And So He Ran | Jonah Part 3

Photo courtesy of David Sharir

If you’ve heard about Jonah, one of the few details that you might remember about him was that the Lord told him to do something and he ran. I always thought that was a “coming to faith” thing like this task was the first big thing that God asked Jonah to do.

Ruins of Nineveh, from http://www.foundationsforfreedom.net/

What you might not know is that Jonah was actually a successful prophet and he was first seen in 2 Kings 14:23-25. His mention is short and I had to read several commentaries to get more information about what was happening around it. From what I can tell-

He worked under the hand of King Jeroboam II of Israel and he helped to build up their border and defense against Assyrians. Jonah prophesied that Israel would not be taken over and then later proved to be right. …From there, up spiked his popularity!

From http://goodshepherdacton.org/

He was from Gath-hepher, a little town in Galilee. When you and I catch up to him in the book of Jonah, he is going to Tarshish. However, he was called to go to Nineveh. The opposite direction.

My Bible says that Nineveh was the “rising world power” of Jonah’s day and it was the lead city in –of all places- Assyria; Israel’s biggest threat and the one place that Jonah has been working so hard to distance himself from. Even worse, this city reigned in sin.  If you’d like to dig a little deeper into this place, you can read about it in the book of Nahum. 

From: http://www.foundationsforfreedom.net/

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So, he appears to be pretty seasoned by this point. Why should he be scared?

Well, just put yourself in his shoes for a minute. Since he was successful in what he prophesied and also in his efforts to build up the border between the towns. He’s most likely had his ego stroked a lot by this point. Now he has to go IN to the very place that he didn’t even want to look at. Then he has to call people and address their sin; warning them to turn away and repent.

AND he gets to do it alone, at least from a human perspective. At least in Israel, there were others with him and doing the work.

Imagine going from “everyone calls on [likes] Jonah” to “everyone hates Jonah”. If we’re honest, that in itself is a hard pill to swallow. But again commentaries seem to indicate that his real issue was that he grew up fearing and hating them. 

He didn’t want the people of Nineveh to be saved. He actually preferred their vengeance. Steve Collins even indicates that Jonah might’ve been afraid that if God gave Assyrians mercy, they would later grow and overpower Israel in the future. Destroying everything that he’s helped to build up.

Thankfully, not all of the things the Lord will ask us to do will be as scary or as big as what was asked of Jonah. That doesn’t mean that what the Lord has asked of you, doesn’t terrify you any less, just because it’s smaller. Who’s to say that the Storm your facing has anything to do with being “asked to do something”. Jonah was also “afraid of the result”… Could your storm be more about some of your own fears simply be being brought into the light?

Either way, he ran.

What about you? Your storm might be here now. Are you running? If so, could that be part of the problem?

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In his book, Surprised by Grace, Pastor Tullian Tchividjian writes about Jonah and says that there are 2 ways of running.

The first is what we see in the Pagan Sailors. “They’re like the people Paul talks about in Romans 1. As those who live according to the world’s standards, usually without apology. They’re so disconnected from God’s ways that they live however they want. This is the condition of those outside the church who don’t know God.” 

They worshiped false gods. They were out doing their own thing, not even interested in…

The second way is what we see in Jonah himself. He is a believer. “He works in the church.”

From the same book, Tullian continues “But despite his pedigree and profile, Jonah’s still running from God. He’s no better off than the sailors. His morality and correct religion have brought him no closer to God than the sailors’ worldliness and false religion.” In other words, he has been given instructions by God and yet he doesn’t even trust him enough to obey.

Sometimes you and I are so black and white that if we don’t match the image that comes to mind, we dismiss the concept. So if you’re still picturing running as only being on 2 feet and going somewhere, may I suggesting that some of us just run “on high”.

It’s a position buried anywhere between the two I’ve just described. You might feel as though you’re not in either example. Maybe you go to church, maybe you don’t. You mostly just try to be a good person and get the job(s) done. You help others. You take care of your stuff. You mind your own business. –But your to-do list might as well be 6 days long because you never stop. YOU are the God in your country as you handle everything. You start in the morning and don’t stop until you pass out. “You’ll rest when you retire or when you’re dead”. -And I know…. If you don’t do the things on your list, often no one else will step in to do them either. ...or maybe not the way that you would've done it.

Sound familiar? I mean Jonah could have even felt a like this on some level. After all, he built a successful wall. He managed an army of men. He counseled others... He might have thought that he had it all figured out.

Whether or not you hear the Lord telling you to go do something- and whether or not you would or wouldn’t do it if you heard it. Plain and simple -not stopping- is a form of running. Even if there isn’t a visible to or fro’…

And wait- There is still one more thing I see in verse 5.   

[To be Continued]

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