"The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: "Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me." But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord…. Jonah 1:1-3 NIVIn completing a recent study of the book of Jonah, God taught me a great many things….I know, I know….. you’re probably thinking, "The book is only 4 chapters long. How much information could there be?" at first glance, I thought the very same thing, but I now stand corrected and amazed by just how wrong I turned out to be!!!
Many remember the book of Jonah from the halls of Sunday School and still tend to view the story from that perspective…. a man in a big storm, who got swallowed by a big fish only to have to later contend with a big wind….when in fact, the story is rife with lessons that are still very relevant to all followers of Christ today.
For those of you who may be a little new to the story, Jonah, a prophet to the nation of Israel, was a man intimately acquainted with God, who also had a profound sense of national pride and loyalty. God commands Jonah to go to the people of Nineveh to declare His judgment against the city due to their great wickedness. Well, the one problem for Jonah, in God’s having commanded him to undertake that particular task, was that the Assyrian people (those who lived in Nineveh) were some of Israel’s greatest enemies…Jonah did not so much fear for his life in going there, as much as he flat out did not WANT to go there and warn the people of God’s impending wrath. Remember, he knew God intimately, and knew Him to be a kind and merciful God, and he realized that if the people of Nineveh turned away from their wicked ways, God in His loving kindness, would spare them….and that idea did not set well with Jonah….in other words, he wanted them to get, in His opinion, what they deserved….So, instead of going to Nineveh as God commanded, Jonah decided to disobey God and made a mad dash for Tarshish instead. As a result, God orchestrated a series of uncomfortable events to bring Jonah back into obedience. The book is a beautiful depiction of the great love and mercy that God feels for all people and the lengths to which He will go to lovingly pursue each of His children back into right relationship with Himself.
Priscilla Shirer, the writer and teacher of the Bible study I took, offered 2 "equations" for each participant to consider. The 1st was, "Insignificant Person + Insignificant Task = Interruption"…while the 2nd was, "Significant Person + Significant Task= Divine Intervention"(1). I couldn’t help but immediately consider how differently Jonah’s story may have gone had he put aside his deep (albeit understandable) dislike of the Ninevites and swiftly accepted that his call from God to go to Nineveh was in fact, not an interruption but a Divine Intervention…as much for him as the people of Nineveh. Midway through this teaching, God began shifting my "plank-filled" gaze away from Jonah and onto myself. He began to challenge me concerning my own personal "Ninevites" and convict me of how often I, in my own life and dealings with others, had like Jonah, "run off to Tarshish" and become an obstacle to His kingdom purposes by deciding for myself who I would allow Him to influence through me….He lovingly reminded me, that every single difficult person and situation that has ever touched my life, has done so under the careful watch of His eye and Divine purpose….once this realization took full hold of my heart, I then began to feel encouraged and emboldened by the truth that I am a significant person, chosen by God, for significant tasks, that are divine interventions sent direct from heaven and assuming that you are acquainted with God through His Son, Jesus Christ, the very same is true for you as well.
Eventually, Jonah did go to Nineveh and what resulted is thought by Biblical scholars to be the greatest "revival"of all time…the entire, great city of Nineveh, from the king on down, turned away from their wickedness, turned to God in repentance and at such time, God relented from His impending wrath against them…..So, you may be wondering what the end result of my time spent sojourning with Jonah has been? Well, I am now facing life and all people with a renewed sense of purpose. I have been reminded that God has blessed each of us with a "sphere of influence" not for our glory but for His. As followers of Christ, we simply do not get to "pick and choose" whom God will draw to Himself through us…we are simply to yield ourselves to Him as a willing vessel, allowing Him room in our hearts and lives to make Himself conspicuous in this dark and dying world, in any way and through any circumstance that He chooses. As Jesus speaks, The Great Commission makes this clear….. "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember I am with you always, to the end of the age." Matthew 28:18-20 HCSB
Nowhere in His statement does Jesus say, "you choose who you go to"….He simply says "Go….." equally important, I hope that you noticed that there’s a time limit as to how long we have to accomplish the significant tasks He has imparted to us…."to the end of the age." One thing we all know for sure is that time is fleeting and swift. In light of that fact, I encourage each of you to take careful exploration of who you are; that you may be certain that you do not suffer from the same "Jonah-like" heart condition that I suffered from….. and then purpose through Holy Spirit filled living to condition yourself to become a surrendered vessel God can fully use to draw all people unto Himself before it is everlasting too late…..
1. "Jonah: Navigating A Life Interrupted" Priscilla Shirer Lifeway Press. Nashville, Tennessee
