Jonah 1:1-3 - What Are You Running From?

Hopefully the answer is nothing. Hopefully the answer is that you are running with God and not from God. But today, we are going to have a front row seat in seeing a prophet of the Lord who ran from his Creator. He is the only prophet that we see in the Scriptures that does this. The prophet Amos once said:

Amos 3:8 (ESV)

The lion has roared; who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken; who can but prophesy?”

But not Jonah. As we will see, his response is much different.

Join me as we read God’s Word:

Jonah 1:1–3 ESV

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. 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, away from the presence of the Lord.

Let us pray.

Prayer

Before we start into the study of this book, it must be said that this is a historical narrative. Liberal theologians have tried to attack the historicity of this book over the past couple of centuries. Yet, until the 19th century it was accepted as historical narrative by virtually every Biblical scholar in the world. But even moreso - we see Jesus refer to this book as historically accurate when he compares this account to his own burial and resurrection to come:

Matthew 12:40 ESV

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.

Is this story unbelievable? Apart from the sovereign and powerful hand of God, absolutely. But our God is an unbelievable God who does unbelievable and supernatural things.

If you have a hard time believing the historicity of this book - then your god is too small and frankly, your god is not real. He is not the Lord God - Yahweh - Maker of Heaven and Earth.

Today we are going to discuss three reasons that people run from the Lord. The first is:

I. Are You Running From… The Word? (1)

Jonah 1:1 ESV

Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,

The book of Jonah starts off extremely direct. There is no background of Jonah given.

We are just told that the word of the Lord came to Jonah and that he is the son of Amittai. Amittai is also a man in whom we know little about.

We have only one verse in all of Scripture that even mentions the prophet Jonah outside of this book.

2 Kings 14:25 (ESV)

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.

We are shown here that Jonah was a prophet of the Lord during the reign of King Jeroboam II during the 8th century BC. He had given a good message to Israel that was fulfilled. It was a message that one of the borders of Israel would be restored. And it came to pass!

Jonah was from Gath-hepher which was a town in the land of Zebulun. And he had given a positive prophesy and was most likely revered for being a prophet of good news! He had two contemporaries - Amos and Micah - who were prophets who spoke mostly judgment. So obviously, the people of Israel would have appreciated seeing Jonah come by more than his fellow prophets!

So Jonah probably thought as the word of the Lord came: what good news will be given from the Lord this time? Will another of Israel’s enemies fall at the hand of the Lord? Will there be prosperity to come for Israel?

We can sense the anticipation of what is to come.

How many of us like to have good news given to us? Or like to be the ones that give good news? Jonah was there as well.

My friends, we will see that this Word from God was more merciful than it first appears. This is a word of judgment - yes, but it is also a word of mercy and a chance at repentance.

Many today run from the Word of the Lord. Many today run from the Gospel. There is no good news of the Gospel if there is not bad news. People may hear that there is a place of eternal judgment called Hell and flee from the conversation because they do not want to hear any more. They do not like this Word.

But just like the message Jonah is eventually going to deliver is covered with mercy and a chance for repentance, the Gospel is full of grace with an offer of eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The message of the Gospel is that we are all sinners and deserve punishment. But God as we see in Ephesians 2:4-5 here:

Ephesians 2:4–5 ESV

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—

He sent his one and only son - Jesus Christ - who lived a perfect life, took the punishment and death that we deserved by being crucified on a cross. But God acted even further again. Three days later, Christ was raised from the dead and took the keys of death and Hades and now if we will repent - or turn away from our sins and turn toward Him, we can have eternal life with Him in heaven forever.

My friends, are you running from the Word of the Lord? Are you running from the Gospel?

I pray that you are not. I pray earnestly that you have embraced the Gospel and that you are saved by the grace of God through Jesus Christ.

No one should run from the good news of the Gospel.

The next question we should ask ourselves in this passage is...

Scripture References: Amos 3:8, Matthew 12:40, 2 Kings 14:25, Ephesians 2:4-5

II. Are You Running From… The Work? (2)

Jonah 1:2 ESV

“Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.”

Jonah is obviously in Israel at the time. The following map shows Jerusalem in relation to Nineveh of Assyria. We are unsure of where Jonah was when the Lord spoke to him but Zebulun, where he was from, was around 60 miles or so north of Jerusalem.

Verse 2 starts off with the verb - arise. This Hebrew word means to get into a standing position and then the Lord commands Jonah to go. He is to get up and go immediately. The God who created the heavens and the earth has just given a word to the prophet Jonah.

But where is Jonah to get up and go to?

