INTRODUCTION
Over the next four weeks I would like us to take some time to look at the Old Testament book of Jonah.
The Book of Jonah is one of the most ridiculed book by the liberal ‘scholars”.
The story of a fish swallowing a man sounds like a whopper of a fish story.
The basic issue with the critics is the fact that they do not believe in the supernatural. Within this short book there are four miracles recorded, the storm, the calming of the storm, the fish, and the growth of the plant.
There are many different views about the book. Is it a history, an allegory, a parable, or fiction? Was Jonah a real person? Did he really spend three days in a whale’s stomach? Did he preach in Nineveh, and was God’s judgment really averted?
For me, the issue is simple. Not only is it recorded in the Old Testament, but Jesus Himself validates the account in Matthew 12:39-41.
I believe that the book of Jonah is reliable history.
The Jonah is different from the other Old Testament prophets because it is not full of prophecies by the prophet; it is instead about the life of the prophet.
Jonah’s message was a simple one; “In forty-days Ninevah will be destroyed.”
Most of the other O.T. prophets prophesied to Israel and Judah, Jonah’s task was to go to Ninevah and prophesy to them.
Jonah preached in the Northern Kingdom during the reign of Jeroboam II (2 Kings 14:25). . He prophesied during the reign of Jeroboam, who was King of Israel from approximately 793 to 753 BC (II Kings 14:23-27). This was the century during which Assyria (The people Jonah was supposed to warn in Ninevah.) took Israel into captivity. Jonah might have been one of the leaders among the “schools of the prophets” when Elisha was nearing the end of his ministry.
When I read the book of Jonah, I had to ask why God gave us a book that is about the life of a prophet instead of his work.
My conclusion is that God has some lessons for us to learn from the life of Jonah.
It is easy to get caught up in the miracles in the book of Jonah and miss the lesson that God has in store for us.
Today we will look at the first chapter of Jonah and learn the lesson, “You Can Run, but You Cannot Hide.” A lesson about running from God.
SERMON
1:1 The word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai saying, 1:2 "Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me." 1:3 But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. So he went down to Joppa, found a ship which was going to Tarshish, paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.
A. There are many things about Jonah that are not typical to the other Old Testament prophets, but one thing that is the same is found in verse one. The Word of the Lord came to Jonah.
B. God instructed Jonah to go to Ninevah and to warn them of their impending doom.
C. This seems like a simple request, why would Jonah run from God?
D. God just asked Jonah to go and tell them what He was going to do to them.
E. A lesson that we can see right of is that God does not ignore the sins of a nation. The Assyrians were terrible people, they were cruel oppressors.
F. What was it about Nineveh that so angered and disgusted God? Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrians, Israel’s’ archenemy. They were a brutal people with a horrible mania for a brand of brutality which made the surrounding people shudder with the horror of falling prey to them. We might say the Assyrians were the Nazis of those days. Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse said, “...calling Jonah to go to the Ninevites was like asking a Jew in 1942 to go from New York to Hitler, and tell him that God loved him, and that everything he did would be forgiven if he would but repent. So the Jew got on a train, all right, and went to San Francisco; then got on a ship to Japan! He wanted nothing to do with it.” Ron R. Ritchie, Discovery Papers, Jan. 29, 1978.
G. Jonah was given a job by God to do that was not too appealing to him. There were many reasons for his fear, but God told him to go, and he did not.
H. How many times are we in a situation where we KNOW what God wants us to do, but instead, we refuse? JAMES 4:17 Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.
I. We think of all the reasons not to do it, and then we head off for Tarshish.
J. When called to go to Nineveh, Jonah chose to run the other way. People run today for the same basic reasons as Jonah. Simply put, when we don’t want to face something or someone, we take off.
K. Notice when Jonah ran, who paid the ticket. 3b] "And paid a fare. . .” Running from God will always cost us something, and usually the price isn’t something we get back. Any form of disobedience, regardless of our motives, must bow to the unchangeable laws of God—"What you sow you shall reap.” We all pay if we run. We could avoid so much hassle if we’d just go God’s way in the first place, and submit to His plan.
L. When you are trying to run away from God, you will be amazed how often you find a ship/a way ready to help you escape… to take your money…to take your ministry…to take your family…to take your relationships… to take all you have…even your life!
M. We think that we can ignore God and that is the end of it. As we will see, sin has an effect not just one ourselves, but on other people also, people we do not even think will be affected.
1:4 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.
A. Jonah thought he could run from God, when you think about that, it seems like a real silly thing to do. Here is a prophet of God, trying to run from God.
B. Jonah was going to find out that you can run but you cannot hide.
C. Notice that God loved Jonah enough to pursue him in the midst of his disobedience.
1:5 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.
A. Notice what is happening. The storm is about to sink the ship, and all of the crew is in a panic. Jonah is sound asleep.
B. When we are disobedient to God we get the same way. A person who is running from God many times will not see the chaos he or she is causing around them. The world around them could be severely damaged or in turmoil and they will just sleep through it. We are blind to the consequences of our own sin.
