He rose and He ran

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." 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.- Jonah 1:1‭-‬16 ESV

Rev. Dwight Yoo

Jonah's Rebellion

Jonah's a prophet of God. This book starts much like many other books. God commands his prophet to go to Nineveh. Jonah goes and flees in the opposite direction. He runs away from the presence of the Lord. This is an overt act of rebellion. He isn't simply lost; he is purposefully moving in the opposite direction as God has commanded.

The assyrian people were violent and a threat to Israel. Jonah want interested in holding out salvation to these people. He was called to give a warning to the enemies of the people of Israel. This warning meant that there was a chance they might repent... And God might relent and withhold judgement. For Jonah, it made no sense. Jonah saw no reason for God to be gracious to these enemies. Jonah wanted to do what he felt was right. So he rebelled in overt fashion and went in the other direction.

For some, rebellion is covert. We live virtuous lives and do all the right things, but our heart is far from God. We do good things simply so that God will bless us. It is revealed that we are in rebellion when things don't go our way. When God brings trouble, we grumble and call God callous, unkind, ungracious, stingy. We feel that God owes us something for what we do. God is not Lord over our lives. We want control over our own lives. Our lives look okay from the outside, but our hearts are far from God.

Results of Jonah's Rebellion

Jonah runs... Down to Joppa. Down into the ship.  Down into the inner parts of the ship. When we run from God, it may seem great at first, but over time, it will only become a downward spiral. The first act of rebellion may be refreshing and feels freeing. But over time, it will only hurt us more and more.

We become less and less what God made us to be. Jonah is supposed to be God's ambassador to the pagans. But the captain of the ship rouses the prophet to pray for divine intervention! The pagan calls the prophet. Jonah tells them to throw him overboard. The pagan refuses from a tender heart. But being unable to fight the storm, they relent. And throwing him overboard to find the storm calmed. Many commentators believe that the pagans likely were shocked. They likely would have stopped and offered sacrifices to this fearsome and awesome God. Many believe the sailors likely became believers.

Inner rebellion has outward consequences. Do not be fooled. There is no hidden sin that will not affect your life and slowly but surely destroy your life and the lives of those around you.

God's Response

God knew what Jonah was doing. God hurled a great storm upon the seas. God didn't send a storm to destroy Jonah. He sent one to save Jonah from himself. God can and will send trouble and trials to bring us back to himself. God rouses himself from his throne, not to smite Jonah, but to restore him.

Jesus rose from his dwelling on heaven to come for us. Jesus came to earth to chase after those who run from God. Jesus endured the storm of the crucifixion for us to bring us life and peace. He was smitten with the full wrath of God the Father. This is how we know God loves us and is for us. God is trustworthy.