Asleep on the Run
Jonah • Sermon • Submitted
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· 2 viewsGod has compassion on people. Filled with God's compassion, we ought to share the good news wherever we go!
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Today, we begin a new sermon series studying the book of Jonah. We can summarise the series in this way: rather than being resistant, reluctant, and resigned, our salvation in Jesus Christ compels us to be responsive, receptive, and rejoicing as we go willingly into this world with the Good News!
Who Was Jonah?
Who Was Jonah?
Jonah was a prophet in the Northern Kingdom of Israel. His hometown was Gath-hepher, about two or three miles northeast of Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth, in the Galilee region. Now in Jesus’ day, this region was not regarded very highly. When I was growing up, we had a way of referring to people of ill repute, by saying they were from the wrong side of the tracks. Or, when I lived in Coquitlam, the girls from another suburb of Vancouver, had a bad reputation, as in, “You wouldn’t want to date one of those girls.” I guess the closest thing to that in Lethbridge would be that neighbourhood in North Lethbridge, which I am purposely refraining from mentioning.
The Pharisees dismissed Jesus because he was from Galilee, and they claimed that no prophet came from Galilee. They forgot, conveniently, all about Jonah. Then, when they asked Jesus for a sign, he said, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it 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” (Matthew 12:39-40).
Now, there are some people who do not believe that Jonah could have been swallowed by a great fish, or whale. First, let’s be careful, Jesus himself said he was. And he also said that Jonah was a sign foretelling his three days and three nights in the heart of the earth, this refers to the three days and three nights between Jesus’ death on the cross and his crucifixion. Putting these two together, we must conclude that, Jonah really did spend three days and nights in a whale, and he did so as a sign pointing to Jesus!
Where and When did he serve?
Where and When did he serve?
Jonah served in the Northern Kingdom of Israel, while Jeroboam II, the son of Joash, was king in Samaria from around 800-750BC. We must not confuse him with Jeroboam I, the son of Nebat, who ruled earlier, and who made Israel to sin. We ought to be clear though, Jereboam II followed his namesake in leading Israel to sin. And yet, God in his great mercy, after hearing the cries of His people, had compassion on them and called Jonah as a prophet to prophesy that Jereboam would restore Israel’s borders from Lebo-hamath to the Sea of the Arabah. Thus, during Jeroboam’s reign, the borders of Israel were restored to the Land God promised to his people, long long before.
The Word of the Lord
The Word of the Lord
So, having successfully served the king, we can easily imagine that Jonah was willing and ready for the Lord’s next instructions. It was a huge honour to have the word of the Lord come to you.
“Arise, go.” I’m sure Jonah was thinking, “Yes, I will go, and I’ll go immediately, without delay.” That’s the sense of the Hebrew, “Go right away, Go immediately.” But when he heard where the Lord was telling him to go, he was brought up short, his eagerness and his willingness melted away.
“Go immediately to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.”
This was way, way outside Jonah’s comprehension. Jonah believed his mission was to Israel, and specifically, the northern kingdom. That’s what God had commanded him to do before, and he was more than willing to go to Jereboam, or to the people themselves. He was God’s man, through and through, as long as God wanted him to serve His people. He believed that when God chose the people of Israel, they were the only ones who could receive God’s blessing. He forgot God’s promise to Abraham, to bless all nations through him. Jonah believed that God cared nothing for any foreign people or nation.
Make no mistake, of all the Assyrians, the Ninevites were terribly evil people. They were the sworn enemy of Israel, and Nineveh was the capital city of Assyria. They worshipped their own gods, whom Jonah knew for a fact didn’t actually exist, and had, at most, a cursory knowledge of the one true God, the God of Israel. They posed a direct threat to the Kingdom of Israel, and indeed, would in time occupy and exile the Northern Kingdom.
I’m sure Jonah was delighted to hear that the evil of Nineveh had come to God’s attention. I’m sure he figured God would rain fire and brimstone upon them, for their wickedness. Just how wicked were they? Ever hear of Sodom or Gomorrah? Worse than them. They were guilty of every sexual sin. The city had a reputation of lawlessness. They were murderous, violent, rebellious, disrespectful, terrible human beings who treated one another terribly. Think of all the civil unrest we’ve seen in the news over the last few years, from sex slavery, slavery, riots, vandalism, racial violence, you name it, they did it.
