Running From God
Text: Jonah 1
Core Idea: Jonah’s story reveals how prone we are to wander but it also reminds us that God will never leave us abandoned – He will always seek us out, draw us back again and again and again because He loves us and is committed to us. Then let’s not run from God. Let’s not resist His will. Let’s choose to be with Him.
INTRODUCTION
Today, we’ll be starting a new sermon series in the Book of Jonah which will go on for the next four weeks leading up to Advent. This book, in one sense, needs no introduction since it’s one of the most well-known stories in the Bible – but of course just because it’s familiar doesn’t mean that we can always relate to it. Hearing about Jonah being swallowed by a huge fish may sound fascinating, but it can feel distant from our daily experience – the struggles and challenges of life. Then considering this, the aim for this series is to help you discover that there’s so much more to this story than many of us realize – that it’s so much more than the big fish, the sailors, the Ninevites, or even Jonah himself. Ultimately, it’s about God – His relentless pursuit of His rebellious children and His gracious heart for the lost. So, with that in mind, please open your Bibles to Jonah 1. Let me read this for us.
1 The Word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before Me.” 3 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. 4 Then the LORD sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. 5 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. 6 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 so that we will not perish.” 7 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. 8 So they asked him, “Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What kind of work do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?” 9 He answered, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” 10 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.) 11 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?” 12 “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.” 13 Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before. 14 Then they cried out to the LORD, “Please, LORD, do not let us die for taking this man’s life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, LORD, have done as you pleased.” 15 Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. 16 At this the men greatly feared the LORD, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows to Him. 17 Now the LORD provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Amen. This is the Word of God for you today.
Let me share three things from this passage:
· JONAH’S CONTINUAL DISOBEDIENCE
· GOD’S UNWAVERING COMMITMENT
· GOD’S SAVING GRACE
1) JONAH’S CONTINUAL DISOBEDIENCE
Verse 1 – our story begins with the Word of God coming to Jonah, son of Amittai. Now, this was not an unusual way to begin an account of biblical prophets in the OT because they were considered the mouthpiece of God – they received the Word from God and conveyed His message to the Israelites. But by verse 2, the original readers would’ve recognized that this was a unique call (something that they had never heard before) since God called Jonah to “go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it.” This was shocking because, up until then, God’s prophets had only been sent to God’s people. Sure, some prophets like Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Amos pronounced a few prophetic oracles against pagan countries but their purpose wasn’t necessarily to warn them of the coming judgment but rather to comfort and give hope to the people of God by reminding them that their misery will soon end and that God will one day vindicate His people – which is why no prophet was ever sent out to other nations to preach. But Jonah was called to go.
Now, there are two more factors that made this call surprising. Number one, God was calling Jonah to go to Nineveh, the capital city of the Assyrian empire of all places. Assyria was one of the cruelest and most violent empires of ancient times. I won’t go into detail because it’s really gory and disturbing, but the Assyrians were known for their brutality and evil. They were ruthless in wars and extremely barbaric in the way they tortured and killed their enemies. And what made this so close to home for Jonah was that, for years, Assyria had been threatening to overtake Israel – the Israelites had been victims of their atrocity. And yet it was this nation that God was calling Jonah to warn them of their wickedness so that they would humble themselves and turn back to God. Can you imagine what must have been going through Jonah’s mind when this call came to him? He must have asked, “How could a good God give a nation like that even the slightest chance to experience His mercy? Why on earth would God help the enemies of His people?”
Number two, God was sending Jonah the son of Amittai of all people. This book doesn’t tell us much about who Jonah was – but, in 2 Kings 14:25, we learn that, unlike Amos and Hosea who criticized King Jeroboam II for his injustice and unfaithfulness to God, Jonah had supported the king’s aggressive means to expand Israel’s power and influence. In other words, Jonah was intensely patriotic – he only wanted what was best for Israel. Yet God was sending him to preach to the very people he hated and feared the most. Nothing about this mission made any sense. So, it’s a little understandable why Jonah did what he did in verse 3.
“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.” The extent to which Jonah was running has to be pointed out. He first went down to Joppa which was around 110 km south of Gath-Hepher (the city where Jonah was from). But this was just the beginning of his journey since his intention was to get on a boat to go to Tarshish which was located way on the western end of the Mediterranean Sea. Let me actually show you a map so that you can see how far Jonah was willing to go just to avoid this call (map). Basically, Jonah intended to run to the other side of the earth from God – he was ready to travel more than 4,000 km to be as far as he could be from the Lord. Jonah ran because he couldn’t understand God. He certainly knew that God was a merciful God, but he had no category for a God who had mercy for his enemies. So, because he could not see any good reasons for God’s command, Jonah assumed that there couldn’t be any – and he began to doubt the goodness, wisdom, and love of God.
