The Church Called Jonah
# 3 – The Voyage
Jonah 1:3b - “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 from the presence of the Lord.”
He went down to Joppa
We’ve seen how Jonah made up his mind to ‘flee from the presence of the Lord,’ It isn’t long before a rebellious attitude is followed by a rebellious act, and that’s what Jonah did. He was told to go to Nineveh (which was in the east), but he decided to go west to Tarshish instead. He headed Joppa, which was his connecting point, from where he would then board a ship to Tarshish. In all my years of travels (with my mother and brothers before marriage), when we traveled across India for no particular reason, I remember the many connecting points we touched to get to where we were going.
We know from 2 Kings 14:25 that Jonah hailed from Gath Hepher, which is present day Mashhad, which is at an altitude of 985 metres (3250 feet). We don't know where Jonah was when the Lord spoke with him, but if he was in his home town of Gath Hepher, then when it says that ‘He went down to Joppa,’ it literally meant that he traveled ‘down’ to Joppa. Isn’t it amazing the extent one would go to not do something as opposed to doing something? It’s amazing that though it takes a lot less effort to obey God, than it does to disobey Him, so often we find ourselves expending our efforts on the former rather than the latter. To be a voice for the Lord is a lot less difficult than it is to run away from that call.
Joppa was his connecting point to Tarshish. What are the connecting points for us The Church of today? Are the connecting points in our lives the people and places that help us fulfil God's call on our lives? Or are our connecting points cities, people, our jobs our positions etc. that serve as stepping stones to get us as far away from the Lord’s will for our lives as possible?
And found a ship going to Tarshish
Jonah wanted to go to Tarshish one of the farthest possible places west at the time (as the Americas had not yet been discovered). Tarshish, would have been near present day Gibraltar in Spain. So Jonah was planning a trip from the east end of the Mediterranean Sea to the west of it. When Tarshish was Jonah’s goal, all he needed was the transportation to get him there and find it he did. The quickest way to get to Tarshish would have been by ship as there weren’t planes back then. One can imagine the joy of finding a ship headed to your choice destination, even though you may be running away from God's plan for your life. It might even seem like a divine provision.
Have we found the 'vehicle' that would help us accomplish the Lord’s call on our lives or are we searching for one to get as far away from it as possible?
So he paid the fare
Jonah had made up his mind about his mission and his destination; he had found the mode of transport to get him there and there was nothing that would stand in his way of achieving his goal. He was willing to pay whatever it was to get him there. He purchased his ticket and was now on his way.
Isn’t it amazing how often, when we The Church of today are on a mission to take the gospel to our neighbour, be it a person, city or country, that we look for the smallest possible obstacle to not do it, explaining it away as not being the Lord’s will or timing or both? On the other hand, when we pursue self-centred goals, how willing we are to pay whatever the price to ensure we have a seat on the 'vehicle' to get where we want? At such times, nothing stands in our way, and God’s will and timing seem to be 'just right.'
Are we doing all we can to let the Lord use us to fulfil His purpose for creating, calling and choosing us - namely reach and disciple the world, or are we paying our way away to move as far away from it as possible?
And went down into it
Jonah didn’t just board the ship, but he actually seemed to have picked his spot on the ship – 'down into it.' We’ll see why he chose that spot in another devotion. Jonah was smart in that he knew which was the most stable part of the ship and he chose that part of the ship.
Many of us in The Church of today have taken a rather comfortable seat on our journey through life – one that’s non-controversial, more and more inclusive of ungodly lifestyles, less and less firm in our stand for Godly values and living and we're sailing along in the ocean of life.
Have we ‘gone down’ to a comfortable place so we can enjoy the journey with none but ourselves in mind, or are we busy with the work of the Lord, namely saving those who are sailing along aimlessly in life, searching desperately for what we have taken so for granted?
To go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord
Jonah had set out on a journey along with other people who were bound for Tarshish, but while they were going about their everyday business, Jonah was merely blending in with the crowd and could easily have passed off as just another businessman going about his travels. What a comfortable place to be when we blend in with others, to the extent that they don’t see the difference between our life's purpose and theirs, our lifestyle and theirs, our values and priorities and theirs.
All were on the same boat, but not all were headed to the same destination in a sense. While the crew and the other passengers were headed to Tarshish, Jonah was headed elsewhere - 'away from the presence of the Lord.'
Many of us in The Church of today have done an excellent job of blending in with the world to such an extent that not only have they not got to see what we’re about, but we ourselves have forgotten the mission we're on, a long time back. We’re sailing along to our own ‘Tarshishes,’ hoping the Lord isn’t going to catch up with us to remind us of our mission here on earth. We’ve become so comfortable with purposeless living, that we can now teach the world around how to live without a purpose and to simply sail along.
Are we ‘blending in’ with the world or ‘standing out’ for the Lord, with the goal of bringing in those who are out? Are we seeking to be about the Lord's business or about our own? If we're about the Lord's 'business,' then we're in a safe place, but if we're about our own 'business,' then it's time to stop, take stock, repent and get back on track going about what we were saved to do - save souls by making disciples.
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Michael Collins
