Running From God
Jonah 1:1-3
Pastor Darrin Wright – April 26, 2009
Introduction
The Fugitive, a popular drama series, first aired on
T.V. in 1963. David Janseen played Dr. Richard Kimble, a
man wrongly accused of murdering his wife. The good
doctor escaped from custody while being transported to
prison and spent the next four television years (120
episodes through 1967) searching for the real killer. The
series remains one of the most popular television dramas
ever produced.
It was reprised in 1993 in a movie by the same
name that starred Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones.
Again, the fugitive was Dr. Richard Kimble, a thoracic
surgeon from Chicago, wrongly accused of murdering his
wife. His search was shorter, however. Within two hours,
his painstaking pursuit of the real killer was rewarded and
he was vindicated.
In both the T.V. series and the movie, we were
pulling for the fugitive, not for his pursuers. We knew he
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was innocent and we wanted him not to get caught; we
wanted the truly guilty to be brought to justice. But that‟s
not always the case. There are times when fugitives need
to get caught – need to be held accountable for their
crimes, whatever they might be. The prophet Jonah was
such a fugitive.
The book of Jonah is the account of a man who was
called to be a missionary, who sought to evade his calling.
Most people that are familiar with this account readily
think about Jonah and the great fish. The bible teaches
that God prepared a great fish to swallow up this
disobedient missionary during his time of disobedience in
order to preserve him, to punish him, and to prepare him.
Jonah is an account that reminds us that God calls
people to particular places for particular purposes. In
Jonah‟s case, we find God calling him to Ninevah to preach
against its sin. But when God called Jonah, he replied,
“Lord, here I am send someone else.” What a contrast to
the response of the prophet Isaiah who said, “Here am I.
Send me!”
Many of us are like Jonah. We are on ships that are
sailing for Tarshish while God is saying “Got to Ninevah.”
Where are you headed? There are really only two roads
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in the Christian life. One lead to Ninevah, the other leads
to Tarshsish. One road is the will of God; the other is
disobedience to His will.
I. The Declaration To Jonah. (vs.1)
A. It Was A Prophetic Call.
1. “Now the word of the Lord”
2. The book of Jonah begins in an exciting
fashion, with God‟s self revelation to the
prophet Jonah.
3. The word of the Lord – common expression
used in the prophetic books of the Bible; it is
used over one hundred times, and it
indicates what it meant to be a prophet; it
meant to be a recipient of communication
from God; a word which contained a
message; it meant to have a clear, fresh light
shed upon oneself, society, or the nations by
the living God; it meant to be thrown into
God‟s presence to see things from His
perspective.
4. The prophets often described the sharpness
of such an encounter: it was a sword in their
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spirits, a burden on their shoulders, a
hammer breaking their rocky hearts, a fire
raging within them. It was bitter to taste.
5. Hebrews 4:12 (ESV) – “For the word of God
is living and active, sharper than any two
edged sword, piercing to the division of soul
and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and
discerning the thoughts and intentions of the
heart.”
6. The word of God disturbs the soul until it
responds.
7. The problem in obeying God is not that we
do not understand what He is saying, but that
we do.
8. Jonah‟s problem was not intellectual. It was
moral. God‟s will and Jonah‟s will were on a
collision course.”
B. It Was A Personal Call.
1. “came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying”
2. Came – speaking of prophets, it could not be
halted, and it forced itself on them; it gripped
their minds and touched their consciences. It
impelled their emotions. They could not
escape the certain assurance that the voice of
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God was sounding in their hearts and must
now sound to others through their lips.
3. Jonah – dove; through the man bearing that
name, God wanted to bring Revival to
Ninevah, not ruin.
4. The call of God is personal. Jonah was a real
person who lived in a real city, and God
called him for a special task.
5. God still speaks to His servants today, and
His call is just as personal.
II. The Directions to Jonah. (vs. 2)
A. They Were Pointed.
1. “Arise, go to Ninevah, that great city”
2. God spoke clear directions to Jonah.
3. Arise – functions ad verbally; it is used to
give the command „go‟ a sense of
immediacy; go at once; it is a definite and
firm call of the Lord.
