UP AND DOWN, DOWN, DOWN
Opening Prayer
Lord, we can’t outrun You.
Read JONAH 1
Jonah Flees From the Lord
1 The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”
3 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.
4 Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. 5 All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship.
But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. 6 The captain went to him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.”
7 Then the sailors said to each other, “Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity.” They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. 8 So they asked him, “Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What kind of work do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?”
9 He answered, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”
10 This terrified them and they asked, “What have you done?” (They knew he was running away from the Lord, because he had already told them so.)
11 The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, “What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?”
12 “Pick me up and throw me into the sea,” he replied, “and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.”
13 Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before. 14 Then they cried out to the Lord, “Please, Lord, do not let us die for taking this man’s life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, Lord, have done as you pleased.” 15 Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. 16 At this the men greatly feared the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows to him.
Jonah’s Prayer
17 Now the Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Meditate
“Awake sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise” (Eph 5:14,15, NASB).
Think Further
“‘Arise, go to Nineveh, the great city …’ But Jonah rose” – to flee to Tarshish (2, 3, NASB). From here, he goes down: down to Joppa, down into the ship and then down into the bottom of the ship (5) (not all may be rendered literally in the English version). Jonah escapes the great wind and tempest (4), for he sleeps while the sailors call on their gods, but God can reach through the depths. Jonah’s going down and then going to sleep were spiritual as well as physical, and it is ironic that when the sailor questions Jonah’s sleeping, he commands him to “get up” (literally, “arise”, 6), which was God’s first command to Jonah in verse 2. Though the sailor summons Jonah to call on his God, there is no mention of Jonah praying in chapter 1.
Jonah is stubborn. He knows that God is gracious, compassionate, and forgiving (Jonah 4:2), so one might wonder why he prefers to be thrown into the sea rather than repent. Jonah was not the last person to go from bad to worse in fleeing from God and refusing to repent, however, and although he says that he fears God (9, NASB), it is actually the pagan sailors who fear God greatly (16), pray to Him (14) and make vows and sacrifices (16). They are reluctant to take the life of the man who has imperiled them, and when they eventually throw him overboard, they ask God that they may be held innocent of Jonah’s blood. God hears them and provides a fish to swallow Jonah.
We cannot presume that God will chase us as he chased Jonah. Nevertheless, many can testify that God has found them in the depths. As for those who are not His, who knows how God may use them?
Apply
Start the New Year by repenting of things that keep you fleeing from God. Arise, call on the God you fear, for He is gracious, compassionate, and quick to relent.
Closing prayer
Lord, if I were to stray, please use whatever means at Your disposal to get me back in line.
Book and Author Intros
Click here to sign up to receive the EXTRAs via email each quarter.
© 2024 Scripture Union U.S.A. All rights reserved. Reproduction of the whole or any part of the contents without written permission is prohibited.
Encounter with God is published in the USA under license from Scripture Union England and Wales, Trinity House, Opal Court, Opal Drive, Fox Milne, Milton Keynes, MK15 0DF.