Jonah's Refusal

Tonight we are beginning a short series in the Old Testament book of Jonah. In the New Testament, and referring to the Old Testament, Paul says (2 Timothy 3.16):

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.

When you come to a book like Jonah, therefore, you should want to ask first, what is its specific teaching about God, mankind and the world. Then ask how it might be rebuking what is wrong in your own life. Then ask how it helps correct that, so you can be trained for more effective work for God. Bearing that in mind, we will now consider Jonah chapter 1 - our passage for tonight. And my headings are first, JONAH'S GOD; secondly, JONAH'S CALL; and, thirdly, JONAH'S EXPERIENCE.

But first something by way of introduction.

Our chapter tonight is pretty straightforward. It tells how Jonah is given a commission by God; he refuses to obey; and so runs away - metaphorically speaking as he goes by boat. The boat faces a terrible storm. Its superstitious sailors discover that Jonah is the problem. He is then thrown overboard to placate the elements. In the meantime God has prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah and actually protect him.

The Old Testament doesn't tell us much about Jonah. But he is referred to in 2 Kings 14.25. There it is said that Jeroboam II (who ruled in the northern kingdom of Israel from 793 to 753 BC - the first half of 8th century) ...

... was the one who restored the boundaries of Israel from Lebo Hamath to the Sea of the Arabah, in accordance with the word of the LORD, the God of Israel, spoken through his servant Jonah son of Amittai, the prophet from Gath Hepher.

There had been a century of sporadic fighting between Israel and Damascus. Then the Assyrians defeated Damascus. So Jeroboam took advantage of this defeat and restored Israel's traditional borders. This is what Jonah was prophesying would happen. Jeroboam's success meant that it was now one of those periods in Israel when it seemed to some they had never had it so good. It was a period of spiritual complacency. This is Jonah's context.

The rest of what we know about Jonah comes from this book we are now studying. And it is important that we study it because Jesus obviously studied it.

In our Gospel reading (Matt 12.40) he refers to Jonah and his "three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish" as an illustration of a much greater sign and miracle - namely his own burial and resurrection. He then refers to the preaching of Jonah in Nineveh (Matt 12.41) and the Ninevites repentance. Jesus clearly assumes he is talking about history and what happened - not some fictional story.

I haven't time to go into details, but up to the 19th century that is what was believed in the mainstream churches. The Old Testament book of Jonah was generally treated as a historical narrative. Yes, it may finally have been written and edited later than the time of Jonah. And it may be stylized in places. But it was believed to be referring more or less to what actually happened.

During the 19th century some theologians began to say that it was just a parable or some sort of moral tale. However, it was then pointed out that, one, parables in the Bible are invariably short. Two, if this is a moral tale, its force depends on the events reported being factual. But, three, the real reason for the denial of its historicity was less to do with what is written in the text and more to do with what you believe about God - "Is he a miracle-working God or is he not?"

The key problem with this book centres around verse 17 of chapter 1 where you read about a "great fish". Yes, you can come up with accounts of other people who have been swallowed by "great fish" that have been documented. But the real issue is the nature of God. You see, the nature of God is at the heart of what this book is teaching. Yes, you can reject its teaching, but then you reject the God of the Bible and Jonah's God - which brings me to my first heading.

First, JONAH'S GOD

To understand this book you have to understand four things about its teaching on God. First, God is, verse 9:

the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land.

He is the creator of the universe; so, of course, he can work miracles. Yes, this universe is orderly - Genesis 8.22:

As long as the earth endures, seed time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.

That is why science is possible as the rational examination of an orderly world. But modern science with its experimental principle evolved against a Christian world view where order and regularity is normal but miracle or the irregular is possible.