God calls Jonah to go to the great city, Nineveh.

For those of you who aren’t history buffs, Nineveh was a great city in Assyria. The Assyrians were a rough people group. They were known for their brutal war tactics and lack of compassion in war. We have heard many news stories regarding the war crimes of Russia in the preceeding months. These are in fact an abomination to justice - but the Assyrians took supposed war crimes as a badge of honor.

Nahum spoke of Assyria’s eventual downfall in 612 BC because of their great wickedness:

Nahum 3:19 ESV

There is no easing your hurt; your wound is grievous. All who hear the news about you clap their hands over you. For upon whom has not come your unceasing evil?

At the time of Jonah however, Assyria had an up and down kind of power. They had strong seasons and weak seasons depending on their leadership. According to secular history records, Assyria was in between their peaks at the time of Jonah. They had struggled with famine as well as frequent battles with their enemies. Yet, their wickedness was still strong and their evil had come up to the Lord as we see at the end of verse 2.

Jonah 1:2 (ESV)

“Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.”

All sin is an abomination to God. He hates all sin. Yet, there is some wickedness that calls for special localized judgments. We see this with Sodom and Gomorrah due to their sexual perversion.

Genesis 19:4–5 ESV

But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house. And they called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them.”

We see here that every single male of Sodom - both young and old - wanted to lay with these two angels who appeared as men. The book of Jude describes this as well:

Jude 7 ESV

just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.

Because of the wickedness of unbridled homosexuality, God brought his judgment upon those cities.

And we see God ready to do the same to Nineveh for their egregious sins. The Assyrian were known to torture their enemies in ways that I won’t share with children present. But just know it was worse than you could probably even imagine. And know that God’s pronouncement of a coming judgment was righteous and just.

So taking a step back, we see that Jonah was called to go to this terrible city. In this second point of the sermon, I want us to think about the work that he was being called to do. He was travel to a Gentile city and proclaim God’s judgment. This work did not seem logical to him. Never before had an Israelite prophet been called to go to the Gentiles. And to go to a group of people that were not only deplorable, but also had been fierce opponents and attackers of Israel seemed ludicrous to Jonah.

From the sermon title alone we have already given the outcome of this first command from God. We know Jonah is going to run away. But at this point he is running away from the work God has called him to do.

Before moving on, I want us to ask ourselves this question as well.

Are you running away from the work?

By work, you may ask, “What do you mean?”

I mean:

Has God called you to a certain task or work that you have ignored or fled from?

The Bible teaches that God has a plan for each on of us. We see this in Ephesians 2:10

Ephesians 2:10 ESV

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Before the world was created God prepared good works for us to do through the power of Christ. How amazing is this thought?

God has distinctly wired and created you in order to do what He has called you to do. But are you being obedient and walking with Him as He does these good works through you?

The only way we can truly walk in these works that He has called us to do is to be walking with Him daily in prayer and by being diligent in studying His Word - the Bible.

My friends, you may feel unfulfilled currently. You may feel like your life doesn’t matter and that you aren’t making a difference in the world. You may feel like a cog in a wheel and that you are just moving forward mindlessly.

I want to assure you that this is not the abundant life Christ has promised.

John 10:10 (ESV)

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

If your joy is being stolen it is likely because the thief has tried to paralyze you from the work God has for you.

This isn’t a feel good prosperity message. This is a Biblical understanding of God’s calling on your life.

The work that you are called to do might be really hard. Jonah was called to go speak to a people who were among the most evil people of his day! Yet as we will see, his joy was not present when he was not walking with the Lord in faith.

But I can promise you this - if you follow through with the work that God calls you to do - He will equip you for it and He will be near to you through it. You will find joy and peace despite how hard that work might be.

You might be called to be a:

Pastor/Elder/Deacon

Missionary or Evangelist

Homeschool Mom and/or Stay at Home Mom

Foster Parent or Adoptive Parent

Volunteer with a Pregnancy Center, Children, or the Homeless

Politician, Teacher, Nurse, Doctor, Lawyer, Mechanic, Builder or Other Job

The list goes on. And the only way to know what God is calling you to do is to be walking with Him day by day and to seek counsel with believers who are doing so as well.

God might have already revealed this calling to you. You might already know what you are supposed to do. Maybe God has already placed on you the call to become a pastor or missionary - or the call to be a stay at home mom despite all of the work you put in for your education and the money that you make - or to be a foster or adoptive parent despite what family might think about that. He might be calling you to get out of your comfort zone around the homeless or around impoverished nations around the world on a mission trip.

