Running

Jonah

Good morning class and welcome to a new study.  This morning we will start studying the book of Jonah.  I hope we will continue to grow and learn by FEASTING on HIS WORD!

Question of the Day

Where do you like to escape?
How do you escape?

Passage for the day

Jonah 1:1-16

Running

1 The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”

3 But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.

4 Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. 5 All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship.

But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. 6 The captain went to him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.”

7 Then the sailors said to each other, “Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity.” They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. 8 So they asked him, “Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What kind of work do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?”

9 He answered, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”

10 This terrified them and they asked, “What have you done?” (They knew he was running away from the Lord, because he had already told them so.)

11 The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, “What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?”

12 “Pick me up and throw me into the sea,” he replied, “and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.”

13 Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before. 14 Then they cried out to the Lord, “Please, Lord, do not let us die for taking this man’s life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, Lord, have done as you pleased.” 15 Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. 16 At this the men greatly feared the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows to him.

So most of us know this story very well.  We probably all knew this story before the age of 5, but sometimes stories that are familiar from a young age need revisiting.  We need to take another look at it from an adult perspective. 

Right off the bat there is a very important point in the first verse.

1.  The word of God came to Jonah.

What is important about this?

2. Then there is a quote. "..." from God himself.  

What is notable about this?

We know the story of Jonah.  God is a bit rough.  Loving and filled with Grace, but still the consequences of what Jonah does are great.  

Too many times when bad things are happening to us we question what God is trying to tell us.  Jonah knew.  God was clear, Jonah heard him, and knew exactly what he was being asked to do, and Jonah still ran.  He chose to go against what he KNEW God was asking. 

God doesn't punish us if we aren't sure.  

Too many times I know I have taken the story of Jonah and said, "I better make the right choice and go where God is wanting me to go. But where is that, and what if I get it wrong.  What terrible things will happen to me."  NO NO NO!  

Does God always make the path clear?

If our lives were all just about following God's directions, then why did he give us the ability to make decisions and choices and have the ability to analyze a situation and make a choice. He is always beside us assisting us in this process if we ask, and giving us wisdom, but sometimes he doesn't care.  

I can remember when my kids were young asking them what flavor jam or jelly they wanted on the PB&J for their school lunch.  Andrew would often say, "I don't know whatever you want."  My response to him was always, "I don't care and it is your lunch, so you choose!"  

I KNOW that sometimes the decisions in our lives God wants us to decide!  He doesn't always tell us.  If Andrew had chosen apple instead of strawberry I wouldn't have punished him.  I really didn't care.  

When God is clear about what he is asking us to do, why do we choose to go against him?

Ellen White writes about Jonah, "To the prophet Jonah came the word of the Lord, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before Me.” The prophet was tempted to question the wisdom of the call. It seemed as if nothing could be gained by proclaiming such a message in that proud city. He forgot that God whom he served was all-wise and all-powerful. While he hesitated, Satan overwhelmed him with discouragement, and he “rose up to flee unto Tarshish.” Finding a ship ready to sail, “he paid the fare thereof and went down into it, to go with them.” 

Jonah questioned God's wisdom.

Do we question God's wisdom?

What are some other reasons we might not listen to God?

"While he hesitated..." 

Have you ever watched you kids hesitate when you have asked them to do something? You can watch during that hesitation the battle going on in their head, "am I going to go to mom or not...?"  

So does that mean we shouldn't hesitate?

What did Jonah choose to do?

Where was he going?

Even on the ship where did he go?

Have you ever played hide and seek with a 2 or 3 year old.  There is nothing more fun and nothing less challenging.  Isn't running from God similar?

Jonah getting on a ship and trying to get as far away as possible even heading down into the very bottom of the boat is like a child sitting on a couch with a pillow on their head hiding from you.  

Ellen White writes, "Not for long was he permitted to go undisturbed in his mad flight."

God didn't wait long, he sent a huge storm.  One so frightening and different from normal storms that the seasoned sailors knew this wasn't a normal storm.  

What happens next?

Jonah says what?

Do we see him crying out to God like he is asked to do?

Maybe he did but I don't think so, because later we hear him crying out to God.  We read his prayer.  Here, he says who he is but he doesn't cry out. 

He is still hiding in a way.

Then what.

What is casting lots?

What made if fall on Jonah?

I love this.

God is literally calling him out.  

God is making it clear even to those who don't follow him, to those who don't worship him, that this storm isn't about them, it is about Jonah. 

What does that say about God?

God lifted the pillow off of Jonah's head and said, "I see you." 

What are someways we run from God?

How do we try to hide?

What are some of the pillows we grab and put over our heads?

What was this night like for the others on the ship?

When we run from God, does it impact those around us?

What would have happened to Jonah if he had done what God had asked him to do?

Ellen White says, "Jonah had been entrusted with a heavy responsibility. Had the prophet obeyed unquestioningly, he would have been blessed abundantly. Yet in Jonah's despair the Lord did not desert him. Through trials and strange providences, the prophet's confidence in God was to be revived."

Even before the fish, it is very apparent that God is there.  He brought the storm and directed the lot, we see him in this story, very strong and clear.  

No matter how discouraged you have become, no matter how hard Satan has worked on you, know this, you may be in a storm caused by Satan, or in a storm brought on by God, but God is right there with you.  If the storm is caused by Satan to get you off track, crying out to God will calm it.  If the storm is God trying to get you attention and to let you know the pillow isn't hiding you, then cry out to him, repent and He will wrap you up in His loving arms of grace. 

God is right here with us. 

When we question Him, he is with us.

When we try to run from Him, He is with us.

When we let our hesitation discourage us, He is with us. 

I can see a parent chasing a 3 year old around a play ground.  Directing them, telling them not to do certain things, like going up the slide instead of using the ladder, and even when the child stubbornly keeps trying and starts to fall, the parent is right there to catch them.  I can also see them getting punished with a timeout or even being yelled at because they keep trying to run out in the parking lot, we all know that isn't the parent being hateful or mean, just trying to guide and protect their child.  

Do you see God in this story being a loving parent?

God is good.

God is clear.

God is strong.

God is not going to let you hide under a pillow.

God may cause a storm in your life, but he will be right there with you.

When God gives you clear direction GO!

When God gives you clear direction, DON'T HESITATE!

When God gives you clear direction, DON'T THINK YOU KNOW BETTER!

When God gives you clear direction, and you run, and the storm comes, KNOW that if you cry out to God he is RIGHT THERE WITH YOU!