GOD’S MERCY

THE EVANGELICAL CHURCH WINNING ALL
(ECWA)
5007 SOUTHSIDE DRIVE
LOUISVILLE, KY 40214
(502) 375-1904
www.ecwalouisville.org, www.ecwausa.org,
ecwaky@gmail.com
TOPIC: JONAH PURSUED
TEXT:  Jonah 1:1-16
BY
Rev. (Dr.) S. K. Awoniyi

INTRODUCTION

      Prophet Jonah whose name means “Dove” (English translation) which is also symbolic of sensitivity to the Holy Spirit lived during the time of Hosea, Joel, Amos, and Obadiah when Jeroboam II (782-753B. C.) was the King in Israel.  His father’s name was Amittai, which means “The Truth of God.” That is, truthful, faithful, and trustworthiness. Some scholars said these names occur in nowhere else in the Old Testament.  Prophet Jonah came from Galilee of Gath-hepher, a small village that belonged to the tribe of Zebulun.  It’s about three miles northeast of Nazareth where our Lord Jesus Christ grew up, says: (Schrader, S. R., 1989, p. 644) & (Adeyemo, T. (General Editor) 2006, p. 1045).
According to Tokunboh Adeyemo, some scholars said either Jonah wrote the book that bears his name or by an anonymous author after the exile is not certain.  This argument was based on the fact that the text indicates God including Gentiles in His plan of salvation and on the use of the past tense.

³ Jonah obeyed the word of the LORD and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it (Jonah 3:3 NIV).     

This means Nineveh was only a memory when the book was written therefore; one or two centuries must have elapsed since the destruction of the city in 612 B. C.  However, another argument was based on the fact that the book was written by Jonah himself before the exile and close to the time of the events described. The proof for this is that God’s plan for the salvation of the Gentiles are written in the Old Testament (Gen. 19: 33-34; 1 Sam. 2: 10; Isa. 2: 2-3; Joel 3: 1-5).

1. Jonah’s Call (Chapter 1:1-2)

The Lord’s call to Prophet Jonah that says; “The word of the Lord came to Jonah” is expressed in the Old Testament about 390 times.  This phrase indicates a divine communication.  The personal name for God occurs in the Hebrew text as “Yahweh.” God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you” (Exod. 3:14). God also said to Moses, “I am the LORD” (Exod. 6:2). This is the Lord (Yahweh) who liberated the Israelis from the land bondage in Egypt. He gave them moral standard to live by (The Ten Commandments) and took them to the Promised Land. What a marvelous God that fulfilled His promise to Abraham. 

This same God commanded Prophet Jonah and said, “Get up, and go”  has He said to Prophet Elijah:
Then the word of the LORD came to him: (Elijah) ⁹ “Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Gideon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to   supply you with food”(1 Kings 17: 8-9).

The same God said to Prophet Jeremiah: Many days later the LORD said to me, “Go now to Perath and get the belt I told you to hide here (Jer. 13: 6).      

Prophet Jonah’s destination is that big city of Nineveh.  The word “Great” is used 5 times (Jonah 1:2; 3: 2, 3, 5; 4:11.  However, some people said the word was used fourteen times in the book.  In other words, the phrase specifies the greatest area of population in Nineveh.  It was very important to God; it was an object of God’s pity, which should be the focus of Jonah’s message.  Some people were concerned why God wanted to denounce Nineveh.  The reason was due to their attitude.  Nineveh was an essence of human self-exaltation and anti-God power.  An example of their character could be illustrated with Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 18:20-21); Zephaniah (2: 13); and Nahum (3: 19). The city was formerly built by Nimrod, which means to rebel.  Their ways were evil and characterized by violence (Jonah 3: 8).  They were carefree and thought to be invincible.

2. Jonah’s Rejection (Chapter 1: 3)

         When the Lord called Prophet Jonah, the first foreign missionary, he left with the hope of obeying God’s mission.  But instead of him going to East Nineveh, he went to Westward of Tarshish.  A place known as Phoenician colony on the South-West coast of Spain, says Adeyemo, T. 2006, p. 1045).  He intentionally decided to run away from his task not knowing that a repercussion would follow. That is, he put as much distance as possible between himself and where he supposed to go to. An African aphorism says, “There is nowhere on earth where the wind does not blow.” The Scripture says:

Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? ⁸ If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.⁹ If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, ¹⁰ Even there Your hand shall lead me,
And Your right hand shall hold me (Psalm 139: 7-9).

