You Can't Run From God--Jonah 1
Jonah: A Prophet with an Attitude Problem • Sermon • Submitted
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Introduction
Introduction
How far do you have to go to get away from God? If you traveled out of State, would you further from God? What about out of country, then surely you would be further from God. How about going miles up in the air then you must be further from God. Or going to the moon or Mars, then you must be further from God. No, no amount of physical distance you can go or height you can climb or depth you can go will make you further from God. The person we are going to look at today and his journey might have known this in theory, but still thought he could run from God. His name was Jonah.
Who is Jonah and what is his mission?
Who is Jonah and what is his mission?
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.”
We are given this introduction to Jonah at the beginning of this book that bears his name. He is the son of Amittai [uh MIT igh (eye)]
In the book of 2 Kings we also see the time period that he lived and was a prophet. It is during the reign of Jeroboam (also known as Jeroboam II). He was the 14th king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel (after the kingdom split). He reigned for 41 years (around 786-746 BC).
In the fifteenth year of Amaziah the son of Joash, king of Judah, Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, became king in Samaria, and reigned forty-one years. And he did evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin. He restored the territory of Israel from the entrance of Hamath to the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word of the Lord God of Israel, which He had spoken through His servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet who was from Gath Hepher.
So it in some point during this 40 year period that this event takes place.
Jonah had been called as a prophet and he was from Gath Hepher (it is a town of Galilee — 2 miles northeast of Nazareth)
So Jonah grew up in the area that around 700 years later would be lived in by Jesus Christ.
God showed up to Jonah (The Word of the LORD came to Jonah) This phrase is used many times when talking about a prophet. The Word of the LORD came.
We see it with Abraham
After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”
Now the word of the Lord came to Samuel, saying,
But it happened that night that the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying,
Then the word of the Lord came to Solomon, saying:
And it came to pass after many days that the word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, “Go, present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the earth.”
We are not told if this is the first mission he is put on or when during his time as a prophet, but God shows up and gives him a message and a mission.
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.”
Arise Go —> These are not suggestions from God, these are commands!
He tells Jonah to get moving and go to Nineveh.
Nineveh was the capital city of the Assyrian Kingdom. We will look at more about this city as we continue this book, but God calls it “that great city” and tells Jonah to cry out against it — call out against it (ESV) their wickedness has come up before God.
Jonah being a mouthpiece for God was commanded to Arise —> Go —> Cry Out (Call Out).
That was his mission. That what he was commanded to do. Yet, Jonah had other plans.
Has God told you something through His Word or through a time of prayer, but you are like yah right God, I am not doing that.
He has clearly told us to make disciples...Go (command) into the world and preach the Gospel. Literally (as we are going), yet so often we don’t do that. Love God and love people..so often we don’t do that. God gave a mission to Jonah, yet Jonah takes a different path.
Running from God
Running from God
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.
Jonah arose, but instead of going north/northeast from where he lived. He went south/southwest to the port of Joppa.
Joppa is on the Mediterranean Sea and it goes by name Jaffa today. It is in the suburbs of modern Tel Aviv. Joppa was also where Peter was at when he had his vision in Acts 10.
Earlier in the verse it tells us where he is planning on going to, Tarshish. When we were finishing up the book of Romans we talked about how Spain (where Paul was planning on going to) is believed to be the ancient land of Tarshish. It was the further Jonah could go. It was quite literally on the other side of the known world to Jonah.
It says he arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.
“to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD” this phrase is used at the beginning of the verse and at the end.
Jonah thinks he is getting away from God and the mission he has been called to. He is going to get as far away from God as he could. Yet, we all know that there is no place you can go that can get away from God and His presence.
Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me. If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,” Even the night shall be light about me; Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, But the night shines as the day; The darkness and the light are both alike to You.
He paid the cost for the trip (most likely these are traders are Phoenicians) modern day Lebanon. The Phoenicians had trading posts all over the Mediterranean Sea and Tarshish was the furthest.
