Jonah 1:2-3 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.”
I believe the reason Jonah is in the Bible is not because God likes to tell us fishing stories, but because Jonah’s story is our story. Jonah’s rebellion is our rebellion. Jonah’s life is our life. So many of you could testify what it’s like running from God. Some of you are still trying to run away from God and His will for your life.
Jonah was a prophet. A man of God, in direct communication with God, and He still struggled with obedience. Jonah wasn’t perfect, but you know what amazes me more, is what God did. How did God respond to Jonah? He could have said, ‘forget it Jonah, I am going to get another prophet. Someone else who will obey me,’ but God sought after Him. He worked on him, patiently, kindly and lovingly.
Maybe you need this message of Jonah. Maybe you have been on the run for too long and it’s time to stop. Don’t you see that God wants you? He is seeking you out. He wants you to stop. He wants you to stop hiding behind your religion. He wants you. He wants you to surrender to His perfect will for your life.
Would you be willing today to say to Him, “All to Jesus I surrender— All to Him I freely Give— All to thee my blessed Savior” and not just say it, but mean it? That is my hope and prayer for you, is to be in the center of God’s will. That is the happiest place to be. So what makes a runaway? How did Jonah end up in the belly of a whale at the lowest point of his life? Let’s look at three decisions that made Jonah a runaway. The first decision Jonah made was to not listen to God. In verse 2, Jonah was told to cry out against the wickedness in Nineveh. Nineveh was the capital city of Assyria and was very evil. Archeology has found that they decorated the walls of the city in the bodies of their enemies. Assyria had constantly attacked and pillaged Jonah’s country. Jonah did not have any desire to go there or warn them. Let me ask you, in the day we live in, are we standing up to it in our homes, at work, in our communities? Are we being salt and light? Are we fighting against it by preaching against sin and the remedy is Christ? Paul said “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for It is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth.”
Second, Jonah made a bad decision. He decided to run away from God. Tarshish is on the opposite side of the map and the farthest away from Nineheh you could get. Are you running? Are you trying to get as far away from whatever it is you’re running? The problem is that you can’t run away from your problems. Your problems will always follow you. Jonah couldn’t run away from God because he is God. God is everywhere and Jonah soon realized that. Nineveh represents what God wants you to do and Tarshish represents what you want to do. God gives you the freedom to choose. Adam and Eve were created with free will. God doesn’t force us to love him. He wants you to love Him because you have been confronted with His love for you — 1 John 4:19 “We love him, because he first loved us.” I think that was Jonah’s problem. He knew How much God loved. He knew what God was going to do if the Assyrians repented and He didn’t want them to. He wanted them to be destroyed and judged. He hated them. I think that’s what made Jonah run. But instead of running to God for help, He ran away. Anger or hatred can cause us to make bad decisions. Jesus said in Matthew 11:28 “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
The third decision Jonah made was getting on the wrong boat. Jonah never really says no, I am not going to do this God. It’s one thing to refuse Gods will but it’s another thing to resist God’s will and go the other direction. Jonah’s attitude toward God’s will came from a feeling that God was asking Him to do the impossible. Jonah allowed His feelings and hatred for the Ninevites to control Him. If you are thinking of getting on that boat with Jonah, you are going to be amazed how many things may look like they’re going your way. You may even think you’re getting away but you will end up in the belly of a whale. God cared enough about Jonah to go after him. The Bible says God prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. Jonah ended up turning back to God and stopped running. He repented and went to Nineveh. We have a God who loves runaways and he comes after us. John 3:16 shows us that, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
— Reflections appears regularly on the religion page. The column features a variety of local writers, coordinated through the Monroe Area Clergy Group. Matthew Spoonhour is pastor of First Baptist Church, Monroe.
