Jonah, Running from God
CHCC – August 7, 2011
Jonah chapter 1
INTRODUCTION:
Just about everyone is familiar with the Jonah story … the ultimate big fish story. The book of Jonah is a short book – only 4 chapters – and it’s arguably the most entertaining, action-filled book in the Bible. It’s also controversial.
I heard about a Christian woman who was reading the Bible on an air flight.
The passenger next to her kept looking over at her and finally asked, “You really don’t believe all that stuff in there, do you?”
The woman responded, “Of course I do; it’s the Bible.”
The man said, “Yeah, but what about that guy that got swallowed by a whale?”
She replied, “Oh, you’re talking about Jonah. Yes, I believe that’s true.”
He asked, “How do you think he survived inside a whale?”
The woman said, “I don’t really know. I guess I’ll ask him when I get to heaven.”
The man responded, “What if he isn’t in heaven?”
She said, “Well, then, I guess YOU can ask him.”
People may argue over whether the story of Jonah is historical or allegorical, but I think it’s BOTH. Jesus vouched for the authenticity of Jonah.
Look in Matthew 12:38-41:
Jesus answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.
For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now something greater than Jonah is here.
Jonah is much more than a “big fish story.” It’s a God story. Jonah’s three days and nights in the belly of the fish were a foreshadowing of Jesus’ death and resurrection.
The main lesson of Jonah is God’s desire to love and forgive even the worst of sinners. Today, we’re going to look at chapter 1, and we’ll learn from Jonah what happens when you attempt to run from God.
Here’s how the book starts: The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the LORD. Jonah 1:1-3
Jonah ran from the LORD, and the first he learned is that:
1. If you’re running from God … God will pursue you.
These events probably took place around 750 B.C. at a time when Assyria had tormented the northern tribes of Israel. Jonah himself was a Galilean, which means he was from the northern tribes that were all too familiar with Assyrian attrocities. And God was telling Jonah to go to Nineveh … the capital of the Assyrian Kingdom … and preach to them.
Jonah had every reason to hate the people of Nineveh. Assyrians had starved, killed, tortured, displaced, and sold Israelites into slavery. Somehow Jonah had escaped, but he feared and hated the people who had terrorized his friends and family.
It’s quite possible that Jonah had been preaching in Judea with great success … warning that unless they repented, they would suffer the same fate as Galilee. Maybe he even asked God, “Where do you want me to take my successful revival message next?” Imagine his shock when God commanded him to go to Nineveh.
Now Jonah loved to preach, but not to THOSE people! To Jonah they were literally the scum of the earth --- wicked idolaters, brutal and cruel people who deserved the full wrath of God.
Jonah wasn’t just disobedient, he was defiant. The map on the screen shows that he didn’t just head the other direction; he headed for the ends of the earth. Joppa is the location of modern-day Tel Aviv. Nineveh is now called Mosul, which is located in Northern Iraq. The ruins of ancient Nineveh spread over 1800 acres. It was an immense city, seven times larger than Jerusalem.
So what did Jonah do? He ran to the ticket office of the Pan Mediterranean Cruise Line and booked passage on the Tarshish Express. Tarshish was a city in what is now Spain. To Jonah it was the furthest edge of the world. In fact, tradition has it that the Latin phrase ne ultra was inscribed on the rock of Gibraltar as a warning “no more beyond.” This was as far as any ship would take him! But Jonah would discover it wasn’t far enough.
Maybe you have been through a time when you felt like running from God. This can happen when you feel like God has asked too much of you … or put you in a situation you can’t handle … or you feel like God has let you down. It’s a temptation to get angry with God and close yourself off from Him.
We need to learn the lesson of Jonah. God loves you, no matter what. He loves you even if you feel angry and defiant. He loves you even if you try to run from Him.
If you feel like running from God, remembered this psalm of David: Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. Psalms 139:7-10
Jonah learned the truth of those words. Even when he abandoned God, God would not abandon him. He learned that God would pursue him, even to the ends of the earth. And then Jonah learned the next lesson:
2. If you’re running from God … God will discipline you.
Hebrews 12:6-7 says, the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son. Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?
When the Lord sent a storm to engulf Jonah’s ship, He was sending loving discipline. The storm was a “severe mercy.” Nothing less would have gotten Jonah’s attention. God will do whatever is necessary to bring us back into proper relationship with Him.
The ship Jonah was on was probably a trade ship. Some commentators think the wording indicates Jonah may have purchased the ship to transport him and some cargo to Tarshish. If that’s the case, then Jonah was looking at more than a change of location … he was making a career change. Jonah was giving up the Prophet business and going into Trade. In other words, he was giving up Prophecy for Profit-you-see. … At any rate, it seems that Jonah was the only passenger on the ship.
