Fear and Loathing in Nineveh pt1

Today we are starting a brand new series called “Fear and Loathing in Nineveh” . This series will focus on Jonah. Oftentimes we know the story of Jonah to be particularly popular in children's Sunday school classes. And why wouldn’t it be? I remember being amazed at the story when I was a kid. However, as I’ve grown older, I’ve noticed themes in the story that are very relevant for me as an adult. We oftentimes dismiss the story of Jonah for being more suited for Sunday school, but there are very important lessons to be taken from this book. Read Jonah 1:1-17

Jonah 1:1–17 ESV

Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.” 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. 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. Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his god. And they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep. So the captain came and said to him, “What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call out to your god! Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish.” And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. Then they said to him, “Tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us. What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?” And he 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. Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?” For the sea grew more and more tempestuous. 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.” Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to get back to dry land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them. Therefore they called out to the Lord, “O Lord, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not on us innocent blood, for you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you.” 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. 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.

Running away Jonah receives the word of God telling him to preach against the city of Nineveh, and Jonah decides to run away from God.

Nineveh was a Assyrian city, and the Assyrians had a reputation for being extremely violent and unpredictable. Imagine if God instructed you to travel to Pyongyang, North Korea and preach against it, the first thought a person may have is “you want me to go where?” We may have found ourselves running because we fear what God is asking us to do. Jonah made the decision that he was not going to put himself at such a hazard by preaching to such vile people. However in an Ironic twist of fate, Jonah would put himself at hazard by making a really bad decision.

The scripture says that Jonah “Fled from the presence of the Lord” while this might seem like Jonah is simply running away, it’s actually much deeper. The phrase “running from the presence of the LORD” is a Hebrew saying or idiom which implies that someone is in full rebellion against God.

Basically it seems that Jonah is willing to forsake everything, his status as a prophet, even one who is part of God’s chosen people. He’s willing to forsake all of this because he deems God’s command to have gone too far. He would willingly forsake God before giving the heathen Ninevites a chance at salvation.

The bible says that Jonah fled to the sea, he paid a fare and set sail Tarshish. Those poor sailors with Jonah had no idea what they were about to experience. They would soon find out when the storm was beating against the boat threatening to tear it apart. Imagine waves so intense they could smash a boat to pieces. The sailors were terrified and did everything they could to save themselves. They enacted counter measures, they threw some of their cargo overboard, and they prayed to anyone who was willing to listen. Nothing was working.

Any time that experienced sailors are outright terrified by a storm, you know the storm is bad. One of the most famous shipwrecks in US history is the "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” on lake Superior in 1975. The Fitz sank due to an enormous winter storm on Lake Superior. While the Fitzgerald was enduring the storm, a nearby freighter was in constant contact with their captain. Despite the nature of the storm and their imminent fate, the captain seemed calm.This speaks to the resolve of sailors in the face of a storm, so if the storm scares a sailor, you know things must be bad.

During this time Jonah was asleep below deck. This is going to be an important detail later. The captain of the ship wakes Jonah up and says Hey! Wake up, do you realize what’s happening out there, help us, and pray to your God! The sailors eventually determined responsibility when Lots fell on Jonah, Jonah out right told them he was a Hebrew and he worshiped the God who made land and sea. The sailors were terrified! This is the effect the power of God had on the sailors, they were terrified by the mention of him being the reason for their trouble. They feared and revered despite not fully understanding. There is a temptation in needing to fully understand why in order to give something it’s due reverence or fear. However, the sailors likely didn’t know much about God, or why he was doing this, but they feared him anyway. Jonah told them to toss him overboard, after trying alternative measures they realized Jonah needed to be gone, so they threw him overboard and he was swallowed by the fish.

If you haven’t already noticed, the notion of rebellion against God is something we will focus on heavily this morning. We are going to examine the consequences of Jonah’s rebellion.

What are the consequences? The consequences for Jonah were obvious, the ship he was attempting to flee upon came under a huge storm sent by God. If we insist on disregarding God, we may find him wrecking and wreaking havoc on our lives. Jonah found himself in such a position. But it wasn’t just Jonah that was in danger, was it?

Jonah’s rebellion put the lives of others in danger. Jonah was responsible for them enduring this storm. Even worse is this: while the sailors tried desperately to pray and save themselves from peril, Jonah lay below deck and slept while others were put in danger on his account.

Notice when the consequences of Jonah’s actions were finally clear to him, he instructed the men to throw him overboard.Jonah had no idea about the fish, he may have thought this would then end for him. This ultimately reveals Jonah's heart. He was concerned about the wellbeing of others, he was willing to die in order to save the lives he put in danger. The sailors didn’t want to kill Jonah, however they soon realized they had no choice. Jonah was thrown overboard. Jonah and the sailors both believed this would end in his death. This all happened because Jonah refused to preach God’s compassion, and decided to fully rebel against him instead.

Here is what I believe to be the main point of this story. The repercussions of rebelling against God will often extend beyond ourselves. When Jonah ran away from God, he put the lives of the sailors at risk. Granted, if we refuse God’s commands, we aren’t likely going to put the lives of sailors at risk, but that doesn’t mean it won’t negatively impact the faith of those around us. Could the faith of someone else be harmed if we run away from what God is calling us to do? Do we want to harm the blossoming faith of the children around us? Do we want to harm the faith of someone who might be this close to saving Jesus? No. Therefore when Jesus gives us a command like

“Love your neighbor as yourself”

and

“Let the light of Jesus shine before you” and

“Go into all the world preaching the gospel”

we must not be like Jonah and refuse this compassion. We must instead Know Christ, Grow in Christ, and make Christ known.