Hotter than blue blazes

“And when the south wind blows, you say, ‘It’s going to be hot’, and it is.” Luke 12:55

Hotter than blue blazes is an old Southern idiom expressing how hot something is. This is usually in reference to an extremely hot day and comparing the temperature to the blue flames coming from a blow torch or burning embers from a fire.

I have lived in the mountains of Southwest Virginia now for over 25 years, and the weather here is quite remarkable. Even on a warm day, the wind is usually blowing and the humidity is relatively low so only on rare days the temperature is extreme. However, I grew up in the Sandhills of North Carolina and the summers would be hot, really hot. The minute you go outside the clothes on your back begin to stick to your body and the air is so thick you can cut it with a knife.

Throughout Scripture, people have had to deal with the elements and Jonah was no exception. He was so mad at God for having compassion on the Ninevites, he threw a tantrum and went away to pout. Apparently it was so hot, God provided a vine to shade him from the sun, which made Johah very happy. But the next day God provided a worm to chew the vine so the scorching heat beat down on Jonah’s head so bad he wanted to die.

I think there are several things we can learn from this story. First we see the compassion God had on Jonah even though Jonah had no compassion on the people of Nineveh because he wanted them to perish. Second we see what a stubborn and hard-headed man Jonah was. You would have thought that after he was swallowed by a giant fish and his life was spared, he would have been more obedient and grateful to God. Instead he was angry, judgemental, and bitter.

God made the weather hotter than blue blazes so He could use the sun, a vine, and a worm to get His point across to Johah that his loyalty was displaced. He was more concerned about the vine providing him shade than the souls of the Ninevites. God’s compassion and mercy are revealed through the life of Jonah and we see how deeply our Heavenly Father loves and cares for all of us.