Jump Start # 2384

Jonah 1:3 “But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. So he went down to Joppa, found a ship which was going to Tarshish, paid the fare, and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.”

Jonah in July—that’s the name of a series I’m preaching on Sundays. We love the story of Jonah. It’s a favorite for VBS. This short book is more about the prophet than it is his message or the people he preached to. There are layers of lessons tucked throughout Jonah and I thought on Mondays in July, I’d share some Jonah thoughts with you.

The story is pretty simple. God tells the prophet to go preach to Nineveh. Jonah doesn’t want to, so he goes the other way. A great wind. A great storm. And, Jonah is tossed overboard. A great fish swallows Jonah and three days later spits him out on dry land. Jonah goes and preaches. He sits and pouts because he knows God will be gracious to them.

A couple of things we need to remember. First, this isn’t in our Bibles so we’d have something to teach the kids in Bible class. That’s not the direction nor the intention. It is as valuable of a prophetic book as Isaiah, Jeremiah or Ezekiel is.

Second, Jonah being swallowed by the giant fish wasn’t God’s unique way of punishing Jonah. If God wanted Jonah punished, He could have allowed the storm to destroy the boat or have Jonah drown when he was thrown overboard, or have any ole’ sea creature eat him. God wasn’t finished with Jonah. The fish to Jonah was what the pigs were to the prodigal. The giant fish was Jonah’s wake up call. In the first chapter, when the violent storm is nearly capsizing the boat, the sailors are praying. Jonah is sleeping. The captain wakes Jonah up with the plea to pray to his God. Jonah doesn’t pray. It’s not until he is inside the giant fish that he prays. God has a way of getting a person to change his mind. It was either repent or become fish food.

Our verse today illustrates two things running through Jonah’s mind.

First, he intended to go to Tarshish. I always thought he happened to find a boat that was heading there and that was good enough for him. Instead, “Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish”. That was his destination. That’s where he wanted to go. Tarshish is in Spain. It was a long way from where Jonah was. I’m not sure how he knew or heard about this place, but that was his choice of places to go. Maybe he thought once he got there, it just wouldn’t be practical for God to bring him back to Nineveh. Adam and Eve thought they could hide from God. He knew where they were. Jonah is thinking that he can run away. God knew right where he was at, and no distance is too far for God.

Second, twice our verse tells us that Jonah was not so much running from Nineveh, but the presence of God. He was trying to get away from God. How shallow was his thinking. David declared in Psalms, “Where can I go from Thy presence?” Up to Heaven, God is there. Down into the depths of the sea, God is there. There is no escaping God. Nothing goes unnoticed by God. There is no surprising God.

And, what we find so abundant in Jonah is the thought that he was a prophet with an attitude. A pouting prophet. A prejudiced preacher. A preacher who didn’t want to do what God told him. A preacher who didn’t want Nineveh to listen to his message. A preacher who longed to be a failure. And, this lesson is sprinkled throughout this book. God says go “east,” and Jonah went “west.” The pagans are praying and Jonah is sleeping. The pagans even tell Jonah that he should pray. For a man of God, Jonah certainly seems ungodly. We don’t find Jonah drunk. We don’t find Jonah chasing women. But what we do find is Jonah has a mind and an attitude that is very different from God’s. Jonah is not thinking like God. Jonah leaves footprints that no one should follow. And, this I wonder is why God has preserved this story for us. It’s not so much about the Assyrian short term repentance. It’s about a man of God who doesn’t act very godly. It’s a lesson for us.

There are times when the people of the world can act more “Christ-like” than Christians do. Something bad happens and the Christian is threatening war. The man in the world calls for patience and forgiveness. Oh, we forgot about that. The man in the world can be more generous than the Christian is. Although the Christian proudly sings, “This world is not my home…” he certainly can act as if it is. The man in the world can be more friendly, kinder and pleasant than the Christian can be. Oh, doctrinally, we’ve got the man in the world beat. But in spirit, the man in the world can teach the Christian a lesson or two.

So, from all of this we must remember:

• We are on a journey and we must never stop learning and growing closer to Christ. The world can teach us things and we need to listen. Sometimes we don’t do a good job. Neighbors who are not Christians can be more helpful to a hurting family than the Christian. Jesus reminds us in the judgment parable, I was hungry and you gave me no food. I was in prison and you did not visit. Sometimes we drop the ball. Sometimes we let others down. Learn from this and do better.

