THE RUNAWAY PREACHER

"But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD." - Jonah 1:3

For many people, the book of Jonah is an outrageous story about a man who is swallowed by a great fish.  As you read the Bible, you realize that the story of Jonah is more than just hyperbole or an allegory.  Jesus Himself made reference to the story of Jonah and spoke of it as a true story.  We should do the same.

It is wrong, however, to think of the book of Jonah as just a fish story.  Certainly, a fish has an important role in the book of Jonah, but we would be amiss to focus solely on that aspect of the story.

The book of Jonah is the story of God's mercy towards a sinful city.  Some would read this book of the Bible and argue that the city of Nineveh was not worthy of God's mercy.  Certainly that is true, but who is worthy of God's mercy?  The fact is that none of us deserve His mercy.

God called Jonah to go to Nineveh and preach to them.  It is interesting that the message he was to bring was not a positive message.  These days, some preachers refuse to preach anything but a positive message.  Some seem to go out of their way to avoid preaching on subjects like sin, repentance and judgment.  Yet the message Jonah was given was simple:  Because of their sinfulness, the city of Nineveh would be destroyed in forty days.

Rather than aggressively obeying the Lord, Jonah chose to disobey the Lord.  He chose to run in the opposite direction from God's calling.  Have you ever done something like that?  

Why did Jonah run from the will of God?  Jonah resisted God's call because he wanted to see the people of Nineveh perish.  Jonah feared that if he went to Nineveh that the people may repent & God would have mercy and save them.  He didn't want that.  You see, Jonah was a Jew and he had a problem with God showing mercy to Gentiles.

Racism is nothing new.  Even preachers can be guilty of racism.  Jonah was. 

We know why God wanted a message preached to Nineveh, but why did he choose Jonah?  Was the Jonah the best preacher he had available?  Hardly.  You see, the people of Nineveh needed God's message ... but so did Jonah.  The evangelistic call was part of God's work in the heart of a stubborn preacher.

So Jonah ran.  It is a foolish thing to run from God.  Where can you go?  If you flee to another state, He is there.  If you fly to another country, He is present.  If you crawl into a deep mine, you'll find that God is there.  If you ride a space shuttle, God is still near.  You can't run from Him.  But many people are like Jonah, foolishly running from God. 

Are you running from God?  Perhaps God has been on your trail about getting saved, yet you have run as fast as you can from Him.  Maybe, like Jonah, you're running from the will of God.  Perhaps God has laid something on your heart to do & rather than obey Him, you avoid Him. 

Running from God is an exercise in futility.  If you are running from God, you are doing so at your own peril.

For Jonah, problems followed him as he ran.  Eventually, God had to bring him to the very depths of despair in order to get his attention. 

Perhaps that is what is happening in your life.  Maybe God has been trying to get your attention.  What's it going to take for you to listen?

Rather than running away from God, it is time to turn around and run to Him.