See Jonah Run

But Jonah rose up, same verb with God said arise, well okay, he arose but he fled to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. Surely the will of God would never be upsetting or uncomfortable or unhealthy or undesirable. But Jonah knew he completely understood this was, and there's no way around it, the will of God.

And there's only one thing in his mind that he thought he would do and that was run. God called the prophet Jonah to go to a distant land and minister to a people that Jonah despised. There's no doubt that God was asking his servant to do something very difficult. Has God ever called you to something hard?

Maybe something that you thought was impossible. And when that happens, there are two equally foolish errors that we might make. The first is running from God to avoid obedience. The second is believing he won't come running after us.

This is Wisdom for the Heart with Stephen Davey. Stephen's working his way through the book of Jonah with this lesson he's calling See Jonah Run. What's the world's dirtiest job? I had this thought get through my mind and so I did a little research on the world's dirtiest jobs. I discovered jobs too gross to hardly imagine. Some people really do have tough, dirty jobs. I will mention one job title.

How does this grab you? Sewage Inspector. Even provided a picture of a man in a full body suit, oxygen tank strapped on his back, diver's hood taped tight, a mask, thick gloves.

The picture showed him chest deep descending a ladder where he would disappear into raw sewage. Well, I also ended up researching the world's most dangerous jobs. Number eight on the list was forestry, lumberjacks. The article went on to say hidden roots, high winds, working with chainsaws, 100 feet in the air, falling branches made it one of the most dangerous jobs on the planet. High up on the list you would expect those who serve as police and fire rescue personnel.

Every day on the job is a risk. Steelworkers, roofers, and crane operators formed another category high on the list. Many die each year working with heavy machinery high above the ground, many of them. Number one on the list, fishermen. Along with that, they added pilots, bus drivers, and truck drivers.

Anybody basically in the transportation business, literally hundreds of people die every year who work in that particular field. If you were to roll the clock back to the Old Testament, there was a time when the most dangerous job on the planet was the office of prophet. Elijah had a contract out on his head. Jeremiah was beaten, imprisoned, often thrown on one occasion into a well where he sunk to his waist in the mud and he was left to die.

Daniel was thrown to the lions. Even Nehemiah was threatened with his life over and over again. In fact, at one point, he and his men worked on the wall restoration with one hand while in the other hand, they held a spear or a sword. There really wasn't anything more difficult or dangerous than obeying the will of God. One particular prophet whose storyline usually focuses on a big fish is rarely appreciated for his great faith. Jonah has served faithfully for several decades. Some Bible scholars, as I mentioned earlier in our last session, believe that Jonah was an older man when the call came to go to Nineveh. He is seasoned.

He is experienced. He is dedicated to King Jeroboam II and to his nation Israel. His prophecy, one of them we read, to Jeroboam and the nation came true, which grew his credibility and his fame. He is definitely of the tribe of his mentor, Elisha. But then God calls Jonah into the next chapter of his life, without a doubt the most difficult one yet, and Jonah will run away. Let's listen in as Jonah gets the call.

Let's go back and start again at verse 1. Jonah, chapter 1. The word of the Lord came to Jonah, the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, the great city, and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before me. Their wickedness has come up before me.

One paraphrase puts it this way. They smell to the highest heavens. In other words, God says, Jonah, Nineveh has become a city of sinful sewage. The stench has reached heaven. Get on your prophet gear and go deliver a message to them. Clean it up, short and simple. Clean it up.

If not, you're dead. The command of God, by the way, got his attention, no question about it. But the destination of his assignment gripped him, I believe, with a flood of emotions, emotions that would eventually cause him to resign as a prophet of God.

Now, I want to climb back into Jonah's generation to recapture the sense of what's happening here, and we're going to have to forget that we've heard the story, or some of it, many times in the past. Nineveh was the capital city of Assyria. The prophet Nahum would prophesy against Nineveh as well, and let me read you his description of this city, these people. Woe to the bloody city, completely full of lies and pillage.

