Let’s talk about relationships. That’s our topic today, but we are going to use a passage that we don’t normally associate with this topic. We’re going to be in the old testament book of Jonah. You remember Jonah, right? Jonah was that famous guy from the Bible who spent 3 days in the belly of a whale. But today we are going to look at the other people in the story who don’t get much attention and see what Jonah’s relationship with them was and what we can learn from them. Jonah 1: “1 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.” 3 But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. You already know that Jonah was disobeying God by going the opposite direction from Nineveh. But just how far was he going to get away from God’s mission?
Nineveh was probably a couple weeks walk from Jonah’s home, but Tarshish was a couple months journey of about 2,500 miles across the Mediterranean Sea.
Clearly, Jonah didn’t want to do what God told him to do and of course, we know what happened to him because of his disobedience, but there were other people who got caught up in the problems that Jonah caused.
1 - The first relationship we will examine is the one between Jonah and the captain of the boat. Let’s look at what happened when he allowed Jonah to board his ship. 4 But the Lord sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was about to be broken up. 5 Then the mariners were afraid; and every man cried out to his god, and threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten the load. But Jonah had gone down into the lowest parts of the ship, had lain down, and was fast asleep. Have you ever had someone in your life that seemed to cause chaos for everyone close to them, but they didn’t even notice the damage they were causing? They have ushered in a huge storm, but are sleeping right through it. The Captain was a business man who was engaged in commerce across the Mediterranean Sea. Look at the map again. This Captain was shipping cargo all the way across the Sea and he wouldn’t begin the journey without a full cargo hold. If he didn’t take all the cargo the ship could hold he would lose money on the trip. And that was just bad for business. But look at what happens in verse 5: 5 Then the mariners were afraid; and every man cried out to his god, and threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten the load.
That’s part of the story we may gloss over, but what just happened was that the captain just lost any chance of profiting from the trip. They had tossed over board all the cargo they had been hired to deliver. The merchants who had hired the captain to make the delivery would need to be paid back for the loss of the cargo. So even if they did make it back to shore alive, for the captain, financial ruin was waiting at the other end of this journey. He had more to lose than anyone else on the boat. That’s why he personally went looking for Jonah. 6 So the captain came to him, and said to him, “What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, call on your God; perhaps your God will consider us, so that we may not perish.” 7 And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this trouble has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. I imagine right about now the captain wished he’d paid more attention to Jonah‘s answers, when he had questioned him as to why he wanted to travel. So he basically wakes Jonah up and says: Tell me again who you are and why you’re here” 8 Then they said to him, “Please tell us! For whose cause is this trouble upon us? What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?” 9 So he said to them, “I am a Hebrew; and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” Now it seems pretty obvious that the source of the trouble has been identified, but before we put all the blame on Johan, let’s look at the next verse.
10 Then the men were exceedingly afraid, and said to him, “Why have you done this?” For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them. Excuse me...? Did that just say Jonah had already told them that he was running away from God? Maybe the captain isn’t just an innocent bystander in the story after all. Remember how he wanted to maximize the profit for the trip by adding as much cargo as possible? Well apparently, that included passengers also. When Jonah was paying for his ticket to board the ship the captain must have asked where he wanted to go and why. Before the storm hit, Jonah had already told them who he was and why he wanted to go across the sea. But at that point, with a clear sky, the captain was more concerned with maximizing his personal gain. Maybe that’s why we look the other way when someone we already know is bad for us shows up right in time to help us with an immediate need. Or why we overlook their behavior so we can be a peacemaker. Sometimes we just “go along, to get along”. That is a strategy that doesn’t work out in the long run. You have just postponed the pain till a later time. Are we trading long-term peace for a short-term profit? We have to guard our relationships, to be sure we aren’t allowing people in our boat who are not good for us. You know the people I’m talking about. It’s the person who came to your mind as soon as I said that.
It’s not that we shouldn’t love those people, but we have to be careful not to let them determine the weather report for our future. If letting them get too close is causing relational storms, it’s time to consider other options. 11 Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you that the sea may be calm for us?”—for the sea was growing more tempestuous. 12 And he said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will become calm for you. For I know that this great tempest is because of me.” 13 Nevertheless the men rowed hard to return to land, but they could not, for the sea continued to grow more tempestuous against them.” The crew felt bad for Jonah and didn’t want to throw him over board. They thought that if they tried harder they could fix the problem. We’ve all done that, but the reality is that only God can truly fix the problem. We can’t fix people, but God can. Remember, when something isn’t working right, you need to contact the original manufacturer. Go to God and ask Him what to do. We have to trust that He knows best even when the answer seems harsh and painful. If you try to fix it yourself, you’ll probably end up making the problem worse...for yourself. Sometimes we have to love people from a distance. Let me say that again...Sometimes you have to love someone from a distance, so their storm won’t sink your boat. And that’s just what the captain and crew decided to do.
14 Therefore they cried out to the Lord and said, “We pray,
O Lord, please do not let us perish for this man’s life, and do not charge us with innocent blood; for You, O Lord, have done as it pleased You.” 15 So they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its
raging. 16 Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice to the Lord and took vows.
We have to accept the fact that God loves people more than we do and He has a perfect plan for them.
2 - The next relationship we will look at is the one between Jonah and God. So Why did Jonah disobey God, anyway? Jonah disobeyed God for the same reason we disobey God. We disobey because we think we know better. It’s a matter of trust. Even though we don’t want to admit it, we don’t obey God because we don’t trust God. We don’t like to step out on a limb if we aren’t 100% sure it can hold us. We want to know for sure things will work out before we move forward. Jonah didn’t have all the info. To be 100% sure, so he didn’t trust God. It didn’t make sense to him that he had to go to Nineveh to preach. When a situation doesn’t make sense it’s normally because we don’t have all the info. If we did, suddenly, it would make perfect sense.