3. God’s Pursuit (Chapter 1: 4-16)

What does God’s pursuit mean?  This sentence highlights the contrast between Prophet Jonah, the disobedient servant of the Lord, and the pagan sailors who were highly committed in worshiping their idols.  When these pagan sailors interrogated Prophet Jonah, his heart or conscience was pricked.  This interrogation led to Jonah’s confession of his sins.  The Scripture says:

Then the LORD sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. ⁵ All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship.

But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. ⁶ The captain       went to him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.”. . . ⁹ He answered, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”

The Scripture says each person in the ship cried out to his “god.”  This suggests they were from different countries and they worshipped different “gods.”  When they prayed to their gods there was no answer.  This unanswered prayer convinced them to turn to the only God who answers prayers. The sailors requested Prophet Jonah to pray to his God maybe there will be solution to the storm on the sea.

Therefore they cried out to the LORD and said, “We pray, O LORD, please do not let us perish for this man’s life, and do not charge us with innocent blood; for You, O LORD, have done as it pleased You” (Jonah 1:14).

From the above passage we can see Jonah’s complacency.  That is, instead of Jonah to pray to his living and faithful God who is able to deliver and safe every person from sorrow and calamity, it was the sailors who prayed.  How long will you run away from your responsibility?  They casted lots and it fell on Jonah.  The lots effectively exposed a guilty servant of God.  The Scripture says:

In the morning therefore you shall be brought according to your tribes. And it shall be that the tribe which the LORD takes shall come according to families; and the family which the LORD takes shall come by households; and the household which the LORD takes shall come man by man. ¹⁵ Then it shall be that he who is taken with the accursed thing shall be burned with fire, he and all that he has, because he has transgressed the covenant of the LORD, and because he has done a disgraceful thing in Israel.’”
¹⁶ So Joshua rose early in the morning and brought Israel by their tribes, and the tribe of Judah was taken. ¹⁷ He brought the clan of Judah, and he took the family of the Zarhites; and he brought the family of the Zarhites man by man, and Zabdi was taken. ¹⁸ Then he brought his household man by man, and Achan the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken.
¹⁹ Now Joshua said to Achan, “My son, I beg you, give glory to the LORD God of Israel, and make confession to Him, and tell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me” (Joshua 7: 14-19).

Then, the sailors asked Jonah series of questions:

Then they said to him, “Please tell us! For whose cause is this trouble upon us? What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?” ⁹ So 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.”
Jonah Thrown into the Sea
Then the men were exceedingly afraid, and said to him, “Why have you done this?” For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them.

Jonah identified himself as a Hebrew who worshiped the Lord.  That is, he believed in the true God, the only Savior.  Jonah knew that the storm on the sea was due to his sin.  No wonder, God says He will discipline and chasten His wayward Children:

My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD,
Nor detest His correction;
For whom the LORD loves He corrects,
Just as a father the son in whom he delights (Prov. 3: 11-12).

And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons:
“My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD,
Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;
⁶ For whom the LORD loves He chastens,
And scourges every son whom He receives.” (Heb. 12: 5-6)

CONCLUSION

      Dearly beloved, why should some Christians claim to believe in God, but do not actually live in the light of the truth? How often should we keep on disobeying the biblical truth, the word of God, yet thinking we are working in the right steps with God?  What is the task the Lord gives unto you and how do you administer the task? Are you like Prophet Jonah who knew what the Almighty Father committed into his hand but stubbornly refused to comply?  In reference to D. J. Kennedy in his book “Evangelism Explosion.” He says the first Biblical principle is, “Every Christian a witness.” I wish you understand that not every Christian is called to be a pastor, but every Christian is called to be an evangelist the moment he/she is born again.  Christ’s first instruction to His disciples says: Then Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men” (Mark 1: 17).  And His last instruction before He went to heaven says: “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Are you faithfully and honestly committed to God’s work?  What are other duties you need to be involved in either as a minister or a deacon at the church you are a member?  Are you still very reluctant thinking that is not your responsibility? Where can you go, but unto the Lord?  Jesus is calling today will you be obedient to His Call?