Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

In our world people are looking for someone relatable.

This is true of spouses, friends, and churches.

Whenever you were dating your spouse, chances are you realized that you might not always agree on things but you can at least relate with them and their perspectives.

If you couldn’t relate with your spouse, that would be a bit of a problem, and its one of the reasons why we see so many problems in marriages today.

Now think of your best friend - again, chances are you aren’t going to agree about everything because you have some different views or interests, but you have the ability to relate with where they are coming from and over shared passions.

What about in the church?

The church is a group of diverse people who have been united by the blood of Jesus Christ and we’re adopted into one large family!

We better be able to relate with one another because we were all once lost and now we’re all found.

While we can’t always relate with a situation someone is walking through, we can relate with one another as having experienced the grace of Jesus Christ that we could never deserve.

We generally like being around people that we can relate with over people that we can’t.

If you look at churches around the country that are healthy (not necessarily the largest ones, but the healthiest ones), one of the reasons that they are as healthy as they are is because you have a mix of ages and backgrounds as people relate with one another not just because of similar interests but primarily because of the Gospel changing their lives.

See, the Gospel creates a bond that is stronger than anything else this world can offer.

We can relate with one another because we’re redeemed sinners as Christians.

What about relating with people in the Bible?

Some people think they relate with everyone in the Bible because they think they’re always the hero of the story - have you met someone like this?

In Bible study they talk about how they had a fight whenever they were a kid and they beat up the big bad bully and that basically makes them David and they have a similar story for every figure you can think of!

I’ve met several people like that in my life and that’s a dangerous way to read the Bible because if you’re always the good hero, why do you really need Jesus, the ultimate champion?

Maybe a better way to look at these figures in the Bible is to look not just at the good things God did through them but also at their flaws… we don’t always like talking about our flaws, but we all have them.

In the book of Jonah we see some obvious flaws in this man but none bigger than his failure to trust in God’s plan.

See, Jonah’s main problem is that he thinks that he has a better understanding of justice than God does.

We don’t have to raise hands, but have you ever had that problem?

You think that you know better than the Lord?

We’ve all been there, friends.

This is a relatable prophet - let’s continue looking at chapter 1 and see what God does to redirect this man’s path.

The Result of Jonah’s Rebellion (7-11)

Last week we began looking at this book in chapter 1 and saw that Jonah disobeyed God’s call to go and preach to the people of Nineveh and tell them to repent from their wickedness.

Do you remember how wicked those people were?

How they would flay their prisoners?

Cut off the hands of their enemies?

These people are jerks and it’s understandable as to why Jonah wouldn’t want to naturally go there… but it’s what God called him to do! Whenever you or I disobey what God wants us to do there will always be a consequence.

Sometimes that consequence just impacts you, but more often than not that consequence impacts many people for many years.

Think of the consequence that came from Abraham and Sarah not trusting in God’s promise to give them a biological son! Did their sin only impact their lives?

No, it impacted Hagar, Ishmael, and billions of people in the years since as there has been so much bloodshed between the Arab and Jewish peoples simply because Abraham rebelled against God’s plan.

Have you experienced a punishment as a result of disobeying God’s Word?

I’ve been there and it’s not fun.

Here’s where Jonah is in verse 6 and following.

He was asleep on the boat in the middle of a violent storm and then he wakes up only to realize that it’s impossible to run away from an all knowing all powerful God!

He see’s the storm and its intensity and he knows why the storm is raging but he doesn’t immediately tell everyone.

Have you ever known something but you can’t tell other people even though they’re confused about why something is happening?

Usually this happens with some sort of a surprise like a surprise birthday party.

Someone asks you why this person asked this question or why are there a bunch of cars parked across the street and you know the answer but you can’t tell the person because you’re trying to keep it a surprise!

This is Jonah… but his reason for keeping this to himself isn’t out of fun, it’s to save himself at this point.

He wakes up and the sailors are casting lots and they believe that the dice or stone or pebble will determine who is responsible for this storm… sure enough, it lands on Jonah!

