Jonah 1:1

The Bible says in Jonah 1:1-2, “Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,[2] Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.” God gives His Word to every generation of human beings. In the days when the written Word of God was being unfolded, God gave His Word to certain individuals who made God’s Word public both by preaching it and by writing it down. The message that was given to Jonah is the same basic message that is also given to every generation. It has to do with the sin problem. We all have the same problem: we are sinners. We have done things that we ought not to have done. That is a problem because God sees and knows. Another problem with our sinfulness is that our sins can increase over time, and if we do not take care of the sin problem through faith in Christ, we can become worse and worse as time goes by. Evidently, that is what was happening in the city of Nineveh because God said in Jonah 1:2, “their wickedness is come up before me”. But God has no pleasure in the wicked that dies in their sins. God gives everyone a chance to hear the truth and repent. That is why Jesus was sent into the world to die on the cross of Calvary for the sins of the world: so that everyone could be saved. But in order to be saved, we must hear the gospel. It says in Romans 10:13-15, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.[14] How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?[15] And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!”

The Bible says in Jonah 1:3, “But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.” Of course, the key phrase in this verse is given twice: “from the presence of the LORD.” God wanted Jonah to do something, but Jonah did not want to do it. That is a common failure of Christians. It is a mistake made to our own sorrow. How strong the will of a person can be, even that of a believer. To say “no” to self and “yes” to God is not always so easy. It caused Jesus suffering, but He did it. It says in Luke 22:41-44, “And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed,[42] Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.[43] And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.[44] And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” If you can surrender to God’s will, it will lead you to happiness and fulfillment. If you cannot, you will live to regret to greatly.

But even though Jonah failed at this point in his life, God did not give up on Jonah. God had a plan for Jonah’s life, and God was going to bring that plan to fruition. Jonah ran away, but no one can run away from God. God is everywhere. God simply put His plan into effect to teach Jonah, so that Jonah would eventually learn that, yes, it is better to go God’s way. It is always best to go God’s way because Jesus loves His children and He wants what is best for them. He knows what is best. If you want to suffer, then go away from God, go against God, and do your own will instead of His will. O how good and sweet it is to walk God’s way. The wise person finds out which way God is going and goes with Him. The foolish person will be like Jonah, and learn the hard way.

The Bible says in Jonah 1:4-6, “But the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken.[5] Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and 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; and he lay, and was fast asleep.[6] So the shipmaster came to him, and 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.” These mariners had more sense than Jonah. They knew there was something wrong from a spiritual standpoint. Something wasn’t right and it needed to get fixed. Some of the biggest problems in the world are spiritual problems. Too bad that there are not more people in our society who realize that truth today. We have problems that cannot be fixed with money, that cannot be fixed with military power, and that cannot be fixed by getting everyone to vote for your favorite political party. The mariners knew what the problem was, and they also knew the solution to the problem. They said in Jonah 1:6, “call upon thy God.” Calling upon the name of Jesus is how we get saved, and it is how we get back in fellowship with God if we are a wayward Christian. If more people would call upon Jesus, not only would their souls get saved, but more problems would get solved. It says in Jeremiah 33:3, “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.”

The Bible says in Jonah 1:7-9, “And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots, and 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? and whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of what people art thou?[9] And he said unto them, I am an Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land.” Once the mariners knew that Jonah was the problem, they had a lot of questions for him. Obviously, they wanted to get to the bottom of what the problem was. Of course, Jonah knew what the problem was, and so Jonah starts talking immediately about the Lord. What we see is a certain honesty in Jonah’s character. That is probably one of the reasons that the Lord called Jonah to give the good news to the people of Nineveh. Once Jonah did talk to them, he was going to tell them what he knew about God and how to get right with God. That is all it takes to be a witness for Christ verbally: tell people what you have experienced in Christ and tell people what you believe about Jesus. Christians fail to be a good witness when they simply fail to tell the truth of what they really know. A good example of just telling the people the truth about what happened to you when you were saved is found in the book of John when Jesus healed a certain blind man, and the Pharisees wanted to be critical of Jesus for what had happened because Jesus did work on the Sabbath day by healing. It says in John 9:13-33, “The Pharisees therefore said unto him, Thou bearest record of thyself; thy record is not true.[14] Jesus answered and said unto them, Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true: for I know whence I came, and whither I go; but ye cannot tell whence I come, and whither I go.[15] Ye judge after the flesh; I judge no man.[16] And yet if I judge, my judgment is true: for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me.[17] It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true.[18] I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me.[19] Then said they unto him, Where is thy Father? Jesus answered, Ye neither know me, nor my Father: if ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also.[20] These words spake Jesus in the treasury, as he taught in the temple: and no man laid hands on him; for his hour was not yet come.[21] Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: whither I go, ye cannot come.[22] Then said the Jews, Will he kill himself? because he saith, Whither I go, ye cannot come.[23] And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world.[24] I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.[25] Then said they unto him, Who art thou? And Jesus saith unto them, Even the same that I said unto you from the beginning.[26] I have many things to say and to judge of you: but he that sent me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I have heard of him.[27] They understood not that he spake to them of the Father.[28] Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.[29] And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.[30] As he spake these words, many believed on him.[31] Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;[32] And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.[33] They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?”

The Bible says in Jonah 1:10-13, “Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and 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.[11] Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous.[12] And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.[13] Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring it to the land; but they could not: for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous against them.” Jonah was wrong when he thought that running away from the Lord and from the Lord’s will was an option to even consider. Where else is there to go? The Lord Jesus is everything for a believer. In these verses Jonah is wrong once again when the mariners ask him effectively, “OK. What can we do now?” Jonah suggested that they just throw him into the sea and let him die. Of course, Jonah was depressed, downcast, and miserable simply because he had turned away from the Lord. No Christian will have joy who is not walking in fellowship with the Lord. David wrote after he had sinned in Psalms 51:12, “Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation.” It also says in Nehemiah 8:10, “For the joy of the Lord is your strength.” If you have gone away from the Lord, of course your life is in a bad place and of course you are miserable. But the answer is not to stay miserable or to contemplate ending it all like Jonah did. The answer that the Lord has provided for everyone is to turn back to Him. That is what First John 1:9 is all about. It says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

The Bible says in Jonah 1:14-16, “Wherefore they cried unto the LORD, and said, We beseech thee, O LORD, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, O LORD, hast done as it pleased thee.[15] So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging. Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the Lord and made vows.” The spiritual heros in this chapter of Jonah are the heathen mariners, and certainly not Jonah. Well, maybe the mariners were not heathen after all, at least not after we see their prayer and attitude in this passage. The mariners cried unto the Lord for salvation. Yes, it was for the salvation of their lives; but that symbolizes crying unto the Lord for the salvation of our souls. The mariners knew that they were in a desperate situation and that they could soon perish. Too bad that more people do not realize the spiritual danger they are in respecting the destiny of their own souls. They must cry unto the Lord in order to be saved. It says in Romans 10:13, “For whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” The name of the Lord is Jesus. The mariners believed in the Lord, and they trusted in the Lord’s will and the Lord’s involvement in the whole situation. They said with faith in verse 14, “for thou, O LORD, hast done as it pleased thee.” If you really believe, then you will have confidence. You will know. If you do not have confidence like that, there are a couple of things to do: 1. Make sure you have called upon the Lord with your whole heart like these mariners did. 2. Find the great promises in the Bible that God has made and believe the promises. God always keeps His Word.

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