Jonah 1 (2)
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Good morning rivertree. It is a joy to be with you today! If you have your Bibles go ahead and open up to Jonah chapter 1 and this morning we are going to look at verses 1-6. We will be in Jonah for the next 5 Sundays which I am so excited about.
It’s going be worth leaning into the story of Jonah over the next few weeks.
I know it’s a familairy story. and maybe one we have become to familar with. I know for my family it was a favorite childrens bible story that we would act out from time to time. I asked my kids even this week if they wanted to reancted it like when they were little they said no
but I’d offer you this for a lot of people they’ve become so familiar with the story of Jonah they no longer really study it and see the deep riches this book has to offer
and I think if we don’t listen we will forfiet somthing. Because the reality is their may be more similarites between us and Jonah then we realize.
This morning we are going to look at what it looks like to be comfrotably indifferent and answer the question:
Can we outrun God?
Now that may seem like a silly or ridicuoulsus question to us this morning. If we serve a God who is everywere at all times and A God who is simply greater then we could imaigne how could we ever think we could outrun God?
but I’d offer you this. If a prophet of God(Jonah) can beleive he can outrun God. And many people thoruhgout history have tried to outrun God we here this monring might be tempted to do the same thing if we arent’ careful
so my prayer is simply this. When we hear Gods word this morning we would listen.
Let’s read Jonah 1:1-6
The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: “Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it because their evil has come up before me.” Jonah got up to flee to Tarshish from the Lord’s presence. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. He paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the Lord’s presence.
But the Lord threw a great wind onto the sea, and such a great storm arose on the sea that the ship threatened to break apart. The sailors were afraid, and each cried out to his god. They threw the ship’s cargo into the sea to lighten the load. Meanwhile, Jonah had gone down to the lowest part of the vessel and had stretched out and fallen into a deep sleep.
The captain approached him and said, “What are you doing sound asleep? Get up! Call to your god. Maybe this god will consider us, and we won’t perish.”
The story begins with “The Word of the Lord came” to Jonah
This is a little bit of a strange way to start an accoutn for the biblical prophets. Usually what happens in the prophets is God is using them to speak his words and messages to the nation of Isreal specifically when things seem choatic
but here the orginal readers would have realized this is different. This is unlike anything they had heard before
and here is what God says
God to Nineveh, that Great city, and procliam
this line in itself wouled have left them stunned
Just in that time for a hebrew prophet to leave the boundries of Isreal and go to a gentile city would have be shocking.
but the fact God would want to warn Ninevah the capital of the assyrian mepire of doom was even more difficutly
Listen to how the prophet Nahum describes Ninevah
Woe to the city of blood,
totally deceitful,
full of plunder,
never without prey.
The crack of the whip
and rumble of the wheel,
galloping horse
and jolting chariot!
Charging horseman,
flashing sword,
shining spear;
heaps of slain,
mounds of corpses,
dead bodies without end—
they stumble over their dead.
Because of the continual prostitution of the prostitute,
the attractive mistress of sorcery,
who treats nations and clans like merchandise
by her prostitution and sorcery,
This doesn’t seem like the place anyhone would want to Go. the more we learn about Nineveh the more dangrous the mission seems.
It’s one of the crulest and most violent places of anceint times. When studying the wickedness that took place in ninevah let’s say it’s brutal.
and God says to Jonah. this is where I want you to Go and proclaim my word.
It’s safe to say as Gods call to Ninevah came on Jonah if he was to go he expected to die. This would be a one way trip.
and then we see Jonahs respone. He is told to get up and so we are told he got up. seems like perfect obedience yet we are told he got up to flee to tarhsish from teh Lord;s presnece
2500 miles away from where he currently was. Tarshish was belived to be the ends of the earth. The farthest known location he could get from Isreal at the time
I’ve actaully been about 100 miles east of the place he was trying to go. I get it. It’s peaceful, I’ts beautiful. It’s quite and it feels safe
but for Jonah the decision to disobey God was a dangerous one.
Let it sink in this morning. Not only was he dilabertly disobeying the Lord he was going as far as Humnaly possible as he could form the Lord
He wanted to disapper. but he’s mistaken. Tarishish would not be outside the Lords presences. Ever square inch of all creation belongs to him.
Jonah would have been familiar with
Where can I go to escape your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to heaven, you are there;
if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.
If I live at the eastern horizon
or settle at the western limits,
even there your hand will lead me;
your right hand will hold on to me.
There was literally no where Jonah coudl Go where the Lord would not be. He knew this but his desire for saftety, his desire to be comfotable, his desire to be in control and untumilty his indifference allowed him to be blinded to this
and the sam eis true for us. If we aren’t careful we can decive oursleves. and our desire to manage outcomes. Our desire for saftery, our desire to be comfrotasble could blind us to the reality of Gods good presence in our lives.
and it could rob us of the very way God intends to use us for his glory
for Jonah the first thing he had to do was to go down to Joppa
his course was downhill. He would not have described it that way. Honestly Jonah thought he was improving his life, just as we do when we choose our own course instead of Gods
to reject God’s purposes is to reject our best purposes
and what we see in Jonahs life is that any way away from God is down. The way may look beatiful when we start. The sea could even look peaceful. the ship was attractive but the reality was the way was still down
and that’s always the case with the deciftulness of disobedeince and sin.
