Jonah 1 reads like the kickoff to an epic adventure: God calls Jonah to deliver a life-or-death warning to the wicked city of Nineveh-Jonah balks, hops aboard a ship for Tarshish, and chaos erupts. A savage storm flings the pagan sailors into panic; unlike Jonah, they pray to their own gods, cast lots, and when the lot falls on Jonah, listen to his confession and hurl him overboard. Instead of drowning, he’s swallowed by a great fish, carried down into the depths. With its quest, rebellion, high stakes, and miraculous rescue, this chapter has all the ingredients of the beginning of a “good story”. It also makes it clear that God’s plan cannot be derailed, for even in our attempts to run, He pursues us to the ends of the earth.

Automatically Generated Transcript

[00:00:00] All right, so let’s start with verse 1. Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah, the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for that evil has come up before me. So as we start this story, the main emphasis here is God delivering an instruction to Jonah to get up, to arise, and to go. And the place that God wants Jonah to go is to Nineveh. So at the time of about 780 BC, Nineveh is the capital city of ancient Assyria. And ancient Assyria are known for their brutality, the way that they conquer cities and massacre people. And researching Nineveh and Assyria in general, there’s a list of horrendous things that they did and were infamous for at this time. They would flay enemies alive.

[00:00:56] They would cut off hands and feet, ears, noses, violating and mutilating people. They would display bodies on stakes. Sorry, children, spoiler alert, most of them are gone. And they would humiliate and execute prisoners publicly. And as we kind of set this start of the story, the Ninevites, I want you to picture that they’re not just this random place that Jonah is being instructed to go to. They’re a place that is known for their brutality. Most people at this time would think about the Ninevites and perhaps even know people who have been affected in this way. And so as God comes to Jonah and says, arise and go to Nineveh, call out against it for that evil has come up before me. He’s not talking about small evils. He’s talking about the big stuff.

[00:01:50] And people often compare Nineveh and ancient Assyria to Nazi Germany. So I want you to go into this story with in mind just how bad these guys are. Okay, so God says, go. How does Jonah respond? Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it to go with them away from the presence of the Lord. Notice the change in language here. God begins by saying, arise and go. So, but yet Jonah goes down, down to Joppa and down into this ship. And it tells us explicitly why he’s going here in terms of fleeing from the presence of the Lord. So I’ve got this map here, a map that is setting the stage for where we’re talking about. Jonah begins in Gath Hopper.

[00:02:53] And Nineveh is not that far away from it, relatively speaking. Yet instead of going towards Nineveh, he goes down to Joppa, which is a port city. And this port city in the Middle East is a place where people can take ships and travel. And Tarshish, which is on the far left here, is actually the furthest that you can go in the known world at this time. They don’t understand what goes beyond Tarshish at this point in time. So Jonah fleeing from the presence of the Lord, he’s doing this at the extreme level where he’s not just not going to Nineveh. He’s running in the opposite direction as far as he can go. So this brings me to my first point that I want to unpack a little bit here. And the point is this, sometimes it feels easier to run from God than to walk with God.

[00:03:48] Sometimes it feels easier to run from God than to walk with God. You see, when we run from God, what we’re doing is saying, God, we understand that you have a will and a way and a plan, an idea of how we should live, but that’s not what I want. What I want is something different, and by not engaging with that, I’m running away. And we often talk about this as sin, things that we can put in our lives as a way of disengaging with the way that God instructs us to live and disengaging with the will that God has for us in our actions. And the idea of it feeling easier is the idea of us wanting to put our will in front of the Lord’s. And as we get into this chapter, I want to unpack how running from God has consequences and is different to walking with Him. Okay, so let’s continue.

[00:04:55] Jonah has just entered the ship at Joppa, and is now traveling towards Tarshish. Verse 4, But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up. Then the marinas were afraid, and each cried out to his God, and they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. So just to unpack this context a little bit, as Jonah gets onto the boat to flee to Tarshish, he has entered a ship that is carrying a bunch of cargo as their job to essentially take things from the port at Joppa all the way to Tarshish. And Jonah’s hitched a ride with these people, and it’s essentially cargo on their ship, paying them to take them. And these marinas are actually caught up in Jonah’s storm. They’re caught up in Jonah’s storm.

[00:05:51] So already we can see there’s some collateral damage here of Jonah running from God and the marinas being affected as well. And what’s interesting about these marinas is that they are pagan sailors, pagan marinas. And we know that because it says each of them cried out to his God. When it says his God in the Hebrew, it’s Elohav, which is the idea of any random God that is to his own. And what’s important here is that it’s not talking about the one true God, but gods like Zeus and Poseidon and Dagon, false gods that these marinas worship and trust in. And as they encounter the supernatural storm, these are the gods that these marinas are crying out to. And at the end here, verse 5, it says, they held the cargo that was in the ship into the sea. Don’t take that lightly.

