What do you do with the word of God and the commission of Jesus Christ? Do you run away or do you do what God commanded you to do and do you speak His words? Both Jonah and Jesus received a word and commission from God. Jonah ran away from God, but Jesus didn’t.
Who was Jonah?
Jonah was the son of Amittai and a servant of the Lord, a prophet, who lived in Gathhepher (Jonah 1:1, 2 Kings 14:25).
Jonah lived in the eighth century BC, during the reign of Amaziah (king of Judah) and Jeroboam II (king of Israel and Samaria).
God commandment Jonah to go to Nineveh, but Jonah ran away from God
One day, the word of God came to Jonah. God commanded Jonah to arise and go to the great city of Nineveh and cry out against it.
The wickedness of the inhabitants of Nineveh (their sins) had come before God. (Read also: The measure of sin and the judgments of God).
After hearing the word and commandment of God, Jonah rose, but he didn’t go in obedience to God to Nineveh, but Jonah fled.
Instead of obeying the word of God, Jonah ran away from the presence of God and fled to Tarshish.
In Joppa, Jonah found a ship to Tarshish. He paid the fare and went on board the ship from the presence of the Lord.
But who can flee from the presence of God, the Lord of hosts? No one!
God sent a great wind into the sea that caused a mighty storm
Instead of a calm prosperous journey to Tarshish, God sent out a great wind into the sea that caused a mighty storm. The storm was so mighty that the ship was like to be broken.
While 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 lighthen it, Jona didn’t do anything.
Jonah wasn’t worried to sink, because he was sunk in a deep sleep
Jonah wasn’t worried that the ship would sink because he was sunk in a deep sleep.
However, the shipmaster didn’t leave Jonah alone. He went to him and woke Jonah the sleeper and commanded him to arise and call unto his God.
Maybe the God of Jonah would listen to him and prevent them from perishing.
We don’t know what Jonah answered and whether he obeyed his words. We only know that the others suggested casting lots to find out, who was responsible for the evil that came upon them.
Why did the lot fall on Jonah?
And so they cast lots and the lot fell upon Jonah. Jonah was to blame for the mighty storm. He was responsible for the evil that had come upon them.
The mariners inquired Jonah. Jonah told them that he was a Hebrew and feared the Lord, the God of heaven, Who has made the sea and the dry land, and fled from the presence of God.
After hearing his words, the mariners became exceedingly afraid. They asked Jonah, what they had to do to calm the sea. Jonah answered, that they should take him up and cast him forth into the sea.
Instead of obeying his words and casting Jonah into the sea, they rowed hard to bring the ship to the land. However, they failed because the sea was wrought and tempestuous against them.
The mariners cried unto the Lord and beseeched Him to not let them perish for Jonah’s soul. They beseeched the Lord to not lay upon them innocent blood; for the Lord had done as it pleased Him. (Jonah 1:14).
After their words, they took Jonah and cast Jonah into the sea. When Jonah was cast into the sea, the sea stopped raging.
When the men saw it, they feared God exceedingly and offered a sacrifice unto God and made vows.
Meanwhile, God prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights.
Jonah prayed in the belly of the fish
While Jonah was in the belly of the fish Jonah prayed unto the Lord his God.
I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the Lord, and He heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and Thou heard my voice. For Thou had 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. The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head. 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. When my soul fainted within me I remembered the Lord: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple. They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy. But I will sacrifice unto Thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord
Jonah 2:2-9
How God saved Jonah from the belly of the fish
God heard and answered Jonah’s prayer. He spoke to the fish and the fish vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.
And so God had saved Jonah from the belly of the fish.
The word of God came a second time to Jonah
The word of God came a second time to Jonah. God commanded Jonah again to arise and to go to Nineveh the great city and preach unto the city and preach the words of the Lord and His judgment to the inhabitants of Nineveh.
This time, Jonah obeyed the word and commandment of God and went to Nineveh.
After three days, Jonah arrived in Nineveh and preached the words of the Lord to the inhabitants of Nineveh. Jonah cried and said, that after 40 days, Nineveh would be overthrown.
The inhabitants heard the words of Jonah and believed God. They immediately proclaimed a fast and put on sackcloth.
When the king of Nineveh heard the word, he arose from his throne. He laid his robe from him, covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.
The king commanded the inhabitants that they and their beasts would not eat and not drink water, but that they would cover themselves with sackcloth and cry mightily unto God and turn from their evil way and from the violence that was in their hands.
Why did God repent and turn away from His fierce anger and not bring judgment on Nineveh?
The king and inhabitants of Nineveh hoped that God would see it and turn, repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, so that they wouldn’t perish. And what they hoped for became reality.
God saw that the king and inhabitants of Nineveh repented and turned from their evil way. Because of their repentance, God repented of the evil that He had said He would do unto them, and He didn’t do it.
Instead of Jonah being joyful that the inhabitants of Nineveh repented after hearing his words and they were saved and wouldn’t perish, it displeased Jonah and he was angry.
When God confronted Jonah with his behavior, Jonah said, that this was the reason why he ran away to Tarshish.
Jonah knew that the Lord is a gracious God, merciful, slow to anger, of great kindness, and repent of the evil. And what Jonah thought, happened.
