘I told you so’
Not so Jonah. One of the most beautiful verses in the Bible (in my humble opinion) comes in the context of a self-pitying ‘I told you so’ prayer. The middle part of the following passage would make an excellent ‘favourite verse’. It is well worth spending time contemplating and turning the middle bit into prayer as we think about cross-cultural missions. Yet, as any good Bible student knows, “A text without a context is a pretext for a proof text.” (Dr Don Carson’s father came up with that helpful statement.)
“But Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry. He prayed to the LORD, “Oh LORD, is this not what I said when I was still at home.… I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. Now, O LORD, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.” (Jonah 4:1-3 NIV)
The pathetic prophet sat and sulked. And watched, still hoping that God would wipe out Nineveh after all. As he sat there, God appointed [וַיְמַ֤ן (way·man)] a plant to give Jonah some shade (Jonah 4:6). Jonah was very happy about that. But then early the next morning, God appointed [וַיְמַ֤ן (way·man)] a worm to chew the plant so that it withered (Jonah 4:7). Following that, God appointed [וַיְמַ֤ן (way·man)] a scorching wind which, along with the hot sun, made Jonah uncomfortable and unwell.
This missionary biography ends with a confrontation between Jonah and God. Quite reasonably, God had the last word, pointing out that “… 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 4:11)
Why is ‘But God appointed a worm’ a favourite verse of mine?
First, the concept of our Creator and Sustainer involving himself in the minuscule parts of creation, even to the point of appointing a worm to eat a vine, is mind-blowing. Our God is immense and yet intimate.
Second, this verse reminds me that I play just a small part in God’s mission. The weight of responsibility is not mine to bear. Even worms have a part to play in God’s kingdom work. As a woman – not a worm – the Lord sees me and gently deals with me despite my grumpiness and, yes, even sin.
Third, I appreciate the heart God has for animals in this tale. Animals are not made in God’s image, but they are living creatures and God cares about them. The fish that swallowed Jonah, the herds and flocks that the Ninevites forced to fast and wear sackcloth, the worm that chewed the vine … God knew about them and used them in revealing more of his nature. He himself stated that he was concerned not only for the people of Nineveh, but also for the cattle of Nineveh.
Parramatta
As I walked through the streets of Parramatta (a suburb of Sydney) contemplating this passage afresh today, I was struck by three things: street preachers, people and animals. This metropolis is vastly different to Nineveh, as you would expect. We live in a different time and place to Jonah. But our God is unchanging.
Street preachers dotted the main thoroughfares. It seems that a local church is making a concerted effort to flood Parramatta with their people today. Just in the time I was there, I watched a man preach by the river, a woman preach under a railway bridge and a group sing Christian songs on a corner with slow-changing traffic lights. Fresh-faced Christians were everywhere, handing out flyers. They’re modern day Jonahs, only without Jonah’s reluctance or grumpiness, and presumably not so far from home.
The people to whom they preached came from all over the world. White, yellow, brown and black, tall and short, skinny and … er … fat, and everything in-between. According to the 2016 census, over a quarter (26.9%) of people in this area are Indian, 16.3% are Chinese, 7.7% are from England (the land of my ancestors), while just 6.5% identify as being local Australians*.
The modern-day Jonahs from a local church are doing their best to be God’s ambassadors to people from around the world right here and right now. I wish them well. Though I suspect that the responses they’re getting aren’t as positive as that of the Ninevites. I would like to be proved wrong.
There are also plenty of animals here in Parramatta. Pets (I admired a gorgeous Dalmatian and King Charles spaniel), ducks, swans, ibises, bees and fish were evident today, and there are no doubt a good number of worms in the river bank too. God knows about these little lives and cares about their well-being. Signs alert people to the dangers of eating what they catch from the waterways though … it seems that we are poisoning the creatures in the river. We were given a mandate to care for creation but apparently we’re not doing so well with the river life, at least. The pampered pets are okay.
A prayer
Just as in Jonah’s day, God continues to reveal himself as “a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love”. (That’s using the ‘nice words’ from Jonah’s ‘I told you so’ prayer.)
May the people of Parramatta hear about Jesus, the one to whom the prophecy of the man in and later out of the belly of the big fish pointed. May they respond by throwing themselves upon the Lord for mercy. As God once said of Nineveh, so I sense he says of Sydney, Melbourne, and any other city in our modern world today: “Should I not be concerned about that great city?”
And so, as our Saviour taught us, we pray, “Father, will you please send out workers into your harvest field” (Matthew 9:38, Luke 10:2). May God appoint [וַיְמַ֤ן (way·man)] people, situations, fish, plants, worms, winds or whatever he chooses to reveal himself to people from around the world who live right here in Parramatta.
Footnote: https://quickstats.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_services/getproduct/census/2016/quickstat/SSC13156 accessed 24 August 2019
