Jonah - 4
He Found a Ship
This time we are looking at chapter 1 and verse 3 where we read: "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."
In this verse we have, I believe, a picture of the situation in the life of a Christian that is called "backsliding.” This means to fall away, or to go back into the world. In this action of Jonah we find the steps of disobedience that are often followed by those who turn their back on God. Note first his sheer determination. The first step of disobedience, of backsliding, is that of running away. Those who do this, as Jonah did, soon find that our God is an inescapable God. You cannot outrun either the love or the justice of the Lord.
Sometimes it happens like this: here is a born again child of God, but things have gone wrong. His prayer-life has become stale and wearisome and has reached the point where it has vanished altogether. He is too busy to read his Bible and somehow he can't always make it to church. He begins to find all kinds of faults and flaws in other Christians and he begins to slide away. What has happened? He has lost his first love and he has forgotten the pit of sin from which he was rescued. He has forgotten the cross of Calvary and the One who died for him there. Like the prodigal son in the Lord's parable, he is headed for the far country thinking that life will be better there. There is a solemn word from the Lord Jesus about this situation. He says in Luke 9 verse 62: "No one who puts his hand to the plough and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."
If a man runs, he must run somewhere. Jonah ran to the port of Joppa, or Jaffa as it is now known. Here he was on the very borders of Israel, but he could still move back into the will of God. Every ship in that port presented Jonah with a conscious choice. The choice he makes now is of momentous importance for it will affect so many lives. Little did he think that all that happened would be recorded in the Scriptures and be read by us almost three thousand years later. How necessary it is for us to realise the importance of our decisions where God's will for us is concerned and to recognise the impact of those decisions on others.
Let's consider for a moment what causes a believer to backslide. What is it that makes a Christian seek to run away from the Lord? It is not necessarily some great spiritual battle such as Jonah faced. It can simply be tiredness. The wife of Thomas Manton, a Christian of a former generation, wrote: "Weariness makes way for wandering.” It is not easy to pray when you are tired or unwell, so you must be on your guard when this happens. It is at such times that the Lord Jesus says to us, "Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.” Do not use tiredness or weariness as an excuse to neglect your prayer-life, but rather use it as a reason to seek the Lord for His strength and rest.
Another cause of backsliding is isolation. Another older writer called George Swinnock says: "Satan watches for those vessels that sail without a convoy.” During the last World War supply ships crossing the great oceans did so in large groups or convoys escorted by naval vessels. They did this because there was greater safety in numbers. A single ship, sailing on its own, was in grave danger from the enemy. In the New Testament Christians are described as "saints". This word never occurs in the singular, always in the plural. The church of the Lord Jesus is a body and we are to seek out and enjoy Christian fellowship and the mutual encouragement and help that comes from this. We cannot "go it alone", as believers we need one another. If you are an isolated believer and there is no one else in your family or where you live, then it is vital that you stay close to the Lord through prayer and the Scriptures and through broadcasts such as this. If possible, find other believers with whom you can meet from time to time so that you will not feel alone. If this is not possible, then remember that our Saviour has promised His continual presence with you.
Another cause of backsliding is pride. Thomas Brooks wrote that "Satan has his devices to destroy the learned and the wise.” In other words the adversary of God's people sometimes causes them to think more highly of themselves than they should. They pride themselves in their abilities and look down on those who are not so gifted, although they often excel them in grace and holiness. Paul said that "knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.” All that we possess by way of our abilities is a gift from God to be used for His glory and not our own.
It is all too possible for us to come to rely on our own abilities and lose our trust in God alone and so fall away.
We are discovering some causes for Christians falling away from the Lord, or perhaps like Jonah trying to hide from Him. One of Satan's strongest devices for turning believers away is discouragement. You may be discouraged by the actions of another Christian, or it may be that you have worked long and hard in the service of the Lord and it all seems to be in vain. When the Lord Jesus told His parable of the persistent widow in Luke chapter 18, the fundamental message of that parable was that we should not lose heart. The apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15 verse 58: "Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain.” The same apostle says in Galatians 6 verse 9: "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."
Backsliding can also be the result of doubt. When you are tempted to doubt by the enemy of souls, you should remind him of certain facts. Remind him that your God and Saviour is the Creator of all things. Remind him that Christ really did come into this world to save sinners by His death on the cross and that He rose again in victory on the third day. The very existence of the Christian church down the centuries, how God has kept it through times of persecution and opposition, and how through its message countless lives have been changed, bears witness to the truth.
Another cause of backsliding is secret sin. We should remember that nothing is hidden from Almighty God. Sin breaks our fellowship with Him and secret sins especially will destroy our devotional life. The Psalmist says in Psalm 66 verse 18: "If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened ...”. Sin cannot be hidden from the Lord and if it is not confessed it will destroy our joy in the Lord and ruin our testimony. We must not minimise sin for all sin is grievous to God and will break our fellowship with Him. When we no longer enjoy the presence of the Lord, then we are in danger of backsliding.
So Jonah found a ship waiting in the harbour to take him away in the opposite direction to the will of God. For us today there are many ships waiting as it were to move us out of God's will. That voyage proved to be for Jonah the most tragic and traumatic and dangerous experience that he would ever have. It almost cost him his life and he had to go through the most harrowing experience that any one of us could imagine. There is a terrible price to be paid by those who consciously and wilfully move out of the will of God. My prayer for you today, listening friend, is that you will remain close to your Saviour and ever desire to be in His perfect will. Do not, like Jonah, look for a way out of God's presence, but rather hear His word to you and obey it.