C. People say that what we do is our own business, but that is not true. Sin affects people around us. (SPEAK OF SINS THAT HURT). We are not in a world of our own.
D. Also as a side note, look at what the people are doing in the middle of impending doom, they are casting out their cargo. When trouble comes, your priorities tend to change.
E. People get serious in a crisis; the pain gets their attention. They either:
• get religious
• make changes
• pray to God and make promises
• Curse God; or take things into their own hands.
1:6 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." 1:7 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.
A. The foxhole prayers, the people were praying to their false gods and here is Jonah, the prophet of the one true God, doing nothing.
B. How can we tell the purpose of a storm—e.g., the deep trial and trouble in our lives? The answer will influence your response to your storm.
If it’s a storm from your disobedience, prayer and repentance are needed, e.g., Jonah. Some of you need to understand that the hassles you are going through are simply because of your disobedience. As soon as you confess sin and turn from it, the storm will stop. It will be that quick.
If it’s a storm from someone else’s disobedience, then ask for wisdom and insight as to how you might protect yourself and others caught in the same storm. Remember Paul in a storm in Acts 27, and the sailors on Jonah’s ship. It may take some loss and stretching moments to get through a storm caused by someone else’s disobedience, but be confident God will speak to you in that storm and even use you to minister to those causing it. The Lord will eventually have a solution and deliverance in mind when the time is right. Example: In Acts 28, Paul found himself on a ship taking him to Rome. He instructed the captain not to proceed at that time; however, that captain continued to sail ahead. Soon they entered a huge storm. But Paul gave instructions as to what they were to do and they were all saved, though it cost everyone a great deal, especially Paul himself, discomfort, a swim in stormy water, a snake bite, etc. Because Paul trusted in the sovereignty of God to work in that storm, he went through it and was saved.
If it’s a storm because of your obedience, then hold on and ride out the storm in faith, without fear, because it’s a test intended to make you grow and mature. Think of the disciples in the boat with Jesus in Matt. 9:23-27. When this happens, we might be tempted to say, "Hey, this isn’t fair, I’m obeying God." But we must understand that following the Lord in obedience does not mean calm water and no problems. We will have many tests of our faith; we will all go through storms.
C. Finally the truth will seek you and you will pay the price. The people found out that Jonah was the cause of their problems.
1:8 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?" 1:9 He said to them, "I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord God of heaven who made the sea and the dry land." 1:10 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.
A. What an awful witness to the lost world we become when we run from God. The sailors were amazed that a person who was following the true God would be disobedient to Him. They spent their whole lives in fear of their false gods, as do many people around the world today.
B. When we who claim to follow the true God, run from that God, we make a mockery of God. If we who claim to know Him do not follow and obey him, why would the world take Jesus seriously?
1:11 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. :12 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."
A. Now here we are, Jonah admits that he is the problem, notice how quickly he admits to it. Maybe when we are disobeying God, we know it and it is on our mind a lot. Have you ever had a person get mad at you over talking to them about God? Maybe it is a guilty conscience.
B. They sailors ask Jonah what to do. He says, “I need to repent and do what God told me to do.” Right?
C. No! Jonah said in verse 9 that he feared the Lord. That was a lie. If he feared the Lord, he would have done what he was told to do in the first place.
D. Jonah tells them to throw him overboard and it would end.
E. Jonah is basically saying that he would die before he would do what God wants him to do.
F. Many people will go to their grave with that same attitude. Instead of submitting to God, they will die and go to hell instead of following God.
G. Jonah knows he will die.
1:13 However, the men rowed desperately to return to land but they could not, for the sea was becoming even stormier against them.
A. Notice that the heathen sailors are more compassionate than Jonah. They did not want to see him die, Jonah on the other hand did not care if the Assyrians all died.
1:14 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." 1:15 So they picked up Jonah, threw him into the sea, and the sea stopped its raging.
A. Finally the inevitable happens, the sailor s have to toss Jonah overboard.
B. Notice that they prayed for him first. Here is the man who caused them all of the trouble they were in, the loss of expensive cargo, and they are praying to God for him.
1:16 Then the men feared the Lord greatly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.
A. The heathen sailors see the power of God and they worship. Jonah had seen the power of God in his life, yet he was being disobedient. Maybe sometimes we get so familiar with God that we do not have a healthy fear (respect) for him. These sailors sure did!
1:17 And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights.
A. Notice that God still cares for Jonah and sends him a way out. God will provide a way of escape for us also whenever we are tempted to sin. 1 Corinthians 10:13.
B. This is where we will leave our story, next week we will start chapter two with the Fish who went manning.
CONCLUSION
Read through the book of Jonah and read it looking for the lessons that God wants you to learn.
Life is so much better for us and other people when we choose to obey God.
God loves you and only wants the best for you. Have you been running from God, today is the day to stop running to Tarshish and turn to Jesus!
If you recognize parts of this message, I will post credit to them, I usually do not borrow much other that mainpoints or outlines though.
Jeff A
