Jonah's Rebellion & God's Grace

Introduction

Who am I?

In the midst of recovery from the tornado’s we are faced with many things

Questions? Fear?

Is God angry with us?

I hope that God will speak to us tonight and answer our questions himself.

PRAY

Background of Jonah

The book of Jonah can be found in the section of the bible known as the minor prophets. They would have been grouped together in the Hebrew bible

In case you were wondering and maybe you are new to the faith and the study of the Bible, These books are minor not because of their importance, rather their length.

We learn from 2 Kings 14:25 that Jonah was a prophet in the northern Kingdom of Israel during the reign of Jeroboam II. Which scholars say was the last great period of economic and military success before the capture of Israel by the Assyrians.

While Jonah is the “Main Character”, The words for God appear 20 times more than Jonah or Nineveh.

This should give us an idea that the story isn’t God teaching us something about Jonah, rather this is God teaching us about himself.

Where’s Nineveh

Nineveh was a prominent city of the Assyrians, who not only were the hated enemy of the Hebrews, but also had likely captured the kingdom of Israel when the story of Jonah takes place.

One last item or thought about this prophet before we jump into the text,

Jonah was the only prophet that was charged by God to go to a pagan nation. The other prophets spoke about the nations, but He was asked to go.

1.) GOD WILL OFTEN ASK US TO DO THINGS WE DON’T WANT TO DO.

Jonah 1:1 (ESV)

Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,

“the word of the LORD” appears 7 times in the book of Jonah.

The Divine nature of the command is clear! This is the Word of the LORD.

Jonah 1:2 ESV

“Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.”

God is calling Jonah to preach the word that God has given him.

A funny story, I recently heard someone say that a preacher’s job is to stand up each week and tell the people what they are doing wrong, the people pay him to do that and they come back week after week expecting him to do the same.

Well… I haven’t seen a dime! All jokes aside I’m not exactly sure that’s what preaching is.

2. It brings up a good question “what did god want Jonah to do?”

Well my version says “call out against Nineveh”,

“Oh Boy, God told me to Tell you! He is fed up with all that racket.”

Maybe yours says “Cry against it”

This one feels more earnest, “Come On guys, don’t you realize how mad God is.”

I think the message Bible says it best.

The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language Chapter 1

Preach to them. They’re in a bad way and I can’t ignore it any longer.

God doesn’t want Jonah to put his own spin on things, He doesn’t want him to appeal to Nineveh and convince them they are wrong.

God merely wants Jonah to bring the word that he has given and deliver it.

God want’s Jonah to trust that God will handle the outcome, and be the vessel by which his word comes to Nineveh.

So why does Jonah not want to go?

This would be like asking a Jew to preach in 1930’s Berlin.

How do you think Jonah feels being asked to preach to his nations conqueror?

What does he think is going to happen?

Is Jonah afraid for his life, does he think God will send him to die?

But Jonah doesn't Run from Nineveh, we see in Jonah 1:3 that Jonah flees from “the presence of the Lord”. Why?

Jonah 4:2 ESV

And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.

Jonah is angry that God might spare Nineveh the punishment that he thinks they are due. He knows that God is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

So what does Jonah do?

He runs!

2.) YOU CAN ALWAYS FIND A BOAT SAILING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION.

Jonah 1:3 ESV

But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. 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, away from the presence of the Lord.

Jonah Rejects the Calling.

Jonah has received clearly the word of the Lord, but in his anger he elects to run from the calling God has placed upon him.

The second that Jonah realizes that God is giving the Assyrians a chance to Repent he jumps ship.

Well Jonah knows that God isn’t going to let him sit and do nothing, so Just like Adam in the garden we see Jonah try to hide from God.

Jonah’s actions remind me of the story of the Prodigal Son. Just like the Prodigal Jonah flees the land of his Father.

an Interesting counterpoint here is that in the later 2 chapters of Jonah he more closely resembles the older son, who is angered by the grace the Father shows.

Jonah takes a midnight train going anywhere.

Not only does Jonah flee the presence of the LORD, he flees the people of the LORD by going to Gentile controlled Tarshish. Which at the time was considered the end of the known world.

When I was in the early stages of my military career we had to attend a preliminary course to see if we could handle the difficult training and strenuous nature of being an EOD technician. The guys that graduated basic training with me were just as pumped to save lives as I was, we felt called to the work. I started my Prelim class with 20 people and only 2 of us made it through the course. What happened to all those guys who were so motivated?

