Journeys to Mercy, episode 97

0:00 If you love a prodigal, you can discover, help, and hope for your wilderness journey right here at When You Love a Prodigal podcast, and also help and hope for your own life journey. As we continued our series on mercy last week, were you able to recognize moments of God's mercy to you? Were you able to give mercy to your prodigal? Today we're going to look at two familiar stories in the Bible and see the journeys of mercy for Jonah and Joseph. Jonah's journey to mercy actually has interesting parts to it.

0:44 You probably know the story, but here's a quick summary. Nineveh was the largest city of its time in the ancient world, known for its evil living, drunkenness, and violence. God was even horrified and called on his trustworthy prophet Jonah to proclaim the coming destruction of the city, a city that Jonah hated. But Jonah, we learn later, knew that God was a merciful God, and he was sure if he preached and the people of Nineveh repented, God would spare them, and Jonah did not want that. So he found a ship and headed to Tarshish.

1:27 And of course, God knew exactly where he was, and he stirred up a big storm. The terrified sailors on the boat discovered that Jonah was the cause of the storm. He was fleeing from God and begged him to ask God to stop the storm. The only solution was to throw Jonah overboard, which they did, but they didn't. Which they did, but they didn't want to. They felt mercy for Jonah, even though he was causing them terror. And as, this is amazing to me, as they threw him into the raging ocean, they asked God to have mercy on Jonah.

2:13 And he did. As Jonah sank to the bottom of the sea, God had mercy on him in the form of a giant fish who swallowed him. Doesn't sound real wonderful, does it? In his three days and nights in the fish, Jonah repented, and God again had mercy on him. As we see in this prayer in Jonah 2, from the message Bible. In trouble, deep trouble, I prayed to God. He answered me. From the belly of the grave, I cried, help.

2:53 You heard my prayer. You threw me into the ocean depths, into a watery grave with ocean waves, ocean breakers crashing over me. I said, I've been thrown away, thrown out, out of your sight. I'll never again lay eyes on your holy temple. The ocean gripped me by the throat. The ancient abyss grabbed me and held tight. My head was tangled with seaweed at the bottom of the sea where the mountains take root. I was as far down as a body can go, and the gates were slamming shut behind me forever.

3:36 But God, you, you pulled me up from that grave alive. Oh, God, my God. When my life was slipping away, I remembered God, and my prayer got through to you, made it all the way to your holy temple. So that fish vomited up, Jonah, onto dry land, and God said, again, go to Nineveh. And this time Jonah obeyed. Now, what was Nineveh's response, do you think? Jonah gets there, and he wasted no time delivering the bad news. You are evil, and God will destroy you in 40 days.

4:18 Amazingly, the people, all those evil people, all of them, the nobles and even the king, believed him. They repented. They turned from their wicked ways. They fasted. They put on sackcloth and ashes. In hopes that God would have mercy on them. And he did. God saw what they had done, that they had turned away from their evil lives. He did change his mind. What he said he would do, he did not do. God had mercy on them. Now, Jonah was right, wasn't he?

4:59 He said, I knew this was going to happen. They were going to kill me. I knew this was going to happen. That's why I ran to Tarshish. I knew you were sheer grace and mercy, Lord. Not easily angered, rich in love, and ready at the drop of a hat to turn your plans of punishment into a program of forgiveness. So, God, if you won't kill them, just kill me. I'm better off dead. And God said, Jonah, what do you have to be angry about? Jonah took off. I have a picture of him slamming the door behind him.

5:41 Bet you've had that happen, haven't you? He ran outside the city to sulk. God, you ready for this? God, in his mercy, had a plant grow up to shade him, which comforted Jonah. Until the next day, when a worm killed the plant, and he was angry and said again, I am better off dead. And God said, what's this? How is it that you can change your feelings from pleasure to anger overnight about a mere shade tree that you did nothing to get? You neither planted nor watered it. It grew up one night and died the next night. So why can't I like what I'm doing?

6:24 Why can't I likewise change what I feel about Nineveh from anger to pleasure? In this big city of more than 120,000 childlike people or maybe children in the city who didn't yet know right from wrong to say nothing of all the innocent animals. It just ends there. It just ends. So we don't really know if Jonah truly learned his lesson that he could also be a merciful person, even as God was to him time after time, but also as God was to the people of Nineveh as they turned from their evil ways and chose to follow God.

