Jonah 1 - Though mankind may try and turn from God, He never turns from us.

Primary Question - Can you really remove yourself from the presence of God?

A. Jonah Enjoyed the Presence of God.

This book is about Jonah, not by him.

We are not given a very good introduction to who Jonah is. We are introduced to him as simply the son of Amittai.

In the Kings we learn of a prophet named Jonah who lived in a very difficult time, but was used by God.

2 Kings 14:23-24 Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, began to reign in Samaria, and he reigned forty-one years. And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. He did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin.”

2 Kings 14:25 “He restored the border of Israel from Lebo-hamath as far as the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word of the Lord, the God of Israel, which he spoke by his servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was from Gath-hepher.”

Jonah was God’s servant, and he was used to declare God’s compassion on the people of Israel, even among Jeroboam’s disobedienc.

Jonah was a servant.

This is the same term used to describe other OT prophets.

Further, in Is. 53, this term is used to describe Jesus.

As a prophet, Jonah enjoyed the presence of the Lord, and it seems that the favor of the Lord was upon Jonah.

Remember, prophets were judged by their accuracy, and Jonah’s prophecies were fulfilled.

Jonah was destined to be the mouth piece of God, not by his own choosing, but by the predetermined will of God, and this had been a fruitful life for Jonah.

Jonah enjoyed the presence of God.

B. Jonah flees the presence of God.

Though it seems that Jonah enjoyed his life as a prophet. Something changes prior to the recording of this book.

Jonah 1:1-3 “Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.” But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.

The presence of God is evident by the word of God, and it seems that Jonah no longer wanted the word of God in his life.

God’s presence “practically speaking” relates to one’s obedience to his word.

Where obedience to the word of God is absent, the “presence” of God is absent.

It is important to see that though Jonah flees the presence of God, really throughout this book, God never leaves him - his word is always present. Even in the most unlikely places.

Jonah 2:10 “And the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land.”

Jonah 4:4 “And the Lord said, “Do you do well to be angry?””

Jonah 4:9 “But God said to Jonah, “Do you do well to be angry for the plant?” And he said, “Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die.””

Jonah 4:10 “And the Lord said, “You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night.”

Whether Jonah was in the belly of a fish or sulking in the sun outside of Nineveh the presence of God was with him because the word of God was with him.

v.3 - Now, Jonah didn’t want this, so he rose to flee from the presence of God, from the word of God. But, why?

Because he was more comfortable in his sin than in the presence of God.

He was a racist, a critic, and prideful, so he did not want to carry the compassion of God to a people he believed didn’t deserve it.

This is somewhat understandable. Nineveh was the enemy of Isreal, and Assyria was a cruel nation, and we will see in Nahum that they are responsible for the awful treatment and destruction of the Northern Kingdom.

Now, Jonah knew that God was gracious, but he did not want God to be merciful to the people he hated, so he fled from the the presence of God.

Jonah 4:2 “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.”

This is why Jonah fled, but why was it so horrible for Jonah to flee the presence of the Lord?

Ps. 16.11 “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

He didn’t want this for the people of Nineveh.

Jonah 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 is at work in a mighty way, even when we are running the other way!

First, the word of God came to Jonah.

Then, the power of God came to Jonah.

The Lord hurled a wind.

In fleeing God, Jonah boarded a boat and headed in the opposite direction.

He thought he would find peace and comfort if he could just do what he wanted, how he wanted, where he wanted.

But what Jonah had lost sight of was, God is an “unfleeable” God, so God hurled a supernatural wind to remind Jonah not only of his presence but his power too.

Now, Jonah’s fleeing effected more than just his situation. When the storm came, we must remember there were mariners on the boat too.

These men believed that the gods caused storms, so everyone needed to call out to their god, they believed “perhaps the god [would] give a thought to [them], that [they] may not perish” (v.6).

These pagan mariners believed something that Jonah had lost sight of. God’s presence was the only thing that could save them from their dire situation.

