Bitterness
The last consequence is unstated, yet I believe is implied and born out by historical facts.
Jonah 4:10-11 says, “Then said the LORD, 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?”
Just a little distance from Nineveh is a mosque that claims to be the burial place of Jonah. The scripture is devoid of a further mention of the life of Jonah. The last time we see him is sitting on the side of the hill in bitterness asking God to kill him for the third time. I believe the last consequence of bitterness is death. First spiritual, than physical. The fact that you are reading this is a sign that you still have a chance to get things right, to avoid this final consequence. But how? The answer to that is found where we started just a few pages back.
If the Bible is right, the source of bitterness is a failure of the grace of God, and that failure is caused by God’s grace being withdrawn from the proud. It only stands to reason that you must humble yourself to receive the grace of God to cover this sin. James 4:7-9 gives a three step process to humbling one’s self. “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.”
