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.
(Jonah 1:3)
In the way of postscript to yesterday’s Introduction of this book, I will add
that the Book of Jonah is not simply an account of what happened in the life of
a single prophet of the ancient day, or to the thousands of people of Nineveh,
previously ignorant of the true God; but it is given as a SIGN to us and to all
peoples of all time. “An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a SIGN;
and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: For
as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son
of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” (Matt
12:39-40, see also Matthew 16:4) Today, worshippers are mad to find a church
which makes fabulous claims of miracles and extra-biblical teaching, but they
walk in abject darkness if they seek such.
God has provided a sufficient
sign for us in the works of His prophets of old, and in the consummating life,
death, and resurrection of His dearly beloved, only Begotten Son. God has
punctuated His signs among the people during all times. It was intended as much
to awaken Israel to the promise of the coming Savior as it was to lighten the
darkness of the back streets of Nineveh of the Assyrians. That brazen serpent,
lifted on high by Moses for the healing of those bitten by the fiery serpents,
was also a sign to those who are bitten by that deadly Old Serpent, called
Satan. Those who look to Christ lifted up on the cross, and risen to the
Father, are healed of the deadly effects of sin. “Therefore the people
came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD,
and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us.
And Moses prayed for the people. And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a
fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every
one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses made a
serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a
serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.”
(Num 21:7-9) The relationship of that SIGN was pointed out by Christ: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,
even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him
should not perish, but have eternal life.” (John
3:14-15, see also John 8:28, 12:32, and 1 Peter 2:24)
As we proceed in our study of
Jonah, we must recognize that in many points, Jonah is a type of Christ, just
as was Adam, except in those areas of failure and weakness. He went down from
the close presence of God as did Jesus, but Jonah went in the wrong direction.
Jonah went to the wicked people of Nineveh just as Christ came down to the
wicked world. Jonah lamented the forgiveness of God for the people of Nineveh,
but Christ rejoices in it.
Whereas, Jesus humbled Himself in descending to our level and becoming flesh
and blood like unto us, Jonah rebelled and rose up AGAINST the commandment of
God. “But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the
LORD.” See the contrast with that of Christ in his actions: “Let
this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the
form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself
of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the
likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself,
and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” (Phil
2:5-8) Have we not all, from the eldest to the youngest, not behaved in the
like manner as Jonah at some point? We know what the Lord has commanded, but we
think we are somehow special and can disregard that commandment in our peculiar
circumstances. We go in the opposite direction from obedience. Is there a great
and hungry fish awaiting us in our flight from God? Please note, again, from
the 5th verse of Philippians, that we
surrender our old free wills when we accept the Lordship of Christ and take His
will upon us.
Jonah used his own will to subvert the perfect will and commandment of God. He
was angry and dismayed that God would command him to go to the terrible,
Gentile enemies of Israel. He knew, instinctively, that God would not warn a
people of their gross sins unless He was ready to forgive them in their
repentance. Jonah was fearful that his mission would be successful! He did not
fear its failure. See? Jonah had a firm knowledge of God’s Mind, and he had
faith in knowing that whatever God disposed to do, He would accomplish. Yet,
Jonah fled from what he deemed the “Presence of the Lord.” How futile is the
effort when we attempt to flee and hide ourselves from the commanding Eyes of
God! The first to learn this hard lesson was our ancient parents in the Garden
eastward in Eden. The next to learn was Cain. And now, Jonah will learn the
same, but he must first suffer much effort in escaping by sea – but in two
different conveyances – a ship and a whale! How do we ever expect to escape the
All-Seeing Eye of god when all of the Universe is His, and He made it?
Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrian Empire, and it was located some great
distance to the EAST of Jerusalem; but Jonah went the opposite direction. He
went WEST to the coast of Joppa. If God would go with him to Nineveh, did her
believe that God would not follow to sea and to Tarshish (coasts of Spain)?
Anger and rebellion blinds men to the will of God. So was Jonah blinded by his
own small mind? “. . . and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship
going to Tarshish.” There was another opposite direction taken by
Jonah. When Jonah went out from the will and presence of God, he, like all who
disobey, went DOWN. He went DOWN to Joppa. The Lord had sent a ship there to
meet Jonah. But Jonah thought that he, himself, had found that ship. It was
prepared and furnished with crew and canvas to sail the seas; but today, it
would sail into a teeming gale of such force that the crew could not maintain
control of either sail or rudder – but God could! When we run from God and His
plan for our lives, He is able to bring us into the great storms and buffeting
breakers of life. He watches us there for He is the “God that seeth me.”
We may worry about the outcome, but He does not for He has already ruled it.
The ship that Jonah ‘found’ may have, indeed, been going to Tarshish, but Jonah
was NOT!
If we do not allow the Lord to provide our means of passage, we will pay a very
great price from our own treasure: “. . . so he paid the fare
thereof.” Little did Jonah know exactly how great that fare would be in
the end of three days. How wasteful it is to run on our own way and depart from
the Narrow Way of God!
“. . . and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the
presence of the LORD.” So far, Jonah has gone DOWN twice in our
narrative, but he has THREE more occasions remaining in which he goes DOWN. The
way is always a spiraling DOWN to the abyss when we flee from God. Jonah went
DOWN into the ship which he presumed would take him to Tarshish. He had his own
ticket, but a ticket is no better than its issuing authority – in this case,
man. He believed man’s sailing ticket would take him out of the Presence
of God. Good luck with that one, ole boy, for it is a dangerous delusion. Jonah
would actually come INTO a presence he did not contemplate; yet, the Lord would
be there with him in that sea-monster’s belly after Jonah had become just
another dish of seafood.
Do we struggle against the pricks of God? I KNOW that I have done so and will,
doubtless, so struggle again. I am, by nature, a stubborn thing. God may use
our stubbornness to achieve his purposes if we allow, but when we use it for
our own ends, we may wind up in the depths of the sea in a conveyance not of
our own choosing. Jonah has gone in the opposite direction on earth that he was
commanded to go. He should have gone East to Nineveh, but Jonah went West to
Joppa. He also went in the opposite direction spiritually from that which he
should have gone. Jonah went DOWN to Joppa, and DOWN into the ship, instead of
going UP to a closer fellowship with God. Quite often, good Christian people so
get immersed in doing the WORK of the Lord that they forget the LORD! The
labors of Martha were beneficial to the Lord and dinner guests, but Mary chose
the better part – at the feet of Christ where she was often wont to be. The
struggles of Godly living are moment by moment – not year to year. We must
constantly be aware of the allurements of the world AWAY from God. We must cast
away our free wills daily, and put on that Mind which was in Christ Jesus! Have
you done today, friend?