What does this mean for us? Let me point out a couple of things. First, we must recognize that when we want to disobey and rebel against God, when we want to sin, when we want to run away from God, there will always be a ship ready for us. Here’s what I mean. In verse 3, when Jonah went down to Joppa, it said that he found a ship bound for that port – in one sense, a ship was ready for him. It seemed like everything was working out for Jonah. I wonder if he even said something like this, “Maybe God is blessing my decision after all.” But this wasn’t God’s sovereign provision but the enemy’s destructive trap. Brothers and sisters, we must remember that we have an enemy who is doing everything he can to ready the ship for us to run away from God. He will lay things out so that it’ll be convenient and easy for us to give in to our lust, greed, anger, selfishness, gluttony, laziness, and other countless sins. In fact, he’ll reassure you so that you can have peace about doing the wrong things. That’s exactly what we saw in Genesis 3. At the Garden, the serpent said to Eve, “It’s okay. The forbidden tree is good for food. In fact, it’ll make you wise. You won’t die.” In other words, the serpent comforted Eve and gave her peace about disobeying God. This is incredibly important to see because it means that we should continue to guard our hearts and anchor ourselves to the Word. Nothing should justify our disobedience. Even if there’s peace in our hearts, even if there is a ship ready for us, it’s never okay for us to run from God because it will only lead to death.
Second, we must guard our hearts from mistrusting God when we don’t understand God. In some ways, we’ve all had that experience. We went through circumstances that made us question God’s goodness, wisdom, and love. It could’ve been caused by our unfulfilled dreams, unexpected challenges, a plan that didn’t go the way we desired, a romantic relationship that didn’t work out, a job loss, a marriage that is falling apart, a child who is going wayward, financial trouble, a physical illness, and more. And because we couldn’t understand God, we mistrusted Him and said, “How could He let this happen? He must not love me.” If we’re not careful, if we’re not fighting to cling to God in times of confusion, we will run from God and flee to our own Tarshish. It could be work, entertainment, romance, pleasure, or people – whatever it is, it’s a place where you think you can forget God and ignore His call. Then brothers and sisters, when trials come, when we don’t understand God, we must learn to say, “Even though I can’t figure out why God is letting this happen, because I know that God loves me, because I know that He’s working for my good, I’m simply going to trust Him, depend on Him, be desperate for Him.” In Daniel 3, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego found themselves in a dilemma. If they remained faithful to God, they would be thrown into a blazing furnace – but if they denied God, they would live. Well, Daniel tells us that they kept their faith and were thrown into the fire – only to realize that God was with them and protecting them. They didn’t do this because they understood everything but because they trusted God. Listen to what they said in Daniel 3:17-18, “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and He will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if He does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” They experienced God’s presence because they went into the fire. Then let me ask you, “Are you questioning God’s goodness because you can’t understand why certain things are happening in your life today?” If so, run to God since it’s better to be in the flames with God than to be in “safety” without God. You may not understand God, but you can trust Him for He is good. How do I know? Because He will never leave us wandering – which leads to our next point.
2) GOD’S UNWAVERING COMMITMENT
Verse 4, “Then the LORD sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up.” The word “sent” in Hebrew is actually very interesting because it literally means “to throw with great force and vigor.” In other words, we have a picture of God “throwing” a great wind toward the ship that Jonah was on – but this wasn’t because God was angry at Jonah or because He wanted to punish Jonah or because He wanted to see Jonah suffer for his disobedience. No, God threw a storm at Jonah because He wanted to bring Jonah back to where he needed to be. God did it because He was committed to saving Nineveh and Jonah. God could’ve given up on Jonah and sent someone else to go to Nineveh to carry out His will. But He sought after Jonah because He’s the kind of God who leaves the ninety-nine to find that one lost sheep. Brothers and sisters, this is our God. He will not let you drift off. He will go after you. And even if He has to send a storm in your life, He will do so in order to draw you back. Then let me ask you, “Are you facing an unexpected storm in your life today? If so, is that storm causing you to turn to God or run away from God?” On this passage, Pastor Tim Keller said, “The storm is not designed for retribution; it’s designed for restoration.” Then don’t resist God – go to Him and cling to Him in your storms.
