You Can Run But You Can't Hide
There is a hymn that we sing in church sometimes - it's called: "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing". One of the stanzas in the hymn says:
"Jesus sought me when a stranger, Wand'ring from the fold of God,
He, to rescue me from danger, Interposed his precious blood,
Prone to wander, Lord I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love.
O to grace how great a debtor Daily I'm constrained to be!
Let they goodness, like a fetter, Bind my wandering heart to thee"
I read those words and think about how quickly we are prone to wander. I think how far we can go. And I think how easy it is to deceive ourselves and others when we have stepped out of the will of God. These searing words speak to an inner battle we all feel from time to time - a battle we sometimes win - sometimes loose. Sometimes we walk in God's will - other times we don't.
"Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love."
Anytime we walk out the will God we sin.
Have you ever heard anyone complain: "God is too loving. God is too kind. God is too forgiving. God shows too much mercy." No - I have never heard anyone say that either. But that is what Jonah thought. God wanted Jonah to go to Nineveh and preach to them - Jonah wanted Nineveh punished. But Jonah knew that if he went to preach to them that God might just let them off the hook - God might forgive Nineveh. So Jonah ran away - he ran as far as he could. He booked passage on a ship headed to Tarshish. He didn't miss the boat. He got on board. Jonah was confident that He had outrun God. Went down in the hold - and then he took a nap. But the fact is:
No one can out-run God
So what does God do:
"The LORD hurled a great wind on the sea and there was a great storm on the sea so that the ship was about to break up. Then the sailors became afraid and every man cried to his god, and they threw the cargo which was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone below into the hold of the ship, lain down and fallen sound asleep." Jonah 1:4-5 (NASB)
1. Jonah Needs To PAY ATTENTION
It must have been a really bad storm because these men - who were professional sailors - who had seen it all - were afraid. They had never seen anything quite like this storm. They were hardened sailors and were used to the dangers of a life at sea, but this storm was worse than anything they had encountered before.
Notice that they did two things to try to save their lives.
A. They prayed.
B. They threw the cargo overboard.
We all know that life can change in a moment. There can be storms. There can be troubles. There can be sickness. There can be death. There can be financial collapse. Problems can happen at any moment. The best thing we can do is to start with prayer - then take action to help the situation. But did the storm get Jonah's attention. No! Jonah was still fast asleep.
Before I move on let me point out a fact:
Others Suffer Because of Our SIN
We think that when we sin - we are only hurting ourselves. Folks - that is not true. Look at the story: Everyone on board the ship is endangered by Jonah’s sin. We are all in the same boat. Jonah was the sinner in this situation, and yet his foolish rebellion endangered everyone around him.
Please ponder these four words: We never sin alone. We may be alone when we sin, but we never sin alone. Our sin, our compromise, and our deceit always injures those around us - our spouse, our children, our friends, and our family.
Every step we take out of the will of God hurts those around us.
Jonah is sleeping but:
2. Jonah Needs To Be WOKE UP
As the ship is tossed by the waves - as the ship groans and creaks under the power of the storm - as the sailors are throwing the cargo overboard - where is Jonah? He is in the hold of the ship fast asleep.
You might think he’d be on deck helping the sailors. Not a chance! He’s down below taking a nap. Verse six tells us:
"So the captain approached him and said, "How is it that you are sleeping? Get up, call on your god. Perhaps your god will be concerned about us so that we will not perish." Jonah 1:6 (NASB)
How could Jonah sleep during a terrible storm like this? How can Jonah not realize that his life and the lives of all of those are him are in danger? How could he sleep at a time like this? The answer is simple - Jonah thinks he outran God. He thinks he got away with it. If you're off the hook - why worry - why fret - why be concerned about God when you've run away from Him and He can't find you? You can sleep as sound as a baby. But if the storm won't wake him up - the captain surely will.
The captain yells at Jonah: "How can you sleep at a time like this? Get up!"
Look what happens next: At this point the captain (who is no doubt a pagan) has more spiritual insight than Jonah does. Seeing the danger, the captain wants Jonah to wake up and start praying. Pray - Jonah - pray. Maybe your god can save us.
Do you see what is happening. Everyone else is praying - but it's doing no good. All the sailors were praying to their gods - I'm sure that the captain had been praying to his god - but it wasn't good enough - nothing was happening. They needed someone to pray to a God who could save them.
Does Jonah pray? The Bible doesn't tell us that he prayed. He probably didn't - he was still running from God. So the sailors take the matter to the next step:
3. Jonah Needs To Be FOUND OUT
Each man said to his mate, "Come, let us cast lots so we may learn on whose account this calamity has struck us." So they cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. Then they said to him, "Tell us, now! On whose account has this calamity struck us? What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?" He said to them, "I am a Hebrew, and I fear the LORD God of heaven who made the sea and the dry land."
Then the men became extremely frightened and they said to him, "How could you do this?" For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them.
Jonah 1:7-10 (NASB)
Jonah is now found out by the casting of lots (v. 7). That may seem strange to us - but look at what Proverbs 16:33 says:
"The lot is cast into the lap, But its every decision is from the LORD."
Proverbs 16:33 (NASB)
God's Word translation says it this way:
"The dice are thrown, but the LORD determines every outcome."
Proverbs 16:33 (GW)
We might paraphrase Proverbs 16:33 this way: “Life is like a roll of the dice, but God is in charge of how the numbers come up.”