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4. Ninevah – The capital of the Assyrian empire
(modern day Iraq); it was the world power of
that day; it was Israel‟s worst enemy.
a. It was a great city – it had
several hundred thousand in
population; it was very affluent;
it was so large that it took three
days to cross it; it had walls a
hundred feet high and so broad
that three chariots could run
abreast around the top of them.
b. It was a godless city – It was
known for its power and brutal
treatment of its enemies. It was
so wicked that Nahum‟s entire
prophecy was against the
wickedness of Ninevah.
5. God‟s directions to Jonah were clear, urgent,
and pointed. Jonah knew where he was
supposed to be.
B. They were Purposeful.
1. “and call out against it, for their evil has
come up before me”
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2. The evil of the city of Ninevah angered the
Lord, and He commanded His servant Jonah
to proclaim a message of judgment against it.
3. Call out against it – J.B. translation: “inform
them that their wickedness has become
known to me”
4. God had a definite place, a designated
preacher, and a divine purpose.
5. God wanted Jonah to go and tell the Ninevites
that if they didn‟t repent, God was going to
judge them.
6. Joel 2:17 (ESV) – “Between the vestibule and
the altar let the priests, the ministers of the
Lord, weep and say, Spare your people, O
Lord, and make not your heritage a reproach,
a byword among the nations. Why should
they say among their peoples, Where is there
God?”
7. What Jonah didn‟t understand is that
whenever God calls someone, He enables
them to do what He has called them to do.
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III. The Disobedience Of Jonah. (vs. 3)
Possible Reasons for Jonah‟s Disobedience (and
ours):
o Fear Of The Unknown
o Fear Of Being Unpopular
o Unconcerned
o The Ninevites would repent (Jonah 4:1-2)
A. Jonah Was Deliberate In His Disobedience.
1. “But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish”
2. When God said “go east”, Jonah didn‟t just
partially disobey. He deliberately
disobeyed. He went “due west”, as opposite
to God‟s direction as he could possibly get.
3. Not only was he going west, but he was going
to the extremity of the known west in those
days, (modern day Spain) approximately
2,000 miles in the opposite direction.
4. In Jonah‟s mind, Tarshish was as far as he
could go from the place God told him to go.
5. Sometimes we don‟t disobey God
deliberately, but either out of immaturity,
ignorance, or weakness we fail to obey God.
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6. While that is still sin, it‟s in a different
category from deliberate and willful
disobedience.
7. Jonah was a prophet of God and knew better
than to disobey God‟s clear direction.
8. He deliberately chose to disobey God from
the start.
9. When we go to Tarshish and God has called
us to Ninevah, we go without His blessing.
B. Jonah’s Distance In His Disobedience.
1. “from the presence of the Lord”
2. This phrase is used twice in these verses.
3. Question: How do you run from God?
4. Psalm 13:7-10 (ESV) – “Where shall I go
from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from
your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you
are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are
there! If I take the wings of the morning and
dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even
there you hand shall lead me, and your right
hand shall hold me.”
5. Everywhere you run to, He’s already there
when you get there.
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6. Derek Alexander – suggests we interpret
the phrase in the light of its use in the
expression to “stand before the Lord”, which
is an idiom used of being in the Lord‟s
service. “By fleeing from the Lord‟s
presence Jonah announces emphatically his
unwillingness to serve God. His action is
nothing less than open rebellion against
God‟s sovereignty.”
7. Psalm 16:11 (ESV) – “You make known to me
the path of life; in your presence there is
fullness of joy, at your right hand are
pleasures forevermore.”
8. Jeremiah 23:19 (ESV) – “behold, the storm of
the Lord! Wrath has gone forth, a whirling
tempest; it will burst upon the head of the
wicked.”
9. Wherever God calls you to, that is where
you will enjoy God’s promise.
C. Jonah Was Deceived In His Disobedience.
1. “He went down to Joppa and found a ship
going to Tarshsish.”
2. Notice how clear and careful God‟s
directions are to Jonah.
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3. Problem: Jonah had a word from the Lord.
4. It is impossible to say that Jonah was
confused about God‟s will for his life.
5. Perhaps Jonah was tempted to rationalize.
6. Warning: It doesn‟t make any difference
what the circumstances may say. If we have a
clear word from God about a subject. That‟s
it.
7. found a ship – he was looking for it; trying to
justify his rebellion because things fell in
place.
8. Anytime we want to run away from the will of
God, one thing is certain, we will find a ship
to Tarshish, and the devil will make sure that
it is sailing right on time.
9. Satan will always see that transportation is
provided for those who are running from the
will of God.
