Sometimes it is difficult for us to understand why God is allowing something to occur in our lives. One reason may be that in order for someone else to draw close to God, God has to change our circumstances. One of the messages of the book of Jonah is that we need to broaden our horizons. We need to see less of ourselves, and more of the whole picture from God’s point of view.
Our understanding of the book of Jonah will be greater if we keep in mind that God is dealing with three different groups of people. Namely: 1) Jonah, 2) The Sailors, 3) The Ninevites. God had to arrange circumstances so that all three groups would draw closer to Himself. Everything God did in relation to Jonah was designed to give those diverse groups exactly what they needed to open their eyes to His presence.
We have already seen in a previous program how Jonah disobeyed and tried to run from God by boarding a ship which was going the opposite direction from where God had told him to go. Jonah discovered that though you can run from God, you can never escape from Him! God sent a storm to foil the prophet’s plan. Jonah 1:7-16 tells what happened next:
“[The sailors] all said to each other, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know who is responsible for this evil that is on us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. Then they asked him, “Tell us, please, for whose cause this evil is on us. What is your occupation? Where do you come from? What is your country? Of what people are you?” He said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear Yahweh, the God of heaven, who has made the sea and the dry land.” Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said to him, “What is this that you have done?” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of Yahweh, because he had told them. Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you, that the sea may be calm to us?” For the sea grew more and more stormy. He said to them, “Take me up, and throw me into the sea. Then the sea will be calm for you; for I know that because of me this great storm is on you.” Nevertheless the men rowed hard to get them back to the land; but they could not, for the sea grew more and more stormy against them. Therefore they cried to Yahweh, and said, “We beg you, Yahweh, we beg you, don’t let us die for this man’s life, and don’t lay on us innocent blood; for you, Yahweh, have done as it pleased you.” So they took up Jonah, and threw him into the sea; and the sea ceased its raging. Then the men feared Yahweh exceedingly; and they offered a sacrifice to Yahweh, and made vows.”
It would seem logical that if a situation is a direct result of sin, that the first remedy would be to repent of the sin. Jonah however, is not yet ready to repent. He is still trying to frustrate God’s plan. His attitude is that he’d rather die than do what God said. If his death will result in the destruction of Nineveh, then he is quite willing to die.
God indeed does want Nineveh saved, but He also wants to save Jonah and He will use the means necessary to accomplish both objects. Jonah says he wants to die rather than obey. Very well, God will bring Jonah to the brink of death in order to secure his obedience. The sailors did their best to return to land. They were probably still within sight of land when the hurricane struck. But to allow Jonah to return to land in an unrepentant state would save neither Nineveh nor Jonah. It would look like Jonah had challenged God and won. Jonah can still be reached although God must go to extreme measures to do so. “So they took up Jonah, and threw him into the sea; and the sea ceased its raging… Yahweh [that is, God] prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.” (Jonah 1:15, 17)
But what about the sailors? How did God work in their lives? Sometimes we tend to think that the only place we meet God is during formal worship services. While we certainly should meet Him there, it is interesting to note how many times God does His most significant work in people’s lives during the course of their ordinary occupations. Moses encountered God at the burning bush while he was tending sheep. Gideon was threshing grain during his encounter. Elisha was plowing his fields when he got his call. The shepherds of Bethlehem were tending their flocks when the angels told them of Christ’s birth. Peter, Andrew, James and John were tending to their fishing business when Jesus called them. Matthew was poring over his ledger sheets. The Samaritan woman was trying to get some water when she met Jesus at the well. Wherever there is a receptive heart, God will reveal himself to it.
God is the Lord of all, not just of a special place of worship. Therefore He will often choose to do His work in our hearts while we are involved in our ordinary, every-day activities. The sailors set out on a voyage to Tarshish. On their way they discovered God. One of the beautiful and wonderful things about God is that He takes us as we are and uses the things we are already doing to bring us to himself. The sailors knew how to pray. God showed them to Whom they should pray. They had a method for making decisions when reason failed. God used their method to give them an opportunity to hear about Himself. They knew the sea. God used the sea to show them His sovereignty and power.
What did the sailors learn about God? At the beginning of the story, the sailors were idolaters. They apparently believed that their gods had some sort of control over the weather, but it is significant that when they learned that Jehovah had made the sea and land that they were terrified. Gods made in human likeness are comforting to the idolater because they can be understood. The idolater pays them homage because he thinks that the gods are more powerful than himself. Aside from homage, however, the gods of men really don’t have much of a claim on a person. If you can placate them with a sacrifice or two, they will pretty much leave you alone to do your own thing. However, the God who made you isn’t like that. If He made you, then He has a claim on you. You are not free to do your own thing. Here the sailors are confronted with a God who issues explicit commands and expects to be obeyed. Jonah is living proof to them of that point.
The sailors also learned that God is perfectly capable of controlling inanimate objects. Proverbs 16:33 says, “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from Yahweh.” Notice that even after the lot fell on Jonah the sailors did not fix blame on him. Apparently, they viewed the lot more or less as a form of roulette that would select a victim to satisfy the whim of the gods. It is very possible that part of the terror they expressed was due to the fact that Jonah really was guilty. Verse 14 gives the impression that the sailors still had trouble believing that the storm was a result of actual guilt and not just caprice of the gods. “Therefore they cried to Yahweh, and said, “We beg you, Yahweh, we beg you, don’t let us die for this man’s life, and don’t lay on us innocent blood; for you, Yahweh, have done as it pleased you.”” Apparently the lot had indicated something much more than they had bargained for. It is interesting to note that although there are many examples in Scripture of using the lot to make decisions, it never appears after Christ’s church was established on the day of Pentecost. God apparently no longer wishes His people to use the lot since He has given His Holy Spirit to lead and guide us.
The sailors provide a beautiful example of how we should respond to God. When they found out that God is the creator and controller of the universe their first reaction was fear. This is natural when we first realize who we are in comparison to God. The book of Proverbs tells us that, “The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom. The knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” (Proverbs 9:10) But the sailors did not merely fear. Their fear moved them to worship and to make vows to God. Like the sailors, our fear of God should cause us to worship, and our worship should progress to commitment. The question is: Can we recognize events in our lives as divine encounters that God is using to bring us closer to himself?