Jonah 1:1-17Jonah Runs from the Lord
1 The Lord gave this message to Jonah son of Amittai: “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh. Announce my judgment against it because I have seen how wicked its people are.”
But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the Lord. He went down to the port of Joppa, where he found a ship leaving for Tarshish. He bought a ticket and went on board, hoping to escape from the Lord by sailing to Tarshish (Spain).
But the Lord hurled a powerful wind over the sea, causing a violent storm that threatened to break the ship apart. Fearing for their lives, the desperate sailors shouted to their gods for help and threw the cargo overboard to lighten the ship.
But all this time Jonah was sound asleep down in the hold. So the captain went down after him. “How can you sleep at a time like this?” he shouted. “Get up and pray to your god! Maybe he will pay attention to us and spare our lives.”
Then the crew cast lots to see which of them had offended the gods and caused the terrible storm. When they did this, the lots identified Jonah as the culprit. “Why has this awful storm come down on us?” they demanded. “Who are you? What is your line of work? What country are you from? What is your nationality?”
Jonah answered, “I am a Hebrew, and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land.”
The sailors were terrified when they heard this, for he had already told them he was running away from the Lord. “Oh, why did you do it?” they groaned. And since the storm was getting worse all the time, they asked him, “What should we do to you to stop this storm?”
“Throw me into the sea,” Jonah said, “and it will become calm again. I know that this terrible storm is all my fault.”
Instead, the sailors rowed even harder to get the ship to the land. But the stormy sea was too violent for them, and they couldn’t make it. Then they cried out to the Lord, Jonah’s God. “O Lord,” they pleaded, “don’t make us die for this man’s sin. And don’t hold us responsible for his death. O Lord, you have sent this storm upon him for your own good reasons.”
Then the sailors picked Jonah up and threw him into the raging sea, and the storm stopped at once! The sailors were awestruck by the Lord’s great power, and they offered him a sacrifice and vowed to serve him.
Now the Lord had arranged for a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights
“Nineveh? Lord, you want me to go WHERE?” At first when the call of God came, Jonah tried to ignore it, hoping God would call someone else or at least let him stay home and prophesy to the Israelites. Why should God care about the people of Nineveh? Those people were horrible idolaters, vicious warriors who would skin their captives alive while they screamed in agony. As far as Jonah was concerned, God could send fire and brimstone to consume Nineveh and Jonah would be thrilled. And the sooner, the better!
But the call wouldn’t go away. Each morning, Jonah would wake up, knowing that God wanted him to leave for Nineveh. While Jonah was trying to pray in the middle of the day, the Holy Spirit would keep pounding the word “Nineveh” into his mind and heart. It reached the point that Jonah could scarcely eat or sleep because God’s call bothered him so much. Finally, in desperation, Jonah booked a voyage on a ship to Tarshish, going in the opposite direction from Nineveh. Too bad Jonah was trying to run from the Creator of the earth, the One who controlled the weather. Once Jonah’s ship was out in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, a vicious storm blew up. In a last-ditch effort to save the ship, the sailors began examining themselves to see which deity they might have offended, and that’s when Jonah revealed his rebellion against God. Realizing he was the cause of the storm, Jonah urged the sailors to throw him overboard. God appointed a large fish to swallow Jonah, and he survived the ordeal.
With nowhere else to go and nobody else to turn to, Jonah finally repented, chanting a song that sounds like one of the psalms and ending with these phrases: I sank down to the very roots of the mountains. I was imprisoned in the earth, whose gates lock shut forever. But you, O Lord my God, snatched me from the jaws of death! As my life was slipping away, I remembered the Lord. And my earnest prayer went out to you in your holy Temple. Those who worship false gods turn their backs on all God’s mercies. But I will offer sacrifices to you with songs of praise, and I will fulfill all my vows. For my salvation comes from the Lord alone.”
Then the Lord ordered the fish to spit Jonah out onto the beach. (Jonah 2:6-10)
So, Jonah trudged off to Nineveh. What must Jonah have looked like after three days of exposure to gastric juices? Certainly, his skin and hair might have been bleached. At any rate, Jonah preached, and Nineveh thoroughly and completely repented, infuriating Jonah. Even as Jonah was preaching, he was secretly hoping that nobody would repent and that God would destroy Nineveh while he watched and gloated. But God had compassion on the Ninevites and acknowledged their repentance. Finally, God asked Jonah, “But Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness, not to mention all the animals. Shouldn’t I feel sorry for such a great city?” (Jonah 4:11)
For my husband and me, Jonah’s story has special significance. In the fall of 1985, we found ourselves in a state of holy restlessness. Our lives were comfortable. I had completed pediatric surgery training and had taken a temporary job working in minor emergency clinics, doing general practice on a walk-in basis. My husband was working at a local ambulance service as an EMT. Everything was fine….only it wasn’t. Then one Sunday, our pastor preached a sermon on Jonah, stating that God would build His call into our lives, and we needed to see if there was anything God had given us that required our action. Earlier that week, my husband had seen a doctor friend who worked with one mission in Nigeria. The friend had sent us applications for his mission group; however, we had not done anything with those applications. Now we completed the applications and submitted them, subsequently interviewing with representatives from the group.
That first mission group refused to accept us because of doctrinal differences; however, God used that process to get us to begin exploring possibilities. Eventually, we connected with the group that sent us to Ghana, arriving in Ghana eighteen months later. That sermon helped launch a career in missions that has extended for nearly 38 years.
The message of Jonah’s call is simple: you can run but you can’t hide. When God calls you, He is relentless about it. Stifling the call will only result in misery. Today, is God calling you to do something? Pray and ask God to reveal His perfect Will, for God is a good Father and He does not play guessing games with his children.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, help us to answer when You call, realizing that Your Will is best for our lives. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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