Her prey never departs. The noise of the whip, the noise of the rattling of the wheel, galloping horses and bounding chariots, horsemen charging, swords flashing, spears gleaming, many slain, a mass of corpses and countless dead bodies because of the lust of the harlot, the charming one, the mistress of witchcraft, who enslave nations by her prostitution and peoples by her witchcraft. Behold, I am against you, declares the Lord of hosts.

Wow. The Ninevites were literally demon-worshipping, immoral, brutal, unmerciful, perverted people. They literally boasted of their cruelty, excavated records, one after another, brag of live dismemberment, leaving one hand attached so they could shake it while they watched the person die.

They made parades of heads, requiring even friends of the deceased to carry the head high on a pole. They boasted of their practice of stretching out their victims with ropes so they could more easily skin them alive. One Assyrian king boasted of his cruelty when he had recorded and we have excavated his words.

Almost too hard to believe. He said this, I quote, the translation, I flayed the skin from as many nobles as had rebelled against me and I draped their skin over the pile of corpses. I burned their children. I captured many troops alive and cut off their arms and hands, noses and ears.

I was proud of it. It was their custom to gouge out the eyes of their prisoners and we have their artistry excavated. They would impale their captives alive and then set them on fire. By the way, that was a practice that Nero would bring back into vogue against Christians where he'd cover them with tar, impale them, light them and they would serve as torches for his garden parties.

Even on the hinges of the capital city of Nineveh or Assyria, this capital city Nineveh, even the hinges on their city gates which had been discovered depict the cruelty of dismembering their enemies. They were proud of the terror they struck in the hearts of their enemies. They were proud, listen, they were proud of their reputation for being absolutely unmerciful. No wonder Jonah will later say to God, I did not want you to show them mercy.

Maybe now we understand a little bit more why. But this was the call of God. It was his will. By the way, let me give you two or three thoughts here. The call from God didn't allow for any confusion.

Jonah couldn't miss it. Go back to verse two. You might circle into your text these three imperatives.

Arise, go, cry, literally speak out. Part of our problem in obeying God isn't that we don't understand them, is it? It's that we do understand them. We see the exclamation points. We don't really like it, though, when he uses imperatives, do we?

We prefer suggestions. We vote, don't we? God has one vote, and I have one vote, and you have one vote, and then we discover he's not in the practice of handing out ballots, is he? Jonah did not have to go back to his prophet's library, pull out a lexicon, and parse these imperatives to make sure he understood. I wonder if God really meant what he said.

No, it was very clear. Arise, go, and speak. It was unmistakable, it was undeniable, and it was entirely upsetting to Jonah. Second thought, the will of God for Jonah didn't allow for any confusion, but secondly, it didn't attempt to hide reality. Jonah, their wickedness has come up before me. Their sin stinks, as it were, to the highest heavens. They're perverted, they're wicked, they're cruel. I know exactly what I'm asking you to do.

I realize how difficult it will be for you. See, we think God really must not have wanted us to do whatever we thought he wanted us to do, because had he known what it would cost us or claim from us, what it would create in our minds and our hearts or with our bodies, he certainly would have never called us to do that. No, this is the will of God for Jonah, whether he felt good about it or not. I read in here, in between the lines, God saying, Jonah, you've walked with me for decades, and you have spoken for me in pleasant places and to a receptive audience.

Now arise, go, and call out to the Ninevites. The will of God didn't allow for any confusion. It didn't attempt to cover up reality. One more observation about this call. Thirdly, the will of God for Jonah didn't announce a return to safety. You notice that?

Not at all. Jonah was never offered the benefit package that a prophet, I'm sure, in his stage would have appreciated. Benefits like the assurance of a listening audience, a welcome by the Ninevites, you know, no impaling poll in my future, that kind of thing. Hospitality offered by this cruel kingdom, by the way, to whom he will go and announce, simply repent or in 40 days, you're dead. He walked through that gate to that people and would say that. You've got to be kidding. Jonah has every reason to believe it's a one way ticket and his head is going to adorn some long pole in just a matter of days.