If you have been revealed this calling, step out in faith. Don’t flee from the work like Jonah did at first. God will be near to you throughout this step of faith. He will provide for your needs and the joy and fulfillment that will come when you are faithful and obedient will be overwhelming.

I can attest to following through on hard callings on my life. Each time the Lord has been so faithful and merciful to provide for what we need. He has been so good to my family and me. There have definitely been difficult times and difficult roads - but He has always walked with me and frankly - when I am at my closest with Him - He has carried me along the path.

Don’t run from the work.

Finally, you need to to ask yourself...

Scripture References: Nahum 3:19, Genesis 19:4-5, Jude 7, Ephesians 2:10, John 10:10

III. Are You Running From… The Way? (3)

Jonah 1:3 ESV

But Jonah rose 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, away from the presence of the Lord.

Here we see the same Hebrew word that we saw in verse 2. The word for arise in verse 2 is the same word for rose here in verse 3. God calls Jonah to arise and go in verse 2. Jonah rose to flee in verse 3.

The first two verses started off similarly to the calls that we see for other prophets. God speaks and gives a command. But verse 3 is an outlier in the Bible. Verse 3 shows a prophet of the Lord deliberately disobey the voice of God.

And he flees to Tarshish to try to flee from the presence of the Lord.

First we see Jonah go from Israel (somewhere around Jerusalem or possibly north of Jerusalem) to Joppa:

As you can see, this was the closest sea port to Jonah. He was not wasting any time fleeing from the presence of the Lord. He found the first place that could get him moving and went for it.

And he wasn’t just trying to run away a little. He went big - see the next map of where Tarshish is suspected to be:

It was around 500 miles or so to get to Nineveh from the area of Jerusalem. But as we can see here, Tarshish was somewhere between 2500-3000 miles away from Jersualem! He was not only disobeying, he was fleeing as far as he could get. Tarshish was likely the end of the known world at the time.

And Jonah would have known through Isaiah that the Word of the Lord had not gone there yet:

Isaiah 66:19 (ESV)

and I will set a sign among them. And from them I will send survivors to the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, who draw the bow, to Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands far away, that have not heard my fame or seen my glory. And they shall declare my glory among the nations.

God had promised that His Word would be spread in that area at some point. But Jonah knew that it hadn’t gotten there yet and so he thought it was a safe place to go to escape the Word of the Lord.

Not only did he seek to flee, he apparently didn’t think he would be coming back. In order to secure a ship that could travel this distance, it would have cost Jonah greatly. Many commentators assert that he likely even sold all or most of his possessions in order to make this journey.

We are not given the answer of why Jonah flees at this point but we will see later in the book. But the question we are given here is:

Can we really flee from the Lord?

Psalm 139:7–9 ESV

Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,

We cannot run from God’s presence. We cannot run from the way. I use this term way in a twofold application as you will see in a moment.

Jesus called Himself the Way in John 14:6

John 14:6 ESV

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

We cannot run from the way. We cannot run from our Lord.

Our God is sovereign - meaning that He is over everything. He is omnipotent - meaning He is all-powerful. He is omniscient - meaning He knows everything. And finally:

He is omnipresent - meaning He is everywhere at once. Jonah thought he could outrun God. But He couldn’t.

Some of you may think that you can outrun God. You can just get super busy and put your head down and hit the daily grind so that you don’t have to answer the call of God.

Maybe you know He wants you do to a certain task or a different job or take a step of faith in a certain area and you have just been running as far and fast as you can to get away from it.

Repent my friend.

Turn back to God and run with God and not from God.

He will fight your battles. He will equip you for what He calls you to do. And there will be joy and unspeakable peace as you follow Him step by step.

Scripture References: Isaiah 66:19, Psalm 139:7-9, John 14:6

Conclusion:

As we come to a close - some of you have been running away from God in regards to salvation as we spoke of in our first point. Maybe you dabble in Christianity, but Jesus doesn’t have your heart. You aren’t truly born again. You haven’t truly repented of your sins. Brothers and sisters - the free gift of eternal life is offered to all of us. Stop running from God and run to God. Is He drawing you today? Do you feel that pull toward Him? If so - respond and open up your life to Him. You won’t regret it.

And if you have been born again but you are still running from a task He has called you to - repent and turn to Him. Allow Him to work through you and walk in the power that He gives. He will not leave you or forsake you.

Let us pray.

Prayer

If you would like to learn more about salvation through Jesus Christ or want to obey Jesus by obeying the first commandment of a believer in going through the waters of baptism - please let me know.