Disobedience - Fleeing the Lord’s Call
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Background
Background
Jonah‘s name means DOVE, and he was a servant of the Lord from Gath Hepher a town in the tribe of Zebulun. Jonah is the son of Amittai, and he was and he remained to be the only Old Testament prophet to attempt to run from God.
One of four prophets whose ministries were specifically referred to by Christ, along with Elijah, Elisha and Isaiah.
A common recurring problem is that the book of Jonah first off is portrayed as a children’s story and second the story that is told doesnt go beyond focusing on Jonah being in the belly of a great fish, and often ending when Jonah is spit up on dry land. This neglects the whole prophecy to Nineveh and fails to establish the truths about God that are portrayed in the second half of the book of Jonah about God being a God of second chances sovereign in grace and mercy.
In Jewish tradition the entire book of Jonah is to be read every year on Yom-Kippur - The Day of Atonement.
Traditionally the book is considered to be written by the prophet Jonah - 2 Kings 14:25. The events of the book occurred during the reign of Jeroboam II (793-753 BC) and also before the destruction of Nineveh around 612 BC. There is every reason to believe that Jonah wrote the book himself.
It gives an account of his divine commission to go to Nineveh, his disobedience
It records his prayer and miraculous deliverance
The second commission given to him and prompt obedience to bring the message from God to Nineveh and the resulting repentance in Nineveh
Jonah’s displeasure at God’s mercy and his resulting rebuke from God.
The content of this book describes Jonah as an intensely patriotic person. It is precisely his misguided patriotism that caused him to rebel at the possibility of Israel’s former enemies receiving mercy and forgiveness from God. It is an important lesson and rebuke towards Jonah’s exclusivistic attitude - and ours too if we have one.
Jonah a book of the minor prophets is unique in its focus is on Jonah the prophet as opposed to Jonah’s prophecies. It looks at the condition of Jonah’s heart, God’s discipline of him. It should serve to not only instruct but also to humble our hearts as we see that God’s concern and grace to all people is in view. The purpose of the book is to teach that for one, God’s grace is not limited to the Hebrew people. It also puts repentance and forgiveness as significant themes that point to God being a God of second chances - second chances no matter who you are.
Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too,
While Jonah is in view most often do not be deceived he is not the main actor of this book - God is. Jonah is mentioned about 18 times while God is mentioned 38 times in four chapters. Which means if you eliminate him from the book it wouldn’t make sense at all.
Disobedience
Disobedience
Fleeing From the Lord’s Call
Fleeing From the Lord’s Call
Introduction
Introduction
Consider the people that you find most difficult to love. Images perhaps conjure of faces, types, groups of people perhaps that you are most critical and judgmental of. What types of personalities do you typically dismiss hoping to have little contact with them or even having no responsibility for. People who for all intense and purposes have become enemies because of What they say, do or even believe. What if these people also declared themselves to be enemies of God and their behavior is blatantly anti-God? Do we feel more justified in our judgment of them and writing them off as beyond God’s mercy?
This is what happened with Jonah and Jonah’s response to call from the Lord to reach out and bring the message of the Lord to the Lord’s enemies - but most importantly in Jonah’s mind his own enemies, was to flee from the call of the Lord. May we see in that fleeing from the Lord’s call to bring His message to people we dont believe deserve it - is disobedience and God will not allow us to flee in disobedience. Let us not be faithful to God only when we agree with Him but may our hearts be faithful and obedient even when God’s call is contrary to what we want.
The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: “Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it because their evil has come up before me.” Jonah got up to flee to Tarshish from the Lord’s presence. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. He paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the Lord’s presence.
But the Lord threw a great wind onto the sea, and such a great storm arose on the sea that the ship threatened to break apart. The sailors were afraid, and each cried out to his god. They threw the ship’s cargo into the sea to lighten the load. Meanwhile, Jonah had gone down to the lowest part of the vessel and had stretched out and fallen into a deep sleep.
The captain approached him and said, “What are you doing sound asleep? Get up! Call to your god. Maybe this god will consider us, and we won’t perish.” “Come on!” the sailors said to each other. “Let’s cast lots. Then we’ll know who is to blame for this trouble we’re in.” So they cast lots, and the lot singled out Jonah.
Then they said to him, “Tell us who is to blame for this trouble we’re in. What is your business, and where are you from? What is your country, and what people are you from?” He answered them, “I’m a Hebrew. I worship the Lord, the God of the heavens, who made the sea and the dry land.”
