Jonah - 6
The Storm
We are looking at Jonah chapter one verse four. This is what we read: "Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up."
In our previous talks we discovered that the prophet Jonah was deliberately running away from the will of God. God had commissioned him to go to the great city of Nineveh and to preach against its wickedness and warn the people of coming judgement. Instead Jonah had run to the port of Joppa and taken a ship going in the opposite direction to Nineveh, to Tarshish. But God did not stop him from running away and Jonah had apparently been very successful in his plan to avoid God's purpose for him. Here is a child of God, commissioned by God for an important task, but he is not walking with the Lord, he is going his own way.
Here we have a picture of the backslider, one who is living in disobedience to the Lord. To such a one God is forgotten and He seems far away. Like the prodigal son in Jesus' parable, everything seems to be working out well at first. Jonah's plan to run in the opposite direction seemed to be going well, but God had other plans for His disobedient servant. Did Jonah really think that he could hide from God? Listening friend, are you trying to run away from God's will for your life? Do you seriously believe that you can outwit God, that you can hide from Him? God knew exactly where Jonah was and what he was doing, just as He knows all about you and me. Jonah thought that his way was best for him but he was wrong. Satan's snares and attractions always seem rewarding at first but they always end in tears and failure and trouble.
We should not be fleeing from God, but to Him. God is to be our hiding place. David said, "Rescue me from my enemies O Lord, for I hide myself in you.” Jonah experienced many terrible trials before he realised that he needed God so much. Often those who run away from God's will find themselves facing many trials and hardships. Are you in that situation today? There is only one thing to do and that is to stop running, stop living in disobedience and come back to God and hide yourself in Him. He is a gracious God and if you are His child He longs for you to return to Him in repentance so that He might rescue you from your enemies and from your own waywardness.
So Jonah has set out on his voyage away from Nineveh and from God's purpose for him. Perhaps he was anticipating a pleasant journey across the Mediterranean Sea to Spain. It was not to be for very soon, as we read in Jonah 1 verse 4, "The Lord sent a great wind and a violent storm.” The thought in the original Hebrew language is that the Lord "hurled a great wind onto the sea and there was a mighty tempest.” This was no ordinary storm for it was God's doing, not merely nature, but the God of nature, the Creator Himself. You see, God does not forget His straying sheep and He will do all He can to bring them back. In Jonah's case the Lord was going to stop him in his tracks and prevent him from going to Tarshish.
Did God sent this terrible storm to discourage Jonah or even to destroy him? No, it was the discipline of a loving Father. Here was a man who was privileged, chosen, called and commissioned, but self-interest had taken him over. He was a prophet whom God had used before to proclaim His word, but he is no longer walking with God. He is still a prophet but he has lost the vision and is occupied right now with his own little scheme. "After all, there are others far better qualified for this task than me", he might argue. "Who am I anyway? My faith is weak and small and I'm not worthy to speak for the Lord". And God answers his objections with a great storm.
This is no ordinary storm for it is divine in its origin and its timing is deliberate. But although it is a violent storm it is also an act of God's grace. Through the storm God's purpose is to turn Jonah around and bring him back to God's will for him. God's chastening is always with the object of drawing us back to Him. Sometimes He will allow storms into our lives to test our faith in Him.
You will remember the time when Jesus was in a boat with his disciples and while He was sleeping a great storm arose on the lake. Even the experienced fishermen grew afraid as the boat was in danger of being swamped. Jesus was with them, but He was asleep. ""Teacher", they cried, "Don't you care if we perish? ” Their faith was being tested to the limit, but exactly who were they addressing in this way? It was the Son of God, the Messiah, the Lord of all creation.
This is a significant incident because no Christian has ever had a storm free life. There are storms of trials at times, there are temptations and weariness. There are times when you will feel discouraged or frustrated. And then there may be times of persecution or rejection by family or friends. God allows storms like these to come into our lives so that we will be cast upon Him and realise that in ourselves we are nothing. "Don't you care? ", the frightened disciples said to their Master. Of course He cared! He was teaching them the lesson that just as He was trusting his heavenly Father to keep Him in the storm, so they also should be trusting Him.
Peter, writing in his first letter chapter 1 verse 7 says: "These trials have come so that your faith - of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire - may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed."
So the storms God allows to come into our lives can be either to build our faith, or, as in Jonah's case, to discipline us and bring us back into his will for us. Jonah's storm was a gracious act of God especially for him, but his sin affected others, as it always does. Jonah was not alone in the storm for the consequence of his disobedience involved everyone on board that ship.
In Joshua chapter 6 we have the record of Achan's sin when he disobeyed God's specific command and stole from the city of Jericho. His sin led to the defeat of the Israelites at Ai and eventually to the death of his whole family. Jonah's disobedience and Aachan's sin affected those around them. This is a very serious lesson that we discover here.
The apostle Paul reminds us in Romans 14 verse 7 that "None of us lives to himself alone. None of us dies to himself alone.” How we behave affects others. As individual Christians we are part of the body of Christ and we are to be mindful of one another in our actions. In Romans 14 Paul is teaching us about the influence we can have on those who are weaker in faith. By doing things that we consider good we may cause them to fall. So we must be careful in both a positive and a negative sense, always mindful of the effect our behaviour will have on our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Jonah's action in running away from God brought trouble not only to himself but to all involved. God had said to him "Go", but Jonah had said "No!", and was running away to Tarshish. We are reminded elsewhere in Scripture that "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” We cannot defy God and escape the storm of his righteous judgement. There is a cost in following Christ, but there is certainly a terrible price to pay in disobeying Him.
The Lord Jesus said of Himself, "A greater than Jonah is here.” In Christ we see the only one who was totally obedient to God, and yet He also experienced, as a man, the violent storms of life. He knew what it was to face opposition, temptation and rejection. He faced the storms of sorrow at the death of a friend. He knew the anguish of betrayal and denial. Most of all He faced the awful storm of Calvary as He who knew no sin was made to be sin for us so that we might find peace and forgiveness.
The great storm of final judgement is still to come, but it IS coming. Even in the middle of Jonah's storm the others on board that ship, we read in Jonah chapter 1 verse 14, "Cried to the Lord.” And in verse 16, after they had thrown Jonah overboard, at his request, and the storm ceased, "They greatly feared the Lord, and they made a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows to Him.” Ask the God who rules the storms to forgive you your sins, to make you an obedient child of God and to send real peace into your heart and into your life.