Jonah -- Always Running  

I. AUTHENTICITY OF THE BOOK OF JONAH:

A. The Bible has many critics -- many portions (even entire books) attacked by atheists, liberals, modernists

            B. Critics have repeatedly attempted to discredit the book of Jonah.

                        1. It is treated as fiction, myth, fairy tale, etc.

            C. And yet, our Lord endorsed it as factual in the New Testament.

1. Matt. 12:38-41: "Then certain of the scribes & of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. (39) But he answered & said unto them, An evil & adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; & there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: (40) For as Jonas was three days & three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days & three nights in the heart of the earth. (41) The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, & shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; &, behold, a greater than Jonas is here

                        2. There is absolutely no reason for not accepting the canonicity or inspiration of this book.

II. THERE ARE FOUR NATURAL DIVISIONS IN THE BOOK OF JONAH:

            A. Chapter 1: Running Away From God (disobedience).

                        1. First call of God. vv. 1,2

"Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, (2) Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, & cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me." vv. 1,2

                        2. Disobedience -- he tried to run away from responsibility.

Jon. 1:3: "But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord, & went down to Joppa; & he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, & went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord."

                                    a. As Christians, too often we shirk, neglect or refuse to perform our duties.

                        3. Jonah learned the hard way that it is impossible to escape the presence of God. vv. 4-10

Jonah 1:4-10: "But the Lord sent out a great wind into the sea, & there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken. (5) Then the mariners were afraid, & cried every man unto his god, & cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; & he lay, & was fast asleep. (6) So the shipmaster came to him, & said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not. (7) & they said every one to his fellow, Come, & let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots, & the lot fell upon Jonah. (8) Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us; What is thine occupation? & whence comest thou? what is thy country? & of what people art thou? (9) & he said unto them, I am an Hebrew; & I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea & the dry land. (10) Then were the men exceedingly afraid, & said unto him, Why hast thou done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them."                        

a. Even though Jonah tried to run, God was right there & caused a mighty tempest (storm).

                                    b. God is omnipresent (everywhere).

Psa. 139:7-12: "Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? (8) If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. (9) If I take the wings of the morning, & dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; (10) Even there shall thy hand lead me, & thy right hand shall hold me. (11) If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. (12) Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness & the light are both alike to thee." 

4. Jonah learned the hard way that it is impossible to escape one's duties toward God.

                                    a. Today, there is a needed mission similar to that of Jonah: Preach to the Lost.

Mk. 16:15: "And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, & preach the gospel to every creature."

Matt. 28:19,20: "Go ye therefore, & teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, & of the Son, & of the Holy Ghost: (20) Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have com- manded you: &, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen."

                                    b. We cannot escape this duty or we will suffer the consequences.

                        5. Notice the punishment for disobedience. vv. 11-17

                                    a. He was cast overboard & swallowed by a great fish.

                                    b. We too, will be punished if we neglect or shirk our duties.

                        Jas. 4:17: "Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, & doeth it not, to him it is sin."

Rom. 6:23: "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

            B. Jonah 2: Running to God (prayer).

1. Prayed to God. Jonah 2:1-10: "Then Jonah prayed unto the Lord his God out of the fish's belly, (2) & said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the Lord, & he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, & thou heardest my voice. (3) For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; & the floods compassed me about: all thy billows & thy waves passed over me. (4) Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple. (5) The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head. (6) I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O Lord my God. (7) When my soul fainted within me I remembered the Lord: & my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple. (8) They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy. (9) But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord. (10) & the Lord spake unto the fish, & it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land."

                                    a. So we see that no place is unsuitable for prayer, (private).

Rom. 12:12: "Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant [stedfastly] in prayer."

                        I Thess. 5:17: "Pray without ceasing."

                                    b. This is so descriptive of us: Neglect God until we need him -- then we run to him for help.

                                    c. But God is always eager & willing for our return.

                                                (1) Luke 15:11-24 amply illustrates God's interest in sinners (prodigal son).

                                    d. Even the angels of heaven rejoice. Lk. 15: 7,10  

C. Jonah 3: Running With God (obedience).

1. Jonah's second call. vv. 1,2     Jon. 3:1,2: "And the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time, saying, (2) Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, & preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee."

                        2. This time he obeyed. v. 3

                                    a. "Arose, & went....according to the Word of the Lord."

                                    b. Complete submission to God is always required.

                        3. Ninevah is described as an "exceeding great city" v. 3

                                    a. It was about 60 miles in circumference or three days journey around it.

                                    b. Its walls were 100' high, 50' wide. (Wide enough for 3 or 4 chariots to run!).

                                    c. Its population is estimated to have been 600,000 to one million.

4. Jonah's preaching in Ninevah. v. 4     Jon. 3:4: "And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, & he cried, & said, Yet forty days, & Nineveh shall be overthrown."

                                    a. He preached what was needed.

                                    b. He was not like many preachers today....he got right to the point.

