Jonah’s God

Jonah 1-4

 

          My name is Jonah. I’m here today because I understand that you have been talking about me for several Sundays. I’ve been invited to give my testimony. I notice that the book I wrote about my experiences with God has been relegated to “mythology.” People say, “oh you don’t really believe that, do you?” Well one of the problems I have found is that one prove God’s work. You know, how do you prove that this earth was created? You have to take it by faith. And that’s no big deal because if you believe that the earth wasn’t created, but evolved, you have to take that by faith too. But the things that happened to me, the events you read about in my book, I didn’t have to take by faith. I was there.

          What I want to do today is talk about God. These experiences that I have had have given me a new understanding of God. Let me share with you four of the things I have learned about God.

 

1. Even though I could run I couldn’t get away from God.

 

          A. I disobeyed a clear order from God. I chose the opposite direction from the directions God had given me. My map said, “go east,” and I went west. I actually turned my back both on God and my prophet’s mantle, the ministry. I went  down to the boat docks in Joppa and found a ship that wasn’t going local, but international. It was not a cheap trip. They wanted big bucks to take me to Spain. And you know, I wasn’t wealthy. But I wanted out of God’s country and His people. I wanted to get away from God. And I did! I thought.

          Have you ever done that? Taken off from God? Left Him and His word, and His people, to go your own way? Dumped the church because of the hypocrites? I have been amazed at how many people I have met who have tried that. We all thought we had a better idea.

 

          B. God was smarter than me. I thought I was getting away from God, but He had it all planned, He was ready for me. He had my number. It didn’t matter how far we had gone with a calm sea, or how far we were from the land of Israel. Just when I was beginning to feel free, there He stood. It was like trying to outrun light. By the time I got to the end of the run, light had been there and back 5000 times.

          I show the contrast between my “smart” plans and God’s work in verses 3 and 4. Verse 3 says, “But Jonah rose up to flee . . .” Verse 4 answers, “But the Lord hurled a great wind . . .” I ran. God simple sent a wind after me. Does that tell you anything? I could huff and puff, and go where I wanted to go. But the Lord can step in at anytime and interrupt it all. For me the interruption was, “but the Lord hurled a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest.” It wasn’t just a “storm” that broke on my the ship, it was an eye-opening display of the hurricane force of God’s power.

          And it didn’t lessen at all. In verse 4 the ship was about to break up. By verse 11 it was worse. I wrote in the Hebrew literally, “the sea was going and whirling.” It was a maelstrom heading for our boat. In verse 13 as the men tried to row me to safety the sea became a raging monster. It wasn’t a question of whether we would break up and go under; it was simply a question of when.

          The sailors had never seen that kind of storm. They knew it was from an angry God. That’s why they drew lots to see who caused the problem. And, of course, God made sure that the lots pointed to me.

 

          C. God was prepared for me. None of my actions surprised God. He had already prepared a fish to meet my needs. Think of the challenges of that preparation. The fish had to be in the right position at the right time. It needed to be large enough to swallow me; it need to provide enough oxygen to keep me alive for three days; it had to have mild enough gastric juices so that it wouldn’t digest such a tender morsel as me; it couldn’t swim too deep because I couldn’t take the pressure; it had to be heading in a certain direction – land. None of this was any problem with God. He was ready. My stupidity didn’t catch Him by surprise.

          The storm was a miracle. The instant calm after I was thrown overboard was a miracle. The fish was a miracle. The fish depositing me on dry land was a miracle. The fact that I was still alive and could walk and talk after 3 days in that fish was a miracle. All these miracles and I was running from God! Do you think He does similar things when I am not running? Here’s my real question: do you think God does miracles in your life?

          I think so. I think His hand is reaching into our lives repeatedly – maybe to stop our running, or to rescue us, or to give us “time out” in a hospital, or bringing in a friend who is like a shade tree on a hot summer day. Have you seen God’s hand in your life this week? Sometimes we can’t see His miracles because our eyes are shut.

          Do you remember the way Elisha prayed when his servant was trembling? The king of Syria was angry with Elisha because he had wiretapped the king’s counsel room. He and his men would make plans as to where they would attack the king of Israel, and Elisha would send word to the king of Israel and say, “don’t go there.” He calls his servants in and says to them, “where is the leak?” “Which one of you is telling our secrets?” One of his servants answers (II Kings 6:12), “it’s not us, O king; it’s Elisha who is telling the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.”