So in these first 3 verses we learn who Jonah is, that he has a mission from God, and while we have not heard a word out of Jonah’s mouth his actions have him in rebellion against God. He goes in the opposite direction to go as far as he can go from Nineveh, his home, his family, and from God.
Yet, God doesn’t let Jonah off the hook.
Wake-Up Call
Wake-Up Call
But the Lord sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was about to be broken up. Then the mariners were afraid; and every man cried out to his god, and threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten the load. But Jonah had gone down into the lowest parts of the ship, had lain down, and was fast asleep. So the captain came to him, and said to him, “What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, call on your God; perhaps your God will consider us, so that we may not perish.” And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this trouble has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. Then they said to him, “Please tell us! For whose cause is this trouble upon us? What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?” So 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.”
We are not told how long into the journey this is. It seems as though it is still early in the journey (maybe only a few hours into the trip, but the text doesn’t say). Jonah is sleeping in the bottom of the ship (verse 5)
It says that the LORD sent out a great wind. The Hebrew word literally means that the storm was hurled or thrown at the sea. This was no normal storm. These Phoenician sailors know the sea. They have sailed on it many times before. They are professionals, yet this storm is different and it freaks them out.
English Standard Version Chapter 1
4 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.
God was the One that was doing the hurling of this storm and this tempest and it was a powerful one enough that the ship was on the verge of breaking apart!
Put yourself in these sailor’s shoes. You have traveled the Sea many times. You have seen your fair share of storms, but this one is not like any you have seen before. Your strong ship and its hull is starting to crack and you know if something is not done fast you are going to take on water and die in the Sea.
They are afraid, terrified as verse 5 begins. They all start praying to their gods and started throwing the cargo overboard to lighten the load so the ship doesn’t sink.
Where is Jonah? Well, he is at the bottom of the boat fast asleep.
Maybe he thought he had gotten away. No way God can find me here…why do we deceive ourselves?
The captain comes to Jonah
English Standard Version Chapter 1
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.”
I think it is interesting that the captain uses the same word that God used to call Jonah. Arise!
The whole boat is praying to their god(s) and Jonah is sleeping. So the captain wakes him up and tells him to pray to whoever his god or gods are. Maybe his god will save them.
At that moment, I can just imagine Jonah thinking about how stupid he was to think he could get away from God. Maybe he thought back to that Psalm I read. Now he is on the middle of the sea in a storm, and he knows he is the cause.
Sin causes issues. Jonah was sinning. He was rebelling against God. When we sin, it has consequences that affect others. It wasn’t just Jonah now. It was these men (maybe a dozen or two dozen, we are not told). His sin was affecting them.
And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this trouble has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. Then they said to him, “Please tell us! For whose cause is this trouble upon us? What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?” So 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.”
Not knowing who was responsible for this storm, they cast lots. We see this throughout the old and new testaments.
Then Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats: one lot for the Lord and the other lot for the scapegoat.
Both the Jews and the Gentiles used them to determine the will of the gods or the will of God.
The lot is cast into the lap, But its every decision is from the Lord.
The sailors cast lots to find out who has brought this storm on them and it pointed to Jonah.
Whose Caused the Trouble (Whose Account) this evil/trouble has come upon us
What is your occupation / job?
Where are you from?
What is your country?
Who are your people
They are trying to get information to find out why has this happened?
So 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.”
Even though Jonah is still in rebellion against God, he tells them who he is and who God is.
I almost wonder if he has a sarcastic or sassy remark (even though they are in the midst of this storm). It is almost a canned answer.
I fear / worship the LORD, the God of Heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”
Yah, I am a Christian and I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior. Do we ever do that? Do we ever feel our salvation has become boring? From Jonah’s answer it sounds like he is bored with his faith.
It appears that at the same time he gave them more information.