Then the men were seized by a great fear and said to him, “What have you done?” The men knew he was fleeing from the Lord’s presence because he had told them. So they said to him, “What should we do to you so that the sea will calm down for us?” For the sea was getting worse and worse.
He answered them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea so that it will calm down for you, for I know that I’m to blame for this great storm that is against you.” Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to get back to dry land, but they couldn’t because the sea was raging against them more and more.
So they called out to the Lord, “Please, Lord, don’t let us perish because of this man’s life, and don’t charge us with innocent blood! For you, Lord, have done just as you pleased.” Then they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea stopped its raging.
The men were seized by great fear of the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows. The Lord appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Attempting to Flee
Attempting to Flee
The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: “Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it because their evil has come up before me.” Jonah got up to flee to Tarshish from the Lord’s presence. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. He paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the Lord’s presence.
Jonah’s Call
Jonah’s Call
Verses 1-2 describe how the call of the Lord came to Jonah. It came and it called him to Get up! and Go! Go to the great city of Nineveh (this city was second in size only to Babylon). Nineveh was a city built by Nimrod as recorded in Genesis, and Jonah was called by God to go and preach against it.
The call for Jonah was to get up from where he was and from what he was doing. Get up and stop what you are doing. Then the word of the Lord said not only to get up and stop, but to GO! Stop what you are doing and leave where you are at to GO. These are all commanded actions that require immediate response.
What was so urgent that it required an urgent response? God wanted Jonah to go to Nineveh and preach against it. In other words, God wanted Jonah to go and bring a stinging message of rebuke against Nineveh in order to correct them. To raise the call and sound the alarm that they are in grave danger of falling into the hands of the holy God. Their evil has come up before the Lord and they must repent!
These people are relentless and persistent in their sins. Nineveh as a city of Assyria it is known for its brutal atrocities and blatant idolatry. They worshipped the gods of Nabu, Assur, Adad, and Ishtar. Nineveh as a city was located in what is presently modern day Iraq opposite of Mosul.
Jonah prophesied during the days when Assyria was threatening the Northern Kingdom of Israel. God was sending him to preach rebuke and repentance to Nineveh the capital city of Assyria. Assyria an extremely cruel nation especially towards the Jews. If their inscriptions are to be believed, they flayed their enemies alive, made heaps of their skulls and did many other dreadful things. The haughty and blasphemous words of the Rabshekeh, the Assyrian spokesman of Sennacherib are recorded in 2 Kings 18:19.
Then the royal spokesman said to them, “Tell Hezekiah this is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: ‘What are you relying on?
But the royal spokesman said to them, “Has my master sent me to speak these words only to your master and to you? Hasn’t he also sent me to the men who sit on the wall, destined with you to eat their own excrement and drink their own urine?”
The royal spokesman stood and called out loudly in Hebrew: “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria. This is what the king says: ‘Don’t let Hezekiah deceive you; he can’t rescue you from my power. Don’t let Hezekiah persuade you to rely on the Lord by saying, “Certainly the Lord will rescue us! This city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.” ’
Jonah was called to bring them a message in their own land, in their own capital. A message not well received by friends and family let alone by enemies.
“Cry out loudly, don’t hold back! Raise your voice like a ram’s horn. Tell my people their transgression and the house of Jacob their sins.
Jonah’s Flight
Jonah’s Flight
Other prophets are recorded as responding to the word of the Lord coming upon them with a response “Here I am Lord…” Jonah however did not. So how did Jonah respond to this call that came from the Lord? Well verse three records his response and while Jonah responded with an immediate response to get up he did not go to Nineveh. Jonah immediately got up to FLEE. Where was he running? Physically Jonah was fleeing to Tarshish, spiritually Jonah was fleeing from the LORD’s presence. When one seeks to escape the call of the Lord one is also fleeing the presence of the Lord at the same time. Jonah went down to Joppa and he found a ship going to Tarshish. Jonah paid the fare and went down it the ship to go with them to Tarshish from the Lord’s presence.
It is a sin to flee from the Lord. If we are not on the Lord’s path then we are in opposition to the Lord and defiance of the Lord. Tarshish is the exact opposite direction of Nineveh and the mode of travel is the exact opposite.
Sin always has its cost, fares or wages that we will pay
We delude ourselves into thinking we can escape the presence of the Lord. The Psalmist writing in Psalm 139 knows this is impossible and futile
7 Where can I go to escape your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?
9 If I live at the eastern horizon or settle at the western limits, 10 even there your hand will lead me; your right hand will hold on to me.