          So the king of Syria sends a great army to Dothan, the town where Elisha was staying, and they surround the city at night. Elisha’s servant gets up early, probably intending to go out and get water, and comes on this huge company of Syrians. He comes trembling to Elisha and says, “alas, master, what shall we do?”

          Elisha replies, “oh, don’t worry about them, those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” He then prays and says, “Lord would you open his eyes that he may see?” The Lord opened his eyes and he saw that the mountains were full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. He was in the middle of God’s protecting hand – and never saw it.

          I am convinced that God has His miraculous hand in our lives to guide and protect and use us in ways we don’t recognize. I bet some of you have chariots of fire around you at times – and you are probably are like Elisha’s servant, scared to death, thinking you are all alone! He does promise, “you go in my service, and lo, I am with you always!”

          So my encouragement is not to use me as your example. When you hear God’s voice don’t turn to go the opposite way. You can probably do that. And you may find that God will allow you to run for awhile. But however long and far you run, it will be like running from light. And then, you will meet a storm. If you refuse to obey the voice, you meet a storm. If you don’t listen to your parents, you meet the storms of life – unprepared. You have heard of the “school of hard knocks?” That’s not an enjoyable school. Hard knocks are hard; they hurt. Whale lessons are miserable. They are smelly, you are beat around, roughed up, perhaps injured beyond repair, because whales aren’t gentle. Don’t do it, I beg of you.

          What did I learn? # 1 – Even though I could run, I couldn’t get away from God. I could run but I couldn’t hide from Him.

 

II. As soon as I lost God’s presence I wanted it back.

 

          A. Life without God was not “freedom.” Once I realized that I was out of God’s presence, I was petrified. You can see that in verse 4 of chapter 2 where I say, in panic, “I have been expelled from Your sight.” The thought was not one of freedom, but horror. I said in verse 3, “you cast me into the deep . . . all your breakers and billows passed over me.” It’s an awful thing to realize that God is your enemy. No one can ever fathom what life is like without God. We all experience God’s blessings in so many ways that we can’t picture reality with God out of the picture. Jesus said that the Father brings His rain down on the just and the unjust. Without God the unjust should be without rain. But God usually doesn’t let that happen. So we don’t know what life would be like without God’s continual blessings. That is until we run; and until God lets us “get away.” When we finally “escape,” and really think we are on our own, like the Prodigal son, we meet life without God. What’s it like? It’s life in all its horror.

          The Prodigal was reduced to pigs when he finally got away; I was reduced to fish. And that’s not even correct. Because the pigs and fish were actually the hand of God in our darkness protecting and saving us both. Without God I was reduced to the depths of the Mediterranean sea.

 

          B. At the same time God was still listening to my plea. I was in perhaps one of the worst situations any human could ever get himself into. I was a good as dead, choking in the deep blue sea. And yet, God showed me Mercy and saved me.

          God receives pleas for mercy; God forgives and rescues. He is never out of cell phone range. His cell is not even on “roam.” But there is a great danger in emphasizing God’s incredible mercy here because some people get the notion that they can plan their rebellion in light of God’s mercy. They think, “let me go sin awhile and then I will repent and God will forgive me.” That is a dangerous assumption; that is a ridiculous assumption. The stupid part may not be in the assumption that God will forgive. The stupid part may be in the assumption that you will repent. Many people who get into disobedience, never come back to God. Talk to Solomon, the wisest and most blessed man the world has ever known.

          Though it was an unbeliever named Virgil who wrote the phrase, Facilis descensus Averno, it has become famous because it is so true. It states, “easy is the descent to hades.” Once a believer make up his minds to take the first step downward, he has no idea where it is going to end. Sometimes God graciously intervenes and stops us short, as He did with me. But that doesn’t mean He always acts that way. The only safe rule is to remember that the initial step out of God’s will is potentially as deep a plunge into darkness as a jump into the Mediterranean. The gravitational pull of sin is too powerful for our human nature, and none of us is strong enough to take a step toward evil and protect ourselves from a giant fall (adapted from Frank E. Gabelein, Four Minor Prophets, 73).

