Focus: Calling us to do his bidding, the Lord pursues us. He will not let us off the hook.
Function: To move the people to do the Lord’s bidding, lest we pay the prize of disobedience.
Text: Jonah 1:1-17
“I fled Him, down the nights and down the days; I fled Him, down the arches of the years; I fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways Of my own mind; and in the mist of tears I hid from Him, and under running laughter.” (Francis Thompson, The Hound of Heaven. McCracken Press, New York)
That’s how Francis Thompson begins his poem, “The Hound of Heaven.” Using the metaphor of a hound, Thompson tells us how God pursued him during his years of living a rebellious life against God. Thompson also realized that it was God’s love for him that drove God to pursue him like a hound: “For though I knew His love Who followed, Yet I was sore adread.” The bark of God’s love scared the “willies” out of Mr. Thompson.
Does God ever scare you with his love? Do I fear, yes dread God’s love so much that I am afraid to go against his will for me? If you have found yourself in opposition to God and his will lately, then now is the time to learn from Jonah. For the story of Jonah teaches us this clear-cut truth: calling us to do his bidding, the Lord pursues us. He will not let us of the hook of doing his will. And if we think otherwise, then again, learn from Jonah, for as Jonah paid the prize of disobedience, so we pay our fares that lead to misery and death—unless we repent.
THE STORY—THE MISSION
The City of Mosul in present day Iraq lies North of Baghdad, half-buried in sand, and populated by many insurgents keen on killing American and British troops. It’s an old and fiercely independent city. Present day Mosul has much in common with Jonah’s City of Nineveh. In fact, Mosul and Nineveh are on top of each other. Mosul used to be Nineveh.
Nineveh is a very historic city. Already in the days of Jonah, Nineveh is at least 1000 years old. The Bible tell us that Nineveh’s founder is Nimrod, a descendant of Cush, a son of Ham, a son of Noah. Listen: (Gen. 10:8-12) “Cush was the father of Nimrod, who grew to be a mighty warrior on the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; that is why it is said, ‘Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord.’ The first centers of his kingdom were Babylon, Erech, Akkad and Calneh, in Shinar. From that land he went to Assyria, where he built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah and Resen, which is between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city.”
Nineveh’s greatness centers on military power—a power that gave rise to the Assyrian empire in the days of Jonah. Nineveh is the capitol city, where the high and mighty, along with warriors and servants make up its population.
As a capitol city Nineveh’s fame (or should I say “infamy”) has spread throughout the known world. For the Assyrians are brutal in their conquest, subduing their enemies and treating them barbarically. Jonah and the people of Israel fear the Assyrians; they dominate the ancient world, and they threaten the existence of Israel. And it is to this great City of Nineveh that the hound of heaven sends Jonah with a mission: Jonah, Jonah! “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”
The curriculum vitae of the prophet Jonah is very short. Listen: “The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai.” That’s all. We don’t know who Amittai was, or what he did. Jonah’s credentials are very short. From II Kings 14:25 we learn, however, that Jonah is a “servant” of the Lord, and that he is from a town called “Gath Hepher.” Jonah, then, appears to be a graduate from the school of prophets. He is, as they say, “in the ministry.” He serves the Lord in the days of King Jeroboam II. But his ministry is not very effective. Jeroboam does his own thing, and the people of Israel are also inclined to do their own bidding.
Such self-service and disobedience to the Lord is a recipe for disaster. Jonah knows that, for the Torah or the Holy Scriptures make clear that God will withdraw his blessings upon Israel and bring disaster to his people in case they turn to other gods and live like pagans. That’s why God’s mission to Jonah seems so ominous or threatening to Jonah. And that explains why Jonah decides to call it quits.
Here are some possible reasons why Jonah quits the prophetic ministry and flees from the Lord: (1) Nineveh is a hostile city, full of Israel’s enemies. Surely, it’s not a safe place for Jonah to call these people to repentance. (2) Nineveh is beyond redemption; they deserve to be destroyed for their viciousness and brutality and for their wickedness. In fact, they are beyond repentance. There’s no hope for them!
Here are some more, perhaps deeper and more subtle reasons:
(3) What if???? What would happen to my (Jonah’s) reputation as a prophet if the Ninevites should repent? What happens when my prophecy of destruction on Nineveh does not come true? Then, I, Jonah, will loose my credibility as a prophet, for a prophet is known to speak truth when his prophecy is fulfilled. Or consider this:
(4) Why does God sent me to a pagan, foreign country? Is God giving up on Israel, my own people? If God now turns to the Gentiles in Nineveh with his compassion, does that mean that Israel has lost God’s favor? And do I, Jonah, want to be part of such an unpatriotic thing? Must I now advance the appearance that God has given up on his people Israel? Shall I not root for Israel, rather than Nineveh?
