You Can Run, But You Can t Hide

Jonah 1
Introduction
Hello, - I am unable to take
ber and a short message and I
dard message that most of you
- the whole point of having a
re you don t miss your calls.

your call right now, but please leave your name, num
ll get back to you as soon as possible. (beep) A stan
have on your answering service at work or at home
message bank or an answering machine is to make su

BUT - there are some people who use it to screen their calls, to avoid certain c
allers, to sift out who they want to talk to, to work out which calls to return
and which calls to ignore. Have you ever done that? Maybe you know someone who d
oes that?
Well, Jonah is just like that
g machine goes something like
our call right not, please do
won t be getting back to you,

when it comes to God - the message on his answerin

this - Hello, this is Jonah - I am unable to take y
not leave your name, number or message, because I
(beep)

And that is how our passage begins this evening. You see that in the opening ver
ses of chapter 1. 1The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 Go to the
great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up
before me.
3But Jonah ran away from the LORD
Background 2 Kg.14:25; Nah.3:1-4
Now before we go any further, it s crucial that we understand something of the bac
kground to the book of Jonah. Who was Jonah - where was he from? Where was Ninev
eh?
Well, we re
f the Lord.
ece (as one
e indicates

actually told in 2 Kings 14:25 that Jonah is a prophet and a servant o

He lived in Israel and he served God as his prophet - as his mouthpi
who spoke God s Word - that s what a prophet does). In fact his very nam
that. Jonah means dove - which signifies a messenger .

And we re told that he is Son of Ammitai - Son of truth . He is a messenger of truth

- God s truth. So it s no surprise to us when we read in v.1 that the word of the Lo
rd came to Jonah, Son of Ammitai - it was his job to answer the call.
But unlike his other assignments which so far has been local (within Israel), th
is one requires that he go overseas (Nineveh). Now most of us jump at the opport
unity to work overseas don t we - the boss says to you he needs someone to work on
a project in London - and you take the opportunity. But Nineveh is not like Lon
don. Let me explain.
Nineveh was the capital city of Assyria. And Assyria was a very powerful and sig
nificant nation. Assyria was Israel s enemy, and Nineveh was the enemies capital c
ity. Have a look with me at Nahum ch.3 (The book of Nahum is a prophecy against
Nineveh), but we have in ch.3 pictured for us the wickedness of the Assyrians the ferocity and the brutality of the Assyrians.
(1)Woe to the city of blood, full of lies, full of plunder, never without victim
s! (2)The crack of whips, the clatter of wheels, galloping horses and jolting ch
ariots! (3)Charging cavalry, flashing swords and glittering spears! Many casualt
ies, piles of dead, bodies without number, people stumbling over the corpses
(4)

all because of the wanton lust of a harlot, alluring, the mistress of sorceries,
who enslaved nations by her prostitution and peoples by her witchcraft.
The Assyrians were a cruel and heartless people - Assyrian engravings depict peo
ple being tortured, skulls worn around their necks to show their cruelty. When t
hey took over a town in battle they would take any survivors and they would impa
le them on stakes in front of the town. After a battle they d pile up the skulls o
f their enemies making pillars out of them. Their leaders would often remove the
heads of their enemies and wear them around their necks. This is not a friendly
nation or a friendly city (not exactly on the top 10 holiday destinations of th
e day) - in fact this is the nation that eventually invades and destroys Israel
in 722BC (you can find that in 2 Kings 17).
And it s to this group of people, to this great enemy nation, to this enemy city t
hat God calls Jonah to go. That s right - it s an overseas assignment to Kabul in Af
ghanistan, or to Mogadishu in Somalia.
And here is our first lesson: Jonah, the man of God hears the word of God and wi
llfully disobeys it.
1. Jonah, the man of God hears the Word of God and willfully disobeys it vv.1-3
God gives Jonah a very clear command - 2 Go to the great city of Nineveh and preac
h against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.
Jonah knows what God wants, he knows what God desires of him, he perfectly under
stands what God has called him to do - God s instructions are clear
and he disobey
s.
Nineveh is East, but we re told in v.3 that he flees to Tarshish which is in the W
est - he goes in the opposite direction. 3But Jonah ran away from the LORD and h
eaded for Tarshish.
Why does Jonah disobey God? Here are some possible reasons for Jonah s disobedienc
e.
1. Perhaps Jonah was afraid - fearful for his life? Nineveh was the Assyrian cap
ital - violent and brutal. It was a great city - ch.3:3 tells us that it took thre
e days journey to cross. In fact Nineveh had walls 100 feet high and so broad th
at 3 chariots could run around them side by side. Within its the walls were gard
ens and fields for cattle. Perhaps Jonah thought, to preach against Nineveh was
a suicide mission, so he runs away. But, the word of God does not tell us he was
fearful does it.
2. Perhaps Jonah thought it was lost cause - what could one man do? who would li
sten to him in this great city? A city of unbelieving idol worshippers who were
more interested in Command & Conquer than they were in God - so he runs away. But
again, the word of God does not tell us that Jonah thinks it s a lost cause.
3. Perhaps Jonah thought the message was severe and harsh. It was hard message w
asn t it - preach against Nineveh s wickedness - no one likes being the one who has
to bring such a message. Perhaps Jonah wasn t too keen preaching fire and brimston
e - especially to a group Assyrians - so he runs away. But again, the word of Go
d does not tell us that Jonah was unhappy with the message.
They re all possible reasons why Jonah runs away, but you ll have to wait to ch.4 to
find out.
What you and I need to pay attention to is that here we are told that Jonah who
was a believer, a man of God hears God s clear word and disobeys it.Our version of
the Bible, the NIV says in v.3 that Jonah ran away from the LORD . The RSV says th

