CAUTIONS FROM THE DEEP

The Rebellious Servant

I. The Call

Jonah 1:1 KJV 1900

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

A. A capable servant

Both in Jonah and II Kings, Jonah is called the son of Amattai. Amatti means true or faithful. However, Lessing in the Concordia Commentary says that the yod at the end of the name may be a shortened form of Yahweh, allowing Amattai to mean Yahweh is faithful/true.[1]Although Jonah displays a lack of faithfulness, it may be that his name refers more to the heritage that was handed to him rather than his testimony.

No matter the reasoning, it is painfully obvious that Jonah knew God and knew to obey Him. Thus, God called for his servant to follow in obedience.

Luke 12:48 (NKJV)

to whom much is given, from him much will be required;

Jonah 1:2 KJV 1900

Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.

B. A complacent servant

לֵ֧ךְ is a double command with the imperatives ק֠וּם and לֵ֧ךְ meaning, "Arise and go." Jonah also repeats this phrase, and it is told to Ballam, Jeremiah, Moses, and Elijah. Its rhythmic flow allows for a hurried message and displays an urgency to the command.

The command was too arise, or get up. The implied message was that Jonah was either sitting or laying down.

Jonah was comfortable with the wickedness of Nineveh, because it was not an immediate threat to Jonah. Therefore, God called him to go where he would not go of his own fruition.

C. A controversial call.

Nineveh is referenced as that great city.

Why was it great?

It was a large city. In fact it was a three days journey around the city. Jonah 3:3.

It was a founding city of the Assyrian empire.

Yet, it was also a city of great wickedness. So great, that God said their sin had arisen to His face. However, even in their wickedness God was willing to display compassion.

The mercy given to Nineveh is the same mercy that we should pray and beg God to show to America. Our wickedness is great, but so is our God.

The call to Nineveh was unprecedented. Yet, God called for the message of repentance to be preached.

II. The Contravene

Contravene means to act contrary to.

Jonah 1:3 KJV 1900

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.

A. Jonah ran from God.

Jonah did not run from Nineveh, he ran from the face of God. As we can see in later chapters, Jonah was angry that God would show mercy.

Nineveh was to the North, Joppa was to the South, and Tarshish was to the West.

There is much debate to the location of Tarshish. Some cay that it was in Cilicia, others in Southern Spain, yet, others who say it was a place God had not revealed himself. This last opinion shows promise because it would reveal why Jonah sought to go there, he was running from God.

How sad that a man familiar with the mercy that God had shown Israel was angry that god would give mercy to others.

B. Jonah was willing to pay to run from God.

Jonah paid the fare for his journey. However, he was not willing to pay for Nineveh.

Thus, we see that Jonah was selfish, and prideful.

However, Jonah did not take into account the full price.

Church it would do us well to count the cost.

C. Jonah’s rebellious spirit took him down.

First, he went down to Joppa, then he went down to the ship, later we see that he went down to the belly of the ship, and finally went down to the fishes belly.

Proverbs 13:15 KJV 1900

Good understanding giveth favour: But the way of transgressors is hard.

God allows us to make our decisions. However, although we may choose our actions, we will not choose our consequences.

Jonah foolishly thought that the fare he paid was enough to escape God, but his journey was one of descent from God, and the further he ran, the further down he went.

III. The Chastisement

Jonah 1:4 KJV 1900

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.

An interesting point is that in the Hebrew the Lord is brought before the verb. This usage can indicate emphasis and contrast. In this passage it shows the contrast between Yahweh and Jonah.

Jonah refused to act but God acted immediately.

We are called to be people of action.

James 1:22 ESV

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

Jonah chose to run from God, but God directed the consequences.

Beginning here in this passage and throughout chapter two, we see God working to bring repentance to Jonah. Unfortunately, almost half of Jonah’s story is his chastisement.

Can you relate to Jonah? Have you ever felt that the majority of your Christian walk is that of God correcting you?

A. The root of chastisement.

God “sent out” the great wind. This word is literally translated as hurled.

Thus, we see that God was the source of chastisement.

This does not mean that every storm is a punishment from God but rather that God can use storms to correct.

B. The reason for chastisement.

Often in scripture we see that the word “Hurl” is used for judgement but sometime it’s used for salvation. This is the case when used by the sailors when they emptied the ship of its goods.

Here we see that God is hurling the wind towards the ship for the purpose of salvation. God desired to bring repentance and restoration to Jonah.

As Joshua said in Genesis 50:20 “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.”

Genesis 50:20 ESV

As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.

Thus, the judgment of God, for the believer, is that of salvation and not destruction.

I have found that in my life sometimes the very thing that should destroy me is the circumstance that God uses to accomplish His will in my life.

C. The reality of the chastisement.

There is a word used here that is somewhat odd. The word translated as like or about to be, is actually thinking or pondering. We know that at inanimate object such as a boat can not think and thus the context tells us that the ship was on the verge of breaking.

The reality is that the sin of Jonah was about to cost him but also the life of those in the boat with him.

Christian, never think that your sin will only affect yourself.

There is a price to sin and often it will be those close to you that pay the price.

Had action not been taken, the ship would have been destroyed.

Conclusion

For the child of God, the greatest display of love for God is obedience.

Not every trial that we face is a result of disobedience. However, chastisement can be a tool used by God to bring about a desired outcome in our lives.

Therefore, we are compelled to make a decision. Will we answer the call of God?

Are we wiling to sacrifice ourselves, to take the gospel to a lost and dying world?