This article about Jonah, is one of a series of articles built around the theme, “What would they say to us now?” From the perspective of eternity and a completed life, what would they say is really important to us today?
When Ernie was a young man, he attended church regularly. He did his best to love and serve God while working as a barber. Ernie believed God was calling him to be a pastor or evangelist but told me that he was afraid to do what God wanted him to do. He wanted to settle down with his young wife and raise a family. He didn’t want the public life that ministry would entail.
Later in life, Ernie saw the foolishness of his decision. He told me that he missed God’s will and had paid a great price for going his own way. He not only minimized his influence, he reduced the blessing of God on his own life.
Like Ernie, many people have followed their own path rather than going God’s way. The biblical example of this is found in the life of the Old Testament prophet Jonah.
JONAH
The Book of Jonah is unique. It is considered a book of prophecy but contains no prophecies. It is, however, significant since Jesus endorsed the story and said it was a picture of his death and resurrection.
Jonah is famous for his submarine ride in a great fish, but if that’s all we know about Jonah, we miss his message. Jonah has a lot to teach about God’s mercy. He also teaches a lot about us. We have a lot in common with Jonah.
The story of Jonah is read as part of the Jewish worship service on the annual Day of Atonement. As the people listen, they respond, “We are Jonah.” They acknowledge that we are like Jonah in our disobedience, our insensitivity to others, in our reaction to what God does and in our self-centeredness. But like Jonah, we are recipients of God’s mercy.
What would Jonah say to us now?
1. GOD MAY GIVE YOU A SPECIAL TASK: OBEY HIM
The word of the Lord came to Jonah, son of Amittai: Go to the great city of Ninevah and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me. (Jonah 1:1-2).
God told Jonah to go to Ninevah and preach against it. The instructions were specific. Jonah was called to be a cross-cultural missionary. The assignment was a great challenge because Ninevah was a powerful, prosperous and perverted city.
Jonah’s assignment is similar to the one God’s given us. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations. (Matthew 28:19). Ninevites weren’t Jewish; they were gentiles. The Ninevites had a different culture. The commission given to us is no less challenging than the one given to Jonah. The gospel isn’t popular in our world and is quite unacceptable in many parts of the world. We’re to speak cross-culturally.
God’s assignment to us, as for Jonah, says a great deal about God. It didn’t matter that the Ninevites were debauched by sin, God still loved them and wanted to show mercy to them. The heart of God hasn’t changed. He sent his Son to Bethlehem for the whole world. His heart of mercy yearns today as much as it ever did and we do wrong to limit the expression of God’s mercy to people of our own racial or cultural backgrounds. God’s command remains, make disciples of all nations.
At times, God asks us to do something that we don’t want to do. His assignment may inconvenience us or put us in uncomfortable situations. Remember, God will never ask us to do something without giving us the strength and grace to do it.
Jonah reacted to God’s instructions. He didn’t misunderstand the orders nor was he confused; he deliberately chose not to follow God’s instructions. Jonah recognized the voice of God, but he made the choice to stop following the Master and went his own way. But Jonah ran away from the Lord. (Jonah 1:3). In fact, he went in the opposite direction.
Sadly, Jonah paid more than the cost of passage on the ship, Jonah paid for his disobedience for the rest of his life. The lesson is obvious: it may cost us something to serve God, but it will cost us a lot more to disobey God. There is never a guarantee of safe passage when you are running away; there are only storms and rough seas.
2. GOD WILL PURSUE YOU WHEN YOU RUN: WATCH FOR HIM
The story of Jonah is not Jonah trying to get away from God, but God not letting Jonah get away. God pursued him with a storm, inquisitive sailors and a great fish.
A storm
When we get out of God’s will, he can use a variety to methods to pursue us. When we are going with God, he can calm the waves, but when we are going against God, he can send a storm, not to punish us but to show mercy, get our attention, keep us from hurting ourselves and get us back to the place of blessing.
When we are fleeing God’s will, our circumstances will affect others. Running from God is not a private matter. When you run from God you put your family and friends at risk. 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. (Jonah 1:5). These sailors were not Jews but they prayed the best they could.
Sailors
God may use the people in our lives to speak to us. The sailors were more than casual observers; they were used by God and blessed by him. The sailors questioned Jonah and Jonah even witnessed to them.
A great fish
The ultimate demonstration of God’s pursuit of Jonah was the provision of the great fish. But the Lord provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights. (Jonah 1:17). The fish was God’s provision and a demonstration of God’s mercy. God was pursuing Jonah.