Well when the going got tough they said to themselves, “I can serve in another Job”, “I don’t need to disarm bomb’s” “maybe I’m just not built for this”

They denied the calling they felt and ran for greener pastures. Just like Jonah does in response to the word of God.

How does God respond to Jonahs Rebellion?

3.) SOMETIMES GOD WILL INTERVENE TO GET OUR ATTENTION

Jonah 1:4 (ESV)

But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up.

God’s reply does not come in the form of words, no, he responds with a powerful wind, so strong that it threatens the integrity of the ship itself.

God’s elemental “Where you at” is not aimed at the boat however but rather at a small segment of the cargo it is hauling, namely Jonah himself.

What does God want from us?

1. God wants us to Love him:

Deut 6:5 “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”

Jonah 1:5 gives us insight into how much Jonah Loves God.

While the sailors cry out to their pagan gods on the ships deck, Jonah can be found with the cargo asleep.

Is he unafraid? is this designed to show the courage of Jonah?

I think the answer is clear in light of the captains tone in verse 6 and how similar it is to Eph 5:14 which says “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

Jonah 1:8–10 (ESV)

(Jonah) said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, “What is this that you have done!” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them.

Note that the word “yārēʾ” which Jonah uses in v8 does not mean “Trusting Awe” as it meant for Abraham but rather actual fear.

Jonah Fears God rather than loves him.

2. God wants us to love our neighbor.

Lev19:18 “You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.”

Jonah not only increases the terror of the sailors by clarifying that it is YHWH almighty God of the universe whose wrath has come upon them in his confession in v12, he also admits to knowingly imperiling the lives of sailors by his actions.

Jonah 1:12 (ESV)

He said to them, “Pick me up and hurl me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.”

The sailors on the other hand are so considerate of the safety of Jonah that in Jonah 1:13 even after learning that throwing him overboard will calm the seas they attempt to row to shore and save his life.

Can I just point out a little bit of Irony… sometimes its the least religious people who remind me what it looks like to care for others.

Jonah 1:15–16 (ESV)

So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.

In another stark contrast to the confession of Jonah that he “fears the LORD”, here we see the pagan sailors demonstrating actual Fear of LORD and responding to God’s desire to be Loved, by offering sacrifices and vows to him.

3. Repentance.

Is 1:16-17 “Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.”

In Jonah 1:14 we are given the last of God’s desires for us, and window into the fulcrum upon which Gods mercy rests.

The sailors no longer cry out to their pagan gods. Here rather they cry out to YHWH begging his forgiveness for taking Jonah’s life.

In a similar manner even Jonah’s salvation from death rests upon his Repentant heart.

Jonah 2:7 ESV

When my life was fainting away, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple.

But you say, “Ian, that’s awesome but you don't know what i’m going through!”

“You don’t know how many times I’ve tried to be good, It just doesn’t seem possible.”

Conclusion.

Can’t you see. On our own we’re Jonah. Incapable of the Crazy Love that God desires from me, unable to understand how God could love me after what I’ve done. Hating my neighbor and those who have wronged me in the deepest places of my heart.

2. Then something amazing happens, Jonah receives God’s Grace.

Jonah 1:17 ESV

And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

Jonah does not receive Grace because he’s special, He doesn’t receive Grace because of his prior good deeds, he doesn’t even receive Grace because he repents of his sin while drowning at the bottom of the sea.

Matthew 12:40 “For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”

Jonah, just like the sailors, receives grace because “the Son of Man”, Jesus Christ came as a perfect sacrifice, bearing our sins and Jonah’s to the cross.

Jonah receives grace because Jesus Christ, the Son of God spent three days and nights in the heart of the earth.

Is 1:18 ““Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.”

It is only by Faith in christ that We are able to Love God.

It is only by Faith in Christ that we are able to Love our Neighbor.

It is only by Faith in Christ that we are covered by his cleansing blood, and can be made right with God by repentance.

So how do we respond?

Just as “the word of the lord” came to Jonah, You too have been given a calling by the one who’s blood has washed you clean.

Mark 16:15 “And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.”

In response to this call we have two options.

In the midst of the storm when the boat begins to shake, when God is crying out for your attention and for the attention of those around you, you can be like Jonah rejecting the calling of your God and going below deck leaving those around you, who don’t know the LORD, to wallow in fear.

Or you can be like the apostle Paul who in the midst of the storm even when he knew the ship would not be spared, turned to those around him and said

Acts 27:25 “So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told.”

Do I have your attention? -God

Pray!