Lesson 2

“But the Lord…”

Jonah 1:4-10 (Vv.4-7) 

The lesson of Jonah continues.  Jonah had received his command from the Lord.  He knew that he was to go to Nineveh.  He then ‘went down’ (physically, but also spiritually) to Joppa and there found a ship that would take him to Tarshish.  Always remember that the road of sin is very accommodating and you will always find a helping hand from Satan, the world,& the flesh.  So Jonah set sail for Tarshish, but the Lord was not going to let him get far.  For God had called him to go to Nineveh and preach God’s Word of repentance.  Here we see God’s determinate will: He told Jonah to do it.  Jonah refused.  God thus brought Jonah about to fulfill his calling to go and preach to the Ninevites God’s Gospel.  It is a good thing that God only lets us get so far on the path of sin before we get ourselves hurt. 

     So on the Great Sea as Jonah sailed from Joppa to Tarshish we find that the Lord has to rebuke His prophet. Let us not flee from God, but find a hiding place in Him (Psa.143:9-12).  Some times we need to flee from ourselves and unto the Lord. 

Vv.4—But the Lord: We read in Vv.3 “But Jonah” and now here we read “But the Lord.”  God’s “but” completely rules out and negates Jonah’s “but”.  I’m so thankful for the “But God’s” of my life.  “Man proposes, but God disposes.”  Man says, “This is what I’m going to do to foil the plan of God.”  God changes your will so that His will is accomplished.  It is like the law of gravity.  You may get up on top of your roof, say “I’m going to jump of and break the law of gravity.”  Well, what happens?  You don’t break the law of gravity; the law of gravity breaks you!  What God determines to happen will happen.  God is always more powerful than our will.  We miss out on so many blessings when we do not listen to God when He speaks to us the first time.  If Jonah would’ve been in God’s will God wouldn’t have had to do this.  If man wasn’t sinful there would never have been a “But God.”  If man were perfect, God never would’ve had to intervene.  But man did sin, and w/o God intervening we would be in trouble and of most men miserable. “But God”—2Pet.3:9; Gal.4:4,5; Rom.5:6-8; Eph.2:1-7 (Vv.4).  Jonah sought to flee from God.  Oh, what praise is due to that blessed Mediator, whom through flight to God is possible.  Seek no hiding place from God.  Let God himself be your hiding place “Rock of Ages, Cleft for me, Let me hide myself in Thee.”

“Sent out a great wind into the sea,”  We see here a wind storm fulfilling the will of God.  A great wind did not arise, but it was the Lord that sent it.  The Lord’s hand is recognized.  The storm is not attributed to nature, but to the God of nature; to him who is over all and above all.  He has established laws in nature; but they cannot administer themselves.  He supports, maintains, controls, and moves them Himself at His own pleasure (Psa.148:1-8; 107:23-31; Nahum 1:3-5).  This was a tempest of God’s chastisement upon his unworthy and rebellious servant.  Its purpose was to bring Jonah to the place and the service, which God had assigned him to.  How many tempests has God sent out to us in our lives?  Too many I’m sure.  But thankfully HE did send them out(Heb.12:5-11).  To the ungodly God lets them go (Rom.1:28), but He will judge them (Rom.1:32). 

We see that God’s controversy with one individual involves many others in danger.  The storm was for the rebellion of Jonah and there is no reason to believe it would’ve been sent out at all save for Jonah.  Recall Achan! He sinned and the whole of Israel suffered for it (Josh.7:1-26).  Jonah sinned and now the entire ship, and Nineveh would suffer too.

Vv.5—The Mariners…  Found them in great peril.  The storm had over taken them all but Jonah. Overtaken that they began a desperate attempt to save themselves.  They left nothing undone, which they could not conceive or do.  They were afraid for their lives.  All men who are lost should be afraid for they are at enmity with God & their life is as a vapour (Jms.4:14). 

What did the Mariners do? 