10. If we use any circumstance to try to change
the clear application of the word of God, it is
deception. Such guidance is not coming from
God, but from the enemy of our soul.
11. It is too easy to interpret circumstances to fit
our own desires. Jonah had already made up
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his mind to go to Tarshish, so when he got to
Joppa, he used circumstances (finding a ship)
to support what he already decided to do.
12. He went down – Jonah‟s journey away from
God was a downward journey. He went
down to Joppa; then he went down into the
ship; then he went down into the sea; then he
went down into the belly of the great fish;
then the great fish went down to the very
depths of the ocean.
13. You never fall downward.
14. Running from God is a downward trip.
D. Jonah Was Doomed In His Disobedience.
1. “So he paid the fare and went on board, to go
with them to Tarshish, away from the
presence of the Lord.”
2. There is high cost for low living.
3. The coins Jonah handed over were actually
the cheapest part of the fare.
4. Unknowingly Jonah was about to pay a huge
price for his disobedience.
5. When we walk away from the revealed will of
God, there‟s always a price to pay.
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6. Wages aren‟t paid in one lump sum; they are
paid in little increments throughout our lives,
and then we get the final payment at death.
7. When we get involved in walking away from
God we can‟t just get back on another ship
that takes us directly back home and have
everything the way it was.
8. Things change in the meantime, and all kinds
of problems occur. Yes, God forgives, and
He restores. But there is always scar tissue
left from sin that often complicates our lives
from that point on.
9. Someone has said: “the clerk at the ticket
counter couldn‟t tell Jonah exactly what it was
going to cost him”
10. John Phillips – “There are no free rides in
the devil‟s fairgrounds.”
11. Donald Grey Barnhouse – “it is always that
way. When you run away from the Lord you
never get to where you are going, and you
always pay your own fare. On the other
hand, when you go the Lord‟s way you
always get to where you are going, and He
pays the fare.”
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12. The most expensive thing a person can do
is run from God.
13. The journey away from God is a one-way trip
until God, in His grace, intervenes as He did
in the life of Jonah.
E. Jonah Was disciplined For His Disobedience.
(vs.4)
1. But the Lord – these are the words of saving
grace not only in Jonah‟s life, but in our lives
as well.
2. Jonah was headed down, down, down, but
the Lord was following him every step of the
way.
3. God wanted Jonah to do something for Him.
Jonah disobeyed, so God set in motion a plan
to get him back on track.
4. He used a storm to begin His rescue of the
disobedient prophet.
5. We can‟t run from God. Those of us who are
sailing today on comfortable and pleasant
seas will someday realize that we are headed
into a great storm.
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6. God will not tolerate forever deliberate
rebellion, and He will do whatever He needs
to bring us back to obedience.
7. Hebrews 12:5-11 (ESV) – “And have you
forgotten the exhortation that addresses you
as sons? My son, do not regard lightly the
discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when
reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines
the one he loves, and chastises every son
whom he receives. It is for discipline that
you have to endure. God is treating you as
sons. For what son is there whom his father
does not discipline? If you are left without
discipline, in which all have participated,
then you are illegitimate children and not
sons. Besides this, we have had earthly
fathers who disciplined us and we respected
them. Shall we not much more be subject to
the Father of Spirits and live? For they
disciplined us for a short time as it seemed
best to them, but he disciplines us for our
good, that we may share his holiness. For the
moment all discipline seems painful rather
than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful
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fruit of righteousness to those who have been
trained by it.”
8. We do everything to get away from the
presence of the Lord; but the problem is, if
we are believers, the Holy Spirit is in our
hearts, and He is going to keep after us and
make us miserable and send storms into our
lives that will disrupt everything until we
finally come to our senses.
9. The quicker we realize this and get back on
track with God, the quicker we get out of
these powerful storms.
10. We may find a ship, and it may sail right on
time, but if we are enroute to Tarshish when
God has called us to Ninevah, a storm is
brewing and sooner or later we are going
overboard.
Conclusion
David Jeremiah – “Running from God is a matter of the
heart. Whatever you think is going to be better in your
Tarshish, your wrong. There is nothing better than being
in the center of God‟s will. Jonah would have been ten
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times safer and better in the city of Ninevah surrounded
by six hundred thousand angry Ninevites and in the will of
God, than he was in the boat running away from God.”
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