Life Situations in Stress and Crisis
Jonah
The crisis projected here is real, the events are based
on a true story, but is not an actual account. It is written through the
eyes of a friend of Jonah, in the Old Testament.
Many times we think that no matter what we do, things just don't go
right; then at other times we are absolutely sure of it! This seemed to
be the situation with my good friend Jonah. Let me tell you a little bit
about him and what he has been through lately.
Jonah is a prophet of God; basically he is a good man and dedicated
to his calling. However, here lately it seems he has picked up a real negative
attitude. I didn't know what his problem was until just the other day when
he finally sat down with me for a talk at the water well. He is always
a little hot headed and gives the impression that he knows it all. Guess
that is a trait of most of those prophets. They have to be authoritative
and a little loud to be heard at all, but really it is God's strength they
depend on.
Well let me tell you, early last month I think he may have really gone
over board. It was Tuesday morning, about 7 or 8 o'clock, when the Lord
spoke to Jonah. God told him to go to Nineveh to warn them of the destruction
that would happen if they didn't change their ways. "The word of the
Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai saying, 'Arise, go to Nineveh the
great city, and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before
Me.'"1 You know Nineveh, about four
days journey from here, it's really a cesspool of evil and corruption.
Jonah had been there before and didn't understand why God hadn't just wiped
it off the earth already.
Now God wanted Jonah to go there and give them a warning! "The
Assyrians were the great threat to Israel's national existence, and Jonah
knew that if God didn't destroy Nineveh, they would move into Israel and
swallow her up."2 Jonah had just as
soon let them sink in their own mire. They wouldn't listen to him anyway
but then what if they did? Since God is so loving and merciful, He might
not destroy that stink hole after all.
This really caused Jonah some major problems. Well, it just got the
best of Jonah and he ran. Can you imagine, he tried to run away from doing
what he knew he was supposed to do. The fact that he even thought he could
run away from the Lord showed that this really did distort his thinking.
Poor old Jonah, he didn't know which end was up. It was not so much the
fact that God wanted him to go back to Nineveh, but to go back to warn
them and possibly save them from destruction. That was really too much
for him to handle.
You and I know that running away from a problem never solved it but
only makes it worse. Jonah knew that as well; why, he preached a sermon,
on that very thing, in the town square not three months ago. Now he was
just not handling this situation in his usual way. Just shows you anyone
can have a bad day now and again.
Before he left, Jonah didn't seem to be himself. He was not talkative
and was withdrawn. He was sad, and was so low that he didn't even need
to bend over to pick up a stone. I tried to tell him that he needed to
talk this thing over with God like he had done so many times before, but
he just wouldn't hear me. He just kept walking down the road toward Joppa.
It was not like Jonah to not talk to God or his friends about something
that was troubling him.
When Jonah got to Joppa he caught a fishing boat headed for Tarshish.
I don't think that was where he intended to go, in fact I don’t think he
really knew where he was going. He just wasn't thinking straight. He felt
so bad about himself that he went straight to the cargo bay and went to
sleep on a pile of rope. He was so out of it that when one of those Mediterranean
storms blew up it didn't even wake him.
The boat's crew was very upset and when they saw he was still asleep
they tried to wake him. "Finding Jonah asleep in the hold, the boatswain
angrily woke him and told him to invoke the help of God."3
When he awoke and saw what was happening he tried to get the fishermen
to throw him overboard. they really didn't want to have any thing to do
with that until they were convinced that Jonah was the cause of the storm.
Then, sure enough, Jonah got his wish and hey threw him into the raging
waters. As you can imagine, he thought his problems were over; he wouldn't
have to worry about Nineveh, or anything else. That is one way to get rid
of a problem but seems to me that it is too harsh and too permanent, doesn't
give you a chance to really understand what is happening.
Well let me tell you, God wasn't about to let Jonah get off the hook
that way. You have heard 'out of the frying pan into the fire'. Well this
was becoming a different kind of fish to fry. "... the Lord appointed
a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish
three days and three nights."4 That
really turned the lights on for Jonah. He knew that he was in a heap of
trouble with the Lord, so he finally started talking to Him; like he should
have done in the beginning.
He really felt bad about the way he had acted and even worse now that
he was closed up inside this stinking fish. Jonah cried out to the Lord
and said, "Those who regard vain idols forsake their faithfulness,
but I will sacrifice to Thee with the voice of thanksgiving. That which
I have vowed I will pay. Salvation is from the Lord."5
Jonah realized that he had acted like one of those unfaithful heathens
in Nineveh. He promised God that he would do what he had promised so many
years ago when he made his pledge to serve God. "Then the Lord commanded
the fish, and it vomited Jonah up on dry land."6
The next time the Lord told Jonah to go to Nineveh he didn't wait; he
just left. Jonah traveled for three days getting to Nineveh and then preached
throughout the city for a whole day. He let them know hat they had forty
days to get it together or on the forty-first day they would just be a
bad memory. Jonah really did preach strong and hard to those folks. His
message even reached the ears of the city's king. Jonah's worst fears came
true. "A city the size of Dallas turned to God, cast themselves upon
His mercy, and pleated for forgiveness; and God in His infinite Grace delivered
that Gentile city from divine judgment."7
Well, needless to say, that didn't set well with Jonah, he really wanted
to see them pounded into the dirt where he felt they belonged. You would
think that he had learned his lesson but, oh no, not Jonah. He told God
that this is what he knew would happen and then he begged God, "therefore
now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for death is better to me than
life."8 Jonah was angry and still
had the idea that when this all sunk in, the people of Nineveh would change
their minds and would still be destroyed. William Bacus has said, "There
is more evidence that people become angry more readily when they are depressed
than when they are feeling 'normal'."
Jonah went up to a hill outside the city and waited to see what would
happen. God caused a vine to grow up over Jonah to shade him from the hot
sun. That seemed to cheer him up some, but the next day a worm ate it;
Jonah became very upset over that. God made the point very clear to Jonah:
the vine that grew and died was not as important as all those people who
didn't know their right from their left. So why was Jonah sad over the
vine and didn't care about God's people? Maybe that got Jonah to thinking
again, I am not sure. I talked to him yesterday and he was still sitting
on that hill, but at least he was not still wanting to put his head in
the sand and die. Maybe he will understand why this bothered him so much
and come on home.
Perhaps you are like the people of Nineveh and haven't
accepted Jesus as your Savior. Just like them, you are bent on destruction
unless you accept Jesus as your personal Savior. He will rescue you from
that destruction and, like Nineveh, you will be spared. Jesus paid the
price for you and wants you to accept him as your Savior and Lord.
Are you like Jonah and are not doing what God wants in your life, not
wanting to tell others about Jesus' sacrifice for us, and his wonderful
gift? Don't wait for the fish!
