We read in Jonah 1:8, Then the men said to Jonah, "It is your fault that this terrible thing is happening to us. Tell us, what have you done? What is your job? Where do you come from? What is your country? Who are your people?" (ERV)
The word of God came to Jonah to go to Nineveh, but Jonah decided to disobey God. He undertook a journey in the exact opposite direction, and boarded a ship to Tarshish. The ship that Jonah journeyed in was met with a terrible tempest. In desperation, not knowing what to do, the entire crew on the ship call out to their gods. When the tumultuous tempest refused to die down, the men on the ship inferred that someone aboard that ship was responsible for this calamity. We have no idea how they came to this conclusion, but in order to find the wrong-doer, they cast lots, and sure enough the lot fell on Jonah. It was then that they all got together to interrogate Jonah.
The questions they asked Jonah pertained to his occupation, his country, people and also the reason for the adversity that had prevailed upon them. Most of these questions were in regard to his identity, as they wished to know who Jonah really was. Jonah was called by God to go to the city of Nineveh, and preach against their wickedness. Jonah refused to accept God’s call, but now he was found out, and was asked to give an answer as to his identity.
If anyone were to operate outside the will of God, the consequence for such an action will not be theirs, but will also adversely affect those around them. So also when one works in agreement with the will of God, the protection of God will not only be for them, but will extend to those around them as well. Like Jonah, when we miss doing the things that we are supposed to do, we will be put in a corner whereby we will be forced to do these things anyhow.
Generally, when we introduce ourselves to someone, we mention our name, the place we come from, and maybe our father’s name sometimes. However, read the reply that Jonah gave about himself.
1. Jonah introduced himself as a Hebrew
In Jonah 1:9 we read, Jonah said to them, "I am a Hebrew. I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the land and the sea." (ERV)
Jonah introduced himself as a Hebrew. If we want to know where this name Hebrew occurs for the very first time in the bible, we find it in the verse below.
The origin of the name Hebrew
We read in Genesis 14:13, One of the men who had escaped went to Abram the Hebrew and told him what happened. (ERV)
Abram was the very first person in the bible who was referred to as a Hebrew. The meaning of the word Hebrew, was one who belonged to the nation who worshipped the one true living God. Before Abram was called by God he had a different lifestyle, but after he heeded God’s call, and walked out in obedience, he became a Hebrew.
We read in Joshua 24:2, Then Joshua spoke to all the people. He said, "I am telling you what the LORD, the God of Israel, says to you: 'A long time ago, your ancestors lived on the other side of the Euphrates River. I am talking about men like Terah, the father of Abraham and Nahor. At that time they worshiped other gods. (ERV)
Joshua the leader of Israel, was declaring to the people of Israel about their ancestors, as told by the God of Israel Himself. He explained to them that Abraham and his father Terah worshipped other gods, before the Lord called Abraham to follow after Him. This was God’s way of telling His people about the way of life that their father Abraham pursued before he came to know the God of Israel. A Hebrew was therefore one who followed after the one true living God.
Joseph was referred to as a Hebrew
We read in Genesis 39:14, She called to the men outside and said, "Look! This Hebrew slave was brought here to make fun of us. (ERV)
The next person who is referred to as a Hebrew is Joseph who was sold into slavery by his own brothers. Joseph too descended from Abraham, and worshipped the one true God. As Joseph languished as a slave in Egypt, where the ways and rituals of worship were in contrast to his own belief, Joseph never forgot that he was a Hebrew. There were two factors working against Joseph, one the fact that he was a slave, and the next that he was in a foreign land. Joseph was laboring as a slave in the house of Potiphar who was Pharaoh’s official.
The household of Potiphar must have observed Joseph, for his ways of worship must have been different to theirs. Joseph did not compromise in his faith, and did not mingle in with the rituals and worship of the gods of Egypt where he was enslaved. Deep rooted in Joseph’s heart was the firm thought that he was a Hebrew, who belonged to the one true living God. No wonder then, when Potiphar’s wife framed Joseph falsely, she referred to him as the Hebrew slave.
As children of God we too must be certain about our identity, and who we belong to.
The Lord judges the gods of Egypt
It is recorded in Exodus 12:12, “For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD.”(ESV)
In this passage of scripture, where the Israelites were asked to observe the Passover, the Lord was executing judgement on the god of the Egyptians, by making a marked difference between the people of Israel who followed the true living God, and the Egyptians who served many gods.
No wonder then that Jonah introduced himself as a Hebrew, and did not mention his father’s name or the place he came from, for that was his true identity. If the church today were asked the same question, I wonder what our answer would be.
What is the identity of the church?
We read in 1 Timothy 3:15, “…you will know how people should live in the family of God. That family is the church of the living God. And God's church is the support and foundation of the truth.” (ERV)
The church is referred to as the family of the living God. We must always keep in mind that as a church we are not ordinary people, but we belong to the living God. This thought should dominate the mind of every believer in the church, which implies that God is watching, He hears and He will judge. If every believer lived with this awareness of who we are, there will be no place for problems, and conflict in the body of Christ.