1)            They cried every man unto his god vv.5.  Pity none cried to the God who sent out the storm and had power to take it away [Their gods: Psa.115:4-8; Isa.45:20-22].  Praying was a reaction; today it seems more that people curse God for the bad in their lives.  And yet here we see the great worthlessness  of prayer wrung out under terror (That is that many pray only when they are about to be physically or monetarily hurt, yet they know not the God of Heaven & earth [Ps.78:34-37]. 

The prayer that is acceptable by God is the prayer of faith.  Confidence in the power, grace, word, love, wisdom of a Father we’ve been reconciled to (Matt.7:7,8).  No prayer except through the prayer of faith presented in the Name of the Great Advocate and Intercessor will be accepted.

2)          Cast Forth wares of ship:  works of the flesh in attempt to save themselves.  Their gods did not save them. The storm raged on.  They took matters into their own hands.  They cast forth bad habits & handicaps.  “All that a man hath will he give for his life.”  The richest & poorest meet together here with the common Need: Jesus.  But this also would come to no avail (Rom.4:4-6/Eph.2:8,9). 

Man’s only hope:  Jonah 2:9 “…Salvation is of the Lord.”  Man must realize 4 things:

a.  He cannot save himself, but need’s God’s help (Lk.18:9-14).

b.  He must have someone point him to God who saves all who come to Him believing (Rom.10:14,15).

c.  He must believe God can & will save him & anyone who trusts Him (Acts.16:30-34).

d.  He must put his case in God’s hand, at Christ’s feet in humble submission (Lk.18:13).

“But Jonah…” We see the carelessness of Jonah: He cared not for:

1)    The Ninevites    2)  his shipmates

3)    Himself    4) His calling 5) His Lord.

He was in a most backslidden condition.  Jonah was not sleeping for sorrow, but because he was indifferent and full of apathy (without care).  The storm was for Jonah yet he knew it not (Isa.42:24,25).  The storm may be for us.  Let us make sure we are on God’s path.  Many Christians like this who sit idly by watching the world perish without a cry in the wilderness to “repent for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.”  Has not God called His people to be watchman? (Ezek.3:16-21).

Vv.6—“What meanest thou, O sleeper?” Jonah’s unconsciousness was wicked.  He was in a backslidden condition.  A when one is backslidden, and out of the will of God, the things of God he/she will not care for.  They do not even care about themselves let alone the souls of men, women, boys and girls around them. 

“So the shipmaster came unto him and said…” The shipmaster was not a Hebrew, but rather of some other nation.  Here we note that the Lord uses whomsoever He will to chasten His own (Much like He did with Babylon, Philistines, Persians with Israel in O.T.). 

He asks him, “How can you be asleep in these conditions?” 

“Call upon thy God…”  The Captain of the ship thought that Jonah’s God had not been prayed to as their gods had been.  Unwittingly, the captain was correct; the God of the tempest had not been prayed to.  All the other false gods had been sought, but none could save. Reminds us of Mars’ Hill (Acts.17:22-24). 

“God will think upon us…” God will think upon His people when they pray to Him.  Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need (Heb.4:16). 

NOTE:  The reprover was reproved.  Jonah was sent to warn the people of Nineveh to repent; yet Jonah himself needed to be warned to repent of his disobedience to God.  The one who should’ve been leading in prayer was prayer-less; in fact, he had to be told to pray.  How far away the slippery slope of backsliding is.  Jonah went down to Joppa and then he went down into the ship.  Jonah went down, down, down in a spiritual condition. He was without care or concern.  A shipload of people was in danger.  A city of souls was under the wrath of God.  Yet Jonah was unconcerned.  Many who say they are saved, have no concern for the lost, they say if I want to do this or that it is my business: go to shows, dances, socially drink, gamble; ‘It’s my life’.  Many are like Jonah.  Here was a people facing eternity without hope, they cannot help themselves, they know not the way of life, you may say I cannot understand why Jonah was so unconcerned.   May I ask each one personally how concerned are you about lost souls, your own children, your own loved ones, friends, and neighbors?  You know how concerned many are?  They go with the lost to places that are not fit for a Christian to be in, they do what the lost do and never say one word about Jesus Christ and His power to save.  The average believer has so disobeyed God until his or her concern has been lost, there is coldness of heart, dryness of eyes, whenever you want an excuse the devil always makes it easy especially if it is to disobey the Lord. 

