A SPIRITUAL MARATHON! #1

RUNNING THE WRONG WAY

It was a 30 year old woman in a red car. She had just driven out of a shopping mall parking lot. She couldn't help seeing in her rear-view mirror a blue pick-up truck, coming up very quickly behind her. Afraid, she accelerated to a faster speed, but the driver of the pick-up was relentless. Panicing now, she drove into a used car lot and came to a screeching halt. The driver of the truck stopped right behind her and jumped out. Running to her car, the pick-up driver pulled the would-be rapist from her car, who was hiding on the floor of the back seat. The driver of the truck had seen the man enter her car just moments before she got in and drove away. She had been running from the Wrong Person!

Jonah was a man on the run; he was running from God! He was defiantly running from the WRONG PERSON! Today, we consider the first of a mini-series on Jonah. Our thoughts today are from Jonah, Chapter One where we find the account of Jonah's Rebellion. (I encourage you to read the Book of Jonah, at least the first chapter and it would be good to read all four chapters that make up this book in the Bible.)

Rebellion is not unfamiliar to us. It is an act of resistance to an established authority; openly fighting against or quietly defying that authority. It involves insubordination and a desire to disobey. In the Bible, we see the meaning: being a person determined to live by his or her own rules, values, morals, worldly standards and principles, instead of what has been established and maintained by God. The rebellious person is one who willfully walks in disobedience, ignoring God's voice, His Word, commands and His warnings. Also in the Bible, rebellion as disobedience to God is likened to the spirit of divination. "For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as bad as worshipping idols." (I Samuel 15:23)

We'll see that Jonah was both rebellious and stubborn. Lest we judge Jonah harshly, let us do an examination of our own lives. We must all admit that stubbornness and rebellion have been characteristics of our mind-set and behavior from our childhood, and perhaps even now. Our human nature tends to reject this truth and that places us precariously in the sphere of lying to ourselves and to others who know us best. The good news is we can confess this sin to God and be totally forgiven and allow Him to cleanse our rebellion and stubbornness, giving us the power to become an overcomer.

A bit of background is in order here. First, Jonah was a Jewish Prophet from Galilee. He had been commissioned by God to go to the wicked city of Nineveh to deliver God's message. Jonah was a highly patriotic Jew and being sent to an evil Gentile city was repugnant to him. Second, Nineveh was the Capital of The Assyrian Empire, a continueous threat to Israel. It was a large city; it took three days to walk across it. Its population was nearly 600,000. The city was located very close to modern day Iraq, just opposite the city of modern Mosul. Nineveh was a greatly protected city, with walls 100 feet tall and wide enough for three chariots to run side-by-side on top of the walls. The inhabitants of Nineveh were largely warriors, accustomed to battle. It was a city of luxury, wealth and greed, known as The Mistress Of The East. It was so wicked that God intended to destroy it and Jonah's job was to deliver the message of impending doom to the Ninevites.

The Book of Jonah, generally believed to be written by Jonah, is the account of the relationship between God and him during this period. While his name "Jonah" is mentioned 16 times in the four chapters of the book, God is referred to 40 times. Thus, it is a "God-Centered" book. I want to challenge us all right here - let's be aware of our own conversations. How often do we talk about ourselves, the things we have done or said? Does our talk center on our opinions and thoughts? Are we using "I", "Me", "My" more, or do our conversations highlight what we've learned from the Bible,

a focus on God, Jesus, and The Holy Spirit? In this "me-ism" culture, who is the subject we talk about most often? Who or what do our children hear us talk about? Perhaps we need to adjust our vocabulary and subject matter to make our conversations much more God-centered than they are.

In Jonah, we read of a ship, a storm at sea, a big fish, a vomiting fish, a gourd, a worm, a hot sun, and a driving wind. Do we actually believe this account to be true? Some scholars think it is an allegory, parable or fiction. I truly believe it to be truth and recognize this book as indeed THE WORD OF GOD! Let's analyze Chapter One.

• JONAH'S PROBLEM. This story of Jonah begins with him being commissioned by God. "Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah. . .saying, 'Arise, go to Nineveh. . . .' " (verse 1) Jonah was one of the first Jewish Prophets to be sent on mission. He is not sent to prophesy to fellow Jews; he is sent to speak to Gentiles (non-Jews). He has a message of warning from God to deliver.

  Today, we might think of this mission as EVANGELISM! God has commissioned every true follower of Jesus to communicate the Gospel (Good News Of Salvation) to unbelievers (not yet followers of Jesus). We, as Christians, are not called of God to witness to believers, but to non-believers. Sometimes, we are tempted to believe our job is to stand in the world and testify to Christ. The reality is we are to stand in Christ and testify to the world. . . . of unbelievers! Jesus told us, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. . . ." (See Matthew 28:19) Again, He commanded, "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to every person." (Mark 16:15) So many Christians leave evangelism to the organized church, and the organized church says to the unbelievers, "COME!" "Come to our church, come to our worship services, come to our activities or classes." This invitation is directly opposed to Jesus' command; HE TOLD US TO "GO!" "GO" to the unbelievers! Unbelievers have as much reason to come to our church on Sunday morning, as believers have reason to go to the bars and taverns on Saturday night. We, as followers of Jesus, are under DIVINE ASSIGNMENT! Don't Run From It; Run To It!

