“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)
Even if one didn’t know about Jonah, we’d gather that Jonah was trying to get away from the presence of the Lord. The phrase “from the presence of the Lord” is stated twice in this verse. What this verse doesn’t tell us is that Jonah was being disobedient to the Lord. He refused to tell Ninevah that the Lord was going to destroy them for their wickedness unless they repented. Jonah felt they should be punished for their wickedness and didn’t want them to repent and avoid God’s judgement. Jonah didn’t want to bring God’s knowledge to Ninevah.
What we gather from this event in Jonah’s life is that God is merciful. “And he prayed unto the LORD, and 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, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.” (Jonah 4:2) God just didn’t come in and destroy Ninevah, but warned the people to repent and judgement for their wickedness would be avoided. Whenever we see judgement, it never came without warning. We have the example of the life of Noah. All the while he was building the ark, the people were warned, but they refused to believe. And they refused to repent. Peter speaks about how Jesus preached to those in Noah’s time when God was longsuffering or patient while the ark was being built. It’s estimated that it took 100 years to build. And yet only eight people were saved. “By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.” (1Peter 3:19-20)
In the days of Noah and Jonah, people didn’t have the written Word of God. They didn’t even have the Law which came with Moses. But they had an inkling of right and wrong in their conscience. “For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)” (Romans 2:14-15) God’s words to Jonah tell us that God was merciful to the sinful because they didn’t know right from wrong. “And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?” (Jonah 4:11)
We have that example today. If a gruesome murder happens in which a mother and child are murdered, there is an outcry of justice from every sector of society, people who know God’s commandments and those who don’t. Yet, just because they don’t actually see a baby in the womb as a child, the sinner doesn’t consider it murder if it’s aborted. They make a law in themselves that is in disobedience to God’s law because they don’t know God’s law. Same case before the law. People went with what they thought was right and wrong. In the case of Jonah, he was to tell them that what they were doing was wrong and to repent because it was offensive to God, and it would bring judgement on them. It’s the same today for those who don’t know God. They follow civil laws and follow their conscience on everything else. As Christians who have the Holy Spirit indwelling, there is no question as to what is offensive to God. The Holy Spirit convicts us, even if we unintentionally sin.
Jonah 1:3 says that Jonah ran from the presence of the Lord. He found that God was everywhere and that he couldn’t run from God’s presence. And he couldn’t run away from obeying God. The same goes for us. Paul said, “For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!” (1Corinthians 9:16) Those whom God has appointed as preachers have to preach the Gospel, teachers have to teach, evangelists must preach to the unbeliever, missionaries must go, and prophets must prophesy. They take no glory in obeying God. They do it of necessity because God has placed it in their hearts to do it. They can try to run away like Jonah did. And although they might not be swallowed by a big fish, they will know without a doubt, what they must do. They must be obedient to God’s calling.
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