                        5. Notice the results:

                                    a. Straightforward preaching produced good results.

b. They repented. vv. 5-9 Jon. 3:5-9: "So the people of Nineveh believed God, & proclaimed a fast, & put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. (6) For word came unto the king of Nineveh, & he arose from his throne, & he laid his robe from him, & covered him with sackcloth, & sat in ashes. (7) & he caused it to be proclaimed & published through Nineveh by the decree of the king & his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water: (8) But let man & beast be covered with sackcloth, & cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, & from the violence that is in their hands. (9) Who can tell if God will turn & repent, & turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?"

                                                (1) The definition of repentance is here clearly illustrated.

(2) The text says nothing about repentance, however, in Matthew 12:14 Jesus said "....they repented at the preaching of Jonas."

                                                            (a) Now notice what the the people did.

                                                            (b) Repentance is a change of mind that leads to a change of life.

                                    c. Repentance is a command to saint & sinner alike.

                                    d. As a result of their repentance, they were spared by God. v. 10

(1) Jon. 3:10: "And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; & God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; & he did it not."

                                                (2) Obedience always has good results.            

D. Jonah 4: Running Ahead of God (complaining).

                        a. His attitudes & complaints are expressed in vv. 1-5

Jon. 4:1-5: "But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, & he was very angry. (2) & he prayed unto the Lord, & said, I pray thee, O Lord, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, & merciful, slow to anger, & of great kindness, & repentest thee of the evil. (3) Therefore now, O Lord, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live. (4) Then said the Lord, Doest thou well to be angry? (5) So Jonah went out of the city, & sat on the east side of the city, & there made him a booth, & sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would become of the city."

                                    (1) He was angry & hurt that Ninevah was not destroyed.

                        b. But why was Jonah so upset? There are at least two possible reasons:

(1) Personal humiliation. He had prophesied that Ninevah would fall; now his prediction had failed.

(2) Patriotism: He feared for the nation of Israel; as long as Ninevah stood, she was a threat to Israel.

c. The gourd. vv. 6-11 Jon. 4:6-11: "And the Lord God prepared a gourd, & made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd. (7) But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, & it smote the gourd that it withered. (8) & it came to pass, when the sun did arise, that God prepared a vehement east wind; & the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, & wished in himself to die, & said, It is better for me to die than to live. (9) & God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? & he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death. (10) Then said the Lord, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, & perished in a night: (11) & should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand & their left hand; & also much cattle?"

(1) Lesson: If Jonah cared for that gourd (which he had not planted) shouldn't God care for the inhabitants of Ninevah???  

III. LESSONS:

            A. It is impossible to escape: (As Paul Harvey says, "You can run, but you can't hide!).

                        1. Presence of God (God is omnipresent).

                        2. Duties to God (responsibilities to God).

                                    a. May escape punishment in this life--but it will come sooner or later.

b. Atheist farmer & Christian farmer: Atheist's crops flourish & he became wealthy, while his Christian neighbor barely survived. The atheist asked him, "Why?" In great faith his neighbor replied, "God doesn't settle all of his accounts in October!"

            B. No place is unsuitable for prayer (private). 2:1

            C. We can easily see the smallness of man versus the greatness of God.

            D. In time of distress man turns to God for help.

            E. We see God's definition of repentance: 3:10: "They turned from their evil way."

                        1. So repentance is a turning; a change of mind resulting in a change of life.

                        2. Jonah & Ninevah turned -- their repentance brought God's deliverance. Same true of us today.

F. Faith always precedes repentance. Jon. 3:5-10: "So the people of Nineveh believed God, & proclaimed a fast, & put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. (6) For word came unto the king of Nineveh, & he arose from his throne, & he laid his robe from him, & covered him with sackcloth, & sat in ashes. (7) & he caused it to be proclaimed & published through Nineveh by the decree of the king & his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water: (8) But let man & beast be covered with sackcloth, & cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, & from the violence that is in their hands. (9) Who can tell if God will turn and repent, & turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not? (10) & God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; & God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; & he did it not."

            G. The way of rebellion is hard. Prov. 13:15b     but the way of transgressors is hard."

H. We see the necessity of obedience.   Heb. 5:9: "And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;"   

I Pet. 1:22: "Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently."

  I. God's mercy is extended to ALL. God is willing to save any & all who will repent.     

II Pet. 3:9: "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."   

Acts 10:34,35: "Then Peter opened his mouth, & said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: (35) But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him."   

I Tim. 2:3: "For this is good & acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; (4) Who will have all men to be saved, & to come unto the knowledge of the truth."   

Rev. 22:17: "And the Spirit & the bride say, Come. & let him that heareth say, Come. & let him that is athirst come. & whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely."   

IV. II Rev. 22:17

   1. His plan of salvation is so simple....

  A. We need to learn that no divinely given task may be taken lightly.

   1. For example: Carrying out the Great Commission.

  B. We see the power of repentance -- it changed a decree of God Almighty!