Jonah’s Lesson

Jonah’s Lesson

Jonah 1-3

Every person can understand the importance of obedience by examining God’s actions toward Jonah. 

Introduction: 

     I heard a story of a man at a blacksmith’s shop one day.  He was watching the smith make a set of horseshoes for his horse.  As soon as the smith finished the first one, the man reached out to grab it, but he was warned that it would be hot.  The man still grabbed the shoe, and quickly threw it back down.  The smith said, I told you it was hot, to which the customer replied, No, it just doesn’t take me long to look at a horseshoe. 

     Probably everyone has had their moment when they did something and could walk away from that event saying, I sure did learn my lesson there.  I won’t ever do that again. 

     Maybe Jonah went away from the experience in this passage with that kind of attitude.  He might have thought he knew how things would turn out, but I believe Jonah had to go away from this whole experience saying, I sure learned my lesson. 

Action I.  God Spoke

A. Jonah must have been a pretty important individual.  When God needs to send a messenger to Nineveh he chooses Jonah to do that work.  Any time God speaks to a person like this it seems to be that this person must be very important.  God gives Jonah a message to take to the people of Nineveh.  When Jonah runs off in another direction, God gets Jonah back on the right path and he gives him the message again.  So really we see God giving Jonah a second chance to prove himself.   God gives Jonah some very clear instructions, and Jonah responds by running from God. 

B. It is pretty significant when God speaks to a person.  Yet many times people will choose to ignore God, or even choose to run from God’s message.  Whatever the case may be, it does not make sense to run from God, because we will not be able to get away from God.  He will always find us and his will is going to be done.  When God speaks it behooves us to pay attention. 

Action II.  God sent a storm

A. When God told Jonah to head to Nineveh, which is a city inland from all of the ports, Jonah gets on a boat.  He was not interested in doing what God had told him to do.  He wanted to head off in the other direction.  He did not like the idea of going to Nineveh.  Later on we learn the Jonah had some prejudices against the Ninevite people.  He did not think of them as people who were worthy of sympathy from God.  He was really pretty disgusted with the Ninevite people.  So, rather than going to do what God told him to do he went in the other direction. 

B. As he gets on this boat and heads away from the destination God had given to him, we learn that in v. 4 God caused a great wind to come upon the boat.  It was such a violent storm that all of the passengers and the sailors were afraid.  Perhaps they were thinking this might be the end for them.  The reason for the storm was that Jonah had tried to run from God.  He might have thought he could get away from God, but the truth is God was able to find him wherever he was.  God was not going to let Jonah get away. 

C. Perhaps there have been times when we did not want to do what God gave us to do.  Maybe it was prejudice, or maybe it was something else.  Whatever the issue was we did not want to do it.  So maybe we were like Jonah and tried to run from God’s direction.  We need to remember the God is all powerful.  He can get our attention even when we are trying to run from him.  If he used a storm to get in touch with Jonah, he can use similar means to get our attention. 

Action III.  The lot fell to Jonah

A. I can imagine that as Jonah got on the ship he thought he had gotten away with something.  Maybe that is why Jonah was below deck sleeping while everyone else was fretting.  The others knew that Jonah had been running from God, but he could not hide from God.  The crew was probably a little superstitious and so they were trying to find someone to pin the blame for the storm on.  Even in this game of chance Jonah is fingered as the one responsible for the storm.  I would guess that Jonah’s response after being labeled as the troublemaker means that Jonah knew he was the cause of the storm.  Even though he was running from God, he was still sensitive to God’s word in his life. 

B. Even though Jonah was of the opinion the he was getting away with something God once again orchestrated the circumstances to make it clear that he was not.  Of all of the people that could have been labeled as the one causing the problem, the lot fell to Jonah. 

C. Just because we think we got away with something does not mean it is true.  We can’t go far enough to get away from God.  He will find us.  He might even arrange circumstances to make sure that we know we did not get away with anything. 

