jonah, chapter 1

1 Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,  [how many times have i heard the voice of the Lord and run away? too many to count.]
 
2 Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. 

3 But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, [this shows jonah's humanity. he simply did not want to go. so he turned on his heel and went the other way. i understand this. there are times the Lord wants to show me something, and i am just not ready, just not willing. just too stubborn to yield. my husband understands this about me. and this is when i miss what God is wanting me to be and do and learn. not to mention all those He would have mercy on.]
 
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.  [he paid the fare, thinking he could run away from God. Carl Tuttle once said, if i change seats at the Father's table, he simply picks up my plate and moves it to whereever i happen to be sitting. we can run, but we can't hide. the brussel sprouts are on our plate for a reason. eat them warm, they taste better than cold]
 
4 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.  [He will not let you have your way, as any good parent will not let a child have their evil way, even if only to make the point that you are the child, i am the parent. even Jesus learned obedience by the things He suffered (Heb 5:13). if you will not let Him crush you, He will break the vessel carrying you away from His presence.]
 
5 Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god [pointless, but go ahead and try],
 
and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep.  [interesting how the one whom God is speaking directly to, is slumbering through His communique, as if he could block out the stress of the moment. i deal with stress this way, i sleep much when i am downcast. it is a way to shorten the waiting period. but maybe, just maybe, God wants us to be uncomfortably awake]
 
6 So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not.  [interesting to note the G in God, whereas the g in the god of the mariners is lowercase. also, where is the shipmaster who will question me, and ask me what the heck i am doing (or my husband for that matter?). this says to me, someone must take the lead. someone must recognize their position of authority and address the sin in the lives of others, especially when it is affecting the community and this someone does not necessarily have to be a christian. i would gladly welcome a heathen calling me on the carpet, especially if the body of Christ is neglecting her duty to do so]
 
7 And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.  [casting lots to see why this evil befell us. this intrigues me. we don't do it this way in the church? i lived in a home once full of goldy women. once we started getting attacked and we met together to pray and ask, what is going on in your life? it was a powerful demonstration of this principle. however, more often than not, in the church, we languish in the rocky boat and fear for our lives, rather than find out who is sinning amongst us and confront them. i look forward to the day when i will be confronted with my sin rather than just endured while i languish in it. sometimes we need others to show us the consequences of our sin, because clearly it affected the mariners more than it did jonah. i have been asking all my friends this question, where are the shipmasters and mariners in the church today? one dear friend replied, who can say anything? who has less sin than the one being confronted? i stagger at this comment now, how can we as a church ever confront anyone if sinlessness is a prerequisite? it cannot be. we must confront based solely on the sinlessness of Christ, not on our own merit. this thinking is why the church is mired in the quicksand of powerlessness, it is a great deceit of the enemy.]
 
8 Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us; What is thine occupation? and whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of what people art thou?  [in other words, what have you done to bring this evil upon us? they tried everything first, they parted with their wares, they called upon their gods, now they know the answer lies not in their hands, but in the hands of this unknown God. powerful, how God can use our sinfulness, our rebellion, to show Himself Mighty. not to diminsh the power of God on behalf of the nation of israel. also, we have no idea any of jonah’s particulars. sometimes i think God was marvellously imprecise in some texts just so we can apply it to our lives. our simple brains sometimes equate, well i’m no prophet, i’m no tax-collector, i’m no apostle (hear, therefore it doesn’t apply) but God leaves jonah remarkably faceless in this text. telling us no more than the story of a simple man running from God, it could be you, it could be me. in fact, it is.]
 
9 And he said unto them, I am an Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land. [i fear the Lord. i fear the breaking of the Lord. i fear the mercy of the Lord. how many ways we fear the Lord. jonah, for all his sinful rebellion, still feared the God of heaven. this speaks volumes of the mercy of God to me. this gives me hope. that in spite of my sinful rebellion, God will make a way for me to return to Him. even though i drag out my exile, even though i fashion my own exile, even though i run from Him, He will pursue me like a Lover, and woo me unto Himself, because more than i fear His mercy, i fear Him. and He knows this is the great cry of my heart]
 
10 Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him. Why hast thou done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them.  [he knew. he knew all along that he was fleeing the presence of the Lord. the mariners feared exceedingly because the God of heaven is the only God. what a testimony even our sinfulness can be to the unsaved. God can use all things to speak to man. what a mighty object lesson the God of heaven gave those mariners this day. i hear the Lord saying to me, do not fear My presence. i fled the presence of the Lord once, but it was the warm, fuzzy presence of the Lord. this is the painful, death-to-self presence of the Lord i find myself in. and it aches. but the Lord says, without offering me any comfort, stay. though you lack comfort, though you lack hope even, stay in My presence. do not flee. for in My presence, even my crushing presence, even my doubtfilled fearful presence (the doubt and fear are all my contribution mind you), abide. do not flee the presence, even the painful presence of the Lord]
 
oswald writes: There are times, says Jesus, when God cannot lift the darkness from you, but trust Him. God will apear like an unkind friend, but He is not; He will appear like an unnatural Father, but He is not; He will appear like an unjust judge, but He is not.
 
