Jonah – Hitting Rock Bottom
When we last left our boy Jonah, he was attempting to run away from God. He did not like the job that God requested him to do. He did not agree with God’s message, because of personal feelings towards a particular group of people. Jonah was given a job and he ran from it. He wanted to desperately get away from God. Today we see that God gave Jonah exactly what he wanted.
“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 1:3
Notice that Jonah fled from God. He didn’t walk away. He didn’t just ignore God. He fled from God. Jonah gets the bright idea that he can get away from God. He decides that he is going to Tarshish. Which, by the way is in the opposite direction as Nineveh completely across the Mediterranean Sea. Also notice that Jonah is willing to pay money to get away from God. He finds a ship that is on it’s way to Tarshish, pays a fare, and climbs aboard.
“But the Lord….” Jonah 1:4
Silly Jonah. To think that he really believed that he could get away from God. Did he really believe this plan would work? If so, for how long? He thought he had out-smarted God. He thought he knew what was best. God had other plans. At this time, I see God as a parent. Allowing the rebellious child to carry out the plan of running away from home. Knowing all along that he was not going to get far. God could have stopped Jonah. He could have brought about a storm before the ship set sail. He could have done anything He wanted to turn Jonah around. But He didn’t. He wanted to allow Jonah to learn a valuable lesson.
Once the ship that Jonah was aboard sets sail, God brings about a mighty storm on the sea. This must have been quite a storm because verse 5 tells us the sailors were scared. They had to have been in countless storms over the years. It would take a very strong storm to get their attention. It also says in verse 5 that the sailors “cried every man unto his god”. They threw supplies overboard to try and lighten the ship. They were afraid for their lives. Where was Jonah? Down inside the ship sound asleep. Obviously Jonah was not feeling any regret for disobeying God. Not only was he resting easy, but he was doing it during a violent storm. No guilt. No remorse.
“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. 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.” Jonah 1:6-7
So the captain finds Jonah sleeping and immediately tells Jonah to get up and pray to his God that they all might not die. The sailors then decide to cast lots to determine who was to blame for the storm. The lot fell on Jonah. The sailors began to question Jonah. They wanted to know what on earth a man could have done to deserve this. Jonah tells the sailors his story. He tells them how he ran from God. Then he surprises the sailors by telling them to throw him overboard in order for the storm to subside. The sailors initially ignore this command and continue to try and row to shore. When they realize that their attempts are failing they cry out to God:
“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, has done as it pleased thee. So they took Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging. Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the Lord, and made vows.” Jonah 1: 14-16
The sailors were down to their last hope. They had tried to save themselves and had come up empty. They decided to do what Jonah told them to do. They prayed to God that He would not hold them accountable for Jonah’s life. They then proceeded to throw Jonah into the sea. The sea immediately calmed. When the sailors witnessed this, they turned their lives over to God. In a matter of what probably was a few hours, these sailors went from praying to their “gods” to making a vow to God. Jonah unknowingly had a hand in the eternal salvation of several men even though he was running from God. It is amazing to see how God can take even a time of rebellion by a man and use it to save others. But for Jonah, he had reached rock bottom.
“Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.” Jonah 1:17
Jonah finds himself about as far away form God that he could possibly get physically on this earth. He is at the bottom of the ocean in the belly of a fish. If that’s not rock bottom, I’m not sure what is. But I want us to see one last thing. Notice verse 17 says that God had “prepared” a great fish. God was not shocked that Jonah was here at this moment. God was fully prepared for this. He allowed Jonah to go as far as he could and He still caught him. He still took care of him. Sometimes we are stubborn. We don’t learn our lessons the easy way. Sometimes God has to allow us to hit bottom so that we are forced to look up to Him. When you hit rock bottom, there is nowhere to look but up. God was helping Jonah learn a valuable lesson about the consequences of disobedience. How hard is it for God to get your attention?