Now, unfortunately, that’s not what Jonah did. Verse 5, “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 storm was so intense that it terrified the seasoned sailors – they saw the gravity of this situation. So, they started to throw away the cargo so that they could lighten the ship and regain control of the ship – but it was to no avail. All their efforts were useless because the storm raged on. So, they began to earnestly cry out to their gods because they thought that they must have somehow offended one of the gods. But ironically, the one person who had a relationship with a God, who was able to quiet the storms and the waves, was sleeping. Now, it’s true that Jonah walked over 100 km to get to the port in Joppa – which means that he must have been exhausted. It’s possible that he was depressed because he knew what he had done – he probably didn’t even want to think about anything at that moment. So, maybe he fell into a deep sleep just because he was tired. But Jonah’s physical action was actually a reflection of his spiritual state. Here’s what I mean. Look at verse 5 again, “Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down, and fell into a deep sleep.” Do you see the direction of his movement? He was constantly going down, down, and down – this was intentionally done to show us that Jonah was on a downward spiral not just physically but also spiritually as well. Brothers and sisters, this is so important to see because this is what happens when we run from God – we descend toward spiritual death. This is why we should never take the temptation to compromise lightly. One sin will lead to another – and it will cause us to go down and down and down until we fall into a deep spiritual sleep. Brothers and sisters, are you compromising in sin? If so, please don’t take it lightly. Ask others to pray for you today. Ask God to hold you up today because later might be too late.
Now, God was not about to let Jonah continue in his sleep. Do you see how committed God is to Jonah? God calls Jonah to go to Nineveh – but he refuses. God sends a storm to bring Jonah back – but he sleeps. Yet God will not give up on Jonah. Verse 6, “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 so that we will not perish.’” Translation: “What’s wrong with you? How can you sleep in a moment like this? Wake up and pray!” Now, to understand how amazing the captain’s words were, I have to point out what God said in verse 2. In Hebrew, it literally says, “Arise, go to Nineveh and call out.” And here, the captain literally says, “Arise and call out.” In other words, the captain was saying exactly what God said before. Jonah refused to be a mouthpiece of God to the Gentiles – so, God chose a gentile captain to be the mouthpiece of God to remind Jonah of his calling. Do you see the irony in this verse? And the irony goes even deeper because the captain is asking Jonah to call out to the very God he was running from. It’s like God was saying, “You think you can run from Me? I’ll reorder your life so that you have no choice but to run back to Me. I’m not going to give up on you.”
And if that wasn’t enough, God used other sailors to expose Jonah. Verse 7, “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.” Casting a lot was a common way to make decisions at that time. So, there’s nothing surprising about this – but what is important to notice is that the lot fell on Jonah. Nothing happens by chance – even here, God was sovereignly orchestrating the result so that the lot would fall on Jonah. Why? Because God wanted Jonah to be exposed – because He didn’t want Jonah to remain in the dark. He wanted to bring Jonah into the light not because He wanted to burden Jonah with guilt and shame but because He wanted to humble Jonah so that he would repent and be forgiven.
Now, when the lot fell on Jonah, the sailors began to pepper him with questions. Verse 8, “Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What kind of work do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?” In those days, people believed that there was a god for every aspect of life. There was a god for different aspects of nature (the sun, moon, and stars, the mountains, the seas, the wind, and the waves). There was a god for different cities, different occupations, and different clans. So, in one sense, these sailors were asking questions to figure out which god was responsible for bringing this storm. Then listen to Jonah’s answer in verse 9, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” This is an amazing description of the Lord. Jonah was basically saying, “I know the God who is responsible for this. He’s the Creator God – and He is in control over all things. He’s the kind of God who deserves to be honored.” Now, before I continue, did you sense something off here? He was basically saying, “I serve the sovereign God – the Creator of the universe. But I’m running from Him.” It just doesn’t fit. How can someone worship the Creator God but choose to run from Him? It doesn’t make sense. This shouldn’t happen. Then here’s a warning for us all – we must continue to guard our minds and hearts because sound doctrine does not always result in a life of obedience. We can have an accurate understanding of the Bible yet oppose God in specific places in our lives. We can have a rich understanding of the truth but live a life that isn’t reflective of the Word but of the world. Then let me ask you, “Is your life an accurate reflection of your theology?” I don’t have the time to apply this to different aspects of our lives right now – but I encourage you to take some time this week to do just that. Use this truth as a mirror for your soul – for you to examine your life to see if the way you’re living is truly a reflection of what you believe.
