Diving into Jonah Chapter One
Jonah’s a different guy. Of all the minor prophets, the beat of his drum is NOT like the others. While the rest encourage us to rise and respond to God, Jonah only gives us his example: rise and run.
But I get him.
The Bad News
If we dive deep—if we dig—we see the Israelites as the underdogs of the ancient world. Assyria is on top. To call them a “bully” doesn’t even begin to describe the terror they caused. They were bad dudes. The skins of their enemies hung on their city wall—no longer stone but leather. They probably even laid siege to Jonah’s home town. Who knows what Jonah—or a loved one—may have encountered.
Then God calls Jonah to go to Assyria’s capital city of Nineveh and tell them that in 40 days, God’s done with them. They’re going down.
Jonah should’ve been fired up for this. Justice is coming.
But Jonah knows God. And he knows God will relent. Which means he also anticipates the Ninevites repenting. And although that would be the biggest, greatest conversion of all time (even bigger than anything Paul would ever do), he wanted no part of it. He wanted them to go down.
And I wonder: Wouldn’t you—if the hurt was raw enough? If the wound was big enough? If the scars were deep enough?
I think his were.
God is stretching him farther than he thinks he can go. Jonah’s nearing his breaking point.
And I wonder: Have you ever felt like God was stretching you past your breaking point?
The Good News
The good news? God knows us better than we know ourselves. I’m certain God cared about healing Jonah’s heart just as much as he cared about eradicating the world’s biggest bullies—simply by breaking theirs.
Catch the full 20-minute sermon on all four chapters here: February 25, 2024 – Jonah: Rise and Run (youtube.com) And wonder a bit with me.
Sidenote: For the children’s story, only my daughter was there. Another lady on our preaching team—and a whole bunch of college kids—came up to sit with her, so she wouldn’t be the only one.
Sidenote 2: It just so happened our VBS decor for the coming summer fit perfectly with this sermon. I decked the church out!
If you liked this post, check out our other sermons: Do I Really Love God: A Litmus Test,
And check out our Jonah lesson for kids at Jonah’s Viny Twist: Teaching Kids Jonah Well. Grab our freebie here:
Enjoy!
And remember: No matter what territory you’re navigating, keep on pioneering the legacy!