• Preachers aren’t perfect. Jonah is the classic example. Because a person knows the word of God does not mean that he is walking in that word himself. He ought to be, but he may not. Preachers can get attitudes that are not right. Preachers can be smug, standoffish and close their hearts to others. The whole city of Nineveh repented at the preaching of Jonah. What a glorious day! Jonah should have been so happy and thankful. Instead, he sat up on a hill and had a pity party. Our Nineveh may be people of a different color or nationality. It may be those who dress differently than we do. It may be those who seem wild to us. We don’t want those kind of people here, is the language of Jonah. We best be careful. God may not want us, because of our narrow attitudes. The Jews didn’t like who was coming to hear Jesus preach. The “sinners” were found among Jesus. Simon had the Jonah spirit in him. Jesus came to Simon’s house and the Lord was not welcomed much at all. No washing His feet. No kiss of welcome. But a sinful woman came. She kissed Jesus’ feet and with her tears and hair, she washed His feet. Rather than feeling a bit embarrassed because he didn’t do those things, Simon’s anger grew because of “what kind of woman” she was. Jesus used this to teach Simon a lesson.

We need that lesson. Stop giving the death stare to someone who walks in with pink hair. Stop the whispering when someone with their tongue pierced sits among us. They could be in bed. Worse, they could be out back smoking dope. Instead, they came to the house of God. They are seeking. They may be Nineveh to us, but God loves them.

Jonah reminds us that because a man preaches does not mean that he has all the answers nor is the best example. Jonah needed to change as much as Nineveh needed to change. Jonah, who was given a second chance, had a hard time giving Nineveh a second chance. And, the spirit of Jonah is found in the prodigal’s older brother. Cold. Hard. Unforgiving. And what that older brother missed was a celebration and a feast.

Have you closed the door of your heart to some people? Would you rather some go to Hell rather than Heaven? Are you content with some co-workers, neighbors, or family members who remain outside of Christ? Would you rather than stay on the outside? Would your first words be, “What are you doing here?” if they showed up?

Maybe that’s why we have Jonah in our Bibles. A prophet without a heart. A preacher who didn’t care. That’s Jonah. Could that be me and you as well? Maybe it’s time we looked more in the mirror and pointed our finger less at others. Maybe there is a bit more of Jonah in us than we’d like to admit. And, maybe, just maybe, through the book of Jonah, we can be more like Christ.

Roger

Jump Start # 2125

Jonah 1:3 “But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. So he went down to Joppa, found a ship which was going to Tarshish, paid the fare and went down into it to go to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.”

In our Jump Start yesterday, we saw the pagans were praying to their gods while Jonah was sleeping. A great storm caused the sailors to fear for their lives. The pagans were doing what Jonah should have been doing.

There is another powerful scene in these opening verses of Jonah. Given the commission by God to go to the Assyrian capital of Nineveh and preach, Jonah, instead went down to the docks to find a boat that would take him to Tarshish, which is the opposite direction, near Spain. We are not told what was running through Jonah’s mind, other than he just didn’t want to see a foreign nation receive the blessings of God’s forgiveness. The Assyrians were not God’s people. They were not of Abraham, nor did they have the law of Moses. Jonah didn’t agree with God. Jonah wasn’t going to do it. You can’t make me, must have run through Jonah’s mind.

Maybe Jonah thought if he got to Tarshish, it just wouldn’t be practical for God to send him. Maybe God would pick another prophet and Jonah would be off the hook. Maybe, Jonah thought that God wouldn’t find him. He certainly wouldn’t expect the prophet to be over there. Whatever the reason, Jonah disobeyed God and went the other way.

Now, some obvious and practical lessons:

First, when a person wants to disobey God, Satan will always have a boat waiting for you to go the other way. Imagine Jonah went to the docks and every boat was heading toward Nineveh. That wasn’t the case. Imagine Jonah went to the docks, but he didn’t have enough money to go to Tarshish. There was a boat waiting and Jonah just happened to have the right amount. But there was another trip that Jonah took before he boarded the boat to Tarshish. He had left God in his mind and his heart. Like the prodigal in Luke 15, the boy was in the far country long before he ever approached his father about the inheritance. Jonah that thought this out. He had made up his mind that he was not going to do what God said. His thoughts turned to planning his escape.

Often our sins work the same way. Long before we actually commit a sinful act, our hearts and our minds have planned things out. Impulsive sin happens, such as anger, saying offensive words, even violence. Crimes of passion are different than premediated crimes. Jonah thought this out. He had to take money with him for the trip. He planned all of this.

Satan will do this for you. If you want to leave your marriage, Satan will put someone in your life to have a sexual affair with. He will build the reasons, fill your mind with excuses to justify it and even have an opportunity for you to carry out your lustful thoughts.

If you want to steal from your company, Satan will open doors of opportunity for you. He make it possible for you to do this. He’ll give you the moment when you actually do this. He’ll fill your head with reasons why this makes sense.

