Hoping for Judgment

In a recent sermon from Jonah the preacher pointed out Jonah's "odd sermon". "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!" That was it. Nothing like "Repent and avoid that!" No "out" offered. Just ... calamity. The preacher said that Jonah was "hoping for the destruction of Nineveh." And that, of course, is bad. Right?

We are commissioned to tell the good news, the Gospel. Some people think that means, "Tell them nice things." When Jesus preached the gospel, His message was "repent and believe." Some gospel, eh? Well, yes, it is. You see, without bad news there is no good news. So the "repent" message is no trivial part of the gospel. The problem of sin is essential to the gospel.

But what about Jonah's "mean streak"? Assuming that the preacher was right -- that Jonah was actually hoping for the destruction of Nineveh -- was that wrong? Our first reaction would be "Yes!" It's not nice to hope for judgment. It's not nice to pray for punishment on others. It's not nice. What it is, however, is biblical.

You can't read through the Psalms without coming across what are called the "imprecatory psalms". In these passages the psalmist calls down curses and prayers for punishment. Indeed, to imprecate is to invoke evil on. These psalms show believers begging the throne of heaven for judgment. These passages may cause confusion to readers, but one thing is clear. There is nothing in the Scriptures that denies or negates them. There is nothing that suggests, "They shouldn't have done that." More difficult to explain away, however, is the image from Revelation. In chapter 6 the scene is in God's presence. In verse 9 we are told of an altar under which are the souls of all who had been slain for the Word of God. Verse 10 says, "They cried out with a loud voice, 'O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before You will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?'" Now, we know that in heaven we are not given to sin. We are not tempted, not fighting the flesh. In heaven we are without sin. And in that condition these souls call for judgment.

I don't know if Jonah was hoping for the destruction of Nineveh. I would guess, based on his reaction in chapter 4, that he was. True enough. But was that wrong? I would have to say, based on so many biblical witnesses, that a hope for God's justice and vindication should not be considered a bad thing. I would suspect that we think of it that way because we more closely identify with sinful Man than with a holy and righteous God. Now that is not a good thing.