But that’s not how God works. God works through Faith. And Faith creates the trust that we desire. Like children asking “why” when we tell them to do something, God knows that sometimes the “why” wouldn’t be something we could understand even if He explained it to us. OBEDIENCE REQUIRES FAITH God says, “I have all the info, so trust me and move forward”. Faith requires us to move forward based on the spiritual, even when it doesn’t make sense in the natural. When God says, “Because I said so”, we should just go with it. Let's look at another guy who was on a boat and had to move forward without having all the information. Noah spent 100 years building an ark even though it had never rained. Do you think it was hard to keep going every day with all his neighbors making fun of him and thinking he was crazy? They didn't have all of the information and they didn't obey, but Noah ended up in the Hebrews 11 Hall of Faith because of his obedience to God. Two men, two boats and two requests from God, but with two very different responses. When we move forward on things that only God can accomplish, it is our faith that is at work. When we move forward in faith, doing what God told us to do, it’s up to God to produce the results. That takes the pressure off of us to perform. When we see Him complete the work, He gets the glory. OK, back to Jonah. We all know the next part of the story in chapter two, How God sent a great fish that swallowed Johan and he was in the belly of the fish for three days.
It was during this time that Jonah had an opportunity to reflect on his life choices and ask God for forgiveness. So the fish takes Jonah right back to the place from which he left and, shall we say, tosses him on the shore. Let’s see what happened in chapter three, when he decided to obey God. Jonah 3:3-4 “Jonah obeyed the word of the LORD and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very important city-a visit required three days. 4 On the first day, Jonah started into the city. He proclaimed: "Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned." So Jonah got up and went to the city and he proclaimed God’s message. 5 The Ninevites believed God. They declared a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth. 6 When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust. Look at the results: Verse 5 says The Ninevites believed God”. It doesn’t say they believed Jonah, it says they believed God. Again, if God says to do it, He will make sure of the success. The King even declared a fast and required everyone to urgently call on God. on God. 8 But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. 9 Who knows? God may yet relent
and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish."
They gave up evil ways and violence in hopes that
God would have compassion on them and not bring destruction.
Ultimately, God received the glory for the work He wanted Jonah to do. And that’s what He wants when He asks us to do something also.
We don’t need to know all the “how and whys” when God says to move, because we have faith that He will provide both the resources and results.
This was God’s response to their repentance.
Jonah 3:10 “When God saw their deeds, that they turned from their wicked way, then God relented concerning the calamity which He had declared He would bring upon them. And He did not do it.”
You would think that should be the end of the story. But no, let’s move on to chapter 4 and see what happened.
This where we find the last relationship that we will explore today.
3 - The relationship between Jonah and the Ninevites. Jonah 4:1 “But it greatly displeased Jonah, and he became angry.” What? That response doesn’t seem to make sense at all. Why would Jonah be angry over God forgiving an entire city and deciding not to destroy them?
2 So he prayed to the Lord, and said, “Ah, Lord, was not this what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm. At this point I fail to see why any of what he just said about God should cause him to be angry. But he doesn’t stop there. 3 Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live!” Sounds like Jonah needed a snickers. Jonah being an Israelite, was an enemy of the Assyrians and wanted God to destroy them instead of allowing them to repent. He certainly didn’t want to be the one who caused them to be saved. But that was God’s plan. God wanted to save the people of Nineveh and correct the attitude of one of His prophets in the process. God knew that Jonah hated the people of Nineveh and that’s why He specifically choose him for this mission. Let’s say you’re a hard core Clemson fan. How would you feel if God personally gave you the game plan that would win the national championship next year? Think about that for a minute.
Now, how would you feel if God told you to personally hand deliver it to the head coach at Carolina? Would you drive with joy down 385 and pull up to Williams Brice stadium with a song of praise in your heart for the blessing that God was using you to deliver? Has the very thought of this scenario made you start turning bitter inside? Maybe now we can understand how Jonah felt about taking a message of repentance to his enemies, so God would save them from destruction? God loved the Ninevites, so he sent Jonah to preach to them. And as much as it may displease you to admit this, you have to acknowledge that God loves Carolina too. Could it be that God has called you to do something that actually makes you angry? Maybe because there are places in your life that you haven’t fully given over to Him? If we will listen to what God is telling us, He will always show us how to put our situation into His eternal perspective. We should look at situations that make us angry and try to figure out what we need to learn and how we can grow from them. What situation is God reminding you of right now, that you can grow from? God gave Jonah a physical example of how his being upset about Nineveh repenting was wrong.
Jonah sat down to rest, but it was extremely hot, so God caused a large plant to grow and give him shade. But over night God sent a worm to damage the root of the plant, so it died and now Jonah was angry because God killed the plant. 10 But the Lord said, “You have had pity on the plant for which you have not labored, nor made it grow, which came up in a night and perished in a night. 11 And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left—and much livestock?” God was asking Jonah how he could be angry over not sparing a plant...and at the same time be angry over God sparing an entire city full of people. There must have been a lot of bitterness in Jonah for him to value the life of a plant more than the life of an entire city. The difference in the plant and the city is that the plant affected him personally, but the city of Nineveh didn't. Maybe now we can see that we are not so different from Jonah. We are willing to cry out to God for the things and situations that affect us personally, but we don’t seem to care about the situations that affect other people or countries. God is calling us to love and care for our neighbors as much as ourselves. Are you ready to lay aside your anger over a situation and pray for God to heal the people involved...including yourself? So here are our three questions to consider today.
Have you allowed someone in your life who you realize shouldn’t be there? Are you willing to trust God and walk by faith when He tells you what to do about the situation? Will you accept an outcome that is good for everyone and not just yourself?
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