The Prophet Jonah

This is one of my favorite Bible stories. It is the Bible story that is so commonly told among Sunday school teachers, parents, and children. Everybody knows about that selfish, rebellious, disobedient, prophet called Jonah. But today, I’d like to put a magnifying glass on the whole story, and apply it spiritually to our own lives.

Our story unfolds in the book of Jonah, chapter one. The Bible tells us in verses one, and two, that the word of the Lord came to Jonah saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it. For their wickedness is come up before me.”

Do you remember what Jonah did? He ran from the presence of the Lord. He decided to go down to Joppa and get on a ship that was headed for Tarshish. In verse three, the Bible tells us that Jonah had to pay a fare in order to get on the ship. Now isn’t that something? He had to pay a price to run from God. Do you know it’s the same with us. There’s always a price to pay when we disobey. Disobeying dad and mom will cost you a spanking, huh? Some parents don’t always spank their kids when they need it. Kids may think they’ve gotten away with it at the time, but mark my words, later on down the road they’ll pay for it. That’s why there are so many young girls and boys in the juvenile detention center today. Some of them come from broken homes, I know that. But I’ve run into lots of them who just didn’t get a spanking when they needed it. You’ll always reap what you sow. That’s a promise from God, and he never breaks a promise.

Once I heard a little song that went like this:

Sin will take you farther, than you want to go.
Slowly, but wholly taking control.
Sin will keep you longer than you want to stay.
Sin will cost you far more than you want to pay.

The Bible says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. This is a good verse to hide in your heart.

So old Jonah got aboard this ship headed for Tarshish, and all the while he had this deep, gut feeling. You know, like the kind you get when you know you’re doing the wrong thing. Jonah decided that the best thing to do was to just sleep off the conviction that he felt. Maybe when he woke up he’d feel much better about himself. So he went down into the side of the ship, and fell fast asleep. After all, it is a tiring thing to run from God. It can just ware out a prophet of God physically, mentally, and spiritually.

Well, Jonah could rest, but not God Almighty. God is not willing that any should perish, but that all come to repentance. The word repent means, to feel pain, sorrow, or regret for something said or done. It can also mean a change of mind about wrong done in past conduct. The Lord wanted to forgive the Ninevites of their wrong conduct and sin. Their wickedness had come up before the Lord, and he had enough of it. He was ready to destroy the whole city. The Bible says that our God is longsuffering. That great city must have really worn out God’s patience, and longsuffering. God needed Jonah to go and preach to them. He wanted to give them a chance to repent from their wicked ways. Jonah chose to run from God instead. I bet your thinking that Jonah ran because he was scared of the wicked people of Nineveh, huh? No, that’s not the correct answer. But we will defiantly learn why Jonah ran later in the story. I bet it’ll surprise you.

Jonah’s ship was just gliding along on that glassy sea, and Jonah was asleep down in the side of the ship without a care in the world. In verse 4, the Bible says that God sent out a great wind into the sea, so that there was a mighty tempest. It began to get scary out there in the sea. Just imagine for a moment being way out there with those sailors. There was no land in sight, and their ship was being tossed this way and that. Those men were afraid that their ship would bust into pieces at any minute. That must have been very scary, just thinking about it nearly stresses me out. I can’t imagine the fright everyone on that ship was feeling.

The men began throwing things out of the ship into the water to lighten the load. Some men on the ship began praying. They prayed, and they cried out. But the Bible says that they prayed to their own gods. They didn’t pray to the God who made the sea, and the winds. They didn’t pray out to the God who made them. They cried out to every god they could imagine, but not to the God who caused the storm.

The whole time those men were going through that awful storm, Jonah was down in the side of the ship sound asleep. How could he sleep through all that, you might ask. I honestly don’t know how it can be done physically, but I do know how it’s done spiritually. Some Christians today are in the same boat spiritually as Jonah was physically. Most of them are running from God. They just want to sleep off the conviction, so they go to sleep spiritually. They sleep through the storms of many lost souls. Oh, shame on them. Numerous souls going to hell and the Christians are sound asleep.

In verse six, the captain of the ship found Jonah sleeping. He woke him up, and said, “Hey, wake up oh sleeper. Call upon your God. Maybe your God will think upon us, and we won’t perish.” The captain knew that every man had already called upon their gods except for Jonah. He was the only one left who had not prayed yet.

So the men of the ship got together and they said, “ Let us cast lots so that we will know who caused this evil to come upon us.”

They cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah. Now, casting lots was like playing the game, Innie, Minnie, Miney, Mo, to see who’s “it”. They took some kind of dice, and everyone picked a number. If the dice fell on someone’s number, that person would be picked.
Well, Jonah could not beat the odds this time. He had God on his trail, and he knew it. After seeing that the lot fell on Jonah, the men had lots of questions for him.

“Why is this evil come upon us? What is your occupation? Where did you come from?” and, “Who are your people?” Boy, they were filled to the brim with questions for him to answer.
Well, with his head hanging low, Jonah’s reply was this in verse 9. “I am an Hebrew, and I fear the Lord of heaven who made the sea, and the dry land.”

Then Jonah continued to tell the men about how he had disobeyed his God and that now he was running away from him. The men were horrified by this, and greatly afraid. “Why have you done this thing? What are we going to do with you now, so that the sea may be calm for us? They asked.

Jonah told the men to throw him overboard, and then the sea would be calm once again. He knew that it was because of his sin, that God sent that big storm.

The men did not want to throw Jonah over board, so they tried to row harder, and harder. They tried hard to get the ship back to land, but all was in vain. You know, you just can’t win against God. So finally, the men cried out to God, (verse 14), and said, “We beseech thee, oh Lord, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not upon us innocent blood. For thou, oh Lord, has done as it pleased thee.”

The men regretfully picked Jonah up, and threw him overboard. Right away, the sea was calm. You know, it wouldn’t have been right for all the men on that ship to die just because of one man’s sin, would it? Some of those men probably had families back home. And if they didn’t have families of their own, I’m sure there were probably young men aboard that ship who had mothers that missed them back home. Boy, if Jonah had not been thrown over board that day all those men could have died. Not only would they have suffered, but their families would have suffered as well. A whole lot of people would have been affected by just one man’s disobedience.
After the sea became calm again, the Bible says that the men on board that ship feared the Lord exceedingly. The Bible says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. I think those men wised up that day, don’t you? The Bible tells us that they even offered up sacrifices to the Lord that day, and made vows to him.

Now the Bible says (verse 17) that the Lord prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. Jonah was in the belly of that fish three days and three nights. And Jonah prayed to God out of the fish’s belly. The Bible says in chapter 2 verse 2, that God heard his cries, and his prayers. Jonah said, “Out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice.”

Do you know that Jesus was in the heart of the earth three days and three nights? And do you know that hell is in the heart of the earth? It is a bottomless pit, just as fruit has a pit, and it is round and bottomless. Hell is in the pit of the earth.

In verse three Jonah said, “For thou hast cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about. All thy billows and thy waves passed over me. Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple.”

Jonah goes on to say that the waters compassed him about, and the weeds were wrapped around his head. He went down to the bottom of the mountains and the bars of the earth were around him. But when his soul fainted within him, he remembered the Lord.

Isn’t that just like human nature? A lot of times we don’t think about God until we are in trouble. Like Jonah, we get too busy with our own lives and what we want to do that we forget that souls are dying and gong to hell every day. God’s interested in saving souls. He said that he’s not willing that any should perish. He was ready and willing to forgive Nineveh, but there was one problem. His messenger wasn’t willing to go. God wanted to warn those Ninevites against their sin. He didn’t want to destroy them. God just needed to get old Jonah alone, even if it was in the belly of a fish, to show him that souls are what’s more important to him. Jonah repents in the deep, and in verse nine he says, “Salvation is of the Lord.”

Just as soon as Jonah made that realization, in verse ten, the Lord speaks to the fish, and it vomits out Jonah up on dry land. Salvation is not of us. It is of the Lord.

All God had to do was speak to the fish, and it obeyed. The fish wasn’t like Jonah was it? It didn’t complain to God and say, “God, you want me to vomit up this wonderful, tasey meal I ate three days ago?” He didn’t complain to God at all, he just obeyed right away. I’m telling you, we need to learn a lesson from that fish about obedience. Because that fish listened and obeyed, all of Nineveh was saved. Just think of what would have happened if it wanted to keep that yummy morsel in his tummy. What if that fish wanted to live after the flesh instead of obey God. All the people of Nineveh would have been destroyed. Obedience= Salvation, disobedience=destruction. It’s as simple as that.

You know what? Jonah had to die to his flesh in order for God to work through him. And because Jonah finally died to the flesh, the men aboard that ship saw that Jonah’s God was the true God. The only way lost people can see the Lord is through our obedience to him. When we die to our flesh, the Lord can use us in mighty ways. Now, you might be saying, “How can I die to the flesh? I’m just a child.”

