Grace for Rebels

[Jonah 1]

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.

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."

And they said to one another, "Come, let us cast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us." So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. Then they said to him, "Tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us. What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?" And he said to them, "I am a Hebrew, and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land." Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, "What is this that you have done!" For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them.

Then they said to him, "What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?" For the sea grew more and more tempestuous. He said to them, "Pick me up and hurl me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you." Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to get back to dry land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them. Therefore they called out to the LORD, "O LORD, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not on us innocent blood, for you, O LORD, have done as it pleased you." So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows.

{Rev. Dwight Yoo}

Everyone knows the story of Jonah. It's a rather short book and we use it often for Sunday school. But it is still a rich book.

The rebel heart in Jonah is the rebel heart in us all

Jonah was a prophet of God. God tells Jonah to go to Nineveh. We'd expect that every prophet would respond by going to Nineveh. But instead, he gets up and goes to Joppa in the opposite direction. He plans to get on a ship to go to Tarshish... which some people believe was in Spain... far, far away from Nineveh. It is clear that Jonah is in clear rebellion to God. But as a prophet, Jonah knew that God could not be escaped. Jonah was a believer and he knew all this. This book was given to believers, you and I, for a purpose. There is no room for self-righteousness or smugness in our lives. For those who go to church regularly and serve the church, this book is for you. When we sin against God, we are rebelling. Whether it is porn, not forgiving, choosing a career for our fulfillment, not being His ambassador/witness... we choose what we want over what God tells us to do. At the root of it, we are all rebels. There are two types of rebels. There are overt rebels: defiant atheists, drug addicts, and drunkards who live as they wish... There is also religiously coated rebellion. They may go to church, they might even tithe... but they raise themselves above God. They think God owes them for their service and what they've done. It is the older brother in the story of the prodigal son. God's will is bent down to our own will. What would your response be if God told you to drop everything, literally everything and go to China, Iran, Saudi Arabia... places where sharing the Gospel could cost us God knows what. If we are honest with ourselves, we can come up with so many excuses not to do it. We would run. This is what God asks of Jonah. Nineveh is the land of his enemies. God knows what awaited Jonah there.
Consider also that there is a downward spiral to Jonah's path. He goes down to Joppa. He goes does into the ship. He lies down into a deep sleep. Jonah, a prophet, runs from God and goes to sleep during a raging storm. It is a reflection of Jonah's spiritual state. He is asleep and does not hear God. Rebellion dulls us to God's voice. And you know what happens? A pagan sailor comes to awaken Jonah. It is ironic that an unbeliever is the one who calls to the believer to "Arise!", in echo of God's call. Not only is Jonah affected, but the people around him are at risk as well. These sailors were minding their own business... but because of Jonah, their lives were now at risk in this horrendous storm.

God always gets His way

"The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps." - Proverbs 16:9

This storm is not a coincidence. God hurled it. So what happened? The sailors start hurling the cargo overboard... trying to save their lives. And then Jonah admits his fault. He tells the sailor to hurl him overboard. But they are soft-hearted! They attempt to row back to shore instead. Consider the irony... Soft-hearted pagans trying to save a rebellious believer. Not only that... but they also prayed to a god that they did not know. After they hurled Jonah overboard... and the storm quieted, the sailors learned to fear God and offered sacrifices to the LORD. Even in rebellion, Jonah witnessed to these pagans... without meaning to. Jonah was running from Nineveh... because he didn't want to witness to pagans.

Consider those who run away from God. This should give you hope. No matter how they run and curse God. If God has set His heart upon them... God gets His way.

God is gracious in our rebellion

Isn't it good that the book of Jonah doesn't end with being swallowed by a fish? Run from God and end up being fish food. God hurled that storm to awaken Jonah. God had the fish swallow Jonah to save him. God has every right to be angry. When we sin, God has every right to ask us who we are... God can tell us that we are dust... we are a mist. God has every right to hurl fury and wrath at us for our defiance. But the gospel tells us instead of wrath, Jesus comes to the land of the enemies of God... and God hurls his anger and fury at His son and sentences His son to death. So that now, God hurls only grace at us. He will stubbornly hurl His love and grace at us until we are fully His.