You may have noticed how companies give identity cards to their employees. This gives a sense of belonging and identity to the employee as to the ones he or she represents. However, when the employee does something amiss, it not only affects him or her, but the name of the company or organization that he or she represents. Each one of us therefore as members of the church of God, must live our lives with the realization that we are representatives of the true and living God. Nothing that we do should in any way dishonor the God we represent. When we live with this thought we will experience the blessings of God on us as individuals, our families, our church, society and in every sphere of our lives.
2. Jonah introduced the God whom he believed in
In Jonah 1:9 we read, Jonah said to them, "I am a Hebrew. I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the land and the sea." (ERV)
The second thing that Jonah said about himself was that He worshipped the Lord, God of heaven, who made the land and the sea. We can imagine that as Jonah looked at the raging sea all around, he acknowledged that he belonged to the God who made the sea with all its teeming creatures. Jonah also declared that He was the God of heaven and earth, for He had created it all. Jonah made sure that the mariners understood that the God he worshipped was no ordinary god that they worshipped, but the true and living God who created the heavens, the earth and everything in them. In other words, Jonah introduced them to the unseen God who has created everything that they behold.
There are those who attest that the world came into being all on its own, and there are others who believe that the world evolved, and human being came from apes. The Bible however teaches us that this splendid earth, and everything in it did not happen by chance, but was carefully planned, and created by an Almighty God and an All-Wise God.
We read in Hebrews 11:3, “By faith we understand that the worlds were created, beautifully coordinated, and now exist, at God's command; so the things that we see did not develop out of mere matter.” (William)
The writer of Hebrews explains so beautifully that everything in this world was so wonderfully created at God’s command. Everything we see with our eyes was created out of nothing, which clearly implies that the world did not evolve in various stages as many would like to believe. This kind of understanding comes only by faith in this most powerful creator God.
Paul says it this way in Romans 1:20, “Forever since the creation of the world, His invisible characteristics -- His eternal power and divine nature -- have been made intelligible and clearly visible by His works. So they are without excuse,” (Williams)
As one beholds the world and all the created things, we can see the hand of a mighty invisible and all wise God. Those who behold all of creation have no excuse to not believe in this Almighty creator God.
Just think about this one thought that there are millions of people in this world, and yet every single person on the earth has a unique thumb impression. Everything was created by God, and there is no way they could have all come into existence just by chance. Most of us use mobile phones, and we know there are numerous functions in each phone. If someone were to ask us how this phone got assembled, none of us would say that we put all the pieces in a huge sack, shook it really well, there was a big boom, and that was how we got this mobile phone in our hands. The thought itself is hilarious, and we would certainly be humored if someone gave us this sort of an explanation. Yet there are many who would like to believe this marvelous world was created this way, thereby denying the power of a creator God.
We also see that there is such a huge difference between human beings, and all other created beings. Sometimes, people will make a big deal about their pet animals because they know them so well, are able to obey their many commands and respond to them. However, no matter how smart other animals may be, we know that none of them can think, reason and respond like human beings, and there is no way one can compare any of them with humans.
That is why Romans 1:20 is explicit that man is without excuse for not accepting his creator God, for all of His eternal power and divine nature have been clearly revealed through all of creation.
3. Jonah reinforced that he worshipped this God
The next thing that Jonah mentioned was that he was one who reverently feared and worshipped God. It was this reverent worshipper of God who chose to walk away in disobedience.
There are many people who express their reverence for God only in certain places. Inside the church premises their devotion and reverence is utmost, but once they are out in the world their lives are in complete contrast. We as the church are reminded that our identity first and foremost is that we are the children of the living God. We belong to Christ, and are called to be those who worship Him with reverent fear. Let us keep in mind that God is watching us wherever we are, and is aware of all that we are doing. It is therefore our responsibility to be His reverent children wherever we are.
In the midst of utter chaos and turmoil, Jonah was certain of his identity, and declared the same to everyone on that ship. As the church of God let us too be those who will maintain our identity, and proclaim the Lord to those around us at every opportune time.
The holy God of the bible has certainly prohibited that we have any sort of symbol or image to represent Him. The reason is that when people do this, they are prompted to worship God only when they see that symbol or image, and can conveniently choose to put it aside, when they do not want to be reverent. Our God is a living God, who is all-knowing and Omni-present.
Jonah must have felt ashamed in the presence of all those men who did not believe, when he had to declare that he was the prophet of the living God, but had walked away in disobedience to His word. He would have felt greatly humiliated to know that the calamity that came upon everyone on the ship was a result of his disobedience.
We too like Jonah may have failed the Lord by not being His witnesses at home, at work or in society, but we can repent, and ask the Lord to restore us back to fulfill His purposes. Let us remember our true identity, walk reverently in God’s presence, and declare the gospel and wonders of the Lord to everyone we meet.
Also may we make sure that what we profess, and how we behave go hand in hand. Someone said this of one whose words and actions didn’t match, ‘your actions speak so loud, I can’t hear what you are saying.’ May our reverence not be just in words or confined to some places only, but may it be a genuine reverence from the heart that is expressed through our life of total obedience to God.
Rev. F. Andrew Dixon
www.goodnewsfriends.net
Transcribed by: Sis. Esther Collins