On hearing that their sin had reached God’s attention, Jonah rejoiced. But imagine his surprise when he found out that Lord wasn’t going to wipe them out, but instead the Lord was calling Jonah to go preach to them, to warn them, to persuade them from persisting in their sinful wickedness, to repent, and turn to the Lord for forgiveness.
Think of someone, or a people that is most difficult for you to love. Think of someone, or a group that you feel deserve your harshest criticism or judgement. Picture them in your mind. Think about someone you’d love to avoid all together. Picture someone or a group who has done and is doing terrible things, or a system that persecutes other people.
Now, imagine God is calling you to serve them. Not only to serve them, but to get right into their chat groups and tell them, that if they don’t change their behaviour, God will destroy them all. That if they don’t change the way they do things, God will inflict his judgement on them. But if they heed God’s warning now, they will receive graciousness and kindness from God.
Would you do it? Or would you do as Jonah did?
Show the Map
Jonah resisted God’s call. He reacted immediately. He had a choice to make. Head east 500 miles to Nineveh, or head west to the coast to try to escape the Lord’s call. He went west. He went to Joppa, a port city on the Mediterranean and booked passage on the first ship heading as far as possible to go: Tarshish in Spain, 2500 miles away.
But you can’t run away from God. You can’t not do his will. He always gets his way.
On Easter Sunday, we were reminded that Jesus has given us the great commission. He has charged us, no less than he charged Jonah, to go and make disciples of all nations, baptising and teaching them to obey all his commandments.
Who is God calling you to share the gospel with? Who is your Nineveh? Who is your wicked and evil person, to whom God longs to show graciousness and lovingkindness? Do you know? Have you asked him? Is it a neighbour, a friend, a coworker, a family member? Who? Ask God to reveal this to you, as he did with Jonah.
Jonah couldn’t get away from God. God sent a great wind and a mighty tempest on the sea. It was the perfect storm. It targeted the ship Jonah was on. So fierce was the wind and the waves that the ship threatened to break into pieces. The well-seasoned, fearless sailors who knew the Mediterranean like the back of their hands, were deathly afraid.
Each sailor prayed great, fearful prayers to his god, pleading with them to save the ship. They took their precious cargo and offered it, sacrificed it to the god of the sea. But nothing worked. Their sacrifice went unnoticed, the storm raged on.
Where was Jonah? Was he aware? Was he lending a hand, manning the bilge pumps, helping to throw things into the sea? No, he was useless, as good as dead, dead asleep! Who can sleep through a raging storm in a boat? Jonah could.
As I thought about this, I’ve been forced to wonder, am I asleep in the midst of the storm? Am I really awake to the danger that the world is in? No, I’m not talking about COVID-19. I’m talking about a real danger, a real enemy. I’m talking about the lies the devil keeps whispering in our ears, “Did God really say? Did God really call you to stand as a witness to the light and life of Christ? Does God really call you to take a stand for truth? Is God really calling you to go into your neighbourhoods, or wherever you are and talk to people about Jesus? Do you think people really want to hear all about that stuff? Do people even want religion today?”
That’s some of what the devil is saying to Christians today. He’s trying to convince you to run away from what Jesus is calling you to say and to do. He’s trying to lull you into a restful sleep, to just sit around and do nothing, to turn inward, to be afraid, to be focussed on your own self, and your own safety, and your own comfort.
But the people who are in the storm of this life, who are hyper aware of the danger is calling out to you, calling out to me, saying, “Wake up, you sleeper! Get up, get on your knees, pray to your God! Perhaps your God will give a thought, a care to us, and save us from dying!”
The world around us is crying out for salvation. And we have the only solution. Our Saviour moves mountains of sin, shame, guilt and doubt. He has conquered the greatest enemy, death, the grave couldn’t contain him. He is mighty to save. Let us wake up, and call upon our God who is mighty to save. Let’s share him with those around us. Amen.