11 Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous.  [why do not we ask each other the hard questions? what shall we do UNTO THEE? is their question. they are not saying, it will be okay. it won’t. they’ll sink if something doesn’t happen. they have no guarantee of a fish to save them alive, neither does jonah at this point, but they know the crossroads they stand at require them to ask the hardest question of all. What shall we do unto thee? the church has ceased asking the hard questions. the church wants the easy road. the formulaic answer. the five simple steps to God. the church throws no one overboard, and that is why she languishes in powerlessness today]
 
12 And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.  [take me up and cast me forth, it would be better for jonah to die than go to ninevah. at least that is what he hoped for. i understand this depression. this frustration, this loss of options. i understand God can rend the heavens and stir a mighty gale for our redemption if that is what it takes. what jonah would do to get away from God, anything, even die. but death is no escape from God. today, i heard the Lord ask me, would you allow yourself to be Lazarus for Me to receive glory? Lazarus Lord? i replied. Lazarus. would you go down to death for Me to be lifted up? while everyone else prays for your healing, for your restoration, for your liberation, would you willingly go down to death for Me? Yes, Lord. the answer is always, Yes Lord, i would be Lazarus for You to be lifted up.]
 
a brief aside. today oswald writes me this: “The Death Side. In sanctification God has to deal with us on the death side as well as on the life side. …The Spirit of God in the process of sanctification will strip me until I am nothing but “myself,” that is the place of death. Am I willing to be “myself,” and nothing more—no friends, no father, no brother, no self-interest—simply ready for death? That is the condition of sanctification. No wonder Jesus said: “I came not to send peace but a sword.” This is where the battle comes, and where so many of us faint. We refuse to be identified with the death of Jesus on this point. “But it is so stern,” we say; “He cannot wish me to do that.” Our Lord is stern; and He does wish us to do that. Am I willing to reduce myself simply to “me,” determinedly to strp myself of all my friends think of me, of all I think of myself, and to hand that simple naked self over to God? Immediately I am, He will sanctify me wholly, and my life will be free from earnestness in connection with everything but God. When I pray—“Lord, show me what sanctification means for me,” He will show me. It means being made one with Jesus. Sanctification is not something Jesus puts into me: it is Himself in me. (i Cor. i 30.)
 
13 Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring it to the land; but they could not: for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous against them.  [nevertheless, the church rows against the inevitable. instead of casting the cause upon the mercy of God, the church attempst to save herself. the church rows for all she is worth, yet the tempest rages. i do these things myself, i do not speak of the church as if i am not guilty by association. i am a fool among fools. but God has fashioned our deliverance. we must do the hard things. ask the hard questions. cast the cause upon the mercy of God.]
 
14 Wherefore they cried unto the LORD, and said, We beseech thee, O LORD, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, O LORD, hast done as it pleased thee. [they tried all their options, but when they could find no other way, they heeded jonah's words. they began to call upon the name of the Lord aright, and before throwing one of his disobedient, yet chosen ones into the tempestous sea, they sought mercy for their actions. we fear the will of God. many times it is beyond us. beyond our ability to comprehend. many times it seems cruel. we feel selfish. but God’s ways are higher. His ways are right and true even though they look frightful to us. i keep hearing in my spirit that we must learn to hear God for ourselves. He reveals Himself uniquely to us all. He is the intimate Lover of our souls. He does not give a pastor a word, or an example of how God worked in the pastor’s life, for us to adopt it as “the way” God works. God works in myriad ways. i believe we are coming to a time and place in the history of the church where God will demonstrate His uniqueness. He will speak through prophets confirming words, words we have germinating in our spirits. the time of seeking our direction in books, and sermons, and lectures, is over. seek direction from God alone. learn to hear His voice aright now, before the days grow dark and hearing aright is essential.]
 
15 So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging.  [He heard and delivered the mariners.]
 
16 Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the LORD, and made vows.  [converts all, they encountered God like Lieutenant Dan out in the midst of the great sea and made their peace with God]
 
17 Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. [He has prepared your deliverance in advance. this encourages me greatly. even when my stupidity and rebellion are the cause of my impending drowning, He prepared a fish to save me alive. hallelujah!]