It might look great when we start, it may seem more peaceful then what we are currently expirencing. It may even look attrative but disobednece is dangroues to us and those around us. and it could even be deadly
it’s what James writes in James 1
No one undergoing a trial should say, “I am being tempted by God,” since God is not tempted by evil, and he himself doesn’t tempt anyone. But each person is tempted when he is drawn away and enticed by his own evil desire.
and there is this moment when he get’s to Tarshishs and can change his mind. It’s a moment he can turn back and do what the Lord is calling him to do. But Jonah has no desire at this point to turn.
and I’ve found after years of working with people hearing there stories of pain and disappointment in life when they find themsleves doing something they never thought they would do and in a place they never thought they would be in life I ask was there every an off ramp? Was there ever a chance to make a different decsion was there ever a point to turn?
and almost always the answer is yes. They can recall specific moments God in his kindness called them to repent. To turn back to him and get back on the path that leads to life not death.
but for wahtever reason the decifitulness of sin lured them away and they didn’t
but instead of turning he we are told he pad the fare and went down inot the ship with them
when we run away from the Lord you learn you never Get wehre you are wanting to Go and you alwasy have to pay your own fare, but when you God the Lords way, the way of Life you get exactly wehre you need to be but he pays your fare for you
that’s just how good and kind he is.
He is doing his best to get away from the presence of teh Lord
he actaully goes where no Isrealite would dare to go the sea.
and so far teh focus has been on Jonah this whole time but the writer of jonah turns intends to turn our focus to the Lord
verse 4 makes it clar even though Jonah belived he was in control the Lord was really the one at work here.
We are told the Lord hurles a great wind upon the sea and there was a great storm that threatened to tear apart the boat.
God in his kindness is sending a real storm into Jonahs life to get his attention. And the storm starts to dominate the events of that day
in a simple way it’s proof that God controls Jonahs life, even outside of the boundry of Isreal
we see the ship begins to tear apart. In the one translation of this passage we see the ship was “determined to break apart”
there is a contrast here. DOn’t miss it. Jonah is determed to flee God but the wind, the sea, and even the ship were turned to the Lord’s purposes
God caused the wind, which Caused the storm which caused the ship to be in danger of sinking
and it’s a great reminder to us that in moments of storms and trail we don’t forget who God is. he is a God who is in complete control.
God could have absoultly called smoeon else to complete Jonahs task and calling but because of Gods great love he continues to puruse and work in Jonahs life.
it’s here we see the sailors are afraid. They seen many storms in their lives but they knew something was different about this one. It had the power to end their lives.
so they do what anyone would do in their situation. They do all they can to stop the storm. We are told in verse 5 first they call out to their own gods. Hoping if they’ve done something wrong they could be rescued. Their is a moment of devestation that is leading to desparation.
but when that doens’t work they throw everything off the ship to lighithing the loud. Thinking if they coudl lighting the load they could row back to sure.
and as that doesnt’ work the writer of Jonah flashback to wher ejonah is. He tells us Jonah had gone down(continuing his downward spiril) and he was alseep. It’s almost a hyponatic sleep. Jonah is gone. He is checked out. H eno longer cares about really antying in life and he was as dead to the world and everything giong on in his life as he was to God at this moment.
this is how he is comfortably indifferent. Sure there are moments we should sleep. Their are moments of real faith when so much is going on in our life all we know to do is lay our head on a pillow and say God I’m not you. I’m not the one who never sleeps or slumbers
so when we sleep at times it’s an act of faith saying God as I close my eyes I also trust you are a God in complete controll.
but this is not what Jonah is doing. He has become so numb to the work of God in his life no longer is he actively trusting God to work he is actually sleeping in a way to say I just don’t care anymore.
I don’t care what happenes. I don’t care where God is at work. I don’t care what happens to those around me I just want to disappear. I’m out
and this kind of sleepiness is daungerous to our own life and vitality as it is others.
When we sleep like this it’s often becasue we don’t like the things we are called to do.
and it’s hear in a frantic picture we are told the captian comes to wake Jonah up. He is amazed that Jonah could even sleep during this kind of storm.
He tells jonah once again to Get up. call out to God and maybe we could live.
and their is an extreme irony here. The sea captian the one far from God is pleading with a hebrew prophet to pray to his God. It is dobering to see one who might be termed an “unbeliver” pleading for spitual action on the part of a believer.
the unbeliver saw the gravity of the situation while the prophet slept. It is a sad commentary when those who are commited to the truth of God’s word have to be prodded by a lost world to step into spirtual activity
and next week we will pick up in verse 7 and conitnue the story
but today what i want us to see is a prophet of God put his life inot his own hands. Over and over in chapter one we see the concept of fear play out.