Back to the passage. Verse 11, “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?’” The urgency of the situation was rising as the sea was getting more and more violent. The sailors had to do something, or they were going to die. Now, in that intense moment, what should’ve been the response of Jonah? His response should’ve been, “It’s not what you need to do. It’s what I need to do. I’ve been running away from God. And now, I can’t run anymore. He’s been graciously pursuing after me. So, I will get down on my knees and seek His forgiveness. And I will submit myself to His plan once again because if I do that, the storms will subside for you” But of course, that’s not what he says – Jonah continues to remain stubborn. Listen to what he said in verse 12, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea, and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.” Now, this may sound noble, but he was basically saying, “I would rather be thrown into the sea and die than for me to do what God is asking me to do.” Now, the sailors didn’t want Jonah’s blood on their hands. So, verse 13, “Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before.” They really did everything they could to find another solution, but it proved to be an act of futility because nothing changed – in fact, things got worse. So, reluctantly, they did what Jonah asked. Verse 15, “Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard.”
Now, that could’ve been the end of the story. Jonah abandoned the call – which means that God had all the right to abandon him. Jonah selfishly chose death over obedience – which means that it would’ve been just for God to leave him to drown. But of course, that’s not how the story unfolds – which leads to our last point.
3) GOD’S SAVING GRACE
Verse 15, “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.” God could’ve left the sailors to drown with Jonah – but He saved them. Can you imagine how shocked they must have been to see the wind and the waves quiet down the moment they threw Jonah into the sea? At that moment, they would’ve realized that Jonah’s God truly was the Creator God – no wonder they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows to Him. They were no longer afraid of the storms – instead, they were in fear of God. Jonah refused to bring the foreign nations to God, but God still used him to draw the nations to worship Him. It’s incredible. Jonah didn’t intend to do so, but he ended up bringing salvation to the sailors. Now, it wasn’t just the sailors who were saved. Verse 17, “Now the LORD provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.” God graciously saved Jonah as well. God could’ve left Jonah in the path of death and destruction – but He didn’t. He provided a way back to life.
What does this mean for us? Well, Jonah’s story is our story. We have disobeyed God countless times, rebelled against Him, ran from Him, abandoned His call, and chosen to live for ourselves. And as a result, we were running toward death – to our own destruction. God didn’t have to save us. He had all the right to leave us to be in that hell-bound race. But because of His love for us, we experienced His saving grace through the One greater than Jonah. In the Gospel of Matthew, around 700 years later, a group of religious leaders approached Jesus and demanded a sign from Him to vindicate His claims – the claim that He was the promised Messiah. Listen to what Jesus said to them in Matthew 12:39-41, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now something greater than Jonah is here.” Jesus was basically saying, “What you saw partially in Jonah, you’ll see fully in Me.” Jonah was cast out into the sea, and the sea became calm, but Jesus was cast out into the ocean of God’s wrath on the cross and the great tempest of God against our sin became calm. But what made Jesus greater than Jonah was that He did everything right that Jonah did wrong. Jonah went through all of that because of his disobedience, but Jesus went through it all because of our disobedience. Jonah ran from his enemies, but Jesus ran toward them. Jonah was on a mission of revenge because he hated the Ninevites, but Jesus came on a mission of rescue because He loved us. Jonah was all about his own self-protection, but Jesus poured Himself out in self-sacrifice. Jonah had to be delivered from death by a fish, but Jesus conquered death – bursting forth from the grave after three days and three nights. And the gospel says that when we place our trust in Him, we will be forgiven – the storm will cease.
Then let me speak to anyone who is not yet a follower of Christ today. This is no ancient fable – this story contains the lift-transforming truth of God. It reveals to us the power of God, the compassion of God, and most importantly the love that our God has for sinners like you and me. Then know that He desires to save you. He desires to bring you into His presence because He knows that only in Him will your life be completely satisfied. Then friends, stop running away from the Lord. Turn from your sins and place your hope in Jesus Christ because He will receive you, embrace you, and honor you. Don’t delay. Taste His saving grace today.
CONCLUSION
Lighthouse family, Jonah’s story reveals how prone we are to wander but it also reminds us that God will never leave us abandoned – He will always seek us out, draw us back again and again and again because He loves us and is committed to us. Then let’s not run from God. Let’s not resist His will. Even if we have to endure the storms, even if we have to jump into the fiery furnace, even if we can’t understand why God is doing what He’s doing, let’s choose to be with Him. He is worthy of our trust because He’s always good and merciful.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1) What do God’s initial call and Jonah’s response tell us about Jonah? What do they tell us about God?
2) Have you ever tried to run from God’s will for your life? Have you ever mistrusted God because you couldn’t understand God?
3) What were some of the ways that God used to pursue Jonah when he was running from Him? What were some of the ways that God used to pursue you when you ran from Him?
4) Nineveh was a wicked place – which was why Jonah was unwilling to go to them. Are there people in your life that you have a hard time imagining sharing the gospel with or seeing them receive God’s grace and forgiveness? If so, why? To whom God may be sending you today?