STORMS

The first time that we see Jonah in the Bible is in 2 Kings 14:23-25.

“In the fifteenth year of Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel began to reign in Samaria, and reigned forty and one years.

And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord: he departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin.

He restored the coast of Israel from the entering of Hamath unto the sea of the plain, according to the word of the Lord God of Israel, which he spake by the hand of his servant Jonah, the son of Amittai, the prophet, which was of Gathhepher.”

Jonah was a prophet, called by God to prophecy that the Kingdom of Israel would be expanded. He lucked out! Instead of getting a depressing job, like prophesying the coming destruction of Israel, or being made an example, (like his contemporary, Hosea) Jonah got to bring good news. 

People liked Jonah.

But then all of that changed in the book of Jonah.

Jonah is one of 4 prophets mentioned by name by Jesus. 

Luke 11:32.

Jonah 1:1-2

“Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,

Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me."

Before we go any farther, notice this. “The Word of the Lord came to Jonah.”

God spoke to Jonah. God called Jonah, and gave Him a specific work to walk in. 

We can read through this and glance over it without a second thought, or we can become envious of Jonah. He had it so easy. God spoke to Him. God called Him. But hold on. God has spoken to you! You have His Word more accessible than any generation before you. And to to that off, God has called you! He has a specific plan for your life, just like He did for Jonah. 

Ephesians 2:10.

God told Jonah to get up and go. This plan required action. God told Jonah to go to Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, to call out against them. This was going to be Nineveh’s last chance to repent before God would judge them.

Assyria was Israel’s enemy. They would periodically invade Israel, killing people and taking captives. We could compare them to ISIS today. 

Nineveh was a large city. It had two walls, an inner and an outer. The inner wall was 100 feet high, and 50 feet thick. There were 200 foot watchtowers every 30 feet on the wall. This was a secure city!

But there was a problem, they were steeped in idolatry! They had temples to Nabu, Asshur, Adad, and Ishtar in their city. They were given over to these pagan idols, and it showed in the way they lived. One of the ways that they were especially wicked was the way that they treated their captives. If you watch the Veggie Tales series, they tell you that the Ninevites would slap people with fishes, but it was even worse than that! They would kill people by flaying off their skin, then hang the skins on their walls. God was tired of this wickedness, so He told Jonah to go and preach to them.

This is a famous story, so you all know what happens next. Jonah didn’t go to Nineveh.

Jonah 1:3

“But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.”

Jonah quit serving God. He tried to run 2500 miles in the other direction. He intentionally ran away from God’s calling on his life.

Now we know you can’t outrun God; the Bible is very clear on this. God is omnipresent, which means that He’s everywhere. You can’t escape His presence. It’s like the Psalmist said in Psalms 139:7-10.

Jonah thought a relocation would solve the issue, but that rarely works, because you take your problems with you. So Jonah went down to Joppa to find a ship. 

3 times in the first five verses of this book, it says that Jonah went down. Jonah went down to Joppa, he went down into the ship, and he went down into the inner part of the ship. 

This isn’t the direction that you want to go! Jonah is rapidly going the wrong way. 

DON’T BE JONAH.

The story of Jonah could have ended right there. That could have been it. God called Jonah, Jonah said no. Period. The end. But the story doesn’t end there, and this is such a beautiful picture of God’s grace. There’s a verse 4 for Jonah’s life. Aren’t you thankful for the verse 4s in our lives? God hasn’t given up on you! 

Jonah 1:4-6

 “But the Lord sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken.

Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep.

So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not.”

But the Lord. This is always how the verse 4s start in our lives. We’re going the wrong way, but the Lord. 

It says that the Lord sent out a great wind. The seas are getting rough. The ship is threatening to be sunk. You know it’s getting bad when even the professional sailors are worried. They’re crying out to their gods for help. They’re throwing anything that isn’t needed overboard.

What a perfect picture of the world, they’re doing everything that they can in their own strength, and it isn’t helping at all. They’re crying out to their “gods” but it isn’t working. They’re looking for help in all the wrong places.

And while they’re fearing for their lives, where is Jonah? He’s asleep. He’s given up on serving God, and now he’s just trying to get away. What an admonishment for Christians today. We’re in a world that is taking on water, and how many of us are spiritually asleep?

Don’t be a sleeping Christian in a dying world.

So the captain comes to Jonah, and he says “what are you doing, man?! (I’m paraphrasing) Get up! Do something! Call out to your God, so that maybe He’ll save us!”