Jonah is fearful. Some of his fear is driving by hatered of another people group. some of his fear is driving by the call of God on his life and what going to ninevah mightcaust him
The sailors are fearful.
and becasue of fear, hatred disobedience follows
Jonah takes matters into his own hands thinking he knows better then God.
and at first his idea seems great. Rather then go to one of the most wicked and dangrours places in the known world at the time go to spain. Go to the beach.
The way looked beautiful, the sea looked still but still his way was not better then Gods
and the same may be true in our own lives. when we are tempted to Run from God. This is why we have to pray that God helps us when we are tempted to run from his calling
becasue we can be confident in this. When god calls us to do something he will always equip us to do the task he’s called us to do even if looks impossible
therefor we really have no reason to fear antyhihng.
The safest place you and I will eve rbe is in the will of God. His will is good, pleasing and perfect as Romans 12 reminds us
and when the Lord calls us to do hard things. When God calls us to take the narrow road we can be assured that the narrow road, the hard path is the one that leads to life.
and he will provide a saftey we could never provide for ourselves
Jonah thought he would be safer in tarish, safer on the ship, safer on the sea then in ninevah.
Yet all those were costly and dangorus places to go.
But becasue of Gods love, becasue of his grace beacuas eof his kindness the Lord is letting Jonah be reminded that disobednce is much more dangroues then obiendce even when obeidnece doens’t seem safe
also I hope this morning you are reminded that when you run from God you never get where you are going and you always pay your own fare.
It’s like what Jesus talks about with in Luke 15. We’ve talked about this parable recently we see and older and younger brother both paying their own fares. Both rebelling agaisnt the father
one ends up eating pigs food the other ends up disappointent and jeasoly
both paying prices the father never intended for them to pay
Jonah has a little bit of the prodigal and the elder brother in him and it’s causing a lot of pain and misery in his life and others around him
and I wonder if some of us this morning are paying a fare God never inteded us to pay
maybe you find yourself checked out. NOt caringing about what God is doing. and not really caring about what your disobedience will do to your or others.
You are comfortably indifferent
you are asleep
Listen to the words of Paul
Everything exposed by the light is made visible, for what makes everything visible is light. Therefore it is said:
Get up, sleeper, and rise up from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.
Maybe today you find yourself in one of the worst storms of your life .
You find yourself in the sea of life feeling isolated and alone
I want to encourage you to let today be the day you realize this
God loves you
He hasn’t forgotten you and he hasn’t forsaken you. Even if you paid your own fare for the ship you are on…In other words it’s was your decisions that lead to the feeling of isolation and aloneness you feel
GOD LOVES you
He sees you. And he is working for your good and his glory
If the wind, the sea and the ship obey God in Jonah one we can have the same confidinece he is controll and sorvering over every single square inch of our lives
and he might just be saying stop to some of us this monring. Stop tyring to fix this. Sotp trying to pay your own way. Stop trying to live this life in your own power and starngth and realize he’s already payed the fare for you
Becasue ultimently Jonahs story is a story that points us to Jesus
Jesus suceeds in everyway Jonah fails in Jonah 1. Jesus fully obeys God when he says not my will but yours be done
He submits complety to the fathers will. he comes to a people who had rebeleld against him. They had would kill him and
Jesus perfect obeidence uniquely qualifeis him to die on the cross and pay the price will all desreve to pay. JESUS pays your fare.
Jesus way is better. It’s a way that leads to life and not death.
and it’s on the cross Jesus shows us Just how far God will go to prove his Love to us
that no matter how far we run, we cannot outrun Gods love and grace in our lives
By the end of chapter 1 we will see that Jonah seems to be in the worse possible place you could be. He seems hopeless and alone in the wrong place
but we will be reminded again and again that God knew exactly where he was, where he awas going and what he had planned for him even in that moment
the same could be true for us. that no matter where you find yourself this monring God sees you, he puruses you and he plans for your resucue
it’s what Psalm 139:7-10
Where can I go to escape your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to heaven, you are there;
if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.
If I live at the eastern horizon
or settle at the western limits,
even there your hand will lead me;
your right hand will hold on to me.
Let’s pray.
Father, Thank you that you are a God who pursues. and Lord I know this morning in a room this size we find ourselves in many different places
some of us find ourselves in a wonderful place it feels like we are in green pastures and we are lying besides still waters
others we find ourselves in the middle of a storm, maybe one we cause and maybe one someone else casued
but Lord none of us find ourselves outside of your plans and purpueses.
so would you convience us of your love today?
for those who are alseep to you. Would you wake us up.
For those of us who are afraid. Woudl we feel the safety and secureity that comes form your love
God would you work in this place tody?