[00:06:48] These marinas, their job is to take this cargo on long journeys back and forth. This cargo is their livelihood. And so as they throw this into the sea, they are doing their last resort to try and survive this storm. So, as we mentioned, running from God has collateral damage on the sailors, which is just a sub-point here. Okay, let’s continue. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep. So the captain came and said to him, What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call out to your God, and perhaps the God will give a thought to us so that we may not perish. I think if there’s a supernatural storm happening and one member on your ship is missing and sleeping downstairs, I’d start to get a little bit suspicious as to what is the source of the supernatural storm.

[00:07:50] And I think that’s what’s happening here with the captain, who’s recognizing, Hey, that random person who asked to hitch a ride with us, he’s not bothered by the storm, he’s sleeping downstairs. And they say to him, arise and call out to your God. Perhaps the God will give a thought to us. So they’re starting to connect the dots together. Verse 7. And they said to one another, come, let us cast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. So casting lots is kind of like a game of chance, an opportunity for them to use this chance game to identify who is the source of this problem. And if they weren’t suspicious before that it was Jonah, I think the lots landing on him is further reinforcing to them

[00:08:47] that this storm, this supernatural storm, is related to Jonah. So after lots fall, they say to him, tell us, on whose account this evil has come upon us? What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And what people are you? So notice that in these questions, they’re trying to understand what is happening. They’re not coming at Jonah to attack him. They’re trying to figure out what’s going on. So how does Jonah respond? Is he going to deny his relation to the storm, or is he going to engage with these sailors? Well, he responds to them saying, I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land. So there’s a lot going on here. First of all, he says, I fear the Lord. So in Hebrew, he’s saying, I fear Yahweh. He’s not talking about a God.

[00:09:49] He’s talking about the one true God, the God of Israel. And he’s being very specific in how he’s answering these sailors, who it is that he serves. And then he goes on to maybe add a little bit of salt into the wound and clarifies, yes, Yahweh, he made the sea and the dry land. So picture the storm that’s going on around them and him saying, yes, I fear Yahweh, and he is responsible for the sea and the dry land. And how do the sailors respond to this? Well, the men were exceedingly afraid. They were exceedingly afraid, and they say, what is it that you have done? and the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord because he has told them. So you can kind of fill in the blanks in this moment. Jonah is probably unpacking a bit of his story to the sailors.

[00:10:47] Perhaps he tells them, yes, I was instructed to go to Nineveh and I didn’t want to do that, so I’m fleeing to Tarshish. And the reason why I’m doing that is to get away from the presence of Yahweh. And they’re understanding that. So this brings us to our second point. It’s very simple. You can run, but you can’t hide. You can run, but you can’t hide. So Jonah, who has run away from God, choosing not to walk alongside him, is not being very successful, is he? His goal was to flee from the presence of the Lord. Yet, the storm that has been sent by the Lord is knocking, metaphorically, on their ship. And I think that it’s important for us to recognize that we worship a God who knows our address. And he gives us the choice to not walk with him.

[00:11:50] Running from God is always an option, something we can choose to do. But we’re not going to get very far, because while we can run, we can’t hide. And I want us to appreciate this change in perspective a little bit. But my first job, when I finished school, I was 17, was working at an OSH care, outside school hours care. And I often look after little kids. And I also have lots of nieces and nephews these days, and look after them as well. And a fun activity you can do with small kids is play hide-and-seek. And I don’t know if you’ve got a lot of experience playing hide-and-seek with five-year-olds. But sometimes the way that they hide is very ridiculous to me, because I know exactly where they are. And they think because they can’t see me, I can’t see them.

[00:12:38] And it looks a little bit like this, where they hide in places that obscures their vision from the finder. And I play along a little bit. I walk around, and I’m like, oh, where is Hamish? Or whoever it is. Where could he be? And I’m actually just indulging in his poor hiding, because I’m actually in control in this moment. I know where he is. And this perception of mine, I think, is something that God can have to us, where we can choose to run away from him, which he gives us the option to. But this is what we look like to God. And when we’re running away, he might indulge us, but that’s his prerogative to choose what happens as a result of that. So keep this in mind, this perspective change between us and God. All right, I want to read to you Psalm 139. I have too much paper.

[00:13:46] Psalm 139, verses 7 to 10. 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 Sheol, 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, and your right hand shall hold me. So this is a psalm that speaks to the fact that there is nowhere that we can go that will successfully allow us to run from the presence of the Lord Alright, let’s go back to our passage in Jonah Verse 11 Then they said to him What shall we do to you that the sea might quiet down for us? For the sea grew more and more tempestuous And he said to them Pick me up and hurl me into the sea And then the sea will quiet down for you For I know it is because of me

[00:14:55] that this great tempest has come upon you Nevertheless the men rode hard to get back to dry land But they could not For the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them Oh, there’s so much to unpack in this part first of all the marinas, they’re not judging Jonah. They’re not attacking him. They come to him almost with a sense of respect, asking, what shall we do to you that the sea might quiet down for us? I think that’s not perhaps the response I would have if I was on a ship and I let some random person join me and then a storm followed me the whole way and almost killed everyone. but no their response is to say what should we do and Jonah he has the audacity to say you guys pick me up and hurl me into the sea and then you’re going to be fine Jonah has legs he could use them and run and jump off

