“And the LORD God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd.” (Jonah 4:6)

Honestly, I think God should have prepared a two-by-four and whacked this whiner upside the skull. But, no, He has to be nice. Before our hot-headed hero gets fried, the good Lord prepares some shade for him. That’s grace for you. It is wonderful to be the object of such goodness but it stings when the “undeserving” become targets. That is when we say, phooey on grace! Yet, deep down, we know that only the undeserving have access to it.

Many Bible translations say that God prepared a plant for Jonah while others refer to it as a vine. The King James Version is correct, it was a gourd. Yes, God prepared a massive gourd to comfort Jonah from his misery.

The gourd offers a perfect illustration of the law. Like the law, gourds look wonderful on the surface. They offer a nice touch to the Thanksgiving table or in a cornucopia but on the inside, gourds are empty. You can’t survive on them. The word used for gourd in the original Old Testament was ‘qiyqayon’ which is also the Hebrew term for nauseous. That is the affect these gourds have if you bite into one. They serve their purpose but they are harsh when digested. That’s the law and that’s what Jonah was leaning on when he thought he had it made in the shade.

While the law offers some shade for God’s people the coverage is insufficient. It is a short term policy with minimal protection. If you are looking for something long term that carries into eternity, the law offers no such security. The shade provided is extremely limited. Not only that, it is temporary. That leaves a bitter taste in the mouths of those who rest under it. This was the mistake the scribes and Pharisees made. I would venture to say that Jonah also made the same mistake. Being a Hebrew, he leaned on the law thinking everything was cool. He should have learned from the Ninevites who leaned not on the law but upon the lasting grace of God.

People like Jonah tend to be sticklers for the law and that is what makes them so harsh. They think that because of the law, they are safe. But when they measure others by the law, they have little grace for anyone. On the contrary, they spend way too much time sin sniffing and finger wagging and waiting for God to take care of business, always hoping for the worst. All the while, they think they have it made in the shade. But sooner or later, the gourd crashes down. Before they know it, the shade is gone and they feel the heat and start to sweat.

That’s what the law does; it makes you sweat. It can only cover you for so long. Eventually it drops with an ugly thud. Then you must find another place to rest, a place where you won’t get burned. Thankfully, God has provided such a place - the cross. It offers enough shade for everyone. And the blood that stained it is sufficient to cover us all.

The Wonder Worm

“But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered.” (Jonah 4:7)

No doubt, you probably read about Jonah in a children's storybook back when you were a tot. Toward the end there is inevitably a colorful picture of a fuzzy caterpillar with bloated cheeks and a satisfied smile. Perched atop a humongous leaf he munches away like a hungry piranha. As cute as that sounds, that is not how scripture describes the scene. First of all, it wasn’t a leaf. It was a gourd. And it wasn’t a caterpillar. It was a worm. Furthermore, that bitty creature didn’t take its sweet time gnawing on that massive gourd as if to savor each bite. It smote that bitter ball, as if there were nothing to be desired. As indicated in the passage above, the gourd got whacked and it withered.

We have already established that the gourd represents the law. But what does that fierce little worm represent? You might be surprised by the answer. That worm is a picture of Jesus. To better understand this we’ll need to examine this creepy crawler a bit closer. In the original, this worm is called ‘tola’ which is also Hebrew for scarlet. These scrawny maggots, also called crimson grubs, are actually larva of the clothes-moth. They appear in decaying organic matter, which tells us that Jonah’s gourd was already on the way out before the worm showed up with knife and fork. In ancient times, the tola was used in the making of scarlet red dyes. Interestingly enough, tola is used in the original Hebrew versions of the Bible to describe sin. Below is an example:

“Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson [tola], they shall be as wool.” (Isaiah 1:18)

The tola is an interesting little maggot in the way that it produces new life. The female fastens itself to the limb of a tree then dies in the process of bearing its offspring. The young then consume the body, leaving a scarlet stain on the limb. After a few days this spot turns white as wool then flakes off like snow. In like manner, Jesus became like scarlet upon a tree. He shed His blood, yes, but additionally he became as scarlet by taking on the sins of the world. The apostle Paul 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.” (2 Corinthians 5:21) This was the beginning of new life for Jesus’ spiritual offspring. And though our sins are as scarlet, through Him we are made white as snow.

Prior to breathing His last Jesus wailed, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” He was quoting the first verse of Psalm 22. This chapter of the Bible is recognized as “the psalm of the cross” which depicts the Messiah’s bloody crucifixion. In graphic detail, the psalmist records our Lord’s agony:

“I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels. My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death. For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have enclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet. I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me. They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.” (Psalms 22:14-18)

Keep in mind, this passage was penned centuries before crucifixion was even heard of. Yet all these things were fulfilled exactly as the psalmist predicted. Perhaps one of the most intriguing statements in this entire Psalm is when Christ declares, “But I am a worm [tola], and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.” (vs.6) Yes, He who knew no sin became a bloody maggot, and there on the tree He left a crimson stain. Yet on the third day life emerged from the blood, and the sins of our Savior’s offspring were made white as snow. That was when the gourd landed with a resounding thud.

The gourd covered mankind for a brief time but could not save us. It was only a precursor to the worm who covers us with his life-giving blood. The worm accomplished what the gourd could not. In essence, the gourd revealed the darkness, but the worm removes it. The scarlet stain blots out our every blemish. That’s the gospel according to the Book of Jonah. Of course, what was foreshadowed in Jonah’s story was spoken of by other prophets as well. For one, Jeremiah spoke of a day when the old covenant (the law) would be replaced by the new (the blood). Through Jeremiah, the promise was given that God’s people would make the leap from religion to relationship, and that all their sins would be forgiven. That is what we see in the Book of Jonah. When the worm went up the gourd went down.

Analogies aside, the law served its purpose. But now that covering is gone. We have a new covering in the new covenant. By the precious blood of Jesus our sins are washed away forevermore. Yes, we have been laundered on the heavy duty cycle. Every spot has been bleached out. We are white as snow. There is nothing we can do to make ourselves any cleaner before God. Jesus did it all. The law just exposed how dirty we are. Jesus brought the cleaning agent – His blood. The apostle Paul explains it like this:

“Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.” (Galatians 3:13)

“Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.” (Galatians 3:19)

“But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.” (Galatians 3:23-25)

Sadly, legalists like Jonah are still alive and well today. They panic when they hear that we are no longer covered by the law. There is a fear that the church will turn into Christians gone wild! Those who take this position don’t fully grasp what was accomplished on the cross. They understand in theory that Jesus paid for our sins but they fail to realize the full impact of what this means for us today. Because our sins are covered, God has declared each believer as His holy tabernacle. What this means is that His Spirit dwells within us. Our response is to simply allow Him to lead. If we are truly yielded we will be led in the way of righteousness. As Paul put it, “If ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.” (Galatians 5:18)

Furthermore, the fruit of the Spirit is love and by love all the law is fulfilled. “Love is the fulfilling of the law. (Romans 13:10) That is what the blood does for us. It gives us the capacity to love – first God then others. That is all we are required to do. To put it another way: without love we are reduced to a hollow and bitter gourd. And without the worm, love is beyond our grasp. The gourd must be smote and we must be smitten with love.

I hope I have jarred a mental picture that helps you better understand the gospel according to Jonah. Erase that image from your mind of a fuzzy caterpillar chomping on a leaf. Now picture a bloody maggot striking a blow at a gourd large enough to shade a grown man. Imagine how cool that was. Then kiss the gourd goodbye. Once you hear the squash below, look up. Look upon the blood. There is enough to cover us all.  

From the upcoming book, "My City Was Gone" Terry Michaels 2009