“No”, says Jonah, I rather quit.” And so the text tells us twice in vs. 3 that Jonah “ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.”
What about you? When was the last time that we were on the run, fleeing from the Lord? Could it be that you are on the run today? If so, it’s time that we pay attention to the hound of heaven. Calling us to do his bidding, the Lord will not let us off the hook.
THE STORY—THE HOUND
Jonah flees. He should have known that you cannot outrun, outsmart, outfox the Lord of heaven and earth! Does not the Lord have angels to do his bidding? Oh, there are a zillion “hounds or angels,” with which God haunts us. How on earth can Jonah live without God? How on earth can you and I think that we can somehow live without God on our radar screen?
The hound of heaven sniffs and smells our tracks and pursues us wherever we decide to go. Jonah goes west. West is where the sun sets, where darkness is at home; East is where the sun rises, where God wants to bring life and light to the Ninevites. East is where light dawns; west is where darkness covers the earth.
Jonah goes down—west, down to Joppa, down to the harbor, down to a ship, all the way down, “below deck,” says the text. Jonah is hiding and wants to travel west going incognito, unrecognizable as a prophet of Israel’s God. Jonah is going down—down the drain of God’s ocean, down into the sea, down into the gut of a big fish. And it all happens as God sends his messenger—a storm. Listen: (vs.4) “Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up.” In other words, ‘all hell is breaking loose.’
Some of us are encountering a storm at home, in our marriage perhaps; some are looking at the wreckage of sexual immorality and wonder where they went wrong; others just don’t get it—they continue to raise “Cain” in their relationships and work environments by poor choices, and by rebelling against God’s will for them.
How many of the storms in life we face are due to our fleeing from God? And how many of the storms we face are due because God is sending us a messenger, telling us to go “east,” to come his way, rather than the downward way of disobedience? Oh, so many of our sins cause all kinds of storms: in our souls, in our families, in the church, in society, in our nation, and among the nations of the world. Is anyone listening to the hound of heaven? He will not let us off the hook!
Jonah’s story mentions a number of messengers or angels—all doing the bidding of the hound of heaven. (vs. 3) a great wind, a violent storm. (vs. 17) a great fish to swallow Jonah. (4:6) a fast-growing vine. (4:7) a worm with a voracious appetite. (4:8) a scorching east wind and a blazing sun. All these are messengers in the hand of God. Thus he pursues us with his relentless love, calling us to do his bidding. For if we don’t, we pay a terrible prize.
Jonah went to the harbor of Joppa. He is fleeing, so this is not a time for questions and for being a cheapskate. How much does it cost to sail with you to go down west, to Tarshish? No haggling. Just pay the fare. And that’s what Jonah does; he pays the fare—and now he is doomed to perish. For “God sent a great wind on the sea.”
The “ruah” or wind or breath of God haunts the sailors. They realize that something is wrong, that their lives are in danger. So what do they do? They try to stabilize their ship; they throw their precious cargo overboard. After all, what’s the point of having all these treasures on board—treasures that are worth a lot of money—but you have lost your life. What’s the point of hanging on to this cargo, while your own life, your soul is in the balance? Jonah paid his fare; he does not know it yet, but he is in the valley of death, in great peril. Will he escape the claws of death?
We’ll see (in the next sermon). For now, I want to emphasize that
a. the wages of sin is death
b. all have sinned
c. all need the Savior
d. Jesus Christ has paid the ultimate fare on our behalf.
Turn to Jesus. Find your life in him, and live your life to do his bidding. For He will not leave you alone. He has bought you with a prize.
Also, take comfort when you see your child rebel against God. Warn him; call her back, yes! But do not panic. Do not despair. The hound of heaven sniff and tracks our wayward sons and daughters, our rebellious neighbors and lost friends. Trust that God will use you as a messenger, an angel, a herald to point them to Christ.
In the midst of the storms of life, in the midst of wreckage, and grief and pain caused by sin, be that voice of grace that says: This way—to the East, to Nineveh! Do not bend your will to the West, to Tarshish, to death; rather, do the bidding of your heavenly Father.
Friends, this much is clear: Calling us to do his bidding, the Lord pursues us; he does not abandon the work of his hands, nor does he abandon his people. He will not let us off the hook.
Glory be to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and always shall be, world without end. Amen.