However, this only happened because the king and inhabitants of Nineveh believed the words of Jonah, which the Lord had spoken to him, and repented.
Because, God has mercy when people repent of their evil way, and remove the sins from their lives, and live in obedience to Him and His Word, and walk on His way, the way of righteousness.
Jesus didn’t run away
Contrary to Jonah, who ran away from the presence of God, Jesus didn’t run away to do the will of the Father. Jesus obeyed the words and commandment of His Father. Due to Jesus’ obedience to the Father, Jesus fulfilled the redemption work for fallen man.
The Father sent Jesus with a mission, namely to preach and bring God’s Kingdom to the people of the house of Israel and call them to repentance and turn from their evil way, and eventually to carry the penalty of sin, which is dead upon Him and become the Substitute of fallen man.
Jesus didn’t belong to the world but to the Kingdom of God. He was born of the Seed of God and the virgin Mary.
He was the Firstling of the new creation, who walked after the Spirit in obedience to His Father.
Jonah was the old creation and disobeyed the voice of God and fled from the presence of the Lord, but Jesus didn’t run away. Jesus obeyed the voice of the Father and yielded to Him and went His way.
The way of the Father was not a way of comfort and prosperity, but temptation, persecution, and suffering that ended at the cross.
The lot fell on Jonah because of his disobedience, and the lot fell on Jesus because of His obedience
Through his disobedience to God, the lot fell on Jonah, whereby Jonah was cast into the sea, swallowed by a big fish, and ended up in the belly of the fish.
The lot fell also on Jesus. However not due to His disobedience to God and the fact that He was responsible for the evil and the fall of humanity, but due to His obedience to God.
Because the lot fell on Jesus, He was crucified and was made sin by His Father, whereby Jesus ended up in the heart of the earth.
Jonah was three days in the belly of the fish, Jesus was three days in the heart of the earth
Both Jona and Jesus stayed in the belly for three days, which was and is a sign for humanity.
After three days, the fish vomited Jonah and Jesus rose from the dead as Victor.
Both occasions had an enormous influence on the deliverance and salvation of humanity.
Jonah went to preach God’s judgment on the city of Nineveh
Jonah went in obedience to God and proclaimed judgment to the inhabitants of Nineveh. The inhabitants believed the words of Jonah and repented from their sins and iniquity based on his word and turned to God.
Through the preaching of Jonah and the repentance of the inhabitants of Nineveh, God’s judgment didn’t come over the city, and about 120.000 people were saved from destruction.
Jesus went and taught His disciples and commissioned them to be His witnesses and preach the gospel, repentance, and remission of sins
Jesus went to His disciples and taught them for 40 days before Jesus ascended to heaven and took place on the right hand of the Father.
He commissioned His disciples to be His witnesses on earth and preach the gospel of the crucified and risen Christ, repentance, and the remission of sins.
To fulfill their commission, Jesus promised them another Comforter, the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father would send in His Name and would live inside of them.
The Holy Spirit would teach them and give them power to be His witnesses and to convince the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment.
The disciples of Jesus, who had laid down their own lives and had died and were risen in Christ, didn’t run away like Jonah and as they had done before when Jesus was taken captive, but they obeyed the words of Jesus, the Lord of their lives, and did what Jesus commanded them to do.
Based on their testimony, thousands of people repented and were delivered and saved because of their faith in the words of the witnesses of Jesus Christ.
This testimony is still powerful and still brings deliverance and salvation for fallen man.
On the same testimony of believers, who are witnesses of Jesus Christ and belong to the Father, and don’t flee, but do what God commanded them to do, people still repent.
The testimony of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ didn’t lose its power
The testimony of Jesus Christ and the preaching of His words have not lost their power, but are still as powerful as the Day of Pentecost. The same applies to the Holy Spirit.
But it’s the people, who call Jesus their Lord, but don’t do what He says.
People, who are afraid to speak the truth of the Word to others.
People, who live from their feelings, and their emotions, and change the gospel of Jesus Christ and the words of God, to make it more pleasant for the carnal old man, and approve of sin and take pleasure in those who walk in sin, instead of testifying of sin, righteousness and judgment.
They only do this, because they want to be loved, accepted, and received by people instead of being rejected and persecuted.
What if Jonah hadn’t gone to Nineveh to preach the word of the Lord?
The first time, Jonah ran away from God. But after Jonah was personally confronted with the greatness and might of God, Jonah didn’t run away anymore. Instead, Jonah yielded to God and did what He had commanded him to do.
If Jonah had not preached the words of God and God’s judgment on the city of Nineveh, over 120.000 would have been lost.
What would have happened if Jesus and the disciples hadn’t done what God commanded them?
If Jesus didn’t preach and do what God had commanded Him to do but ran away, then many people wouldn’t be healed, or delivered, and would not have returned to God. There wouldn’t be deliverance and salvation for people, and there wouldn’t be a good message to preach but a terrible forecast for all people.
If the disciples had kept their mouths and ran away and didn’t do what Jesus commanded them to do, then thousands of people would have perished.
What do you do with the gospel of Jesus Christ and the truth of God regarding sin, righteousness, and judgment? Will you do what Jesus commanded you to do and preach His words and be His witness on earth or do you run away?
‘Be the salt of the earth’
