Jonah - 2
The Call of God
I have called this study "The Call of God", and we are going to look at Jonah chapter one and the first two verses. This is what they say: "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.” As we begin this study it is interesting to note that the name Jonah means "A dove". The dove symbolises a number of things in the Scriptures. It was a dove that symbolised the anointing of the Lord Jesus by the Holy Spirit at the commencement of His ministry.
A dove also speaks of sacrifice and purity and peace. So this is a significant name for someone who is to be called by God. It is perhaps also significant that Jonah's father was called Amittai, which means "My truth”, because all of God's prophets were to be sons of the truth as they proclaimed the message of the Lord.
So we read in verse 1 that "The word of the Lord came to Jonah.” The commission that God was about to give to Jonah was a serious and sacred trust. The word that came to Jonah was to be obeyed and proclaimed and he was God's chosen vessel to take the message to the city of Nineveh. Before this he had prophesied during the reign of the wicked king Jeroboam as we discovered last time. We know very little about Jonah but the Lord chose him and gave him an important mission. If you are a Christian, God has chosen you and He has a work for you to do where you are.
This commission given to Jonah was a serious and sacred trust. We learn from verse 2 that the command given to him was a sovereign command. It was the King of all creation Who commissioned him. No details are given, no further explanation, no predictions concerning the results of Jonah's preaching. The great prophet Isaiah was told by the Lord that his ministry would be barren, but Jonah is simply told to go and preach against the wickedness of Nineveh.
The call or commission of God is different for everyone. Isaiah saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted. He heard the seraphim calling to one another about the Lord Almighty, the Holy One. He heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us? ” And he said, "Here I am. Send me.” (Isaiah 6) And he received his commission, "Go and tell this people.” Jeremiah, the young prophet heard the reassuring voice of the Lord telling him that even before he was born he had been set apart and appointed as a prophet to the nations (Jeremiah 1).
But Jonah's commissioning was so different, we read simply that the word of the Lord came to him and he was told to go. God deals with us all so differently. Your conversion experience was different to mine and we should not question another's experience of the Lord because it differs in some way to our own. The Lord's call to individuals to serve Him comes in many different ways. Abraham was told to leave his home country and go where the Lord directed him. David the future king was chosen while still a young boy by Samuel the man of God. We can trust in the character of God to call as He chooses and as He knows best.
In verse 2 of Jonah chapter 1 we learn something about the message that Jonah was commissioned to preach. It was to be about sin and righteousness and judgement to come. The Lord said that the wickedness of the city had come up before Him. When he eventually went to Nineveh, Jonah's words were words of warning that in forty days the great city would be overturned. Everyone, from the king down knew what this message meant. They recognised their evil ways and their violence and that they were facing the judgement of God who is holy. Is not this the work of the Holy Spirit today? The Lord Jesus Christ said this in John 16 verses 8 to 11: "When He (the Spirit) comes, He will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgement; in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and in regard to judgement, because the prince of this world now stands condemned."
True preaching is very disturbing at times. When Peter preached on the Day of Pentecost we read in Acts chapter 2 verse 37: "When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, 'Brothers, what shall we do? '“ Faithful evangelism will expose sin and bring conviction to the hearers as the Holy Spirit does His work. The true gospel of Jesus Christ makes people uncomfortable it does not entertain them. The preaching of the cross is foolishness to those who do not believe, said Paul, but to those who believe it is the power of God for salvation. The cross of the Lord Jesus shows us both holiness and the righteousness of God, that sin must be dealt with and judged. The cross shows us the love of God for sinners, because it was there that the Son of God took on Himself the judgement due to us. There can be no substitute for the faithful preaching of the cross, for the telling out of the message that Jonah was given so that sinners will turn to God for mercy and forgiveness.
We learn from this that preaching is very important. It is a serious and sacred trust. Paul writes to his son in the faith Timothy and says, in 1 Timothy 4 verse 13: "Devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching.” Those great men of God, Enoch and Noah, were both preachers in their day. All the great prophets were preachers pointing out the spiritual needs of the people. Jonah's preaching was supremely concerned with the wickedness of the people of Nineveh which had offended God. In that sense he was very like John the Baptist who preached repentance and baptised those who turned from their sin and looked for the coming Saviour. The real problem in the lives of people today is their sin, their rebellion against God. This is the reality of what we see around us. Sin and death and judgement to come are all realities and as Christians we are called by God to warn our families, our friends and our neighbours and to bring them the good news of the Lord Jesus.
The call of Jonah is our call who are members of the church of Jesus Christ. You may not be called to preach publicly. You may never go beyond the bounds of your village or town or city. But you are called to be a witness for Christ, to be a watchman warning the people and calling them to safety in the Saviour. We are to be like Abraham, the man who pleaded in prayer for wicked Sodom.
Jonah's commission reminds us, too, of the long-suffering and the patience of Almighty God. Nineveh had a long day of grace that they had utterly abused and now God was even sending his prophet to warn them to repent. God has been long-suffering and patient with many of us. As you read this message do you need to repent of your sins that have grieved a loving God? Ask Him to forgive you and to wash you and to make you His child. Do you as a Christian need the touch of God upon your life, to go through a real, deep repentance yourself and then go and preach this message to others in a gracious and humble spirit?
May the call of Jonah become our call as we hear the voice of God in His Word.