Jonah: The Reluctant Prophet-4

Introduction: We have seen that Jonah was given a command to go to Nineveh and “cry against it” for their wickedness was great. Jonah in receiving this instruction fled from the presence of the Lord, resulting in a chain of terrific circumstances.

Text: Jonah 1:1-7

A. The Word of the LORD Came v1,2

B. The Prophet Rose Up To Flee v3-7

According to verse number 3, what was Jonah trying to accomplish?

v3 “But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.”

He was trying to flee from the presence of the LORD.

The word that is translated in the text as ‘presence’ signifies ‘face’. Here, Jonah was fleeing from the Lord’s face.

Illustration: We might use the expression today to see someone ‘eye to eye’ or ‘face to face.’

You and I even today in thinking about communication (if you have an apple phone) can “Facetime” with someone. Or perhaps you have experienced a video call that would put you face to face with another individual.

We find in this expression, Jonah’s attempt to break fellowship with the Lord; to give up His station as a prophet. He attempted to get away from communication with the Lord.

Notice in verse number 3, two very interesting words/phrases that are used to denote this departure from the Lord and consequently from doing what is right and just.

The first is the word ‘down.’

The Bible says that Jonah went down to Joppa, and he went down into the ship.

Of course, we would understand this to be a true statement if Jonah was in Gath-hepher at this time, that he would have to travel south to arrive at the port city of Joppa.

But I would like to make application for you and I in this respects, our departure from the Lord and His ways is always downward.

I say that lovingly because oftentimes we may think it is appealing or we may believe it will be freedom from difficulty. The word Joppa by the way means “Beauty” and when we think about catering to the flesh, we are reminded that sin though appealing only has it pleasure for a season. (Hebrews 11:25) We will see in the subsequent verses it becomes anything but freedom from difficulty.

Notice Jonah went:

- 1:3 “down to Joppa...”

- 1:3 “down into it [the ship]”

- 1:5 “down in the sides of the ship”

Down…down…down… Jonah went in disobedience to the Lord.

And in the next chapter Jonah would say that he went even farther he “went down to the bottoms of the mountains;...” (Jonah 2:6)

Secondly, I want you to notice the expression, “he paid the fare thereof...”

Immediately, again we can understand the application that it cost Jonah much to disobey the Lord.

Jonah may have just paid some temporal money, but it would cost him much more than some coins.

One very costly commodity that has become more and more apparent to me as I have become older is that Jonah lost time. The older I get the more precious I realize the time that Lord has given to me. I can think back and understand that there has been much time I have lost because of disobedience or even because I have not been circumspect, I have not stewarded my time properly.

Jonah would pay the price of time spent out of fellowship with the Lord.

Not only did he go down and he paid the fare, but the Bible says, “he went with them...”

Who is the ‘them’ in our text?

The ‘them’ is the mariners.

Think about the irony of this situation. Jonah did not want to go to the heathen city of Assyria to preach a message of repentance to them, but instead he surrounded himself by Gentiles fleeing from the presence of the Lord.

We are not told exactly who these mariners were, but they certainly appear to be heathen men according to this subsequent verses. (1:5-10)

Jonah’s company was around the heathen mariners. He was going the way they were going. He was lock step with the men of the world.

With that being said, we ought to also note that though everything seem to “work out” for Jonah to run into disobedience, it was still the wrong path to take.

Many believe that if all the doors of opportunity (providence) open before them that it must be the will of God.

After all -

(1) He found a boat that was headed in the right direction he wanted to go.

(2) He had the money to pay for the fare.

(3) Apparently the weather was commodious for them to travel.

(4) The mariners obviously didn’t question Jonah much as to where he was going and why.

(5) Nothing happened to him when he stepped on to the boat.

“He trudged the sixty miles from Gath Hepher to the port of Joppa. And God let him go. There he found a ship heading for the far west. What a marvellous providence! Just what he needed! He paid the fare, boarded the ship and, as it sailed away, he found a quiet corner below deck and fell into a sound sleep. He was away. And God had let him go. His escape had succeeded. So far, so good.” - Keddie, G. J. (1986). Preacher on the Run: The Meaning of Jonah (p. 26). Darlington, England: Evangelical Press.

But what is the problem with this reasoning considering this situation?

(We must think about this because we have choices to make every day concerning what to do with our lives do we not?)