The captain tells him to wake up and seek his God. You know it’s bad when the world wants you to seek God for help. But they’ve realized that their gods aren’t doing anything.

It’s important to note. They know that God caused the storm, but they aren’t blaming God for the storm. They recognize that it’s His power at work, but they realize that it’s most likely because of something they did. We can learn a great truth from this.

Don’t blame God for your storms. Seek God in your storms.

So Jonah is awake, but no prayer is recorded. Jonah is giving God the silent treatment. He know what God will say, so he just isn’t talking to God.

Jonah 1:7

“and they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.”

They cast lots, and what do you know, it points to Jonah. 

Proverbs 16:33, Hebrews 12:7-11

Jonah 1:8-10

"Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us; What is thine occupation? and whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of what people art thou?

And he said unto them, I am an Hebrew; and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land.

Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him. Why hast thou done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them."

They’re asking Jonah all these questions, and it’s time for Jonah to come clean. To tell them why he’s there. 

Notice in verse 9, Jonah says that he fears the Lord. Wouldn’t that have been helpful to remember 8 verses ago? Maybe he wouldn’t have ended up in this spot!

He says that he worships the God who owns it all! Heaven, earth, and the sea. So they’re blown away. “What the heck, Jonah!” 

1. Jonah is trying to run away from the God who owns EVERYTHING. That won’t work well!
2. Jonah’s words don’t line up with his actions. Why aren’t you living by the faith that you claim?

Jonah 1:11-12

“Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous.

And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.”

The sea is getting worse. The sailors know that they need to do something. Jonah’s response: “Throw me out of the boat.” 

Jonah doesn’t tell them to sail to Nineveh, or to turn the boat around. He asks them to kill him by throwing him into the sea.

Most commentators agree that Jonah is saying that he would rather die than go to Nineveh. He knows that he’s in the wrong by going to Tarshish, but he’s too stubborn to go to Nineveh. Death sounds better.

It’s a sad place to be when you’d rather die than follow God.

DON’T BE JONAH.

Jonah 1:13

“Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring it to the land; but they could not: for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous against them.”

The sailors respond in a way that is typical for the world. They try to row back to shore. They’re putting in their best efforts, but it isn’t working!

Jonah 1:14-15

“Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring it to the land; but they could not: for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous against them.

Wherefore they cried unto the Lord, and said, We beseech thee, O Lord, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, O Lord, hast done as it pleased thee.

So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging.”

So they call out to God. Interestingly, they don’t call out to their idols. They call out to God. This experience has shown them that their idols are worthless. 

They ask for forgiveness for killing Jonah. Look at this. These sailors are more concerned with the life of Jonah than Jonah was with the whole city of Nineveh. 

DON’T BE JONAH.

So they throw Jonah out of the boat, and it works! The sea goes calm. Wow, God is powerful!

Remember back in verses 3-5, Jonah wanted to go down. Well, God finally let him. Down he went into the depths of the sea. 

Jonah 1:16

“Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the Lord, and made vows.”

The result of all of this was these sailors beginning a relationship with God! They made vows to continue to follow Him instead of their idols.

This is such a beautiful picture of God’s grace. Even while Jonah was running away from God, God used it to save a boatful of sailors.

We’ll meet these men in Heaven one day, who are there because of Jonah’s failure. Now, this is no excuse to sin, but I find this encouraging. Even when I fail, God can still work through it!

This isn’t the only storm that we see in the Bible. Another storm is recounted in Mark 4.

Mark 4:35-39

“And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side.

And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships.

And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.

And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?

And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.”

A storm came up, and Jesus was asleep. The conditions are a bit different, Jesus wasn’t running from God. He’d been ministering all day and was tired. But watch the reaction of the Apostles.

They wake Jesus up, saying to Him, “Master, don’t You care that we’re going to die?!”

Jesus gets up, and with three simple words He rebukes the storm.

PEACE, BE STILL.

That was all it took for Jesus to handle the storm. 3 words.

He has the power to handle the storms in your life as well! Storms will come, and there is only one who has power over them. His name is Jesus. But for Him to handle the storms in our lives, we have to come in the same way that the Apostles did. They called Him, “Master”. You see, they gave Jesus authority over their lives. 

Think of it this way. The storm wasn’t Jonah problem to deal with, because he was just a passenger. The captain held responsibility for the crew and the passengers. If you want Jesus to handle your storms, you have to give Him that position of authority. You have to make Him captain of your life. 

He wants to speak, “Peace, be still” over you, but you have to let Him in to do that.