Being Used of God inspite of our Sin
Being Used of God inspite of our Sin
Then the men were exceedingly afraid, and said to him, “Why have you done this?” For the men knew that he fled 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 be calm for us?”—for the sea was growing more tempestuous. And 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 this great tempest is because of me.” Nevertheless the men rowed hard to return to land, but they could not, for the sea continued to grow more tempestuous against them. Therefore they cried out to the Lord and said, “We pray, O Lord, please do not let us perish for this man’s life, and do not charge us with innocent blood; for You, O Lord, have done as it pleased You.” So they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice to the Lord and took vows.
The sailors were even more afraid after this. Whether it was at this time or when he was boarding he told them his reason for this trip. He was trying to get away from God. “He fled from the presence of the LORD”
He is running from his God, and it is bad news for them all.
At this point things are getting worse. They are looking for solutions.
What shall we do to you that the sea may be calm for us?
Are they all just doomed to die because of this one person’s actions?
English Standard Version Chapter 1
For the sea grew more and more tempestuous.
It is not calming down In fact it is intensifying.
God was getting Jonah’s attention and these sailors.
Jonah says throw me overboard.
And 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 this great tempest is because of me.”
English Standard Version Chapter 1
12 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.
Pick me up
Hurl me in the sea (same word as was used of the wind that God hurled on the sea). God hurled the storm at me, hurl me into the sea
The result will be that the sea will become quiet
I am the reason this tempest has happened.
At this point he admits his fault, but we see no repentance to God or asking forgiveness. There is still stubbornness in Jonah as we will see in the following weeks. He knows he has caused this and he knows if they throw him into the sea the storm will stop.
Nevertheless the men rowed hard to return to land, but they could not, for the sea continued to grow more tempestuous against them.
The sailors don’t want to throw him overboard so they try with their own strength to get back to land, yet the storm gets worse and worse.
These Gentiles have more compassion for Jonah than Jonah had for them.
Therefore they cried out to the Lord and said, “We pray, O Lord, please do not let us perish for this man’s life, and do not charge us with innocent blood; for You, O Lord, have done as it pleased You.” So they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging.
They are at the end of their resources and so they pray to the one true God for the first
They ask the LORD:
Save us (don’t let us die because of what Jonah did)
Don’t charge with murder if we throw him overboard
After this prayer they take Jonah and hurled him into the sea (Storm hurled on them, Jonah hurled into the sea
The result…Storm stopped! The raging winds and tempest DONE!
Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice to the Lord and took vows.
Jonah was in rebellion and running from God. Yet inspite of his sin, God showed Himself to these sailors. Their lives were altered from that moment forward.
They feared/worshiped the LORD. Isn’t it interesting that Jonah claimed to serve/worship/fear God, yet he did only lip service. Yet these sailors truly worshipped God!
They took vows and made sacrifices. We don’t know what they were, but their lives were changed forever. Through the sin of Jonah, God still showed Himself and showed Himself as being the God of the sea and land.
Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things. And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?
Jonah was being judged by God and through seeing this judgment it lead this sailors to repentance.
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: “My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; For whom the Lord loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.” If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons.
God will spank us and sometimes our spanking will bring others to Jesus Christ.
So what happened to Jonah after he was hurled into the sea? Well we will pick back up at the last verse of chapter 1 and go into chapter 2 next week, but feel free to read ahead.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Are you trying to run away from God?
Has He called you to do something that you have refused to do? Maybe with words, maybe with actions? Maybe both.
Has your sin or your rebellion caused storms in your life? Not all storms are because of sin, but if you are living in sin or living in rebellion it could be from it.
Is your sin affecting others as Jonah found out.
Take time today and this week to pray, seek God’s face. Turn from sin. Confess sin, Ask forgiveness. Don’t have a bad attitude as Jonah did. As we continue this book the reason why he didn’t go to Nineveh in the first place is revealed. Yet, God doesn’t want our excuses or reasons, He wants our obedience.