Jonah’s choice was in conflict with God’s Word.

So what takes place next?

The Mighty Tempest v4

We know the narrative, notice once again the conjunctive word, “But..”

The Bible says, “But the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken.”

Remember in verse number the 3 the Bible told us, “But Jonah rose up to flee...” Now we see God’s hand upon this situation. Jonahs Running but God’s Preparation.

Jonah is not going to be rejoicing about this statement in our text (at least not at this point in his life), but you and I as we look throughout the Word of God ought to remind ourselves and rejoice for those simple words, ‘But the LORD.’

That most precious verse we quote often contains this very truth in Romans 5:8, “But God commendeth His love toward us...”

There are many statements similar to this in the Word of God, but here are just a few:

Old Testament Examples - Genesis 20:3, Genesis 31:7, Genesis 40:5 and 50:20, Exodus 13:18, Judges 15:19, I Samuel 23:14, II Chronicles 20:1

New Testament Examples - Acts 10:28, I Corinthians 1:27, I Corinthians 2:10, I Corinthians 3:6, I Corinthians 10:13, Ephesians 2:4

Behind each one of these few references there is a precious event or statement that God has given us concerning His involvement in our lives.

I can say transparently this morning I have made many poor choices in my life as His child but God has never forsaken me. I know the Lord loves me so much and can testify that there has been many ‘But the LORD’ moments to correct me and help me back to the path God would have me to go. We see this in our text God did the same for Jonah.

The text indicates for us that this tempest arose suddenly. Just when Jonah perhaps felt as if he obtained His purpose we find the change in the scene signified by this word “But.”

You’ve probably heard it said before by others or even yourself, “I can do what I want.” And certainly Jonah had liberty to make the choice he made, but the result was not what He expected.

The Bible does not indicate for us, how far they got in the journey.... however according to verse number 13 (“Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring it to the land;”) they must have been somewhat near some type of land.

Matthew Henry rightly said this commenting on this situation, “Sin brings storms and tempests into the soul, into the family, into churches and nations; it is a disquieting, disturbing thing.” Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary (Jon 1:4)

And we will see in just a moment this very thing, how that disobedience has a terrifying effect on those around us.

Notice with the action and the result in this text:

vs 4 ----> the LORD sent out a great wind----(therefore) there was a mighty tempest...

I believe one of the most terrible results of our lack of Bible literacy is our marred understanding of the awesome power of our great God. The truth of the matter is that we forget how powerful our great and merciful God truly is.

I reminded of how our Lord Jesus Christ exercised His power over the weather in Mark chapter 4:

Mark 4:39-41 “And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

When I think about some of the terrific events that have taken place in my lifetime with things such as earthquakes, hurricanes, pestilences and such it reminds me that my Lord and Savior is Almighty God --- that means possessor of all power. By the way He is due our reverence and fear understanding Who He is.

Here we find that the Lord hurls His wind into the sea and instantly there is a tempest. Can you imagine it for a moment?

Perhaps you have lived long enough to see a storm suddenly appear from a calm sky and this would have been the scene; a ‘sudden tempest!’

This was not just any storm, but the Bible tells us it was a mighty or great storm.

Strongs Concordance defines this word ‘tempest’ as coming from a root word that signifies a hurricane. (Jeremiah 23:19 translates this same word as a whirlwind…)

If we imagined this storm to just be a light wind and some droplets of rain with the occasional thunder we would be severely underestimating what is described here in the Scriptures.

I am reminded of the storm Eurooclydon as described in the book of Acts 27:14.

We are told that this tempest was so great, that the “...ship was like to be broken.”

Well, what is to be done in the midst of this situation?

Maybe we should ask the question of ourselves what will we do if we find ourselves in opposition to God and His Holy Word?

I believe you and I can find some help and instruction in the remaining verses in this chapter what we are to do when we find ourselves in opposition to God and His Word. Or perhaps when we discover that we have gone the wrong way concerning God’s Will and and direction for us.

Next week we will begin to see: The Mariner’s Fear, The Messengers Sleep, The Masters Question, and The Manner of ‘gods.’

The Mariner’s Fear v5

The Messenger’s Sleep v5

The Master’s Question v6

The Manner of “gods” v6

The Mystery Known v7

C. The Cause of this Evil v8-12