Vv.7—“Come and let us cast lots”—The God that Jonah vainly sought to flee from was on his heels.  The tempest had not been abated and so the mariners sought to cast lots to see for whose cause the storm had come upon them. 

The sailors had done all they could think of to stay the storm (they prayed to their gods, lighted the ship) and yet it raged on.  They then sought to cast lots to see by whom this terrible wrath of God had come upon them.

“and the lot fell upon Jonah”—He was taken by lot, but not by virtue of lots; especially of the lots of heathen men, but by the will of Him who guided the uncertain lots (Prov.16:33; 18:18). 

We can also be sure that our sins will find us out (Numb.32:23).  Jonah had sinned against God and the Lord did bring it out.  It was as if God Himself was there in the ship and said unto Jonah ”Thou art the man.” (2Sam.12:1-7). 

Vv.8,9—Questions Asked; Questions Answered

1)     “What is thine occupation?”—There is something very wrong and sad in a prophet of the Lord being asked: “What is thine occupation?” Like a soldier, the proof of His calling should be manifest.  Men did not ask Elijah, Elisha, Paul, Moses—what occupation they were.  They lived it—they were men called of God (Acts.4:13—that they had been disciples of Christ was evident by their speech, conversation or manner of life). 

2)      “Whence [where] comest thou?”

3)      “What is thy country?”

4)     “Of what people art thou?”

They sought answers to these questions so that light might be shed on the ‘lot’ that had befallen them in their journey to Tarshish.

ANS—“I am an Hebrew” a people who had been know throughout the region that they had a God who was more powerful than any other gods round about them.  That Jehovah dealt with His people when they disobeyed Him.

ANS—Jonah’s occupation or calling was a prophet of God (2Kgs.14:25). 

Jonah went on to state: “I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land.”  However, this was not really so.  For if he had truly feared the Lord as Jonah said he did, then he wouldn’t have disobeyed God in fleeing from his duty.  Jonah was guilty of dereliction of duty.  He neglected His calling of God. 

Vv.10—“The men were exceedingly afraid” No longer were they afraid of the storm, but afraid that one of Jehovah’s own was in their midst who had disobeyed the Lord.  The very distinctness and extent to which God was manifesting His righteous anger toward ONE servant.  What lessons there are to learn when one is chastened of the Lord (1Sam.3:11-13).  May we learn from their rebellion against God. 

“Why hast thou done this?”  Oh, what a rebuke!  Listen to the question and note who said it.  A heathen man said to a prophet of God: “Did your God provoke you to flee from Him?  Did He deal so hardly and unkindly with you that you had no alternative but flight?  Were you tired of your God?  Had you found Him out—as no more worthy of your trust and obedience?  Had you fulfilled your calling and duty? 

“Why hast thou done this?”  Did He demand your self-denying labor and give you no strength to carry it out?  Was the task He gave more than the grace He gave to do the work?  Is this the character of your God? 

They knew he fled from God.  He did tell them this.  They wondered for what reason, and rightly so for the tempest was upon them all, yet it was of his own sin that it had come upon them (Jer.2:17).  If we do sin against the Lord, for what reason do we have to do such?  Our God has supplied us with everything we stand in need of.  Let us not forsake Him, but rather stand on the very promises of God; “For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.” (2Cor.1:20). 

Closing—God is warning us not to sleep.  “Work for the night is dcoming.” Our influence needs to count for Christ (Matt.5:13-16).  If you are saved by God’s grace and you are not serving God then you have sinned against knowledge…for you know how that someone had to tell you the gospel:  the good tidings of great joy.  Somebody thought enough of us warn us to repent.  Do not close your ears to the call of God to tell men and women of their condition outside of Jesus Christ; yea, outside of the Lord’s Church—that they are not serving the Lord.