We Will Not Run From God’s Call
Brethren, Today we choose obedience over escape, mercy over bitterness, mission over comfort. We confess with Jonah, “Salvation is of the LORD” and we bow to the risen Christ whom Jonah’s story foreshadowed.
We will not board ships to Tarshish. We will arise and go. We will love our enemies. We will rejoice when sinners repent. We will preach Jesus crucified, buried, and raised the third day. We will align our hearts with God’s heart for the nations. This is our stand.
Jonah’s Call And Our Crossroads
“Arise, go to Nineveh” was clear and divine, not optional or vague (Jonah 1:2). Yet Jonah ran to Joppa, paid the fare, and fled from the presence of the LORD toward Tarshish (Jonah 1:3). Did he really think he could hide?
The Psalmist asks, “Whither shall I flee from thy presence?” The answer is nowhere at all (Psalm 139:7). Friends, how many times has the Spirit whispered “go,” and we quietly packed for “away”? The call of God still stands. The question still stings. Will we obey, or will we run?
The Storm That Finds Runaways
God sent a wind. The sea roared. Seasoned sailors trembled. Jonah slept while judgment shook the planks (Jonah 1:4–6). Lots were cast. Sin was exposed. Jonah confessed, and they hurled him into the deep.
Immediately the sea ceased from her raging, and those pagan sailors feared the LORD, offered a sacrifice, and made vows (Jonah 1:15–16). Look at the mercy of God. Even Jonah’s failure becomes a doorway for outsiders to worship. Brethren, are we seeing what God sees, or sulking below deck while a world cries out?
The Great Fish And The Greater Mercy
“Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah” (Jonah 1:17). In the dark, wrapped with weeds, Jonah finally prayed. “Out of the belly of hell cried I” and the Lord heard (Jonah 2:2).
He remembered God’s covenant love, renounced lying vanities, and declared, “Salvation is of the LORD” (Jonah 2:9). Then the same God who appointed a fish commanded it, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land (Jonah 2:10). Friends, have you ever been rescued by a mercy you did not deserve? Praise the Lord. He still answers from the depths.
Second Chances Still Sound Like “Arise, Go”
“And the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh” (Jonah 3:1–2). No debate. No edits. Just grace that calls us back to the original assignment.
Jonah walked the great city and preached a five-word thunderclap in Hebrew: “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown” (Jonah 3:4). No clever branding. No soft edges. Just truth.
Sackcloth In The Capital Of Violence
From king to cattle, Nineveh believed God, fasted, cried mightily, and turned from their evil way (Jonah 3:5–9). “Who can tell if God will turn and repent… that we perish not?” So God saw their works and withheld the judgment they deserved (Jonah 3:10).
This is the heart of heaven. “To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him” (Daniel 9:9). Brethren, do we rejoice when grace visits the people we fear, or resent the party we were sure they didn’t deserve?
The Angry Prophet And The Patient God
“It displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry” (Jonah 4:1). He prayed, “I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness” (Jonah 4:2; see Exodus 34:6).
He would rather die than watch mercy triumph. God asked, “Doest thou well to be angry?” (Jonah 4:4).
Then came the plant, the worm, the wind, the sun. Jonah pitied a gourd that lived a night and died a dawn, yet he would not pity a city of more than a hundred and twenty thousand souls who could not discern their right hand from their left, and also much cattle (Jonah 4:6–11). Friends, what matters more to us, our shade or their salvation?
Jonah And Jesus: The Sign That Settles Everything
The Lord Jesus settled the sign-hunters of His day. “There shall no sign be given… but the sign of the prophet Jonas” (Matthew 16:4). “For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly, so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:40).
Jonah descended because of his sin. Christ descended for ours. Jonah came up to preach judgment. Christ rose to announce salvation.
And the verdict remains: “The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment… because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here” (Matthew 12:41). Praise be to God. Jesus is greater.
Calming Storms: Jonah Couldn’t, Jesus Did
Jonah was thrown overboard to still a sea. Jesus simply rebuked the wind and there was a great calm while the disciples whispered, “What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” (Mark 4:35–41). The contrast is deliberate. Jonah points. Jesus fulfills. Thank You Lord.