Well, it’s like this. The most important word that a child can learn, is OBEY. It’s just a little four letter word, but it holds the true meaning of salvation, God’s will, happiness, and what the future holds for your life. You, as a child, can die daily to your flesh simply by obeying mom and dad, even when you don’t want to. When mom tells you to do something, and you say, “Yes Ma’am,” and do it with the right attitude, that’s dieing to your flesh. Dieing to the flesh is just simply doing something right even if your flesh doesn’t want to. Do you realize what that would do in front of a lost person? Just your obedience to your parents alone could help play a big part in winning souls to Christ. Just like the men aboard that ship saw that Jonah’s God was the true God, people can see how real our God is, when we die to the flesh.

So now Jonah died to his flesh, he repented of his sins, the fish obeyed God, and spit Jonah up on the shore. Now Jonah is ready to listen to reason. The Lord comes a second time to him, and says, “Arise and go to Nineveh that great city, and preach to it the preaching that I bid thee.”
Jonah got right up this time, and he didn’t waste any time getting to Nineveh. The Bible tells us that Nineveh was a three day journey from where Jonah was at the time. And do you know that Jonah made that three day journey in just one day. Just imagine, the only way he could have done that was to run the whole way, and not stop to sleep, rest, or eat. I believe that’s exactly what he did, with God’s help of course. Remember, God wants to save souls.

As soon as Jonah got into Nineveh, right away he started preaching. He didn’t take a break. He didn’t get anything to eat. He didn’t even take a shower or comb his hair. He just went right in preaching. There was no time to waste.

Can you imagine what he must have looked like or smelled like. I mean, he had just spent three days in the slimy, smelly belly of a fish. Can you imagine those people even wanting to listen to such an awful smelling, ugly looking sight?! But they did. They listened, and even the King listened. God probably started dealing with their hearts before Jonah even got there.

Jonah preached, and told them that in just forty days God would destroy Nineveh if they did not repent. The people believed God. And the Bible tells us in chapter 3, verse 5 that the people proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth and ashes from the greatest of them to the least of them. Even the King himself arose from his throne, took off his royal robe, and put on sackcloth. Not only did he put on sackcloth, but he sat in ashes too. The King made a decree that no one, not even beast, herd, or flock could eat anything. He even went as far as to say don’t even taste anything, or drink any water. The decree also said that every man and beast should be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God.

In verse ten, God saw that they meant business, and that they were truly sorry for their sins. God forgave them, and did not destroy them. He repented of the evil that he was going to do to them. I’m so glad, God can have a change of mind, aren’t you? He’s such a merciful God. I’m so glad he can be moved by sinners.

Jonah looked around at all the people praying and repenting of their sins, and anger began to rise up in his heart. Do you know why Jonah gets so mad? Well, he was mad at God for sparing such a wicked city. He thought that the city should be punished for it’s wickedness. So now the truth comes out. You know, sometimes when we get mad, we start telling our true feelings. Jonah tells the Lord in chapter 4 verse 2 why he’s mad, and why he ran from him. Jonah said to God, “ I knew you were a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness. And I knew you would not destroy the city if the people repented of their sins and got things right with you.” But it didn’t stop there. Jonah got so mad and upset with God, he told God that he’d rather die than live any longer.

This story of Jonah shows me just how low God Almighty will reach down to save a sinner. He’ll stoop mighty low, as low as it takes, as long as that sinner repents of his sins. I’m so glad God is slow to anger, aren’t you? I know some Christians who are like Jonah. They’d rather die than watch God reach down and save an old dirty bum. We should never think too highly of ourselves. The Bible says we need to watch out for ourselves because we are capable of committing the same sin as anybody else. Don’t you dare think, just because we are raised in a Christian home, that we aren’t capable of committing some of the lowest sins on this earth. The Bible gives us plenty of warning against our flesh. The flesh is so very wicked. Yes, even the flesh of little Sunday School kids. The way we can help keep our flesh in check, is to hide God’s word in our hearts. Why? That we might not sin against God.

We better get back to our story and find out what’s going on. So God looks down upon Jonah, and he sees those arms crossed, and that mad look on Jonah’s face. Jonah looked just like a child who didn’t get his way. The Lord asked Jonah in a still, small voice. “ Doest thou well to be angry?” God asked Jonah if he had a reason for his anger. Notice that God asked him a question. God wanted to communicate with Jonah. He wanted Jonah to talk to him. He knew what Jonah’s problem was, but he wanted to hear it from Jonah.