7:16 But do you see it? Do you see that over and over and over God gives mercy? When we get angry, throw fits, complain, God remembers that we are dust and has mercy on us. When our prodigals get angry, throw fits, do stupid or evil things, God remembers that they are dust and has mercy on them. And he encourages us to be the channels, the messengers of that mercy to our very own loved ones. So that's Jonah. His journey to mercy was one of obedience, but maybe his heart wasn't really changed.

8:03 But let's look at Joseph's journey to mercy. Another story that you probably know. Here it is in a nutshell. Joseph was his father's favorite, protected, praised, gifted by his dad with the magnificent coat of many colors. And he was a dreamer and he was usually the star of his dreams. And he made sure his brothers knew that he had dreamed that someday they would all bow down to him, which did not go over well with them. So when Joseph's father, when his father Jacob, sent him out to the brothers who were tending their flocks, they saw their chance.

8:51 They intended to just kill him, but instead they sold him as a slave to a passing caravan. They bloodied his coat and told their father, a wild animal must have killed Joseph. Joseph was sold by the caravan of who had bought him. And he was sold to Potiphar, who was an Egyptian leader, who quickly discovered that Joseph had leadership and management skills, had integrity and a love for his God. And soon Joseph was in charge of everything that Potiphar had. But Joseph still had a lot to learn.

9:34 And apparently he was quite handsome as well as smart and capable. And Potiphar's wife took a liking to him. And when he wouldn't respond to her advances, she accused him of attacking her and off he went to prison. While in prison, he continued to have a lot of fun. While in prison, he continued to have dreams and he interpreted others' dreams. And he was very respected by the jailer. And those years in prison, as he waited to be set free, if he ever would be, drew him close to God and grew humility in him.

10:20 He began to get the picture of how arrogant he had been. When a severe famine threatened the whole area, Pharaoh himself called for Joseph, who predicted that there would be seven years of plenty followed by seven years of drought. So Joseph had a plan. And suddenly he was Pharaoh's second in command. The famine included the land of Canaan, where Jacob and his sons lived. Their father had told them to go to Egypt and buy grain for their families so that they didn't perish. They came before Joseph to ask for grain.

11:01 They did not recognize him, but he recognized them. Though emotions filled him with, I'm sure, remembrance of what had happened and what his brothers had done to him, he had instead a sense of pride. He had instead a sense of compassion, but he still tested them to see where they were now. They returned to Canaan with the grain that they got from Joseph. There's a story there. You should read it. It's in Genesis, several chapters in the 40s. They returned to Canaan eventually because they needed more grain.

11:41 And we'll pick up the story there. Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all those who stood by him. So all the Egyptians that served him, that he was boss over, were around. And he cried out, send everyone away from me. So no one stayed except Joseph and his brothers. And then Joseph made known who he was to his brothers. And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it and the household of Pharaoh heard it. Joseph said to his brothers, I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?

12:22 Brothers, brothers couldn't answer him. They were so dismayed that they were in his presence and they were sure he would kill them. But Joseph said to his brothers, come close to me. And they came. And he said, I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, but God sent me before you to preserve life. So it was not really you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.

13:03 Hurry and go to my father and say to him, thus says your son Joseph. God has made me lord of all Egypt. Calm down. Do not delay. And now your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, who was they were from the same mother, see that it is my own mouth that speaks to you. Hurry and bring my father down here. Then he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck and wept. And Benjamin did the same. And he kissed all his brothers and wept over them. And after that, his brothers talked with him.

13:45 It's that's just a beautiful story of mercy. So Jacob and all his children and their families moved to Egypt and Jacob's reunion with Joseph was filled with joy and tears. Years later, when Jacob died, Joseph's brothers were sure that now that their dad was gone, that Joseph would get even with them. But Joseph did not choose revenge. He chose mercy. He said, don't be afraid. Do I act for God? Don't you see you planned evil against me, but God used those same plans for my good.

14:25 And as you see all around you right now, life for many people. You have nothing to fear. I'll take care of you and your children. Gratefully, God does the same for us. He doesn't seek revenge. He does not condemn. He chooses mercy. He forgives. And he asked that we remember Joseph and give mercy to our loved ones. So I imagine that you might find it hard to believe that you should show mercy after all that your prodigal has done and how many times you would have to show mercy.

15:09 Next week, we'll talk a little more about that. God bless you.