  Now the Word of the LORD came to Jonah both clearly and decisively! "Arise, go to Nineveh. . .and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me." (verse 2) Jonah had no trouble under-standing what God told him to do. BUT, instead of obeying, the Scripture says, "But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD." (verse 7) As a patriotic Jew, he hated the Ninevites (Gentiles). So, he was saying to himself, "Why" Lord?" "Why should I go?" This "WHY?" was not for the purpose of seeking to understand, but this "WHY?" was the question of a rebellious, stubborn person who believed he knew better than God what should happen and how it should be done. He fundamentaly said to God, "Why Lord, I don't agree with you!" "They don't deserve any warning; just go ahead and destroy them." "I am not going to Nineveh!"

• AN AFRAID PROPHET. Notice, Jonah did not flee from Nineveh; he fled from God's presence and commandment. "But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. . . ." So, he "found a ship going to Tarshish. He paid the fare and went. . .away from the presence of the LORD." (verse 3) He thought escaping from God's presence was the way to escape God's command. WRONG! The truth is we can neither escape His Presence nor His Commandments! "Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in hell, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me. . . .(Psalm 139:7-10) "If I say, 'Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,' even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you." (Psalm 139:11-12) There is no place to hide from God! He is omnipresent; He is everywhere all the time! And He knows where we are too! No wonder Jonah was afraid - we are all in danger when we try to run away from God and from His will for us! As Jonah ran away, he had no promise of divine presence or power to accompany him; no signs of the miraculous! Out of harmony with God means NO resources from God for our use or benefit; we are left to our own empty resources!

  Jonah's response to God was to reject God, His command and to run away and purchase a ticket for a boat ride to Tarshish. He went in the complete OPPOSITE DIRECTION FROM NINEVEH; getting as far away as possible! He thought changing location would remove him from the convicting presence of the LORD and His Word. WRONG! Changing location never, ever has anything to do with obedience to God! Jonah had a seriously flawed, faulty concept of God's omnipresence - 'present everywhere all the time' attribute! Jonah's sin was disobedience! Question for all of us: Do we honestly fall for the lie that we can get away from God by our disobedience and that He will not hold us accountable?

• JONAH'S PREDICAMENT AND PUNISHMENT. Let's take note of this stunning truth: Jonah's chastisement/punishment was orchestrated solely by God Himself! "But the LORD hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest (storm) on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break apart." (verse 4) Jonah's response to God was disobedience; God's response to Jonah's dis-

  obedience was chastisement/conviction/correction designed to bring Jonah to repentance (to turn away from sin and to God for reconciliation). Some view God's correction as quite mean and cruel, but actually the Scripture teaches that His chastisement is for our good! "For the moment, all discipline (chastisement) seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it." (Hebrews 12:11)

• THE MARINERS' WORRY. "Then the Mariners were afraid, and each cried out to their god." (verse 5) These experienced sea navigators were afraid when God manifested His work. So, the mariners threw cargo into the sea and the captain confronted the sleeping Jonah. He asked Jonah, WHAT? "What do you mean, you sleeper?" (verse 6) Then the crew inquired of one another - WHO? "Come, let us cast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us." (verse 7) So, they cast lots and discovered, "Jonah, you are the man." But WHY? (verses 7-8)

  In response, Jonah made full CONFESSION! "I am a Hebrew, and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land." (verse 9) "The men were exceedingly afraid. . .For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them." (verse 10) There are three important points to ponder here:

  1) Jonah made a full confession! Many people attempt to deny, cover up or minimize their sin; and being dishonest about it! Jonah was truthful, open and did not try to disown his sin and even told the mariners he was "running from the presence of the LORD". When was the last time we either denied, covered up or hid our sin OR honestly made a full confession? Let's remember, God knows all things and we cannot hide anything, including our sin, from him. My mother used to say: "Be sure your sin will find you out." How right she was!

  2) God uses ALL things and even people for His Glory and His purposes, and for our own good. The Scripture is literally packed with examples of this truth!

  3) Our running away from God and His will, our rebellion, and our disobedience to Him affects other people adversely and even may place them in jeopardy. Sin cannot ever be taken too seriously; just consider the cost to God and to His Son incurred to deal a death blow to sin!

  So, Jonah said to the ship's crew, this storm is "because of me. . .pick me up and hurl me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you." (verse 12) And so it happened that way! Note this from this passage of Scripture: The more time it took for the mariners to deal with the cause of the storm, the more intense the storm grew! The longer it takes for us to deal with our sin and rebellion, the more intense the conviction of God becomes! It is far better for us to confess quickly, ask for forgiveness and trust God and others for reconciliation while we still have the opportunity to do so!

  The mariners then called out to this God of Jonah's themselves and beseeched Him for help. (verse 14) Who knows what God will use to cause pagans to call out to Him? (verses 14-16) When these pagans saw the sea immediately "quiet down" for them, they were in utter awe of Jonah's God! They even "feared the LORD exceedingly, offered a sacrifice (NOT Jonah, for they had already sacrificed him, throwing him into the sea) to the LORD and made VOWS! I wonder what they promised God, for that is what a VOW is? I wonder if they kept those VOWS! What promises have we made to God and have we kept them? That is a serious thing!!!! "I will pay my vows to the LORD. ." (Psalm 116:14 and 18) Vows to the LORD may sound like this: "If you will just do this; then I will do. . . or, If you will help me, provide this for me, or. . .then, I will . . ." Let's be careful what we promise God; He will hold us to those promises!

  "And the LORD appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. . . ." (verse 17) God isn't done with a rebellious, stubborn Jonah!

  PLEASE JOIN ME FOR PART 2 OF THIS MINI-SERIES NEXT WEEK!