Action IV.  God provided a fish

A. These sailors knew that they needed to do something to make the storm subside.  When they realized it was Jonah, and Jonah saw that he had been fingered as the reason for the problem, he suggested that they throw him into the sea.  I would guess that they had respect for Jonah and his God.  They did not want to harm Jonah, but eventually they tossed him into the sea.  Normally this would have been the end.  Jonah would have drowned in the sea and there would be no more Jonah. 

B. Instead of this being the end, God provided a fish to swallow Jonah. V. 17.  You would normally consider this to be a bad thing, but in this instance it was a good thing.  The belly of this fish became home for Jonah for the next few day.  It gave Jonah the opportunity to reflect on what had happened in his life.  If we read between the lines in Jonah’s prayer we get the impression that Jonah realizes that he had been running from God.  At the very least he confesses this sin in his life.  He seeks to change what he had been doing.  So Jonah’s time in the fish gave him time to reconnect with God. 

C. Perhaps when we are feeling isolated and separated from the world this would be a time for us to reconnect with God.  We can become depressed and discouraged, and focus on how bad things are for us.  Another option would be to focus on God and our relationship with Him. 

Action V.  God commanded the fish

A. It really appears to me that when Jonah reaches the end of his prayer, God gives a command to the fish.  In 2:10 God commands the fish and the fish spits Jonah out.  I have an amazing and a powerful God.  I really believe this, but when I hear something like this I am reminded that he even commands the fish of the sea.  It was not the result of Jonah tickle the fish on his tonsils.  He was not able to do something to upset the fish’s stomach.  From his throne God was able to command the fish and the fish spit Jonah up.  He gave a command to a fish and the fish obeyed. 

B. Jonah had tried to run from God and to run from what God wanted him to do.  As he was trying to get away he was caught in a storm.  In order to stop the storm the sailors threw Jonah into the ocean.  After spending some time in the belly of this fish Jonah is spit out.  This was after Jonah had done some praying.  God spared Jonah’s life and Jonah had pretty much made a deal with God, if he was spared, he would do whatever God wanted him to do.  I think he was learning that he was not going to be able to get away from God.  He might as well do what God wanted him to do. 

C. Jonah was kind of like a person who committed a crime and then they were able to elude police for a period of time.  They might even believe they got away with something for many years.  Then after years they are caught and convicted of the crime they committed.  Maybe we have had moments in our lives when we felt like we got away with something.  No one knew about it.  No one caught us.  The truth is God knows.  If God can make a fish swallow a person and then also make the fish spit that same person out he is going to be a God who knows what is happening in every area of my life. 

Action VI.  God had compassion

A. After Jonah is spit out by the fish God speaks to him again, and tells him to deliver his message to the people of Nineveh.  Remember these were a bad group of people.  Jonah goes and does what God told him to this time.  Jonah goes and delivers God’s message.  When news of Jonah’s message reaches the king he leads the people of Nineveh in repentance and fasting.  They seek forgiveness from God for the sins they had committed.  The actions of the people of Nineveh were great enough that God changed his tune.  He allowed the people to continue on, we are told in 3:10, “he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened.”  Even though these people were very bad people and they had repented, which grabbed God’s attention. 

B. Jonah had the opportunity to see God warn a people who had disobeyed God.  He warned them and they repented.  After they repented God had compassion on them.  He was able to see how God’s plan had worked out from the warning to the repentance.  Unfortunately Jonah did not appreciate what had happened in this situation. 

C. When God is good to us we like to call that compassion, but when God is good to someone we don’t think is deserving, we call that unfair.  Jonah thought God was being unfair.  The lesson Jonah learned and the lesson we can learn also is that God is compassionate.  He is good to us even when we don’t deserve his goodness. 

Conclusion: 

     God can use unusual circumstances to teach us lessons.  What might be the unusual ways that God might be speaking to you today?