at Jonah flees from the presence of the LORD . In the Bible, to stand before the Lor
d is equivalent to serving him (1 Kings 17:1; 18:15). The opposite - to be removed
or to flee from God s presence is to refuse to serve him, or to be removed from hi
s service (Gen.4:16).
The person who therefore runs away from the Lord or flees from the presence of the
Lord is the one who is refusing to serve God in the task he knows God has called
him to do - and that s what Jonah is doing - he is refusing to serve God, even tho
ugh he knows what God s word says.
By going to Tarshish in the West, Jonah was hoping to make it impossible for him
to serve God as his prophet - as his servant called to serve in the East. He go
es West and lands himself into a whole heap of trouble as we ll see. That East-Wes
t distinction highlights the radical difference between God s way and man s way. Ins
tead of following God East to Nineveh, he runs after his sins to Tarshish in the
West.
The truth of the matter is that Jonah will not go God s way - he refuses to serve
God - he will not obey God s word - he does the exact opposite he runs away from th
e Lord
he flees from the presence of the Lord .
God might not have called you to go to Nineveh, but human nature does not change
(time and time again you see in our relationship to God the same scene played o
ut here) - the same blood that runs through Jonah s veins runs through ours - we s
hare the same spiritual ancestry.
It s no surprise that Jonah the man of God disobeys God s Word.
Jonah is the OT equivalent of a Bible believing Christian - he is orthodox and e
vangelical in his theology - next week when you see his prayer in ch.2, you ll see
just how much he understands about God. He believes in sin and punishment, he b
elieves that salvation is from God, he knows God s character - God is just, yet me
rciful and gracious. He believes in God the creator of all things. YET - he refu
ses to obey God s Word.
You can know the truth about God, and yet disobey God - a very sobering lesson.
It shouldn t surprise you - we all do it (Like Jonah we do not always go God s way we refuse to serve him - we will not obey his word).
Our natural tendency is to run away from God. We hear the word of God - we know
the character of God - we know what it means to be faithful - to do what is righ
t - to live God s way - to have the right priorities and goals in life - YET, we a
void it, we make excuses, we will not listen, we choose to go in the opposite di
rection.
Resisting God is easy, disobedience is natural - but then again the descent into
hell is easy.
When you disobey God - when you choose to live your way - when you avoid what Go
d says about life for you - he will not rearrange the stars in the skies to say S
TOP, do not go farther . He lets you do what you want.
If you choose to stop reading the Bible, he does not send a storm to get you rea
ding again. If you choose to stop coming to church, he does not send an earthqua
ke to shake you up. If you choose to pursue a relationship with a non-Christian,
he does not send a flood to overwhelm you. If you choose to put your career or
work first, he does not send a fire to wake you up. NOT AT FIRST - he allows you
to do what you want - to go downhill and to pay for your own foolishness - but
his judgment lies just around the corner.And as Jonah boards that ship he doesn t
notice the rats are getting off. And here is our second lesson: Jonah, the man o