These were pagan mariners, so they didn’t care which god helped them. That is why they cast lots to discover who was responsible - and God pointed his divine finger at Jonah.

Jonah 1:8-10 Here Jonah enters a maritime courtroom.“Then they said to him, “Tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us (who in your life did something wrong to make this happen). What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?” And 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.” Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, “What is this that you have done!” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them.”

Jonah answered all of the questions but one. “What is your occupation?

It seems he is not confident of his current employment as a prophet.

Sinclair Fergusen - At this time, “His witness had been silenced; the very work for which he had been created lay incomplete, He had no word from God to give!”

But, the lot had fallen on Jonah, so they asked him “What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us? For the sea grew more and more tempestuous” (v.11).

Jonah’s desire was to flee the presence of God, but God’s plan was to carry out his purposes through Jonah. BUT…

C. Jonah flees the purposes of God.

v.12-13 - Jonah answers by asking that they help him commit suicide.

v.12 - “Pick me up and hurl me int to the sea, then the sea will stop, for I know it is b/c of me that the storm has come.”

Jonah knew that God had caused the storm on his account, so he determined to die rather than allow the word of God to direct his life.

Many make this same decision today. They hear the warning and promises of the gospel, they understand the idea that they were created for the glory of God, but they don’t want to submit to the word of God - the lordship/ leadership of God in all of life.

So many decide to live in light of Romans 1 - they suppress the truth, and as an affect, God has given mankind over to their own sinful desires.

But you see, God will not go without worship.

In fact, Jesus declares that the rocks will worship him if his people don’t.

It is interesting that Jonah, the prophet of God, is fleeing from the presence of God, but the pagan mariners cry out and worship him.

Jonah 1:14 “Therefore they called out to the Lord, “O Lord, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not on us innocent blood, for you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you…Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows...”

Ps. 116.17-18 “I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people,”

As the mariners throw Jonah overboard, the storm ceased.

Jonah was fleeing the purposes of God. That was to take the message of God’s grace to a pagan people, but in his running from God he does exactly what he set out to avoid.

By the compassion of God, he exposes pagan sailors to the worship inspiring power of God.

God’s purposes will not be hindered by our disobedience. You may not get to enjoy the blessing, but God will be worshiped among all peoples!

D. Jonah enjoys God’s compassion in the fish.

We started today by asking the question, “Can you remove yourself from the presence of God?”

The answer, I hope you have seen, is no.

Practically we can “distance” ourselves from God by distancing ourselves from his word.

But, remember, God is omnipresent, so you will either enjoy his loving compssionate presence or his wrath-filled condemning presence. There is no neutral ground.

Jonah tried to accomplish something that is not humanly possible, and the result was Jonah descending down, down, down.

Rick Phillips points out, “[By fleeing God] He went down to Joppa to find a ship, He went down into the inner part of the ship and slept while the storm raged, and he went down into the depths of the sea” where he was swallowed by a great fish.

This is the result of all who turn from the saving presence of God.

But for those who follow after the Lord, Christ likened himself to Jonah when he said Matt 12.39-40 “no sign will be given to [you sinful Pharisees} except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”

You see, “Like Jonah every sinner has embraced a life of sin that can only lead to destruction, but in God’s compassionate mercy, Jesus has endured this death in our place on the cross. Just as Jonah’s descent into the sea removed the storm from the sailors above, so Jesus’ descent into death removes the wrath of God from all who will believe.”

The compassion of God had come to Jonah, the Mariners, and Nineveh and it has come to you today in Jesus.

4 Questions:

Does the presence of the word of God reveal his practical presence in your life?

Are you casually fleeing the presence of God in your life by rejecting the word of God in your life?

Would you rather die than follow God’s will for your life from his word?

By casually fleeing the presence of God are you putting those around you in temporal and eternal danger?

There is salvation in the depths of despair, but what needs to die first?

my sin - pride, racism, lust, laziness, critical thinking, negativity, jealousy, consumer christianity?