Of course, in the world's mythologies and religions there are all sorts of fake miracles, many of which are quite bizarre. And sadly in the history of the church there have been (and no doubt still are) claims to "fake" miracles. But the fact that there are fakes presupposes the real. You have a fake picture because there is a genuine painting. To reject fake miracles is right. To reject true miracles is wrong and foolish. So what is believable simply depends on the facts. And a Christian believer is someone who believes the historical fact of the miracle beyond all miracles - the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Romans 10.9 says:

if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

If the Resurrection happened, all else is possible. And the evidence is that the Resurrection did happen. You cannot read the Bible without seeing that the God of the Bible is a miracle-working God. But he is not a God of the "bizarre miracles" you read in some mythologies or other pagan literature. His miracles are completely in line with his character and purposes. So Jonah's God is a miracle working God.

Secondly, Jonah's God is a moral God who reveals his moral will. Look at verses 1 and 2:

The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: 'Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.

God hates wickedness. And Nineveh, the great city of the Assyrian Empire, was anti-God and proverbial for violence and cruelty; sexual immorality and the occult; and ruthless greed (you read about that in the Old Testament book of Nahum, especially chapter 3). And Jonah was called to denounce all this. For God did and does and will bring judgment on those who are violent, sexually immoral, involved in the occult or are ruthlessly greedy. So all this is relevant for today.

Why should this country escape God's judgment - with its violence and sexual immorality (now promoted by the Government and even some in the church), with its occult (now allowed in our prisons and the armed forces allowing even satanism), and with the increase of ruthless greed.

But, thirdly, God is a also a God of mercy and forgiveness who wants people to repent. The provision of the great fish to save Jonah was a sign of God's mercy to Jonah for his sin. And in chapters 3 and 4 you read about God's mercy to the people of Nineveh when they repented. Chapter 4 verse 2 says:

you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.

Fourthly, Jonah's God uses people to reveal both his judgment and mercy. Supremely he used the person of Jesus Christ - the second person of the Trinity - his divine Son who came in human form. But God also used Old Testament prophets like Jonah and New Testament Apostles, like the Twelve and Paul. And God now uses the Church - and so you and me. That is why Jonah is so relevant to us all. That is why we need to understand Jonah's God, who is the creator God and the God of miracles; he is also a moral God who hates and judges wickedness; but he is a God of mercy and wants people to repent. And he use people like us to communicate his judgments and mercy. Let's move on ...

Secondly, JONAH'S CALL.

Look at verses 1-14:

The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: 'Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.' 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. Then the LORD sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up.

There are two things to notice about this call (and Jonah's refusal). First, it tells you that God uses fallible people to communicate his truth or his word. Jonah was certainly fallible. Jonah when he heard God, we are told ...

... ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish [which was probably in Spain]".

This was straight disobedience. So don't think that because you have some spiritual black mark, God can never use you. He can. He uses people like Jonah, who had this very bad black mark. Yes, he will discipline you when you go wrong like he disciplined Jonah. But he can and will use you. So God uses fallible people to communicate his word and his truth.

Secondly, note what was involved in Jonah's refusal. It was all so planned and determined. Jonah "went down to Joppa". At the ferry terminal "he found a ship bound" for Tarshish. He probably said to himself,

Oh this confirms I am doing the right thing; here is a mini-miracle; a ship is ready and waiting."

Beware of looking for mini-miracles or the providences of God when you are sinning. Beware of this classic ploy of the Devil. He gets you to tell yourself that doing wrong is right by making you see some coincidence as confirming your wrong doing. Then Jonah paid the fare, and went on board. Every step was deliberate and took him further and further from God.
Who tonight is running away from God? You know God is calling you to do something. It may well seem hard. It seemed hard to Jonah to go to Nineveh. But like Jonah you are running away. Maybe God is calling you to undertake some work for him in the church or in some other Christian group, but you are refusing. Maybe God is calling you to give something up, but you are refusing. Maybe God is simply calling you to denounce the wickedness that is all around you here in Britain - at home, among your friends, at work or wherever. But you refuse to stand up for morality and truth.

