Jonah was a pretty popular guy in Israel. He got a really great message that told the Israelites about how their borders were expanding and how Israel was getting back land they had lost over the years. (2 Kings 14:25)
Of course, this is not the Jonah of Sunday school stories. This is just a brief snapshot of Jonah in his heyday, one verse about when he had the message people wanted to hear and he wanted to deliver.
I didn’t read about that Jonah today. I read about the angst-filled, depressed, suicidal Jonah who tried to run as far away from God and his plan as possible, and made that widely known to the people he traveled with. I read about the Jonah who cried in desperation for God’s deliverance when he was being digested by a great fish. I read about the Jonah who began preaching the day he hit his mission field, and caused a revival amongst over 120,000 sinners. Let’s dive in to the story of Jonah.
1. God tells his followers to get up and go
I think that it’s safe to say that if the events in 2 Kings came before the events in the book Jonah, then he was probably sitting back on his haunches enjoying the popularity and favor. So God gives him the message (Jonah 1:1) to “Get up and go.” And not just to anywhere, but to the capital and largest city of a huge foreign empire, both of which are evil places. So evil I can’t even mention it in this blog without making the whole thing totally inappropriate. God chose Nineveh, a difficult place to send his follower…
2. His followers will not often listen and sometimes even try to get away from the Lord and his commands
Jonah. A guy listed in 2 Kings as a servant of the God of Israel. A guy who ran as far away from God’s plan for him as physically possible (Jonah 1:3). If this map is any indication of where Tarshish was compared to Nineveh, it was really far away. Continents apart. In the NLT, it says Jonah was “hoping to escape from the Lord.”
3. In times of trouble, the world seeks help from many places
When the storm was threatening to break the ship apart that Jonah was on, the sailors prayed to all of their gods, but they also relied on their own strength by throwing cargo overboard to lighten the ship (Jonah 1:5).
4. Jonah told the sailors who he was running away from before telling them it was also the God he worships
In Jonah 1:10, it mentions that Jonah had already told the sailors that he was running away from the Lord at the beginning of the voyage, but it took until verse 9 for him to say that he was a worshiper of that God. Do we show with our actions that we are fleeing from God’s will before we show that we are worshiping him? Are we hiding what we should be doing under what we are doing as Christians?
5. God can inspire worship even from those that do not know him, shouldn’t those who know him be more inspired?
The sailors cried out to the Lord, then when the storm stopped were so awestruck by God’s power that they offered sacrifices and vowed to serve him (Jonah 1:14-15).
6. It is important to praise God and lift prayers to him amidst troubles
Jonah praised God and prayed for deliverance while inside the fish. In the midst of his great problem, which was being digested, he offered praise to God. (Jonah 2)
7. God will keep reminding you of His will, because it’s still there.
Jonah 3:1 says the Lord spoke to Jonah a second time. He doesn’t give up on us or on getting his will accomplished.
8. Take action for God immediately and actively
Verse 4 says that on the very day that Jonah got to the city, he shouted to the crowds the message from God. He hit his mission field and immediately took action in a loud and visible way for God. And the people were changed (Jonah 3:6-10).
9. When God’s plans differ from ours, we have no right to complain
God will is perfect, and as much as we can feel upset by it, we have no right to be (Jonah 4:4). God showed mercy, love, and compassion to the people of Nineveh. Jonah did not like this, but God feels for his hurting people because he put humanity here and wants it to flourish. Christ’s blood was shed for and ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and nation (Revelation 5:9) and we must aim to show Christ’s love to everyone, even to those we don’t think deserve it. Even if we are stubbornly against it like Jonah, God has a master plan of what is best for us that he will continually offer us.
Parting Thoughts
Let us part with a thought from the prayer of Jonah, taken out of Jonah 2:9: “But I will offer sacrifices to you with songs of praise, and I will fulfill all my vows. For my salvation comes from the Lord alone.”
May you remember the Lord today and choose, as Jonah did, to pursue God’s will,
-Zachariah