My wife, Kym, and I have four
children ranging from 14yrs old to 3yrs old. I dearly love them. There are
times when they have attitudes and behaviors that I like and some that I don’t
like. For example, I love it when my toddler daughter, Elle, runs to me when
she sees me from a distance. I feel very loved in that moment. Also, I love it
when she and I are doing the same thing together, like holding hands, walking
together, or doing a task together. There are other moments I don’t like so
much; like when she runs away from me when I tell her to come here or when she
flat out resists me with a stubborn attitude going against my stated directions
and commands.
It’s interesting how there
are similarities between a child’s relationship with their parent and a
person’s relationship with God. All four of the behavioral examples I just
mentioned about my daughter toward me occur with people toward God. People run
away from God. Some people run to God. Some people run with God. And people run
against God. All four of these behavioral themes toward God are found in the
book of Jonah in God’s Word, respectively in each of the four chapters.
Many people think that the
big news in the book of Jonah is about a whale of a tale, but this book is not so
much about a big fish moment. This book is primarily about God; His grace, His
mercy, His provision, His sovereignty, His message of repentance; and it’s
about a prophet named Jonah who found himself in and out of the will of God which
is something that we can relate to today. We are either heading toward God, His
will, His ways of righteousness or heading away from God in sin. Which path describes
your life lately?
From Jonah chapter one, let’s
walk through six stages of Jonah trying to run away from God’s will.
Stage 1) God called Jonah to proclaim repentance to
sinners in Nineveh; vss1-2
Jonah 1:1-2 ESV Now the word of the LORD
came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Arise,
go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has
come up before me.”
Jonah was a prophet who
received revelation from God and communicated that to other people, usually to
Israelites. Here, however, God called, commissioned, commanded His servant
Jonah to go to a pagan mission field; specifically to Nineveh, a big city that
was involved in much evil. The context here is that God called Jonah to go to
these Gentile pagans and rebuke them for their wickedness, preach to them of
their need to repent, to turn to God for salvation and live godly lives and if
they didn’t, God’s holy just judgment would come upon them.
This would be a very difficult
and dangerous mission for Jonah because this was the capital of the Assyrian
Empire, which was quickly becoming the most powerful nation in the world. They
were steeped in pagan idolatry and were destroying people groups in the region
and had a reputation for being very cruel and wicked in how they treated their
enemies.
They were a huge threat to
the nation of Israel and this was where God was calling Jonah to preach
repentance? Wow! Consider a modern day parallel. God calls a Christian preacher
from a biblically saturated culture to go to a crowded city in North Korea or
Iran to preach repentance in the name of the Son of God, Jesus Christ, the only
Savior and Lord. That would be a very dangerous mission.
Stage 2) Jonah disobeyed God and fled on a ship in
the other direction; vs3
3 But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the
presence of the LORD. He went down
to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down
into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD.
I could just imagine Jonah
responding to God saying stuff like: “Surely you don’t mean that? The Assyrians?
Our worst enemy? Those awful pagans! Wait a minute! You never called other
prophets to go preach repentance to our enemy nation. I quit. I’m out of here.
Find someone else to do this crazy task.”
Jonah tried to run away from
God’s will by fleeing on a ship toward the far west, maybe toward Spain, but there
is no escaping the omnipresence of God. Jonah was fleeing the Holy Land where
the special divine presence of God was manifested like in the Holy Temple. Jonah
was in essence trying to resign from his position of God’s prophet and run away
from this divine calling and responsibility. How many times has God called
us to be someone and do something and our response was to run in the opposite
direction of God’s will?
Why did Jonah disobey? He
probably had some Hebrew pride, some national pride. Christians in the United
States, do we struggle with a national pride or a Christian pride gloating that
we are better than others? Jonah probably lacked faith in God about this
dangerous mission. How often has God called us to something and we thought,
I can’t, I’m unqualified, that’s too hard, too dangerous, etc…?
Jonah was a faithful prophet as long as God wanted
what Jonah wanted. But when God’s marching orders went contrary to Jonah’s
comfort zone and desires, the prophet would not do what God told Jonah to do. What
about you and me? What is the call to Nineveh in our lives we are saying
“no” to God about? When God calls you and me to go communicate His kingdom
message to some person, some group, some type of human need, what is our
response to God? Is it run to and with God or run away from and against God?
Stage 3) God caused a terrible storm to endanger the
ship and its passengers (read vss4-6)
Surprisingly,
Jonah is out cold asleep but the captain woke him up and told him to cry out to
his god for deliverance from this dangerous storm. It’s a sad thing when a
prophet servant of the Lord has to be told by pagans to cry to the Lord for
help. Jonah brought trouble to a boat load of sailors because he disobeyed God.
Whenever we get out of the will of God there are implications for us and others,
some of which we might not learn about until later.