Casting lots sometimes involved using different colored balls or rocks, mixing them together, and then seeing which one fell out of the bag first. In that sense casting lots is like rolling dice. To us it appears to be a random act of chance - but they believed that God left nothing to chance. There are no “accidents” in life, no “random” events, and there is no such thing as “luck.” Even seemingly meaningless things fit into His plan. God is always in control of each and every situation.
Did you know that in speaking about the order of the universe, that Albert Einstein once said, "God does not throw dice." What he meant by that is that nothing is left to chance.
In any case - Jonah is found out. Jonah confesses his true identity. He had already told them that he was running from the Lord so now he tells them who he really is:
"He said to them, "I am a Hebrew, and I fear the LORD God of heaven who made the sea and the dry land." Jonah 1:9 (NASB)
Isn’t it amazing how God works? Jonah may run and run and run, but he can never really change who he is. He cries out, "I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord."
Jonah was part of the covenant people. He had learned about God from the time he was an infant. He had kept the traditions of the Jews. He had prayed to God and he knew God. No matter how far he ran - he could not out run God.
Jonah if you're a Hebrew - you need to live like one - you need to act like one - you need to talk like one - you need to walk like one - you need to pray like one.
There is a message in this for us all - isn't there? Folks if you're a believer you need to live like one - you need to act like one - you need to talk like one - you need to walk like one - you need to pray like one. Why? Because you can't out run God. God wants us to always behave like a believer.
Now look what happens next. Things are about to get worse for Jonah.
4. Jonah Needs To Be SACRIFICED
"So they said to him, "What should we do to you that the sea may become calm for us?"--for the sea was becoming increasingly stormy. He said to them, "Pick me up and throw me into the sea. Then the sea will become calm for you, for I know that on account of me this great storm has come upon you." Jonah 1:11-12 (NASB)
Jonah knows it’s all his fault. So when the sailors ask what they should do to make the seas grow calm again - he offers the only solution that makes sense: "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." (v. 12)
But when Jonah said, “Throw me overboard,” the sailors would not do it. Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before. Look at what verse thirteen says:
"However, the men rowed desperately to return to land but they could not, for the sea was becoming even stormier against them."
Jonah 1:13 (NASB)
Finally they decide to throw Jonah into the sea. Look at what verse fourteen and fifteen say;
"Then they called on the LORD and said, "We earnestly pray, O LORD, do not let us perish on account of this man's life and do not put innocent blood on us; for You, O LORD, have done as You have pleased." So they picked up Jonah, threw him into the sea, and the sea stopped its raging. Jonah 1:14-15 (NASB)
In order to save the ship - Jonah must be sacrificed.
Folks to me this is a picture of salvation. In order for the ship to be saved - one must die. One must be sacrificed. We can try to save ourselves - we can try to row to shore - we can try with all our energy - but those efforts are futile. You cannot save yourself - in your own efforts you cannot reach the shore of salvation - it will not happen. Only God can save you. Only the sacrifice of the One can calm the sea. Only the sacrifice of One provides safety. He must die that we may live.
So they picked up Jonah, threw him into the sea, and the sea stopped its raging.
But here is a truth I don't want you to miss:
5. Jonah Needs To Be A MISSIONARY
Have I told you that God loves Nineveh? If you recall - I told you that last week. But here is a truth also:
God loves Tarshish too!
Look at what happened in the story. A fierce storm comes. The ship is in danger of sinking. So what do they do? They prayed. But if you go back and look in verse five - notice who the sailors prayed to. "Each one prayed to his own god." In verse fourteen they the direction of their prayers. They now prayed to the One True God. Now notice what happens in verse sixteen:
"Then the men feared the LORD greatly, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows." Jonah 1:16 (NASB)
They are not praying to their own gods - they are worshiping the One True God.
In the Hebrew language there are a number of different words for God: El, Elohim, Yahweh, and so on. Yahweh was the covenant name of God. It’s the name the Jews used when they spoke of the One True God who had made promises to Israel. For the Jew - it was the most sacred name for God in the Old Testament. It was the name for God as He created Adam from the dust of the ground. It was the name of God when He scattered the nations at the tower of Babel. It was the name for God when He struck Pharaoh with the plagues. It was the name of God as He met Moses at Mount Sinai.
Now the sailors were no long praying to their own gods - they were now praying to the One True God. Their spiritual condition had changed. They now had started praying to the One True God - Yahweh. Now they feared the LORD - Yahweh. Now they made a sacrifice and vows to - Yahweh. Their lives had been changed. Their lives had been saved.
They Prayed - They Sacrificed - They Worshiped
Suddenly that boat is filled with enthusiastic worshipers of the One True God. And where is that boat going? It’s not headed for Nineveh - it's headed for Tarshish - with a boat load of missionaries. Can you image the story that they had to tell? A story about a man who is running from God - but God won't let him go. A story about a God who is so powerful that even the wind and sea obeys Him. A story about a God who loves people - and wants to see them saved.
Folks do you remember that last week I mentioned a verse from chapter two. Let me remind you of it again. It says:
"Salvation is from the LORD." Jonah 2:9b (NASB)
Salvation always comes from the Lord. Thank God that He is a God who saves. That He will go the ends of the earth to see people saved. Amen.
