Jonah - The Reluctant Prophet
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Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.” But Jonah arose 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 from the presence of the Lord.
Introduction:
As I have already said in the introductory remarks regarding the three books in this series (Obadiah, Joel, and Jonah), each prophesied at a time before the great Assyrian empire came into power.
This is most interesting, because Jonah is the only one of the three who deals directly with the Assyrians, and is sent to Nineveh, the capitol of Assyria.
He is also sent to warn them of the impending judgment that God is about to bring upon them, and offer them pardon if they repent.
Sennacherib, king of Assyria, reigned from 705 - 681 BC and besieged Jerusalem when Hezekiah was king.
Jonah is sent to Nineveh around 755 BC, just fifty years prior to Sennacherib’s move on Judah.
Now, why would God pick out such a ruthless people as the Assyrians, and offer them repentance and blessings, if He knew they would trouble His own people?
That might just be the million dollar question, and one that most people of faith today seem to stumble over.
And why wouldn’t they?
When even God’s prophet Jonah did not understand.
But, the fact remains that when we look through the pages of scripture, we find God many times using a heathen nation to bring judgment or captivity upon His own people.
In some situations, we cannot even find a reason, like the Israelites being moved by God into Egypt by Joseph, and only later to be enslaved.
What can we say to such things?
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.
We simply cannot expect to have all the answers, and although God has given us a sure word of prophecy (2 Peter 1:19), He does not say that we have perfect understanding now.
With that thought let us now move into this first message from the very real prophet,
a reluctant prophet,
Jonah.
I. Jonah’s reluctance comes from an unforgiving spirit.
I. Jonah’s reluctance comes from an unforgiving spirit.
Most people think that Jonah was afraid to go to Nineveh, but the truth is, he just didn’t like them and wanted God to wipe them out.
We’ll see this in the last point.
For now, let’s ponder a bit about Jonah’s spirit.
What kind of a prophet was he anyway?
One would think that the man of God would be a more compassionate person with understanding in the ways of the Lord?
But Jonah’s heart seems to be hard as a rock and black as coal.
The last verse of this prophetic book reveals the heart of God, and lies in stark contrast to Jonah’s.
And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left—and much livestock?”
Those hundred twenty thousand that cannot discern between their left and right hand, are obviously children.
God sees their innocence even though He knows what they will become in fifty or so years.
If we think that God judges now, based on what He knows about us later, that just seems stupid on our part.
Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!
We know that God is merciful and we know that Jonah, like so many today, is not!
We need to be like God, not like Jonah.
We need to forgive and be ready always for reconciliation.
This is the heart of being a Christian.
God’s plan is to reconcile the world to Himself, and He has chosen us to be the vessels by which He will accomplish that.
Who are we to withhold God’s mercy because of an unforgiving spirit?
Who do we serve? ourselves and our own desires? or the Lord Jesus Christ?
II. Jonah’s reluctance turns to disobedience.
II. Jonah’s reluctance turns to disobedience.
Of all the prophets we find in the scriptures, he is the only one that turns from God’s command and flees.
I believe that all of us here today understand disobedience.
And with disobedience, their is always a price to pay.
Adam and Eve paid a price that affected the entire human race.
Saul, king of Israel, paid a price for disobedience that cost him his throne and his life.
Achan, paid with his life and his family’s, during the raid on Jericho when he took of the accursed things that God told them not to do.
So it would not surprise us to know that Jonah paid a price for his disobedience, and what was it? He was thrown into the sea.
Now for us, we are not condemned by God for disobedience, but we certainly pay a price for it in the here and now.
Like everything in this life, disobedience brings its own reward.
Over the years, I have had many men ask me about pastoral ministry.
Some of them have been married before, divorced, or their current marriage is in shambles.
There are those today that teach that if they were saved after they were divorced, they begin with a clean slate.
That is subtly wrong!
No previous condition or sin can ever stop a child of God from serving the Lord, but where and how they serve is determined by character and position.
If God says that an Elder must be the husband of one wife, that doesn’t mean one at a time, or, that it equally applies to the opposite gender.
I don’t care if you like it or not.
God said it!
If any person has a past of child deviancy, and coming to Christ they have been made new and are forgiven and restored, they will still never serve in children’s ministry!
Disobedience to God’s commands does have an effect upon us and it changes at times where and how we can serve Him.
If you and I are reluctant to obey the word of God, we will be disobedient in that thing, and there is always a price to pay.
III. Jonah’s reluctance is derived from a character flaw.
III. Jonah’s reluctance is derived from a character flaw.
But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became angry. So he prayed to the Lord, and said, “Ah, Lord, was not this what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm. Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live!” Then the Lord said, “Is it right for you to be angry?”
The character flaw that Jonah had was one we find quite a bit today.
It is the character flaw of prejudice.
You see, he didn’t like the Assyrians.
He didn’t think they were worth saving.
Isn’t that like us today?
Are we not prejudice about many people?
Do we not have a history of racial prejudice, or fiscal prejudice?
Don’t we size people up by the way they dress, act, live?
These are some of the problems with Jonah and they are problematic for those who follow Jesus Christ.
God does not need our input in these matters.
God does not want our deliberation and scrutiny over who we deem worthy.
He wants our unbridled obedience.
I mentioned King Saul in the last point, but when Samuel came to Saul after Saul kept some of the prized possessions of the Amalekites including King Agag, that God told him to destroy, Samuel said this:
So Samuel said: “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams.
How about us?
Where do we fit in with all of this?
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.
Bondservants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God.
And if anyone does not obey our word in this epistle, note that person and do not keep company with him, that he may be ashamed.
Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?
In Christ we are commanded to live in obedience to Him.
We do not have the luxury or the right to live disobedient lives, but to be true to the one who loved us and gave Himself for us.