f God is found out (his sin and disobedience comes to light) and he comes under
the storm of God s judgment.
2. Jonah, the man of God is found out and comes under the storm of God s judgment
vv.4-16 cf. Rom.6:23a; 1 Cor.11:29ff; Heb.12:1-13
The safest and the best and the simplest thing Jonah could have done was to go t
o Nineveh and preach against the city. Instead he runs away, and God sends the m
other of all storms. The passage does not say God sends someone else - it doesn t
say he let Jonah get away with it. Jonah wins the battle, but God wins the war he sends in the big guns - the perfect storm .
You can run, but you can t hide. You can see the contrast between v.3 and v.4. Hav
e a look - it s very clear. 3But Jonah ran away from the LORD
4Then the LORD sent
a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened
to break up.
God in his judgment sends a violent storm - the sailors in v.5 do all they can t
o from praying to throwing out their cargo.
And Jonah s wake up call finally comes to us in v.6 - he does not sleep soundly fo
rever. 6The captain went to him and said, How can you sleep? Get up and call on y
our god! Maybe he will take notice of us, and we will not perish.
In desperation the sailors then cast lots to find out who is responsible for thi
s mother of all storms, and guess what? In the providence of God, the lot falls
on Jonah - he can run, but he can t hide (Prov.16:33). And when they question him
(Who are you? What have you done to cause this?) - they learn the terrible truth
.
9He answered, I am a Hebrew and I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made t
he sea and the land. 10This terrified them and they asked, What have you done? (Not
a question, but an exclamation!) (They knew he was running away from the LORD,
because he had already told them so.) Great news isn t it - the last place you wan
t to be is in the same boat with a man who has disobeyed the God who made the se
a - who is refusing to serve the God who made the sea.
And Jonah knows that the wages of sin, the penalty for disobedience is death - t
he judgment of God has caught up with him.
What shall we do they say? And Jonah s response v.12 12 Pick me up and throw me into
the sea, he replied, and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that thi
s great storm has come upon you.
Do you notice - there s no excuses, there s no bargaining with God - he basically sa
ys: God is dealing with me justly - God is righteous - I deserve this, and God i
s right in punishing me. Jonah accepts without reservation the consequences of h
is disobedience. He knows that wages of sin is death. The penalty for disobedien
ce is death. (Rom.6:23 - for the wages of sin is death). And Jonah surrenders to
God s punishment. I have sinned and I deserve to die, I have disobeyed God and I
deserve the death sentence. We read v.15 15Then they took Jonah and threw him ov
erboard, and the raging sea grew calm. (for the wages of sin is death).
And let me say to you this evening, that like Jonah when we disobey God, when we
refuse to serve God and live his way - the path only leads downhill, you and I
will not sleep soundly forever - eventually your disobedience will be uncovered
- like Jonah it will be a rude awakening because only judgment awaits - if not i
n this life, certainly in the next. The NT clearly speaks of judgment in the pre
sent - of God s punishment and discipline in the now. (I ve left some passages there
for you to read as you think about your own life).

When we persist in disobedience - he will discipline. If you are being disobedie

nt in the Christian life, do not for one moment think you can or will get away w
ith it - it is a downhill walk spiritually, and it s only a matter of time - you c
an run, but you can t hide. And when the storm comes, when the tempest comes, you
would have brought it on yourself.
Hebrews warns us to take God s discipline in this life seriously (ch.10 - it is a
fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God) - in Corinthians you rea
d of believers who are struck down for making light of the Lord s Supper.
And for some of you - maybe just maybe, God is saying wake up to yourself - are
you taking the word of God seriously in your life? Is there something God has cl
early told you to do that you re not doing - his word is clear, but you will not d
o it? Is there some hidden sin, that you will not give up! Take heed my friend,
take heed - it is not the way to start a new year - for God s judgment looms - the
wages of sin is death.
And Jonah the man of God faces the storm of God s judgment.
But judgment will not be the last word. And here is our third lesson - the most
important lesson for us this evening: Jonah, the man of God is as good as dead,
and God saves him. The last word in ch.1 is not judgment, but grace and mercy. J
onah knows that he deserves death - the wages of sin is death but God saves him.
God sends a great storm in judgment, but he also sends a great fish to save Jona
h.
3. Jonah, the man of God is as good as dead, and God saves him v.17 cf. Rom.6:23
b; 4:25 ; Mt.12:38-42; Lk. 11:29-32
The miracle in the story is not that Jonah gets swallowed by a huge fish, but th
at God saves Jonah! He is as good as dead in v.15 cast into the sea facing death
, the punishment for his sin, then we read grace in v.17. 17But the LORD provide
d a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and th
ree nights. (Contrast between v.15 and v.16
then they took Jonah and threw him o
verboard but the LORD provided a great fish ).
The fish is the miracle of God s grace.
Jonah expected death - he knew that the wages of sin, of disobedience meant deat
h - and when he is cast into the raging sea - that s what he expects - he deserves
it - the justice of God. And then the great fish gulped him up - and he finds h
imself alive inside the fish. You and I would think - not much of a rescue, bein
g swallowed by a large fish. But to a man who is expecting death by drowning, it
is a stay of execution.