The prophet Nahum (another minor prophet also sent to preach to Nineveh) gives an insightful picture of what Ninevties were like.
1 Woe to the city of blood, totally deceitful, full of plunder, never without prey. 2 The crack of the whip and rumble of the wheel, galloping horse and jolting chariot!
3 Charging horseman, flashing sword, shining spear; heaps of slain, mounds of corpses, dead bodies without end— they stumble over their dead. 4 Because of the continual prostitution of the prostitute, the attractive mistress of sorcery, who treats nations and clans like merchandise by her prostitution and sorcery,
Jonah refused to go to Nineveh and preach - even to preach against them. Maybe at best Jonah would be mocked or treated as a fool and at worst killed. What we will learn later is that Jonah knows of God’s grace, mercy and compassion and fears that Nineveh would repent and be spared! Jonah refused to preach to them lest they repent, find grace and be saved by God. Jonah didnt want the Assyrians to escape judgment.
Considering this we must ask ourselves who do we refuse to share the message of grace and mercy of God - in disobedience - lest they find salvation? Is there any we have judged as being beyond salvation or not being worth saving or deserving of mercy? The truth is mercy is never deserved by anyone.
God Prevents Escape
God Prevents Escape
But the Lord threw a great wind onto the sea, and such a great storm arose on the sea that the ship threatened to break apart. The sailors were afraid, and each cried out to his god. They threw the ship’s cargo into the sea to lighten the load. Meanwhile, Jonah had gone down to the lowest part of the vessel and had stretched out and fallen into a deep sleep.
The captain approached him and said, “What are you doing sound asleep? Get up! Call to your god. Maybe this god will consider us, and we won’t perish.” “Come on!” the sailors said to each other. “Let’s cast lots. Then we’ll know who is to blame for this trouble we’re in.” So they cast lots, and the lot singled out Jonah.
Then they said to him, “Tell us who is to blame for this trouble we’re in. What is your business, and where are you from? What is your country, and what people are you from?” He answered them, “I’m a Hebrew. I worship the Lord, the God of the heavens, who made the sea and the dry land.”
Then the men were seized by a great fear and said to him, “What have you done?” The men knew he was fleeing from the Lord’s presence because he had told them.
So they said to him, “What should we do to you so that the sea will calm down for us?” For the sea was getting worse and worse. He answered them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea so that it will calm down for you, for I know that I’m to blame for this great storm that is against you.”
Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to get back to dry land, but they couldn’t because the sea was raging against them more and more. So they called out to the Lord, “Please, Lord, don’t let us perish because of this man’s life, and don’t charge us with innocent blood! For you, Lord, have done just as you pleased.”
Then they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea stopped its raging. The men were seized by great fear of the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows. The Lord appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Through Stormy Seas
Through Stormy Seas
Verses 4-10
Jonah didnt want to bring God’s message to Nineveh lest they find mercy and grace through repentance. Here we find one of the great conjunctions of the Scripture “BUT God…”. God intervenes against Jonah’s disobedience. God is not willing to stand by and allow Jonah to disobey to bring His desired message to Nineveh. Neither was He satisfied to not have someone bring His message to you and I either. God also wasnt satisfied to leave Jonah as he was in his heart. God in a sovereign display throws a great wind onto the sea, causing a great storm. The storm was so great that it threatened to break the ship apart.
God will send stormy seas to bring prevent wayward children from fleeing from Him. God is not about to just sit back and let Jonah continue to walk in disobedience so he sent a storm, and the storm was enough to alert the sailors around Jonah to the present peril.
The sailors filled with fear took turns each one crying out to their god. They threw cargo into the sea in an effort to lighten the load on the ship. All the while Jonah was in the lower parts of the ship ASLEEP! Sailors were concerned and Jonah was comfortably complacent. Jonah was callous to the state of Nineveh, and in that callousness was indifferent to the plight of those around him also. It is when the captain approaches Jonah and frantically awakes him to the pending doom and peril they are all in. “What are you doing!”
Penn of Penn and Teller speaks of the hate one must have to not share the gospel and be content to watch them headed straight for judgment and hell.
