He was running.

Jonah

I need you to stay with me. Meaning, you guys all know the story of Jonah, but I want you to quiet your mind and stay present.

Jonah 1:1–2 NASB95

1 The word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me.”

Normal prophetic start:

“The word of the Lord came to Jonah.”

Timeline: 798 B.C.

Nineveh: Modern day Mosul, Iraq.

Founded by Nimrod, Son of Cush, grandson of Ham, great grandson of Noah.

We aren’t told what the people of Nineveh did to garner God’s attention, but in the book of Nahum

describes the destruction of Nineveh some 87 years after Jonah. In it, the prophet Nahum describes Nineveh as a bloody city completely full of lies and pillage. He also talks about the many sexual acts of the prostitute.

Jonah gets his marching orders:

But Jonah

Jonah 1:3 NASB95

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.

Joppa was a port city in Israel. Modern Jaffa.

Tarshish: Atlantic cost of Spain.

MAP

We don’t know why.

It doesn’t matter why!

Obedience is not a option.

Jonah 1:4–5 NASB95

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. 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.

Sleep of the guilty. Completely self centered. Completely self absorbed.

Jonah 1:6 NASB95

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.”

Oh the Irony.

Jonah 1:7–9 NASB95

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. 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?” 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.”

In the middle of his disobedience, he is testifying about God.

Jonah 1:10 NASB95

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.

Jonah 1:11 NASB95

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.

Jonah 1:12 NASB95

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.”

Look at their response:

Jonah 1:13 NASB95

13 However, the men rowed desperately to return to land but they could not, for the sea was becoming even stormier against them.

They didn’t want to anger the Lord by killing one of His worshipers.

Jonah 1:14–15 NASB95

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.” 15 So they picked up Jonah, threw him into the sea, and the sea stopped its raging.

....

Jonah 1:16 NASB95

16 Then the men feared the Lord greatly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.

Jonah’s disobedience.

6 crew members.

Each crew member had one wife, 3 kids.

30 people heard about the Lord.

God used Jonah’s disobedience to reach a whole group of people.

Jonah 1:17 NASB95

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.