 

          C. My prophetic “comeback” was not pretty. God brought me back! He rescued me! I was so excited. But the scene was not pretty. Would you like me to describe how I left my God-prepared underwater vessel? It was in the middle of a huge pile of vomit! Going your own way always seems to leave you in a pile of vomit. Are you familiar with the definition of the word? Do you need me to describe it? I’m sure you don’t. But have you ever seen what a whale can vomit up? Try to picture me in the middle of a huge pile of the “V” word with all things dead and smelly and rotted. It wasn’t pleasant in the least. But I was out, rescued! And saying to myself, “I don’t ever want to go through that again!”

 

III. When I obeyed God I discovered His Amazing Grace. He specializes in surprising us with His generosity. In chapter 3 I was shocked with God’s graciousness.

 

          A. The place God gave me in history is strange, given my track record. Think about it. I have written a book that is part of the official “Prophetic books” in God’s eternal word. What did I do to deserve that? I am the “run away” prophet. I have wasted time, energy and a lot of my money opposing God’s Will. I am a human pioneer in underwater travel, not prophecy. I have spent too much time in whale vomit!

          And yet my personal testimony is included in the 12 Minor prophets of the Old Testament! Think of the strangeness of that fact. Most prophets prophesy. Most prophetic books are filled with prophecy and preaching. My book features a truly minor amount of prophecy interspersed with a major number of my mistakes. Do you realize that there are only five words of prophecy in my book – in the entire book! They are all in one verse – 3:4. Five words – “forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown,” and I am included with all these important prophets! Compare my prophetic output with Isaiah, my contemporary. He wrote more than five words of prophesy by the time he was in the second verse of his book. And then he still had 65 more chapters of prophesy to go! That’s what you call prophesy!

          And then I had the privilege of seeing one of the greatest revivals the world has ever known. How did I receive that privilege? Did I pray diligently for these people for many years? Sadly, no. Did I go to Nineveh enthusiastically to do the Lord’s bidding, anxious to give these people the gospel? Sadly, no. Then why in the world was I the one who got to see such heartfelt repentance from Gentile people? Why am I listed among the prophets?

          Do you see God’s amazing Grace to me? I simply obeyed Him, and the results were, rather spectacular. In spite of my disobedience, in spite of the fact that I had actually given up on the Will of God and wanted nothing to do with Him, God forgave me, recommissioned me, and allowed me to see His hand of blessing as few people have ever seen it.

 

          B. An entire city repented at my five words! Don’t get the wrong idea here. It wasn’t that I held evangelistic meetings in the coliseum and the city came out to hear me. It wasn’t that I got an audience with the king and the city leaders. I didn’t even talk with the king. It was basically God using gossip to achieve His purposes. The news traveled far more quickly than I could. By the time I had gotten a day’s journey into the city, stopping here and there and talking to the people I could understand, explaining where I came from and how God had rescued me, and announcing the five word message of judgment, that the news of my presence had diffused throughout the city. It had even reached the royal palace. Do you remember the royal palace? Sennacherib had built one that contained 71 rooms. It was that kind of king – the one in a big palace, who got up from his throne, as if he was a sinner and ashamed to occupy it. He laid aside his royal robe, suggesting that it wasn’t appropriate fashion in light of the oncoming judgment. Instead he covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes. Think of the king of a 71 room palace, sitting in the ash dump, crying fervently for God’s mercy!

          Then the king ordered a fast which was to extend even to the animals. Apparently as the animals began crying for their food, their bellowings would urge the people to plead with the Lord by reminding them of their danger. God heard humans and animals crying out together – not both for the same reason, but both making loud noise before Him.

          Then the king ordered that the people “cry mightily unto God.” He didn’t want half hearted praying. He didn’t want anyone missing prayer meetings. “We have got to present our request to God with all our hearts,” was his intent. How often have we heard people praying that way for God’s grace on friends and neighbors? We should learn from a pagan king.

          The king also ordered that the people “turn from their evil ways.” He commanded them to quit doing what they had done all their lives; to quit doing what Nineveh was known for – evil and violence!

          Why did the king make these city-wide commands? Because of his hope. He said, “who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from His fierce anger?” (3:9). I preached the terror of the Lord, the king commanded his people to turn, repent, and hope in Him. He didn’t try to argue that they weren’t guilty; he knew they deserved all of God’s wrath. But at the same time he knew that this God of wrath was also a God of mercy. Incredible? Incredible.

