Text: Jonah 1:4-11 (CSB) – But the Lord threw a great wind onto the sea, and such a great storm arose on the sea that the ship threatened to break apart. 5 The sailors were afraid, and each cried out to his god. They threw the ship’s cargo into the sea to lighten the load. Meanwhile, Jonah had gone down to the lowest part of the vessel and had stretched out and fallen into a deep sleep. The captain approached him and said, “What are you doing sound asleep? Get up! Call to your god. Maybe this god will consider us, and we won’t perish.” “Come on!” the sailors said to each other. “Let’s cast lots. Then we’ll know who is to blame for this trouble we’re in.” So they cast lots, and the lot singled out Jonah. Then they said to him, “Tell us who is to blame for this trouble we’re in. What is your business, and where are you from? What is your country, and what people are you from?” He answered them, “I’m a Hebrew. I worship the Lord, the God of the heavens, who made the sea and the dry land.” Then the men were seized by a great fear and said to him, “What is this you’ve done?” The men knew he was fleeing from the Lord’s presence because he had told them. So they said to him, “What should we do to you so that the sea will calm down for us?” For the sea was getting worse and worse.”
We have begun a study of the book of Jonah! I have entitled our study JONAH – THE PERVERSE PROPHET. This little book is only 4 chapters long, but filled with great spiritual truths! We have thought about the historical background of this little book. Today we continue to meditate over the lessons we can glean from it.
You know you can't really run away from God! Sure enough, God knows exactly where Jonah is ... and sends him a message via the air and water! THINGS GET REAL STORMY when we run from God!
While Jonah lay sound asleep in the belly of the boat caring nothing for the Gentiles he was riding with, they are battling the storm, trying to save not only their own lives, BUT HIS! They cared more for him that he was showing toward them!
Why the bottom of the boat ... because when you run from God you like to hide! What a contrast to the time when Jesus was sound asleep in the belly of a boat during a storm! His sleep was sweet, Jonah's was escape! What Jonah didn't know was that running away from God by hiding in the belly of the boat would cost him a return ticket in the belly of a great fish where he would confront God anyway!
The men sacrificed everything they owned to try and save their lives and Jonah's ... while Jonah wouldn't sacrifice anything to see 100,000's of lives saved!
"How can you sleep" ... a question asked of many a backslider! All these Gentiles ask is for Jonah to call upon whatever God he served ... the least he could do at a moment like this for them! Still, he refuses and acts indifferent! They had a real problem on their hands ... an ornery believer!
Nothing could be worse! Instead of helping them, he continues to just be ornery and obnoxious. They came to Jonah for help, they didn't mind asking a Jew for help as Gentiles, but he being Jewish he had no interest in helping them as Gentiles ... after all, he didn't care about the 100,000's of Gentiles in Nineveh either!
Having exhausted every logical approach to the storm they assume this is not just some odd accident of nation ... someone has brought this upon them! As Jonah watched, they cast lots to find out who was the reason for the angry gods or god! Guess who the lot fell to -- JONAH!
Even unbelievers can be disgusted with miserable saints who are trying to run from God!
Quickly they ask all the logical questions:
· "Who is responsible for this trouble...?"
· "What do you do?"
· "Where do you come from?"
· "What is your country?"
· "Who are your people?"
IRONICALLY he states to them that he belongs to the people of the one true God and that he is a worshipper! How interesting ... he can brag about his membership, but be out on the boat running from God while his brethren are worshipping! They immediately made the connections, and they were terrified...
Jonah had told them already that he was running from God, but now they realized that this might be the ONE REAL GOD since all their appeals had failed to their false gods! What this meant was that their safety was in the hands of a stranger ... one that didn't seem to care a whole lot about them or others!
The final obvious question was, “What shall we do to you that the sea may be calm for us?”
In the midst of a world that is running haphazardly away from the one True God – they may not be saying it, but the question of today is the same -- “What shall we do … that the [results of this chaos] may be calm for us?”
What would you answer? Ponder this as we look tomorrow at Jonah’s Punishment.
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