This post is adapted from a sermon I recently preached. You can watch the sermon here (forgive the poor audio and video quality).
See my previous posts about Jonah here:
Jonah 1:1-6
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 down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord.
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 mariners 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. 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! Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish.”
In these verses, we see three things that happen when someone rebels against God.
(1) Our Rebellion Leads Us to Run from God (1-3)
Jonah was being sent by God to Nineveh, the capital city of Assyria. Nineveh was a great city in both size and in power. It was possibly the largest city in the world at the time, spanning some 1850 acres. It was the capital of the Assyrian Empire, and it was full of wicked and violent people who worshiped idols.
God was sending Jonah to warn the Ninevites of His coming wrath. God was sending Jonah to the very people who were the enemies of Israel. Why would God do this? The short answer is that He is compassionate and loving. We will see this explicitly in chapter four.
Instead of going up to Nineveh (about 500 miles NE of Israel), he goes down to Joppa to board a ship for Tarshish in order to get “away from the presence of the Lord” (v. 3). Tarshish was the farthest known western point at the time.
Jonah had a problem with his assignment from God, but he had a bigger problem with God Himself. Jonah had been given a mission that simply did not make sense to him. Jonah hated the Ninevites and he hated even more the idea that God cared for their well-being. Thus, Jonah rebelled and fled from God’s presence.
Jonah did what Adam and Eve did. They disobeyed God’s Word and tried to hide from God in a bush (Gen 3:8-13). Jonah was trying to hide in Tarshish. And like them, we rebel against God when we disobey His Word. Our rebellion causes us to run from Him.
(2) Our Rebellion Invites the Wrath of God (4-5)
Jonah was sent to a great city, but he ends up in a great storm. The text says that “the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea.” As a result of the wind, the ensuing storm was about to break up the ship (v. 4).
In response to the great storm, the professional sailors were terrified. They begin to cry out to their own gods. They hurled the cargo overboard. But Jonah, God’s prophet, is in a deep sleep. The text emphasizes that instead of going up to Nineveh, he has gone “down” to Joppa, then “down” into the inner part of the ship, and has now lain “down.”
Note the irony: pagan sailors prayed while God’s prophet slept off his rebellion.
When we are in rebellion against God, we are inviting His wrath. If you don’t think that your sin is serious, note that God has hurled a great wind in order to break up this ship and drown Jonah and the pagan sailors in the process. Why? Because Jonah disobeyed God and ran from him.
Sin is serious and invites God’s wrath.
Sin is serious and invites God’s wrath. God will wreck your plans when you are disobedient to Him. Storms have a way of waking us up to spiritual realities that we have ignored for too long. While true Christians are saved from God’s eternal wrath (Rom 8:1), the Lord still disciplines them (Heb 12:6).
(3) Our Rebellion Denies Sinners the Hope of God (6)
After the sailors hurled their cargo overboard and cried out to their gods, they are now out of options. Then suddenly, the captain remembers that Jonah is asleep below deck. He wakes up sleeping Jonah and confronts him (v. 6)
The scene drips with irony, as God’s prophet has to be told to pray by a pagan sailor. Even more, the only reason that Jonah is onboard the ship is because he is fleeing God’s presence!
The word “arise” in verse 6 is the same word that the Lord spoke to Jonah in verse 2. At this point, Jonah realizes that his plan of escape is futile and there is no escaping the presence of the Lord.
Conclusion
May the story of Jonah be a warning to us, especially if we are professing Christians that are living in sin and rebellion against God: God will have His way even if He has to wreck your boat and your plans in the process.
God will have His way even if He has to wreck your boat and your plans in the process.
If you continue living in sin and disobedience, you can expect God to bring a storm in your life.
Finally, if you are not a Christian, then like the Ninevites, your sin is storing up God’s wrath. One day you will stand before God. The only hope you have is the righteousness of Christ.
Jonah and the pagan sailors were literally in the same boat. They were headed for destruction and needed someone to still the storm. Someone who could whisper, “Peace, be still.”