The experienced sailors had expected smooth sailing, but what they got was the kind of violent storm that normally hit in the dead of winter … which was why no one sailed in the dead of winter. Their reaction shows they knew this was not a normal storm. They cried out to their gods. Then, after they threw some cargo overboard they woke Jonah up.
What they said was telling: The captain went to him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.” Jonah 1:6
They knew they needed supernatural help, so they cast lots to see who was responsible and the lot fell to Jonah. They asked him, “Who are you and what have you done?” Jonah answered, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” This terrified them and they asked, “What have you done?” (They knew he was running away from the LORD, because he had already told them so.) Jonah 1:9-10
It’s no wonder they were terrified when they heard that Jonah was running from the God who made the sea! That’s when they realized that Jonah’s disobedience was about to seal their own doom.
And that is an important lesson for all of us. When you disobey God, you will not be the only one to suffer. Disobedience affects everyone around us … especially those closest to us! It’s comforting to know that if we run from God, he will pursue us. But the hard truth is that any time we turn away from God, we will suffer for it … and worse than that, the people who depend on us will suffer along with us.
The best lesson to take from Jonah is: Don’t run from God in the first place! No matter how hard life gets … even if you feel like God has let you down … even if you think God is asking more than you can give … don’t turn your back on God and take off running! Don’t make your children and loved ones go through a storm that you have created by your defiance of God.
That’s what Jonah did to the sailors on that ship, and it brought him to the end of all hope. He finally told those men, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.” Jonah 1:12
They didn’t want to do it. But as they tried to row to the shore, the storm grew even wilder. Finally they cried out to God to forgive them for taking a man’s life, and they threw Jonah overboard. Immediately the raging sea grew calm. And verse 16 says, At this the men greatly feared the LORD, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows to him. Jonah 1:16
Jonah obviously had the gift of evangelism! Even while he was running from God, his testimony … and God’s grace in stopping the storm ... brought these men to faith in the one true God. God turned this disastrous situation into an opportunity for grace and salvation for the sailors.
And Jonah was about to learn that …
3. If you’re running from God … God will provide a way back.
Now, the way back may not be the way you prefer … it may not be a comfortable ride. The way back always brings us to a place of humility and prayer and patience. The way back teaches us that we can’t make it on our own … that we desperately need God in order to survive.
In Jonah’s case, the way back was slimy, wet, stinky, and scaly … but it was immensely better than the alternative. You see, Jonah knew he was a dead man. Whether he knew how to swim or not, he knew he was done for.
We don’t know what those last moments were like for Jonah. He was expecting to drown … and then later he discovered that he was still conscious. Nothing in chapter 2 indicates that Jonah knew he was in the belly of a fish. He was in absolute darkness. He was conscious and seemed to be breathing, but in his own words, he called that place “Sheol” which is the Hebrew wording for the grave.
Jonah may not have known it, but God was using a great fish as a submarine to save him and take him back where he belonged.
(By the way, it doesn’t say what kind of fish this was. I’ve heard stories of people being swallowed by certain kinds of fish and surviving, but for all we know this may have been a one-of-a-kind fish just as the storm was a unique storm.)
God used both the storm and the fish to provide the discipline and the rescue that Jonah needed.
Already we see God’s great mercy for sinners. We’ve seen God at work to save the sailors on the ship through Jonah’s testimony. We’ve seen God save Jonah’s life in an unexpected, unprecedented way.
This is the message of Jonah. We can never outrun the love and mercy of God. He pursues us, He disciplines us, He saves us. As soon as we stop running from God and run back to Him, we discover that God was right there with us all the time.
CONCLUSION:
The poem below wasn't written about Jonah, but it resonates well with the story of Jonah. This sounds very much like God's conversation with Jonah in the belly of the fish.
OBEDIENCE by George MacDonald (1824-1905)
I said: "Let me walk in the field";
God said: 'Nay, walk in the town";
I said: "There are no flowers there";
He said: "No flowers, but a crown."
I said: "But the sky is black,
There is nothing but noise and din";
But He wept as He sent me back,
"There is more," He said, "there is sin
I said: "But the air is thick,
And fogs are veiling the sun";
He answered: "Yet souls are sick,
And souls in the dark undone."
I said: "I shall miss the light,
And friends will miss me, they say";
He answered me, "Choose tonight,
If I am to miss you, or they."
I pleaded for time to be given;
He said: "Is it hard to decide?
It will not seem hard in Heaven
To have, followed the steps of your Guide."
I cast one look at the fields,
Then set my face to the town;
He said: "My child, do you yield?
Will you leave the flowers for the crown?"
Then into His hand went mine,
And into my heart came He;
And I walk in a light Divine,
The path I had feared to see.
