Jonah Flees From the LORD
The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”
But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the LORD.
Then the LORD sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship.
But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. The captain went to him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us, and we will not perish.”
Then the sailors said to each other, “Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity.” They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah.
So they asked him, “Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?”
He answered, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land.”
This terrified them and they asked, “What have you done?” (They knew he was running away from the LORD, because he had already told them so.)
The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, “What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?”
“Pick me up and throw me into the sea,” he replied, “and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.”
Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before. Then they cried to the LORD, “O LORD, please do not let us die for taking this man’s life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, O LORD, have done as you pleased.” Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. At this the men greatly feared the LORD, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows to him.
But the LORD provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights.
The Prophet
Jonah was a prophet of the Lord. God gave him an assignment. He was supposed to go to the city of Nineveh and preach against it because of its wickedness. Yet, Jonah did not want to take that assignment. He did not want to preach against the city of Nineveh, because Jonah knew that God was a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity (see 4:2). He wanted Nineveh to be destroyed. Evidently, Nineveh was an enemy of Israel’s.
Nineveh’s ruins are located across the Tigris River from Mosul, Iraq, and on the east side of the river, about 500 miles from Samaria. Samaria today is in the area called the West Bank. It would have taken Jonah more than a month to travel to Nineveh. Yet, he turned and traveled by ship in the opposite direction toward Spain.
The Lord, nonetheless, did not take “No” for an answer. He pursued Jonah with a strong wind. The storm was so violent that it threatened to break up the ship. The sailors were afraid. They each called to their own gods. Yet, Jonah was comfortably asleep below deck and didn’t even know there was a storm. I love what the captain said to him: “How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us, and we will not perish.”
Our Assignments
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” ~ Matt. 28:19-20.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” ~ Acts 1:8.
Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. ~ Eph. 4:14-16.
We have been given the assignment (mission) to be the Lord’s witnesses, to share the gospel message, both in word and by example, to make disciples (followers) of Christ of people, and to teach them to obey everything Christ has commanded us. We have also been given the responsibility toward helping our brothers and sisters in Christ to mature in their faith, to not be tossed back and forth by various winds of doctrine, to warn them against wolves in sheep’s clothing who would deceive them and who would turn them away from the truth of the gospel, to speak the truth of the words of God, and to do the assignments God gives to us, his children, for the edification of the body of Christ. Then we can grow in the grace and love of Christ, as each part of the body does its work (assignment).
Personal Example
Back in the early 1980’s I faced a situation in my life that I thought was beyond hope. I had an “enemy” force coming against me that was too powerful for me, or so I thought. And, so I gave up and just ran from the situation. Then, one day I was reading Bible stories to my children, and I read the story of Jonah. Immediately the Holy Spirit of God convicted my heart and said, “You are running away, just like Jonah!” And, get this! I answered back to God, “But God, you don’t understand!” Yet, it was I who did not understand. I did not understand the sovereignty of God over my life or the power of God to work in my situation.
The Lord told me, “Get back in there and fight this through.” I was not sure how I was to do that, but I did, and the Lord graciously showed me the way and worked the situation out for his purposes and for his glory in my life and in the lives of those who were my “enemies,” to whom the Lord wanted to give a message through my life and witness for him. The Lord also used at least one of those “enemies” to help me to be delivered from the fear of man and from the painful scars in my life resulting from past abuse, though that was a long process, and this was just the beginning. To God be the glory! Great things He has done!
Where are You?
God has an assignment for each and every one of us. Our first and foremost assignment is to believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and as Savior of our lives. We do this through repentance (turning from our sin) and through obedience (turning toward God in following Jesus Christ with our lives). We do not do this in our own flesh, though. This is the working of the Holy Spirit within us in transforming our hearts in regeneration (new birth) as we cooperate fully with that work.
Then, our assignment is to be witnesses for Christ in making disciples of all nations and in helping our fellow believers in Christ mature in their faith and walk with the Lord. Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins, not just so we can go to heaven one day. He came to give us abundant life with him while we are still on this earth. He did not die a cruel death on the cross to free us from our sins only for us to turn right around and continue in willful disobedience to him by going our own way without regard for his plan for our lives. He did not die for our sins so that we could live for ourselves without giving thought to what our purpose is and what our assignment is in truly following Jesus Christ wherever he leads us.
Are you where Jonah was? Or where I was? Are you running from God’s assignment for your life? Your reasons may or may not be similar to Jonah’s or to mine, for we all have our reasons for doing what we do. Maybe yours is apathy, complacency, fear of man, hatred of your enemies, selfishness, ignorance, or whatever keeps you from obeying the Lord fully. Are you in a deep sleep while violent storms of this life are all around you beating against your life, the lives of those you love, or the lives of your enemies? Are you running in the opposite direction from obedience to God? In other words, are you escaping into sin’s deceitfulness because you don’t want to obey God, because you can’t trust him with the circumstances of your life, and/or because you lack knowledge of who God truly is? I did that. But, I stopped running. And, I hope, by God’s grace, I never run from God again.
The Result
The result of Jonah’s disobedience to God was that he did not give the message to the people of Nineveh, warning them of God’s judgments, and thus they could have perished in their sins. The people with whom he was with on the boat nearly lost their lives, as well. And, Jonah missed out on the opportunity to be a blessing and to make a difference in other people’s lives.
When we choose to ignore or to run from our assignments God has given each one of us, we, too, fail to give out the message of hope that could mean the salvation of people’s lives from sin and from eternal damnation. Also, we bring others down with us when we choose to run in the opposite direction toward sinful rebellion. And, we miss out on all the blessings God has for our own lives in using us in other people’s lives, and how he may want to use them in our lives to help us to mature in our walk with Christ.
So, if today you are running from God, or you are asleep (complacent and apathetic) while the world is coming crashing down all around you, and/or if you are going in the opposite direction toward sinful rebellion, and/or are just living for yourself without concern for the lost world or for your brothers and sisters who may be also living for themselves and not living for God, and/or if you are bringing others down with you, I pray you will wake up and call on your God. I pray you will turn from your disobedience, and that you will choose to follow the Lord Jesus Christ today in doing whatever he has called you (and all of us) to do.
God had to bring a strong wind into Jonah’s life to wake him up. He had to throw him into the sea and have him preserved in the belly of a big fish so that he would obey God. Don’t wait until God has to pursue you with his divine discipline and correction before you obey. Obey him today! Say, “Yes, Lord, I will go where you want me to go, and I will do what you want me to do, and say what you want me to say, and I will trust you with the results.”
Your Servant Witness / An Original Work / March 13, 2012
Humbly I bow, Lord, before You,
Bringing my requests to You.
May I listen; hear You speaking.
May I follow You in truth.
Gently lead me in Your service.
Guide my steps and strengthen me.
Fill me with Your love and mercy.
May I live for Thee!
Let me be Your servant witness,
Telling others of Your grace.
May I always share the gospel
With those I meet face to face.
May I show the love of Jesus,
Caring for the needs of men;
Be Your servant witness always
For my Lord, Amen!
My desire to be like Jesus,
Living for Him ev’ry day.
May I obey all His teachings
Given me, so I’ll not stray.
Love You, Jesus, Lord, my master.
You are the King of my heart;
Follow You where’er You lead me;
Not from You depart!
http://www.godcares.tv/video/1476/Your-Servant-Witness
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