The Stubborn Prophet / El Profeta Necio
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Introduction
Introduction
There are many stories in the Bible that we may have learned as children, such as:
Noah’s ark
The walls of Jericho
Moses and the Red Sea
David and Goliath
…and Jonah and the whale
We are familiar with them because they seem like very good stories. They captivate our imagination and Hollywood has wasted no time in turning many of them into movies.
However, we should not loose sight that:
They are real events
They are not fiction
They have been written for our instruction
Ultimately, these stories are not about the characters themselves but rather they are about God and his plan to save all those who would believe.
For the next four weeks we will turn to the book of Jonah.
This book consists of four chapters.
They are very short chapters and could be read, from start to finish, in less than 30 minutes.
Today we will consider chapter one where we first encounter God and his disobedient prophet. We will consider:
God calls Jonah
Jonah tries to hide from the Lord
Jonah is swallowed by the great fish
I. God calls Jonah
I. God calls Jonah
I. Dios llama a Jonás
I. Dios llama a Jonás
The Lord calls Jonah in .
The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai:
La palabra del Señor vino a Jonás hijo de Amitay:
The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai:
The Bible does not tell us much about Jonah. What we do know is he was a prophet in the southern kingdom of Judah.
God calls his prophet with a special purpose:
“Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”
«Anda, ve a la gran ciudad de Nínive y proclama contra ella que su maldad ha llegado hasta mi presencia.»
He is called to Nineveh.
Nineveh was the great capital of the Assyrian kingdom.
This was a very wicked kingdom that was a sworn enemy of the people of Israel.
They were a very wicked people and inflicted cruel punishments to those who they conquered.
They worshipped Dagon (the fish God, whose body was a body of a fish but the head of a man).
We are not given details of Nineveh’s sin that had offended God to the point that he was sending his messenger to proclaim his word.
Jonah has recieved his marching orders from God.
Prophets are expected to obey God’s orders.
They are God’s messengers and are guided by him to proclaim his word.
What will Jonah do?
II. Jonah tries to hide from the Lord
II. Jonah tries to hide from the Lord
II. Jonás intenta esconderse de Dios
II. Jonás intenta esconderse de Dios
But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.
Jonás se fue, pero en dirección a Tarsis, para huir del Señor. Bajó a Jope, donde encontró un barco que zarpaba rumbo a Tarsis. Pagó su pasaje y se embarcó con los que iban a esa ciudad, huyendo así del Señor.
Jonah 1:3
When we read verse three we are expected to gasp. We are expected to be astonished at the stubbornness of the prophet of God to disobey the God of the Universe.
God is sending his prophet to a rebellious and disobedient people.
Surely, God is sending him to call them to repentance.
And here we have God’s prophet attempting to hide from the presence of the Lord.
We are told twice that his is attempting to flee from the Lord.
Jonah is doing the impossible:
Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
¿A dónde podría alejarme de tu Espíritu?
¿A dónde podría huir de tu presencia?
Si subiera al cielo,
allí estás tú;
si tendiera mi lecho en el fondo del abismo,
también estás allí.
Si me elevara sobre las alas del alba,
o me estableciera en los extremos del mar,
aun allí tu mano me guiaría,
¡me sostendría tu mano derecha!
There is no where we can go to hide from God’s presence.
God is omnipresent - his presence is everywhere!
Does Jonah really think that he will escape God’s presence simply because he is far away from the temple of Jerusalem?
Does he really think that he can escape God’s presence because he is traveling in the opposite direction?
This is such a pathetic site to see God’s servant rebel against his God.
Let us always pray for those in leadership for there could be occasions where they are actually in rebellion against the Lord, fighting against his will, doing what God has not commanded.
Why would Jonah not go? There is a very important reason why Jonah decides not to go, but we must wait three more weeks to discover that reason.
Chapter one does not focus so much on Jonah’s reasons for running from God’s presence and not going to Nineveh. Rather it’s focus is on the consequences of his disobedience.
Sin has consequences.
Not all sin is equally consequential.
However, there are sins that can destroy our lives, our families, our reputation, our livelihood.
There are sins that only affect us and there are sins that affect all those who we love.
Jonah has secured passage on a ship going to Tarshish (which is in the opposite direction of Nineveh).
God will not be mocked.
Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.
No se engañen: de Dios nadie se burla. Cada uno cosecha lo que siembra.
Jonah has sown disobedience and he will reap God’s judgement.
Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up.
Pero el Señor lanzó sobre el mar un fuerte viento, y se desencadenó una tormenta tan violenta que el barco amenazaba con hacerse pedazos.
God himself has sent the great wind such that the ship is now in grave trouble.
God is sovereign over the sea and the wind.
We may try to hide from his presence but God, who is in control of everything, will triumph over our disobedience.
The ship crew are terrified.
Verse 5 shows us how terrified they are.
All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship.
But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep.
Los marineros, aterrados y a fin de aliviar la situación, comenzaron a clamar cada uno a su dios y a lanzar al mar lo que había en el barco. Jonás, en cambio, había bajado al fondo de la nave para acostarse y dormía profundamente.
