Jonah and Me

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 their

evil has come up before me.” But 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 on board, to go with

them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD.

Jonah 1:1-3

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ whose Word is not bound by time, environment, or circumstance.

As I was waiting with the rest of the band to perform our final piece at graduation today, I had a moment to turn to Jonah. In that short window of opportunity, God revealed something great to me, but before I get to that, I’d like to share some thoughts about this passage. I’d also like to recommend Surprised by Grace by Tullian Tchividjian to anyone looking for a Gospel-centered commentary on the Book of Jonah. Tullian says that Jonah is a story that “shows that God is in the business of relentlessly pursuing rebels like us and that He comes after us not to angrily strip away our freedom but to affectionately strip away our slavery so we might become truly free.”

What a great book Jonah is! For anyone who thinks it is just a fish story, you are missing out on so much more! We see a merciful God who pursues both pagan city and heard-hearted prophet. We see true repentance modeled by the unlikely Ninevites while a prophet of God refuses to obey the voice of the Lord. And, yes, we see the miraculous account of Jonah being swallowed by a huge fish and live to tell about it.

These first three verses tell a lot about Jonah’s worldview. We clearly see that the prophet believes he can hide from the presence of God. I’ve been scratching my head wondering how he came to that conclusion! To Jonah’s defense, I’m sure he wasn’t expecting to get swallowed by a huge fish for disobeying a little command of God. Maybe he thought that God would just forget about His command after awhile and Jonah could just go on with life. He certainly wasn’t about to go to a city of pagans, pronounce judgment on them, and allow them a chance to repent and be spared from the wrath of God. But as we read Jonah, we see that not only is that exactly what God called Jonah to do, but we see how God is teaching Jonah even more than He is teaching the people of Nineveh. God wanted Jonah’s heart and was willing to watch the prophet squirm miserably in order for him to learn to fear the Lord.

My initial reaction to Jonah’s fleeing is to mock him. How could he be so stupid to think that he could flee the presence of the Lord? Did he really think that getting in a boat bound for Tarshish would save him from having to obey God? It seems that Jonah really was that foolish.

What strikes me even more, however, is that of my own foolishness. Am I really that different from Jonah? Do I immediately jump onboard with all of God’s directions for me? Or do my responses to God’s commands prove that my heart is exactly like Jonah’s?

So often I think that I can flee from the presence of the Lord. Maybe I don’t think this in my mind, but my actions certainly affirm that I believe it in my heart! Sin is deceitful. I can read Jonah and scoff at him for being a fool while avoiding sticking my neck out just like Jonah! Or maybe I think that when no one is around I have free reign to cut corners or act less than Christ-like. Are these compromises that much different than Jonah trying to physically flee from the presence of the Lord? How about ignoring the prompting of the Holy Spirit or brushing off a convicting thought from the Word of God? Aren’t these the very thing that I’m ready to slam Jonah for doing?

So I must conclude that Jonah and I are a lot more similar than we are different. In fact, when looking at the thoughts and intentions of the heart, there isn’t any difference at all. Both of our hearts reveal a belief that we can flee from the presence of God.

Is your heart any different? Or do you too ignore the presence of God in an attempt to flee from Him? Maybe God has called you to proclaim Christ to a coworker but you have fled to the other side of the office instead. Maybe God has called you to give up something valuable in your life like internet or TV or a career or relationship but you ignored it by saying that it is simply too radical and must not really be what God wants of you.

In reality, we are all like Jonah. We are more interested in fleeing from the presence of God than we are of longing to see the face of Jesus Christ. And we flee because God’s presence makes us aware of our sinfulness.

If we look ahead in Jonah, we see that Jonah knew God to be a God of mercy and steadfast love. Jonah saw God’s character and fled knowing that God might let this city that the prophet loathed off the hook for their sins as God had done for Jonah himself. Jonah wasn’t about to let a bunch of pagans experience the loving kindness of his God, as if he had somehow earned God’s grace for himself! Once he finally obeyed God, Jonah stood face-to-face with his pride and hatred for Nineveh. He was convicted, but instead of repenting, we see him become increasingly hardened. The book ends with Jonah saying, “Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die.”

Fortunately for Jonah and for all of us, God continues to pursue us even as we flee. Though we like sheep have all turned away, God refuses to give up on us. In fact, we see His pursuit so clearly in the Cross. While rebellious sinners shouted, “Crucify him!” Jesus Christ was lifted up so that He might draw all men to Himself. God was so determined to capture the heart of man that He sent His only Son, Jesus, to die for our sins.

No matter how much we want to find love like that anywhere else, we simply won’t find it. The love God has for us makes all other would-be pursuers seem insignificant.

We need to daily seek to know Christ and the love He has for us more and more. The more we pursue Jesus, the more we see that He really is a priceless treasure. The more we know His love, the less we will ever want to flee from His presence. In fact, His love makes us run for safety in the shadow of His wings. He has accepted us freely even though we are sinful rebels. And His acceptance changes everything.

Do you know the love of the great Pursuer? Or are you fleeing from Him? Jesus changes everything if only we would stop running away and turn towards Him.

No matter where we are in our faith, may we not think that Jonah is unique in his fleeing. May we acknowledge our own hearts’ desires to flee from the presence of God and cry out for His mercy to make us people who long for His presence.

For the glory of Christ, who after being swallowed by the earth for three days rose from the dead…