So why was Jonah running away? Was it too daunting a task? Nineveh was the sophisticated centre of the world. Jonah came from a small place near Nazareth in Northern Israel. He was to go to Nineveh and "preach" or "call out" against it. He wasn't to whisper but call out. He was to make a noise. He was to go public. Was it that Jonah thought he had no reputation? No-one would have known who he was. So he would not easily get a hearing. Was it that it was a long way for Jonah to travel? Having just come back from Australia where the flying time is 21 hours, I can sympathize. But the answer is "No!" to those questions. For chapter 4 verse 2 tells you explicitly what the problem was:

That is why [says Jonah] I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.

Jonah did not want the Assyrians to repent. Jonah was happy to preach about God's judgments but not about his mercy. Jonah wanted the Assyrians (and especially Nineveh) to experience God's judgment. They were wicked people. He wanted them judged. But that is not God's way as this Holy Communion service reminds us. Christ came to take upon himself on the Cross the judgment you and I deserve for our sin. Even in the Old Testament God says (Ezek 33:11):

I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live.

You know, people can still be like Jonah. How do you respond to the wicked of today? There is the anti-God squad, with leaders like Richard Dawkins. There are the violent and sexually immoral - just like in the days of the Assyrians. Do you only want to see them judged. Or do you want them to repent? Jonah, a prophet of God and a man of prayer had lost the plot. He was ignoring the gospel - namely that God is a God of mercy as well as judgment and mercy for the whole world and not just for Jonah and the people of Israel and Judah. So much for Jonah's call.

Thirdly, JONAH'S EXPERIENCE.

What were the results of Jonah's disobedience? First, there was his spiritual degeneracy such that even the pagans seemed better than Jonah. Look at verses 5-6:

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 captain went to him and said, 'How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us, and we will not perish.

The sailors were at least concerned and praying - however mistakenly. But Jonah, God's prophet, was asleep and not praying.

Secondly, there was God's judgment on Jonah. It was discovered that this storm was all due to Jonah and his disobedience. Look at verses 7-10:

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. So they asked him, 'Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?' He answered, 'I am a Hebrew and I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land.' 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.)

To get them out of this mess Jonah then said that he would have to die. The sailors recoiled in horror at the thought of executing Jonah by making him drown. But the situation got worse and (verses 14-17) ...

... then they cried to the LORD, 'O LORD, please do not let us die for taking this man's life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, O LORD, have done as you pleased.' Then 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.

You see it is a serious thing to disobey God. Here the implication is that Jonah's disobedience is a capital offence. Such is the seriousness of failing to preach the gospel. This is the gospel that first announces God's judgment on sin, but, we now know, then tells of the way to escape through faith in Christ, the Saviour of the whole world and not just Israel. Who needs to accept that message tonight, perhaps for the first time? That message is the most important message in this universe.

Thirdly, as we will be learning later on in this short series, Jonah's experience shows that if God wants you somewhere, he will get there in the end. I have experienced that in my life. It is when God has called you to do something but you refuse and you have a miserable time. God then calls you again and you give in, because you realize your misery is due to your disobedience. So that brings us to verse 17 where we read ...

... the LORD provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights.

God was showing mercy to Jonah - he didn't let him drown. He wanted Jonah to go to Nineveh. And as you will see, later in this series, Jonah ended up in Nineveh. He would have saved himself a lot of trouble if he had trusted and obeyed God in the first place.

I must conclude.

You remember what Paul said the Bible was for - teaching, reproof, correction and training in righteousness. Well, this chapter and the book of Jonah teaches that Jonah's God - the God of the Bible is our creator God and a God of miracles. He opposes wickedness. But he is a merciful God who uses fallible human beings to communicate his gospel of judgment and mercy. Then the book of Jonah is a reproof of any disobedience to God. And by showing what happens following such disobedience, it helps in the corrective process and so "trains us in righteousness."