They didn’t have a 6-sided die like we have today, they would have had a colored object and the color would have represented a person and if it landed on your color or in your direction then they’d toss a second one with 2 sides and if it landed on the lighter side the answer was yes and if it landed on the darker side then the answer was no.

This sounds super random but we see throughout the Old Testament that this practice was used and we find in Proverbs 16:33 that this isn’t random at all

Do you believe that God has all authority and power?

We often talk about that fact in relation to severe health situations, right?

If someone is struggling with cancer or is facing an upcoming surgery, we trust that God is all powerful and that God can heal the person fully, regardless of what the medical personal might say beforehand.

We trust in His power and plan there, but we see a story about men rolling a dice or a pebble and often we think that this is a simple random event.

Think about everything to this point, God called Jonah to go to Nineveh, He sent this storm to bring about that plan.

God has been in control and He is still in control today.

We, like Jonah, often disobey though.

The men cast the pebbles and of course, they fall on Jonah.

Is this a random result?

Is this the result of chance?

Of course not.

Jonah was the guilty party and the pebbles falling upon him was not a freak event, God certainly had His hand in this.

To some this is confusing and something we are uncomfortable with.

To others, this is so obvious to see.

Let’s be careful not to overreact to this opening verse, though.

The next time you have an important decision to make and you’re trying to seek God’s guidance and plan, don’t grab a dice and say, “God if this is a 6 then I will do this thing but if it’s not then I won’t.”

God *can* answer that, but often times in my experience and in Scripture we see that His answers come in time and are not necessarily immediate.

Therefore we pray a lot and seek God’s will along the way.

The dice land on Jonah and they expect an answer, they want to know all about Jonah!

Can you imagine being in Jonah’s situation here?

Jonah has to own his mistake and disobedience against the one true God.

I’m sure Jonah’s face was a little red and he was embarrassed by this.

Verse 9 is the first time Jonah speaks in this book and what does he say?

“I am a Hebrew and I worship/fear the Lord.”

Whenever you are put on trial, if you will, by others for your faith, how would/do you answer?

We should all answer as openly and honestly as Jonah did here!

I am a Christian and I fear/worship the one trust living God!

Not only does God tell them that his God is the God of heaven, but he also is the one who made the sea and the dry land.

Jonah doesn’t exactly tell them the whole story right here… but he does claim to worship the one true God.

The sailors are fearful and understandably so - if we were those sailors and Jonah told us that he knew why this was happening we would be really upset!

How on earth could you be so selfish, Jonah?

Again, so often we are like Jonah and we run away from what God wants us to do and whenever we do, we can bring a wake of destruction with us.

Frank Page puts it like this, “To run away from a god was foolish; but to run from “the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land” was suicidal.

These sailors were frightened to the depths of their beings.”

Jonah is forced to accept some responsibility here but he doesn’t fully repent, and as a result, the storm continues until we get to the solution in verse 12

The Reaction to God’s Righteous Judgment (12-16)

After finding out some more information about the situation from Jonah, the sailors naturally want to know what the solution is.

How can we get the sea to calm down?

They are facing a big problem and they need a big solution.

Do you hear the parallels to our own life?

We are facing a serious problem - our sin.

We need a serious solution and thankfully we know that we have that in the person and work of Jesus Christ!

For those of us who are familiar with the New Testament, we know that Jesus simply tells the storm to stop and it ceases.

That is the power of Almighty God!

This is the God who Jonah knows, yet what does Jonah say to these people in verse 12? Does Jonah ever repent here?

No.

As Daniel Timmer points out, “Nowhere in this chapter, or anywhere else in Jonah for that matter, are we told that he repented of his disobedience.”

Whenever we mess up and sin against God, we are called to repent.

Jonah does not do this here, though.

Rather he simply tells them to throw him overboard.

Rather than believing that God can and does forgive, it appears that he believes that God will only judge.

Thankfully, we know that God does both.

He is a righteous judge, but He offers forgiveness as well.

All we must do is repent and trust in Him.