No way. You see, as we understand what's going on here, I don't think any of us would have probably done anything differently than do exactly what Jonah did. But there are no loopholes in this call, no way to misunderstand it, no guarantees of safe conduct and safe return. He's simply called to do something.

Don't miss this. He's called to do something humanly, emotionally, if not physically impossible. And I couldn't help but think, what has God asked me? What has he asked you to do that you might be resisting? What is his impossible task for you? You've got your list of fears, excuses, good reasons why it won't work, disappointments.

And let's not forget lack of assurances. Maybe it's just not what you expected. It's the opposite of what you wanted.

All that is here. Surely the will of God would never be upsetting or uncomfortable or unhealthy or undesirable. But Jonah knew, he completely understood, this was, and there's no way around it, the will of God. And there's only one thing in his mind that he thought he would do, and that was run.

Run. That's exactly what he did, verse 3. But Jonah rose up, same verb, when God said arise. Okay, he arose, but he fled to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. So he went down to Joppa. He found a ship which was going to Tarshish.

He paid the fare, went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. Run, Jonah, run. See Jonah run.

Now don't be too quick to judge. You remember Elijah ran for his life because of one woman and her threat. At least Jonah's running from an entire nation.

Now, to get your bearings on his flight. Jonah was, we know, born in Gath-Hephir. He probably was living in Samaria at the time of the call. That's the capital city of Israel. It's where King Jeroboam II was reigning, where Jonah was serving as the court chaplain to the king.

Twenty miles southwest was the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and Israel's main port called Joppa, modern-day Joppa. And so he runs to Joppa or Joppa. And you think, no, but wait. He knows he can't run from the presence of the Lord. God is on my present. Jonah knew David's words. Where can I go from your spirit?

Where can I flee from your presence? Jonah knows he can't outrun God. In fact, the new Jewish translation that I have in my study translated this to sort of underscore more than likely what was going on. Jonah is actually running from the Lord's service. The Old Testament talks about standing before the Lord. That's a reference to obedience. Running from the Lord means you're leaving the place of obedience.

And for Jonah, it was a call to serve. So he is running from the Lord's service. He has effectively turned in his resignation. He's quit.

He's had it. He will no longer be the prophet of the Lord. And to prove it, he leaves Israel for good and sets sail for this place called Tarshish. What's or where's Tarshish? Tarshish was located on the coast of Spain in the exact opposite direction from Nineveh. In fact, I discovered that Tarshish during the days of Jonah was considered the most western spot of the known world. I am going as far away west as I can from Nineveh.

One author helped me and with it I believe I can help you put it into geographical perspective when you put it this way. This is like the word of the Lord coming to a Jewish man who is living in New York during World War II telling him to go to Berlin to preach to Nazi Germany. And instead of this, he goes to San Francisco and boards a ship bound for Hong Kong.

It's pretty good. It also implies by the way that that Jonah has cashed in his prophets pension to come up with enough money for this kind of lengthy voyage. He assumes that he's going to live out the rest of his days as a retired prophet quietly. Three lessons strike me as I observe this prophet running from the difficult assignment of God. First, whenever you run in disobedience to God, you're always heading in the wrong direction. Imagine Jonah down at the docks looking for a ship headed anywhere west, okay?

He's running down the boardwalk. He's asking captains and crewmen, you know, alike, where are you heading? Egypt? No, don't want to go there.

It's too close. Antioch? No, no, no. Carthage? No, don't want to go there.

Don't want to go there either. Sir, to where do you set sail? Tarshish? Tarshish. That's as far west as a man can safely travel. That's perfect.

How much? Can you imagine Jonah making his way to the shipping office to book passage and then paying his fare with coins stamped with the image of Jeroboam II, which was his currency? And when he paid it, I wondered, was he smitten with guilt when he saw his king's image? It also made me wonder, had he explained to the king he was leaving and why? What about his friends? Evidently, Jonah lived as a single man all his life. No mention of his wife, which I don't believe he would have left, but what about his friends? What about people counting on him? What about young prophets looking up to the disciple of Elisha? What about the people that heard the word of the Lord through him?

