Sermon on Jonah

Jonah 1:1-4 ~ Now the word of he LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,

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

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.

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.



This morning, our pastor gave his message on Jonah. This story resonates with me and should with most Christians, if they were honest. Notice the word I put in bold above in the text, "but". My pastor emphasized this word as well. We're often led by the Holy Spirit to do something, say something, go somewhere etc, BUT.... our own desires, wants or fears take over and we end up disobeying. We rationalize with God, as if we know better. Notice, in the text, however, that there is another "but". This time, it's the LORD's response to Jonah's disobience. You see, God loved the people of Ninevah, despite their wickedness. His desire then, as it is today, is that all come to repentence.

You know how the rest of the story goes...the mariners he boarded with on the ship headed towards Tarshish became very afraid and cast lots, which fell upon Jonah. Jonah admitted his disobedience to God and they ended up throwing him overboard. The LORD sent a "big fish" (we assume it was a whale, but we don't know for sure) to swallow Jonah up and he was in the belly of this fish for 3 days. He repented and the Bible says that the LORD spoke to the fish and the fish vomited him up on dry land. Jonah then proceeded to head towards Ninevah, preached there, and the city repented of its wickedness and the LORD spared Ninevah.

Imagine, as my pastor suggested, how many souls may have died and perished in Hell in the days that Jonah was contemplating and ended up disobeying the LORD. What, then, about us? This is a lesson we can take to heart even now. We must obey.