Jonah 1:1-17; 3:1-10
(sermon note:
Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai, saying, ‘Go at once to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before me.’ But Jonah set out to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid his fare and went on board, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord.
But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and such a mighty storm came upon the sea that the ship threatened to break up. Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried to his god. They threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten it for them. Jonah, meanwhile, had gone down into the hold of the ship and had lain down, and was fast asleep. The captain came and said to him, ‘What are you doing sound asleep? Get up, call on your god! Perhaps the god will spare us a thought so that we do not perish.’
The sailors said to one another, ‘Come, let us cast lots, so that we may know on whose account this calamity has come upon us.’ So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. Then they said to him, ‘Tell us why this calamity has come upon us. What is your occupation? Where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?’ ‘I am a Hebrew,’ he replied. ‘I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.’ Then the men were even more afraid, and said to him, ‘What is this that you have done!’ For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them so.
Then they said to him, ‘What shall we do to you, that the sea may quieten down for us?’ For the sea was growing more and more tempestuous. He said to them, ‘Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will quieten down for you; for I know it is because of me that this great storm has come upon you.’ Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to bring the ship back to land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more stormy against them. Then they cried out to the Lord, ‘Please, O Lord, we pray, do not let us perish on account of this man’s life. Do not make us guilty of innocent blood; for you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you.’ So they picked Jonah up and threw him into the sea; and the sea ceased from its raging. Then the men feared the Lord even more, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.
But the Lord provided a large fish to swallow up Jonah; and Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights.
The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, saying, ‘Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you.’ So Jonah set out and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly large city, a three days’ walk across. Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s walk. And he cried out, ‘Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!’ And the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth.
When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. Then he had a proclamation made in Nineveh: ‘By the decree of the king and his nobles: No human being or animal, no herd or flock, shall taste anything. They shall not feed, nor shall they drink water.
This morning’s reading reminds me of the one about four pastors who were debating scripture out in the garden one day and one of them noticed he was continuously outvoted by the other three even though he was absolutely certain he was right. At a certain point, his frustration got the better of him and he stood up, raised his hands and said, “My Lord, you must know that this is the right way, give us a sign to let us know!” As soon as he had spoken, a cloud materialized out of nowhere, moved in front of the sun and dissolved again. The other three looked at him, then at each other, and one of them said, “Well…that was certainly unusual, but the weather’s been acting up a bit lately, so this does not really mean anything,” and they just continued with the discussion unmoved. The fourth pastor, increasingly desperate, again stood up and called out, “My Lord, they continue to defy your word, please send another sign to help them see the error of their ways!” This time, it wasn’t just one cloud, but the entire sky darkened, a thunderclap sounded, and a bolt of lightning hit just next to the other three pastors. They were startled but after catching their breath one of them concluded, “No, you don’t see that every day…but it’s late summer…thunderstorms can come in surprisingly quick and we’re out in an open garden and there’s no lightning rod on top of the church even though there really should be. So this still doesn’t mean anything and we’ll stick with our viewpoints, thank you very much.” Now absolutely livid and still outvoted, the fourth pastor got up one last time, stomped his feet, raised his hands and shouted, “Oh Lord, you who created all, for the love of your people and the ways of this world, make your will known so that it would be clear even to these stubborn mules!” And a booming voice filled the sky, “HE IS CORRECT!!” The other three pastors looked up and then down to their colleague. After a long pause, one of them finally said, “Well, it’s still three against two.”
Sometimes the will of God is much larger than any one of us can comprehend. Ole boy thought he understood God’s will with absolute certainty as it was conveyed in Scripture. Over and over, he pled with God to confirm his understanding for his peers. And sure enough God repeatedly assured him that what was conveyed in Scripture was correct. Yet in the end, he failed to take into consideration the stubbornness and free will of his peers. People will think and do whatever they want even when presented with God’s will. Thus is the power of free will. We don’t have to believe in God’s word or honor God’s will, and we can come up with any number of justifications for it. And God allows for this. After all, the gift of free will was his gift! So if God revealed his will through Scripture and yet allowed for free will to exist, then what is the purpose of his will being revealed at all? Aaah, you see…God’s will is much larger than any one of us can comprehend…
Our friend Jonah was presented with God’s will for his life: “Go at once to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before me.” Very clear instructions yet he chose to disobey God’s will. Understandably so…Ninevah was the capital city of neighboring Assyria, an enemy to Jonah’s country of Israel. God was tasking Jonah with a suicide mission! Self-preservation no doubt caused him to catch the first ship out of town. But there was nowhere for him to run to get away from God. God came after Jonah sending a storm which caused him to get thrown overboard and swallowed up by the big fish for 3 days until he was cast out on the land. God again spoke to Jonah, “Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you.” This time Jonah obeyed and got the city to repent for its wickedness. Now that’s the story in a nutshell. But at its core is this battle of wills between God and Jonah. Whose will was stronger, God’s or Jonah’s?
We can choose to disobey God’s word and will for our lives but are we prepared for the consequences? I don’t imagine Jonah was prepared to get caught up in a storm at sea, let alone getting swallowed up in a fish for 3 days. He had to have been terrified and it’s no wonder he was eager to obey God the second time he was told to go into Ninevah. There are terrifying consequences for disobeying God’s word and will. Are we prepared to handle them? God loves us, each and every one of us, and God wants nothing but the best for us. God revealed his will to us in Scripture to protect us from the chaos and disorder of this world. Now then, perhaps God allowed Jonah to disobey his will as a way of convincing the people of Ninevah to change their ways. They perhaps heard of Jonah’s terrifying experience at sea and were frightened of angering Jonah’s God any further. Jonah’s sea troubles only enhanced God’s message to the people of Ninevah. Likewise, when we disobey God’s word the troubles we experience only strengthen God’s word all the more. God knows this too! When we disobey, we’re only helping God! How’s that for a truly clever God?! Sometimes God’s will is much larger than we can understand…
The wisdom of Jonah is also strengthened by the wisdom of Scripture as a whole. James wisely tells us, “But one is tempted by one’s own desire, being lured and enticed by it; then, when that desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and that sin, when it is fully grown, gives birth to death.” (1:14-15) Jonah was tempted by his own desire which should have resulted in death. But God in his compassionate mercy spared his life and gave him a second chance to go to Ninevah. And James is big on being “doers” rather than just “hearers.” He writes, “But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves.” (1:22) Jonah would have saved himself a terrifying experience at sea by simply heeding God’s word.
God’s will is much larger than we can understand. Let us learn from Jonah’s witness that even when we’re disobeying his word, we’re indirectly reinforcing it for others through the suffering we go through as a result. Let us trust in God’s word and heed God’s word. More importantly, let us give thanks for God’s word. Thanks be to God!
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