Jonah In Israel’s Story And Ours
Scripture roots Jonah in history. He had prophesied the restoration of Israel’s borders in the days of Jeroboam II (2 Kings 14:25). No stranger to success at home, he choked on mercy abroad. Familiar?
Peter is called “Bar-Jona” by Jesus (Matthew 16:17), and like Jonah he hesitated to go to the Gentiles until God broke him open with a vision. Then Peter walked into Cornelius’s house and the Spirit fell on the nations (Acts 10). God will get His gospel to the people we avoid.
Themes That Confront The Heart
Obedience. God says “Arise, go.” We often say “later.” Jonah proves delay breeds storms. He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it (Philippians 1:6). Why resist the One who finishes what He starts?
Repentance. Nineveh shows us the door is open. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us (1 John 1:9). The king’s decree still echoes. Turn. Cry mightily. Hope in His mercy.
Mercy. Mercy rejoiceth against judgment (James 2:13). Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful (Luke 6:36). If God had treated us like Jonah wanted God to treat Nineveh, where would we be?
Grace To Enemies. We were alienated and enemies in our mind (Colossians 1:21), yet while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). How then can we deny grace to our own “Ninevites”?
Mission. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations (Matthew 28:19). People cannot believe in Him of whom they have not heard, and they cannot hear without a preacher (Romans 10:14). Lift up your eyes… the fields are white already to harvest (John 4:35). The Lord is… not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).
Joy. Heaven throws parties. There is joy… over one sinner that repenteth (Luke 15:7). The Father says, “It was meet that we should make merry… for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again” (Luke 15:32). Will we stand outside like Jonah, or step in and sing?
Five Straight Challenges For The Soul
- Stop running. Tarshish tickets are costly. Obedience is freedom.
- Search for prejudice. Name your “Nineveh,” and ask God for His eyes.
- Celebrate mercy. Yours. Theirs. Everyone’s. Refuse the grudge.
- Pray honestly. Bring your anger to God like Jonah did, then let God correct you.
- Join the mission. Speak to somebody today. The harvest is ready. Arise, go.
An Invitation At The Waterline
Friends, I feel the weight of this. Some of us are in the storm. Some of us are in the fish. Some of us are sulking under a dead plant. Praise the Lord that His patience has not run out. The resurrected Christ, the greater than Jonas, is calling us back to the mercy road. Let us repent like Nineveh. Let us obey like sent ones. Let us rejoice like heaven.
Brethren, shall we pray together?
Thank You Lord for Your mercy that found us. Forgive our flight, our fury, our favoritism. Write Your compassion on our hearts. Send us where we have refused to go. Make our mouths bold with Your Word. Let many repent and live. Salvation is of the LORD. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Scriptures Cited (KJV) For Your Study
Jonah 1:2–3; 1:4–6; 1:15–16; 1:17; 2:2; 2:9; 2:10; 3:1–2; 3:4–10; 4:1–4; 4:6–11
Psalm 139:7; Exodus 34:6; Daniel 9:9; 1 John 1:9
Matthew 12:40–41; 16:4; 16:17; Mark 4:35–41; Acts 10
2 Kings 14:25; James 2:13; Luke 6:36; Luke 15:7; Luke 15:32
Philippians 1:6; 2 Peter 3:9; Romans 5:8; Colossians 1:21
Matthew 28:19; Romans 10:14; John 4:35
Decision Time
Will you align with God’s compassionate plan, or cling to your shade? Hear the Lord’s question to Jonah as His question to you. “Doest thou well to be angry? … Should not I spare Nineveh?” Today we answer with lives that arise, go, and love. Praise be to God. Amen.
Call to Action: The Question That Demands an AnswerIn Acts 2:37 Peter and the Apostles were asked the question – What Shall We do? And in Acts 2:38 Peter answered, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. Do you understand this? After hearing the gospel and believing, they asked what should would do. The answer hasn’t changed friend, Peter clearly gave the answer. The question for you today is, Have you receieved the Holy Spirit Since you believed? If you’re ready to take that step, or you want to learn more about what it means to be born again of water and Spirit, visit: Come, and let the Spirit make you new. |