 

          So, you ask, “how did I get into this pantheon of prophets?”

          C. God uses people who aren’t yet perfect. The fact that you may have rebelled if you are like me does not necessarily keep you from service. I found it a little discouraging to realize that I was back at square one. You may find that too, maybe after years of running. You took your detour, did your thing, came up with absolutely zero, wasted a large chunk of time in your life, and now – you are back at the same place you were when you took off. And God says again to you, as He did to me, “arise, go to Nineveh.”

          But the encouraging thing is that He is the God of the second chance. You’ve got sin in your background? you hurt somebody? You lost your foot when you were running, and are now limping back? Remember this: “The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin.” What an incredible statement! All sin! Years of sin. The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us.

          Remember the prodigal son? Do you remember when he woke up and decided to go home? He left the pig sty and as he walked toward home, he was hoping to be able to negotiate a position as a hired slave. He realized that as a slave he would at least eat. But then he sees his father running toward him, which was not a cultural thing for an older man to do. The prodigal didn’t think that his Father would want to embarrass Himself in His display of love. And his Father kissed him and hugged him. In those days, a kiss was a pledge of reconciliation and peace. Think about that. Before the prodigal said anything, he was “attacked” by his Father who didn’t care what social protocol expected – and who shocked him with his Grace!

          Then the prodigal begins his prepared speech but is soon interrupted by the Father, who shouts commands to his servants:  bring forth "quickly" the best ROBE (to indicate “status”) and a RING (to indicate “royal authority” — the ring was the family credit card), and SHOES (to indicate that this son was to be a freeman, not a slave, since shoes were worn in the house only by the MASTER, not by guests or slaves). The father had instantly given him STATUS, AUTHORITY and POSSESSION, as well as FREEDOM! This is in spite of his statement of confession that said, “I have sinned against heaven and in your sight and am no longer worthy to be called your son.”

          Then, inexplicably, his Father commands the servants to kill the “fattened calf,” an animal specially fed and kept to be slaughtered only when honored guests come. Can you imagine the shock to this kid’s system? He obeyed and came back – after who knows how much rebellion and disobedience – and he could not believe how gracious his Father was. How had he missed that all of his life? For the first time in his life he met his FATHER!

          I think for the first time in my life when I got to Nineveh, I met the God of all Grace. And I was as shocked as the prodigal. Like him, I wasn’t blessed of God because I was perfect, or anything close. I was blessed because I repented, turned back to God and obeyed Him. And I am convinced that the same thing will happen to you when you turn back to God, admit where you are, and actually obey Him.

 

IV. I could argue with God – but the value lay in His quiet answer.

          I know, I know, you are not impressed with my behavior. I’m embarrassed myself to have to admit how childish I acted. It had only been two months since God had rescued me from certain death in the deep waters, and yet in chapter four I become furious over His display of mercy to these Ninevites. I was totally dissatisfied with God’s Graciousness to them. I thought that it wasn’t wise.

 

          A. I was angry. I tried to explain to Him that His mercy was uncontrolled, too wide, too inclusive. He needed to be more careful about granting forgiveness with such a slender response. Yes, they did proclaim a fast, and the entire city was dressed in sackcloth and sat in ashes, but think of their past. How long does God expect that such repentance will last? And I explained to Him in verse 2 that I had a notion back in Israel that He would be that way; that’s why I took my trip in the other direction.

          Do you see what I was doing? I was trying to change God’s mind. I was trying to “improve” the way He works, as if Someone who is perfect needs to be improved! How ridiculous. We’re not here on earth to “fix” God. He’s not asking for our wisdom. We are here to learn of Him – how He works so that we can fit in with His ways and join Him in His work.

 

          B. God treated me gently. He asked a question, “do you have good reason to be angry?” Then He created a small bush that grew up and shaded my head. Think of that kind of response! I’m furious, and He asks a question: “is that the right way to respond?” I’m sure that if I was God I wouldn’t have asked a question and created shade for my angry servant. I probably would have sent lightning his way. But God was so kind. And my anger was starting to subside, because the bush was providing a little Iraqi air conditioning.