Did he even leave a note? We don't know, but there is so much wrong in not doing what's right. It affects so many people. So much is lost, which leads me to make a second observation. Whenever you run in disobedience to God, you pay a higher price than you planned.

Higher price. The truth is, when we run away from God, we never really ever get to somewhere we can enjoy. Okay, we're here now.

Now what? A Christian in disobedience is the most miserable person on the on the planet. Alexander White, lived a couple of generations ago, wrote in his commentary, no booking clerk in Joppa could have told Jonah what it was actually going to cost him to get on board that ship. Running from God is always a costly affair.

You remember that old saying? Sin will take you further than you ever wanted to go. Sin will keep you longer than you ever wanted to stay.

Sin will cost you more than you ever wanted to pay. You ever think about the fact that Jonah never got a refund? I mean he sunk his whole profits pension right there and only got about, you know, two or three miles out and he never got a refund on his ticket. But to Jonah it didn't matter. At this point he's probably thinking how good everything is working out.

Now don't miss this either. He goes down to the dock. There just happens to be a ship going where he wants it to go.

It just happens to be weighing anchor fairly shortly. He has just enough money to maybe more to to pay for the ticket and it just happens to be going as far away from Nineveh as it could go. He might have been thinking at this point this is easier than I thought. Maybe as we can become deluded in our sin he might even think God must be helping me along the way. Everything's working out just fine, which is one more lesson to learn. Thirdly, whenever you run in disobedience to God Satan will be happy to arrange the transportation.

And I have to add this though too. We also will discover that whenever you repent God will provide transportation back. But Jonah disobeyed the imperatives. Arise, go, and speak.

What about us? Have you ever thought about the fact that the Christian life is a life of imperatives, commands? They're clear. They are challenging. They are unmistakable.

They are unavoidable. Here are some imperatives I'll give you, by the way. This is the word of the Lord to you and to me. Hold fast, verse Thessalonians 521. Follow.

It's a good one. John chapter 12 verse 26. Speak the truth, Ephesians 4 25. Put on the new man, Ephesians 4 24. Be alert, Revelation 3 2. Give to God, 2 Corinthians 9 7. Sing praise, Ephesians 3 16. Study the word, 2 Timothy 2 15.

That's just the beginning. Jonah disobeyed three imperatives and ran the other way. What are we doing with a dozen imperatives in our lives today? Which way are you running? But now I see him exhausted from the hurried packing and the frenzied, you know, decisions that he had to make and his race to the coast about 20 miles, more than likely on foot. And he boards the boat and he goes down below deck and he immediately falls into an exhausted sleep, believing as he drifts off that he has successfully run away from the Lord's service. The words of one author summarize the issue in this text of Jonah 1 1 to 3, and I quote him.

Here's the issue. I am not the master of my destiny, not even my daily life. God is. To obey then means to yield my will for his will, my desires for his desires, to engage in activity that may be different or unpleasant or strange or dangerous or difficult or simply a drudge. I relinquish control and another's words call the shots. I am no longer my own master.

Isn't that good? Jonah will learn that soon enough. In fact, he might not have slept so soundly had he been able to see through the flooring of his cabin down in the deep water of the Mediterranean Sea, swimming quietly, keeping pace, under orders to just tag a wolf.

And that fish will obey. Thanks so much for joining us today here on Wisdom for the Heart, the Bible teaching ministry of Stephen Davey. Stephen's working through the book of Jonah in this current series and will continue in the days ahead.

But between now and the next broadcast, I want you to be aware of a very special offer that we have right now. Stephen has a hardback book that contains his practical and pastoral exposition of Jonah. And during this current teaching series, we have it available for you for the amount that it costs us to have it printed. We simply want you to have this resource in your library. Go to our website, which is wisdomonline.org. You'll find a link to this resource right on the home page.

You can also call us and we can give you information over the phone. The number here at the Wisdom International Office is 866-48-BIBLE or 866-482-4253. Well, thanks again for joining us today. We're so glad you did. Join us for our next Bible lesson tomorrow, right here on Wisdom for the Heart. you