If you want to leave the people of God and worship with a modern church that doesn’t follow the Bible very closely. It may be edgy, hip and really exciting. You’ll find a place like that, if you are looking. There will be a reason for you to go. You’ll blame the boring and lifeless church you have been a part of. You’ll be convinced that there is very little difference between the two. All the time, you are sailing away from God and heading toward Tarshish.

There is always a boat waiting for you, if you want to leave God.

Second, even though Jonah was getting farther and farther away, God did not change what He expected of Jonah. Jonah was the prophet of God’s choice to go and he would go. There are times when we may want to walk away from our responsibilities but we can’t. Once you’ve said, “I do,” you don’t change that. You don’t say, “I’m tired of being married, I want to be single again.” Once that little baby comes into your life, you can’t say, “I’m tired of being a parent, I don’t want kids any more.” You may not want the obligations that come with being a church member, such as fellowship, attending worship, helping others. You may not want all the comes with being a Christian any more. I don’t want to be holy. I don’t want to do what God wants me to do. There may come a time when jumping on that boat heading the other way seems so appealing. Just me and myself. No more headaches. No more responsibilities. No more answering to other people. I get to do just what I want. That may sound exciting and it may be the foundation of several movies, but the story of Jonah reminds us that God didn’t let Jonah off the hook. He was the choice to go to Nineveh and God expected that to happen. A great storm. A great fish. Three days in the belly of that fish. And, a second chance to get it right all reminds us that we have things that God expects of us.

Dropping the kids off at the church building on Sunday morning, while you go back to bed doesn’t get you off the hook of what God expects from a parent. It isn’t the church, the school or society that is to raise your children. It’s you. You may get tired. You may not want to be a parent any longer. However, this is where you are and this is what God expects of you.

Thirdly, some folks pour so much effort into finding that boat heading the other way, if they had just stuck with what God said, things would have been much easier in their lives. I remember all the trouble some went through in college to cheat on tests. One guy somehow gutted his watch, wrote the answers to what he thought was on the test in tiny strips of paper and put them in his watch. As he wound the watch, his answers would appear. If the guy had only poured that much time into studying, none of that would have been necessary. Another guy, wrote the answers on his arms, legs and fingers. Again, that took a lot of effort to do all of that. Just study for the test. Revenge is like that. Someone hurts you and you stay awake at night thinking of how you can get back at that person. Just forgive them as God wants you to. Proverbs reminds us that the wicked plans evil. This is nothing more that looking for a boat to take us away from what God wants us to do. Just do what God says.

Finally, God knew all of this. It was God who tells us this story, not Jonah. Jonah thought he was fleeing God. He never did. God was aware every step of the way. So, He is with us. There is no getting around God. There is no fleeing from God. Most times, the person who runs from responsibilities, finds their life messier than they ever thought. For Jonah, it was being inside the belly of a fish. I can only imagine what that smelled like and how dark that was. For the prodigal, it was wanting to eat what the pigs were eating. Neither ever saw that picture when they were leaving. It was grand dreams of a great time. That went away quickly. Misery, guilt and shame is what follows when we flee God. We need to see that God’s way is more than just right, it works. Both Jonah and the prodigal had too much of self in them. They wanted to do what they wanted to do. Like those run-a-ways, we can do exactly the same. We start saying, “I don’t want to…” or, “I never get to do what I want to do.” We sing, “Woe is me.” Me. Me. Me. That’s the first thought that leads to searching for a boat that is going the other way. Discipleship is denying self. It’s seeking first the kingdom of God. It’s putting the interest of others before you. When we get thinking too much about our self, our feelings, our way, we’ll soon be on a boat heading toward Tarshish. God will take care of you. Just do what the Lord says.

Maybe it’s time to get off the boat and get back to what God wants you to do.

Roger

Jump Start # 1432

Jonah 1:3 “But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. So he went down to Joppa, found a ship which was going to Tarhish, paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.”

  Most of us know the story of Jonah, the run-a-way prophet who was swallowed by a large fish, spit out on dry ground and eventually did what God wanted him to do. Many of us grew up hearing these lessons in VBS and Bible classes. A couple of thoughts before our verse. First, this is more than just a STORY, it really happened. Jesus referred to this as a historically real account. Many would like to discount this. Many believe there is no way that this could happen. They are right, if you are looking for a natural story in a natural setting. It couldn’t.  God was involved throughout this. It was God who caused the storm. It was God who prepared the fish. It was God who caused Jonah to be swallowed and kept alive. It was God who made the fish spit Jonah out on dry land. God, God, God. Second, this is in our Bible, not for children, but for adults. God didn’t write a “children’s section” of the Bible. These are not the teen devos section. All the Bible is written to develop, build and sustain faith in the Lord. This section does just that.