The captain calls to Jonah to act swiftly - get up and call to your God suggesting perhaps He would save them. Jonah is here fleeing from God and these heathen sailors were pointing him to call on God. What a mark against us if pagan men must call men of God to pray to God
The sailors then begin casting lots to determine who is to blame for this. They recognize this not as a normal storm but as a judgment against someone. The lot fell on Jonah - not because lots tell the future or reveal hidden things, but because the Lord directed them to reveal Jonah - because He is desiring to deal with Jonah.
Jonah because of the lots must come clean to the sailors. Jonah states that he is a Hebrew who worships the LORD (Yahweh) the God of the Heavens (the Sovereign One) who made the seas and the dry land (Creator of all things including this storm we are in).
Seized with fear understanding the storm as sent from God because of Jonah - they gravely what have you done? Not because they didnt know what Jonah had done but because they - even they understood the foolishness of trying to flee from the Lord’s presence. In light of their current and present circumstances they perceived what an egregious thing it was to desire to flee the presence of the Lord - especially when He has called you. Why would you disobey?
Through Crisis
Through Crisis
Verses 11-17
Jonah has been awakened to the fact that God knows He is fleeing and will not let him escape. God will continue to prevent his escape by sending now even a crisis for Jonah. The sailors ask Jonah what must we do to you so the seas will clam down? The seas are described as getting worse and worse. Recognizing Jonah as the offending party against God who must endure the punishment necessary to appease God.
Sometimes our disobedience to the Lord causes trouble for others around us as they are caught up in our storm, especially for those called to be leaders for God. Leaders at church, at home, at work, government etc.
Jonah replies that they need to throw him overboard. Jonah Sees that God is reaching out to him through the sea, and by going into the sea the Lord will have him. The sailors however like most men, dont always follow the prescribed solution, they want to first try in their own might. As the sailors tried in their own might to fight against the storm they were not able to in their own strength as the sea was raging and raging against them to match and overcome their own strength.
Finally at the end of their own strength they call out to the Lord, knowing their own efforts are futile. They beg that Jonah’s life not be on their hands - recognizing that God has done what He pleased.
They pick up Jonah and threw him into the sea and the sea immediately stopped its raging. The sight of this gripped the men in fear of the LORD (which is the beginning of knowledge and wisdom) and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD.
Jonah in the sea - perhaps thought he would die there, at least he escaped the call to Nineveh. The Lord would not allow him to escape and the LORD appointed a fish to swallow Jonah and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Are we to believe that Jonah was swallowed by a fish - YES! The Lord Jesus points to this event as having actually literally happening and that should settle it for us.
How is it possible for a fish to swallow Jonah and then for Jonah to be there in the belly for three days? Jonah just got through declaring God to be the God who made the seas and the dry lands - the God of the Heavens. Is there anything that He cannot do? Could He not provide a specific fish? Could He not provide Jonah‘s safety in the belly of the fish?
If you cannot trust God to provide a fish for Jonah and to protect Jonah in the fish, then you cannot trust God for salvation.
Notice that the Lord PROVIDED the fish for Jonah - a place of solitude to escape and reflect. God could have left Jonah in the sea and protected him there, but instead God provided the fish for Jonah. This is the first of four things that God Himself provides.
Conclusion
Conclusion
We can try to figure out reasons Jonah had for not wanting to go to Nineveh and preach against it as God commanded, or we could learn to ask what our reasons are so we can look to God to help us overcome our own reasons.
What is the command we find most difficult to hear? What is it we struggle most with God about? What instructions from God may cause us panic and a desire to escape? If He sent us to bring His message out - who would it be that we would dig in our own heels?
You say God hasn’t sent or called you? Wrong He has commissioned all who call upon His name for salvation
Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Remember this - God sent the great wind and storm. We love to think of Jesus calming the storm and He can do that and He does do that. But sometimes when we are disobeying or fleeing God will stir up storms too.
What an interesting thing to claim - yet Jonah did and many today do the same thing. This is the claim of worshipping God yet disobeying Him and fleeing Him and ignoring His calling.
Jonah slept in a place where he hoped not to be seen or disturbed. Sleeping Christians likewise like to hideout among the church. Jonah slept in a place where he would not have to help with the work - sleeping Christians stay away from the work. Jonah slept and had no idea of the problems around him, sleeping Christians dont know or worse ignore what is going on around them. Jonah slept unaware of the danger and had to be awakened and Like Jonah if you are sleeping WAKE UP and pray for those who are perishing on the sea of life. Wake up and call out to your God and perhaps He will save you.
Communion
Communion
23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.