But Jonah didn’t answer God. He just went out of the city, and made himself a booth and sat down underneath it. Jonah thought to himself, “I’m just going to sit here and watch for a while, to see whether God’s going to destroy this city or not.” While Jonah was sitting there pouting, the Lord made a gourd to come up over Jonah and shadow his head from the sun. Boy, the Lord was trying to be a blessing to Jonah, even though he was sitting there mad and pouting like a child. I’m glad God is not like we are. Aren’t you? I’m glad he doesn’t pout when things don’t go his way. And believe me, things don’t always go the way the Lord wants them to go. He wants everybody to be saved, but not everyone is going to accept God’s Son. He wants all children to obey their parents, but not all will obey. And when that happens, that’s not his fault. It’s ours. He always has a perfect plan for our lives, but there are plenty of times we go our own way and not the way the Lord planned.

I’m glad God still talks to us, even when we’re wrong, aren’t you? God has been like that with me a lot of times. There’s been several times when I’ve gotten mad at God about certain things. And he comes to me gently, and calm, and says, “ Doest thou well to be angry Ruthie? Why don’t you just obey and trust me. I have promised that all things work together for good to them that love me, and who are called according to my purpose.”

The Bible tells us chapter 4 verse 6, that Jonah was exceedingly glad for the gourd. He sat there enjoying that nice, cool shade. And I bet God was just waiting for Jonah to say he was sorry, but Jonah never said a thing to God.

So in verse 7, God prepared a worm the next morning, and it started gnawing and eating away at the gourd. That little worm got crunching and munching away on that gourd, and boy let me tell you, he was in worm heaven. That was the best tasting gourd he’d ever eaten, and he couldn’t take just one bite. Have you ever eaten something and it tasted so good, you just had to have more, and more, and more? Well, I sure have. Anyway, this little worm just gorged himself out on this gourd. Now, that little worm didn’t question God at all, did he? He didn’t say, “God, you want me to eat this whole thing!? That’s a mighty big gourd God. I don’t think I can do it.” No he didn’t question, or back talk God, he just went right to work doing what God designed him to do.
God said to him, “hey little worm, I’ve got a big job for you to do.” And that worm listened the first time God spoke. What a mighty big lesson we can learn from a little worm.

Later that day when the sun rose, God prepared a strong east wind, and the sun beat down upon Jonah’s head so hot that he fainted. He was so miserable, and wished in his heart that he would just go ahead and die.

God spoke again to Jonah and said, “Doest thou well to be angry because of the gourd?”
It was like God was trying to help him out a little and give him something to be angry about. Have you ever been whining or crying about something and your dad or mom said to you, “Would you like me give you something to cry about?” What that meant when I was growing up was a big spanking.

Well, Jonah’s reply was that of a bitter backslider. His answer to God was, “I do well to be angry, even unto death.”

And God said to him, “Jonah, you were so happy about the gourd coming up and covering your head from the sun. You didn’t work for that gourd, you didn’t cause it to grow. I’m the one who made it, and you reaped the benefits of it. Yet when the gourd dried up and perished, you were upset. In that great city of Nineveh there are more than six score thousand people that would have been destroyed had they not repented. These people couldn’t even discern between their left han, and their right. They weren’t taught right from wrong. Not only that, but the people have much cattle, and all the cattle would have died with the people. Jonah, oh Jonah, you cared more about a gourd perishing, than you did six score thousand people and their cattle?”

Boy, God really dumped it on Jonah when it was God’s turn to do some talking. You know, Jonah didn’t make those people. Jonah didn’t put a lot of work into those people. But God did. God cared about those people he created, and he was concerned about them. He didn’t want to destroy them at all. God never makes mistakes. He didn’t make those people to destroy them. Our God isn’t like that at all. He’s merciful, slow to anger, and full of grace. Jonah knew that. That’s why he ran. He didn’t have much of a heart for lost and dying souls, did he? You know, the Bible never tells us if Jonah ever got right with God, or not. But I’m sure glad the Lord recorded this story in the Old Testament for our learning.

Some years ago, archeologists discovered the buried site of a great city called Ninevah. It is believed to be the same one we know from the Bible. In the remains of that city they found a tomb called “the tomb of Jonah”. It could be that Jonah spent the rest of his life there. Perhaps in peace with people who respected him. We really won’t know till glory.