Our verse today is amazing. God told Jonah, in the previous verse, to go to Nineveh and preach. Nineveh was the capital city of the Assyrians. They were mean and pagan. In time, it would be the Assyrians that would march on Israel and capture them. But here, God is opening a door to a foreign country for repentance. Jonah was commissioned and sent. Jonah ran the other way.

In our verse Jonah decides to go to Tarshish, about as far in the opposite direction as he could go. We are not told the reasons why Tarshish, but a good guess would make us think that it would be too far for God to send him. He would have to find another prophet. Jonah wasn’t going, and that was that.

How interesting that Jonah, deciding that the spot he’ll run to would be Tarshish, just happens to find a ship going there. His plans would have been crushed had there been no ships heading that way or had he literally “missed the boat.” Not only did he find a ship going where he wanted, he was able to pay the fare. We are not told how much it cost to get to Tarshish, but ole’ Jonah must have had just the right amount. Again, imagine Jonah finding the right ship, but the fare being way to expensive for him. God’s fingers could have done all of that. No ship. Missed the ship. Too expensive to get a ticket. But God allowed Jonah’s little plan to come together. Our verse ends with Jonah going down inside the boat, confident that he had out maneuvered God and won the battle of the wills. He dug his heels in and refused to go and it looks like he won.

Rather than moving on through Jonah, we need to stop and see some lessons here.

First, a person tends to find what they are looking for. If a person is looking for a ship going away from God, one will be provided. Satan will do that. He’s always ready and eager to take someone away from the Lord. People see what they are looking for. Some, always seem to be in trouble. Why is it that way? They found what they were looking for. Others tend to lean to the negative side of life. They see what’s wrong. They can walk into a building, even a church building, and these folks spot the cobwebs in the corners, a piece of paper left on the floor and they will see things from the negative side. Others would never see what they see. Why is it that way? They found what they were looking for. When a person is compelled to go do something that they don’t want to do, they will find the negative. They will have reason to complain. The wait was long. The price, expensive. Too much of that and too little of that. They found what they were looking for.

Now, imagine that concept driven in the right direction. Imagine a person finding God in the house of worship. Imagine the joy and warmth of fellowship that he found in the house of God. The smiles would fill his face. The happiness would warm his soul. Cobwebs aren’t even worth mentioning when you are talking about praising God. You tend to find what you are looking for.

Second, Satan always provides. He’s good at that. If you are set on doing wrong, Satan will provide not only the opportunity for you to do wrong, but also a crowd to join you. A person doesn’t have to do wrong by themselves. There is a fellowship of wrong doers. Satan arranges that. Get a young person who wants to go out at night and do some meanness, a couple of phone calls later and he has several who will join him. Satan provides. A man who is thinking about stealing, an opportunity will come up. A man who is thinking about leaving his marriage, there will be an occasion to do that. Jonah wanted to run. He did. He was given the chance. The boat was there and the fare was affordable. All just right for one who wanted to do wrong. Satan provides.

Third, you can never leave the presence of God. Jonah, hiding in the belly of that boat, lying on his bunk, must have thought, “Now, I’m ok.” He wasn’t. God knew where he was. God had Jonah in sight the entire time. The same goes for us. The man who walks away from church and declares that I’m done with religion and this Bible stuff, hasn’t left the presence of God. The Lord still sees him. The Lord still has him on His radar. We may run from our obligations and responsibilities, but we can never escape the presence of the Lord. A person can deny the Lord, He is still there. A person can rebel against God, He is still there. A person can run, the Lord is still there.

Fourth, you and I have things that God wants us to do. Like Jonah, we may not feel like doing them. Some things are easy and nice, such as loving our family and raising them right. Others are difficult and we may not want to do them. Those things would include worshipping God regularly, being the light of the world, telling others about Jesus. It is some of those things that may make some of us to head to the harbor and start looking for a boat. We can’t “cafeteria” God. We cannot pick out the nice things He wants us to do and ignore the difficult ones. I’m sure Jonah would have made a fine prophet in Israel. God wanted him to go to Nineveh. It’s easier for us to blend in with the world than to stand out. It’s easier for us to be silent than it is to speak out. It is easier for us to hide in the church than it is to be a soldier of Christ in a world that doesn’t care. Run like Jonah. Hide like Jonah. Or, simply do what God wants us to do.

There is a path to Nineveh or there is a boat waiting down at the dock. Which one are you going to be taking today? Easy isn’t always right. Convenient isn’t always the best. Trust and obey or run the other way…

Roger