How could Jonah sleep in such a time?
I think this scene shows us how hard and reluctant Jonah’s heart was to God’s will.
He surely was in a spiritual slumber to be walking away from the presence of God.
The entire ship crew is praying to their gods. However, we know those gods are not real. They are simply idols that cannot do anything for them.
The ship crew throw lots to see who could be responsible for this tragedy!
The lot falls upon Jonah.
Jonah 1:
Then the sailors said to each other, “Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity.” They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah.
Los marineros, por su parte, se dijeron unos a otros:
—¡Vamos, echemos suertes para averiguar quién tiene la culpa de que nos haya venido este desastre!
Así lo hicieron, y la suerte recayó en Jonás.
Just as God controls the winds and the sea, so too he controls lots such that he made them fall upon Jonah.
Jonah has now been cornered by God. He has no where to go. He must now confess!
The ship crew immediately asks him about his identify, his origin, his purpose. They want to know what he has done to have unleashed God’s wrath!
Jonah’s reply is astonishing:
He answered, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”
This terrified them and they asked, “What have you done?” (They knew he was running away from the Lord, because he had already told them so.)
—Soy hebreo y temo al Señor, Dios del cielo, que hizo el mar y la tierra firme—les respondió.
Al oír esto, los marineros se aterraron aún más, y como sabían que Jonás huía del Señor, pues él mismo se lo había contado, le dijeron:
—¡Qué es lo que has hecho!
He answered, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”
—Soy hebreo y temo al Señor, Dios del cielo, que hizo el mar y la tierra firme—les respondió.
Jonah 1:
He confesses that he is a Hebrew. He is part of the people of God. He is a member of the covenant people of Israel.
He says he fears/worships God! Really?
What an ironic response.
He was called by God to go to Nineveh and he went south to catch a ship away from Nineveh.
He was called to take God’s word to them and he is no attempting to hide from God’s presence.
How is is that he can profess to worship and fear almighty God?
We have all been in this situation where our behavior does not match our profession of faith, our baptismal vows, our faith in Jesus Christ.
We have all been guilty of saying to be a child of God and acting like an unbeliever.
There is only one solution to stop the storm. Jonah must go overboard.
“Pick me up and throw me into the sea,” he replied, “and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.”
—Tómenme y láncenme al mar, y el mar dejará de azotarlos—les respondió—. Yo sé bien que por mi culpa se ha desatado sobre ustedes esta terrible tormenta.
Jonah 1:12
Jonah recognizes his sin. But notice that he is still reluctant. He could have easily said: take me back to shore. I will obey the Lord God.
He could have repented before God’s presence and surely God would have relented.
But now he is asking for a sure death. He is asking to be thrown overboard. Could this be a sign of continued rebellion against the Lord?
The ship crew did not want to do this. They could have thought this would place them in jeopardy by being responsible for his death.
How is it that these unbelievers showed more integrity that God’s servant?
Something has happened in the lives of these men. God has transformed their hearts through this crisis. God has shown his mercy, opened their hearts, and given them the gift of faith. We know this by their subsequent actions:
Then they cried out to the Lord, “Please, Lord, do not let us die for taking this man’s life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, Lord, have done as you pleased.” Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. At this the men greatly feared the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows to him.
Entonces clamaron al Señor: «Oh Señor, tú haces lo que quieres. No nos hagas perecer por quitarle la vida a este hombre, ni nos hagas responsables de la muerte de un inocente.» Así que tomaron a Jonás y lo lanzaron al agua, y la furia del mar se aplacó. Al ver esto, se apoderó de ellos un profundo temor al Señor, a quien le ofrecieron un sacrificio y le hicieron votos.
Jonah 1:14
They pray to God recognizing him by his name.
They recognize God’s sovereignty and almighty will.
They recognize that they don’t want to be involved in further sin by throwing Jonah overboard.
Once the storm ceases, by the power of God, we are told they feared God, offered sacrificed and made vows before his presence.
III. Jonah is swallowed by the great fish
III. Jonah is swallowed by the great fish
III. Jonás es tragado por el gran pez
III. Jonás es tragado por el gran pez
We should praise God that despite his prophet’s rebellion these men came to know the God of Israel.
Jonah is now trying to stay afloat upon the sea…when we read:
Now the Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
El Señor, por su parte, dispuso un enorme pez para que se tragara a Jonás, quien pasó tres días y tres noches en su vientre.
God’s prophet has now been swallowed by a great fish.
He is now facing the ultimate consequences of his sin.
Conclusion
Conclusion
What does chapter one tell us about God?
God is a merciful God who will send his messengers to those who have sinned against him.
His is a God who will not be mocked by anyone, especially not by his servants.
God’s servants are prone to fall away from God. They are prone to disobedience.
Sin has consequences.
God is sovereign over all things and will bring us to repentance; many times in the midst of suffering and through the consequences of our sin.