Stage 4) Jonah
confessed to the crew he is the reason for the storm & he offered his life
for their safety (read vss7-13)
9 And he said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I
fear the LORD, the God of heaven,
who made the sea and the dry land.”
12 He said to them, “Pick me up and hurl me
into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know it is because of
me that this great tempest has come upon you.”
No one’s gods were answering
the prayers so the crew decided to cast lots as a way to point guilt to someone
who was the cause of this storm. I believe God orchestrated the outcome of the
lots for His sovereign purposes. Jonah then confessed a few things and the
sailors were even more afraid probably thinking Jonah’s God is angry at all of
them. Jonah figured that the only safe solution for those onboard was to get
him off the ship. Jonah then advised them to throw him overboard. Some scholars
notice a type of Christ in this moment when Jonah offered his life for the
deliverance of others.
Stage 5) Jonah
is thrown into the sea by the crew (read vs14)
The sailors cried out to the
God of the universe, Jonah’s God, because they believed Jonah was the reason
for this storm and God was upset at Jonah, and they didn’t want to be held
accountable for what they were about to do to Jonah.
vss15-16 So they
picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its
raging. 16 Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and they offered a
sacrifice to the LORD and made
vows.
So, the crew did what Jonah
told them they should do and they did what they thought might save the lives of
all those onboard the ship, even though this meant Jonah would likely die in
the sea. They threw him overboard. Notice, then right afterwards, the sea
became peaceful. This was another wow moment act of God who is sovereignly in control
of the skies and the earth and its seas. Upon the calming of the sea, the
sailors gave reverential fear to Jonah’s God and sacrificed something to the
Lord and made commitments of some sort.
Stage 6) God
provided a great fish to swallow Jonah
for 3 days & 3 nights; vs17
17 And the LORD
appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the
fish three days and three nights.
The
key point here is not what kind of fish it was or how big it was but that God
arranged for this big fish to swallow Jonah and preserve him in there 3 days, 3
nights. We read later that Jonah survived this incredible ordeal, but many
people have trouble believing it. Did you know that there have actually been
numerous cases reported in more recent times of men who have survived being
swallowed by a whale? But that’s beside the point here. We do not need a
naturally proven explanation about Jonah surviving in a huge fish. What we need
is increased belief and faith in the Lord God Almighty and what He has revealed
in Scripture. Amen! You either believe God’s word that God created the
Heavens and the earth or you don’t. You either believe God parted the Red Sea and
delivered His people from Egypt or you don’t. You either believe that the
eternal Son of God became flesh by a virgin birth, became the God-man, died,
and then rose in a resurrected body or you don’t. You either believe God used a
great fish to swallow up Jonah and preserve his life or you don’t. May the Lord
help us have greater belief in God and His Word and may we live accordingly,
all to His glory.
From
God’s perspective, these circumstances on/in the water and in the big fish for
Jonah were an orchestrated series of events drawing Jonah back to God and His
will, to an important mission with God to reach a pagan people with God’s
message.
Perhaps we know God has called us to a certain place
and/or to do a certain work. And we’ve got all the reasons in the world why we
think we don’t need or want to obey Him. But running away from God’s will and
His Word for us is sin and there will be consequences. May the Lord help us to
not disobey Him and instead be faithful obedient believers, knowing God better
and better and proclaiming Him better and better to the world. I know from
personal experience that running to and with God is not only way better than
running away from and against God, it is the best God-honoring God blessed path
to be on.
Jonah was on a downward
journey in many ways but thankfully the story didn’t end there. God extended
Him amazing mercy and grace and provision; and for us today, this is found in
Jesus Christ. One of the great evidences of the authenticity of this Jonah
story is that Jesus referred to Jonah more than once, using the three days in the belly of a great
fish for His own resurrection timeframe. This is exciting! The resurrection of
Christ was a key moment in God’s plan of redemption for us; to bring us to God,
to be in a right relationship with Him now and forever, by grace through faith
in Christ. There is nothing more eternally significant than knowing Jesus
personally as your Savior and living for Him as the Lord of your life.
And remember, let’s be
consistently running to God and with God! For example, let’s spend quality time
in His Word, in prayer, and with His people seeking to understand God’s will
and stay in His will consistently engaging in His good works which includes being
salt and light in Christ and being the hands, feet, and voice of Christ in this
world; being who He wants us to be and doing what He wants us to do; all for
His glory! Amen!
I encourage you to
prayerfully study the book of Jonah and read ahead. In chapter two you’ll
notice Jonah running to God, praising Him, thanking Him. In Chapter three, Jonah’s
running with God and a great revival among a large pagan group of people broke
out. In chapter four, Jonah is running against God, showing his negative
attitude toward God’s mercy toward Ninevah.
May the Lord God Almighty help
us consistently run to God and with God and may we point others to the same,
all to His glory!
What are your thoughts on
Jonah chapter one, this blog, and the issue of running away from God’s will?
Mike