[00:15:54] but that’s not what he chooses to do he says you guys need to pick me up and hurl me into the sea if you’re willing to do that you’ll be fine otherwise I’m just going to stay right here and the storm is just going to continue on. And then their response to that isn’t like, okay, let’s pick him up, throw him into the sea, and we’ll be fine. They say, no, let’s try to rescue Jonah and row and get him back to dry land. They actually try to save him. They don’t want to throw him into the sea. They have so much respect for him that they are going to try and rescue him. And notice that despite their good intentions, they do not succeed because it’s not God’s will and his plan for them to row Jonah back to dry land. And notice that sometimes we can have good intentions as well,

[00:16:50] but when it’s not fitting into God’s overarching plan and narrative, sometimes good intentions aren’t successful. That was their plan for Jonah. It wasn’t God’s. So, I want you to take a sub-point and think about that these pagan sailors are actually showing more mercy to Jonah than Jonah, the prophet, is showing to them. Jonah should know better. He should have these sailors’ interests in mind, yet his heart is cold, and he’s thinking about his own plan and his own will and how these sailors are in the way of that. And these sailors have a different approach. They recognize that it’s Jonah’s fault that the storm is here, yet they want to row him back to dry land and to save him. Interesting. All right, verse 14.

[00:17:49] Therefore, they called out to the Lord, O Lord, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not on us innocent blood, for you, O Lord, have done as it has pleased you. So, they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows. Notice the language that these sailors are now using. They started off by saying, cry out to your God. Now they’re saying, O Lord, Lord, capital letters. When the Bible says, Lord, in capital letters, it’s referring to Yahweh as what they were saying. And so, these pagan sailors aren’t pagan anymore. These pagan sailors are recognizing who Yahweh is and crying out to him.

[00:18:39] And they say, let us not perish for essentially throwing Jonah overboard, because this is related to your will and to your plan. And imagine the moment of these sailors throwing Jonah overboard, and then this storm just ceasing. Silence. I think it would have been a powerful moment, because they’ve only just encountered who Yahweh is, the one who controls the heavens and the land. And Jonah has told them, throw me into the sea, and this will be fine. And when they eventually do it, it is fine. That is a profound testimony. So, notice that in this part of the story, God is using Jonah’s disobedience to save the pagan sailors. Jonah has chosen to run away and to not go to Nineveh. And in this, God has been working in the lives of the sailors, and actually revealed himself to them,

[00:19:50] and saved them not just from the storm, but from their false worship of pagan gods. All right, so the final verse of Jonah, chapter 1, is preparing us for what we often think about when we think of Jonah, which is the fish. Verse 17, the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. Now, while I won’t get into being in the fish right now, we’re going to do that next week. Think about how this chapter ends. Jonah has run away. He’s received instruction from God and said, no, thank you. Don’t want to do that. I’m going to run away. He has then received a huge storm on the boat, and the pagan sailors have kind of engaged with Jonah and ultimately learned who Yahweh is because of this storm.

[00:20:48] And after throwing Jonah into the sea, the storm ceases to rage, and it is the Lord who appoints a great fish to swallow Jonah. So at every step of the way, what we have seen is that it is God who has been running the show. While we can choose to run from God instead of walking with him, somehow amongst this free will and decision-making, which I’m not that qualified to speak on, God is still the one who’s in control and the one who has a plan, even though we might not know what that plan is. And I think all throughout chapter one, we have seen the beginnings of God’s plan unfold. So just to wrap up, I have some questions for you. Question one, is there something that you are running from? Is there something in your life right now that makes it hard for you to walk with God

[00:21:50] and to put his plan as number one in your life? There are different sins that we can struggle with that ultimately take us away from God and his will. But to be submitted to God is to be willing to put his plan for us, his way of living, his laws, as our priority. Two, I think we talk about this idea of not being able to run from God, sorry, being able to run from God but not being able to hide from him. That sounds a bit negative, but it’s actually a really positive thing. Because in the ups and downs of our own life, we know that God is with us this whole time. And so my question for you is, are you aware of God’s presence with you wherever you go? Not just in the good times, not just in the times we’re worshipping him, but also in the hard times.

[00:22:52] Because there’s nowhere that we can go that can escape the presence of the Lord. And then lastly, are you trusting God to run the show? We can have good intentions like the sailors to try and row Jonah back to land, but that wasn’t God’s plan. And there’s nothing wrong with having good intentions and acting upon them. What’s important in that moment is that they recognise that God has a plan that’s different to that, and that they’re going to trust in that plan. So in a moment we’re going to sing, but I’m just going to close in prayer. So would you bow your heads and pray with me? Heavenly Father, this morning we have been talking about life on the run, and the ups and downs that come along with that. And I pray that you would help us to see from Jonah’s story

[00:23:48] that running from you can have a cost and collateral damage, and yet you can still be in control the whole time. And I pray that we would begin to understand and appreciate your mercy the way that you love us and interact with us, despite all the wrong things that we have done. And I pray that as we continue to read through the book of Jonah, so we’ll see you next time. Thank you.