3. GOD HEARS YOU, EVEN WHEN YOU RUN: PRAY
Jonah never got where he had wanted to go nor did he get a refund for the unused portion of his ticket! But God got Jonah’s attention inside the fish! From inside the fish, Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. (Jonah 2:1).
At times, when we are out of God’s will, we don’t feel like praying, even though we know prayer is the solution to our dilemmas. In fact, we often resist prayer when we’re fleeing.
Something happened to Jonah inside that fish. Don’t be so taken with what was happening inside the fish that you miss what was going on inside Jonah. Don’t be taken up with the seaweed and salt water and miss what was happening in the spirit of Jonah. The big miracle is not that Jonah survived the ordeal but rather the change that occurred in Jonah’s attitude.
In his misery, Jonah found mercy. In his distress, he discovered deliverance. He learned that even though he’d run from God, God hadn’t forsaken him. Jonah found salvation inside the fish long before the fish deposited him on dry ground. The key was Jonah’s prayer. From inside the fish, Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. (Jonah 2:1). What a prayer room!
Up to this time, prayer seems to have been absent. Jonah didn’t pray when he bought his ticket to Tarshish. Jonah didn’t pray when the ship’s captain commanded him get up and call on your god. Had Jonah prayed when the sailors on the ship were converted, he wouldn’t have been in distress. In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me. From the depths of the grave I called for help, and you listened to my cry. (Jonah 2:2).
Even though Jonah was running away from God, God was running after Jonah. When Jonah prayed, the Lord listened to his prayer. It’s unfortunate when we refuse to submit to God for so long, but the good news is that it is never too late to pray.
Your prayer doesn’t need to be long; it does need to be sincere. Jonah’s prayer was brief and to the point and lasted less than 60 seconds, but it turned everything around.
4. GOD WILL GIVE YOU A SECOND CHANCE: OBEY HIM
And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah on dry ground. (Jonah 2:10).
When the fish vomited Jonah, I would have written Jonah off. I might have forgiven Jonah and considered that enough. Then I might have looked for someone to take his place, but that was not God’s way. God gave Jonah a second chance. Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time. Go to the great city of Ninevah and proclaim to it the message I give you. (Jonah 3:1-2). This time, Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Ninevah. (Jonah 3:3).
Regardless of how you have missed what God wanted for you in the past, God wants to give you a second opportunity.
5. GOD WILL WORK THROUGH YOU: REJOICE
Jonah was distressed when he disobeyed; he found success when he obeyed. Jonah preached the message God gave him. It was short – only a few words: Forty more days and Ninevah will be destroyed. (Jonah 3:4). That’s not an easy or popular thing to say while standing on a street corner or in the market of a strange city, but Jonah obeyed.
How did the Ninevites respond? They might have considered Jonah a religious nut or a spiritual eccentric, but that’s not what happened. The city’s traffic came to a halt. People stopped to listen. Crowds gathered around Jonah and accepted his message. The Ninevites believed God. They declared a fast and all of them, from the greatest to the least put on sackcloth. (Jonah 3:5).
This was one of the greatest spiritual awakenings in history. Between 600,000 and a million people turned to God. They urgently called on God, repented and gave proof of their sincerity.
When God gives you a second chance for ministry, you can be sure that God will work through you. There is no evidence that Jonah was an outstanding orator. The only way this response could happen was for God to work in the lives of the people who heard the message. And God will work through you if you give him a chance.
This was a time for great rejoicing. God, in mercy, had spared the city. But Jonah wasn’t happy. But Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry. (Jonah 4:1). Jonah went into a slow boil. Jonah didn’t want the Ninevites to repent; he didn’t like them and wanted them destroyed. Jonah told God he was making a mistake. Jonah felt sorry for himself and he fled.
Sadly, some people today have difficulty rejoicing when certain racial and cultural groups turn to God.
Jonah was so angry he didn’t want to go on living and asked God to take his life. Jonah forgot several important facts. He forgot God’s mercy to him. He didn’t understand the character of God as he thought he did.
As great as the work was that God did in Ninevah, the greater work was what God did in Jonah. God gave him a greater perspective on humanity and a deeper understanding of God’s mercy.
A complete directory of articles can be found at http://calsinsights.com/
You can receive this material regularly by email – just fill in your email address at the bottom left side of the home page under subscription options and you will receive a copy of each new article as it is posted.
To forward the material to someone else, press the “share this” button and fill in an email address.
I appreciate all your comments and suggestions.