The book of Jonah

… Will you turn with me please to the Prophet Jonah? The Prophet Jonah. In the first chapter, Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah, the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, and go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it, for their wickedness is come up before me. But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord, 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. 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. Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his guard, and cast forth the whales that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it up. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship, and he lay, and was fast asleep. So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? Arise, call upon my God. Well, if so be that God will think upon us that we perish not. 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. 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? And he said unto them, I am Hebrew, and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea, and the dry land. 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. 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. 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 tempest is upon you. Nevertheless, the men wrote with heart to bring it to an end, but they could not, for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous against them. 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 hell, O Lord, has done as it has pleased thee. So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea, and the sea ceased from eroding. Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the Lord, and made vows. 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. The second chapter. Then Jonah prayed unto the Lord his God out of the fish's belly, and said, I cry by reason of my affliction unto the Lord, and he heard me. Out of the belly of hell cry I, and thou heardest my voice. For thou hast cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas, and the floods compassed me about. All thy billows and thy waves passed over me. Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight. Yet I will look again toward thy holy temple. The waters compassed me about, even to the soul. The depths posed me round about. The weeds were wrapped about my head. I went down to the bottoms of the mountains. The earth with her bars was about me forever. Yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O Lord, my God. When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came again unto thee in thine holy temple. They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy, but I will sacrifice unto the Lord with the voice of thanksgiving. I will pay that that I have bailed. Salvation is of the Lord. And the Lord spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land. Isn't it all blessed to us that we read this word? I suppose we will all admit that with regard to the book of Jonah, it's a wonderful book, isn't it? It's a book that so many people disbelieve, and yet as believers on the Lord Jesus Christ, if there's one book we believe, it is Jonah, because the Lord Jesus Christ wrote it concerning his death. It's rather remarkable that he's written by this man about himself, and as he writes about himself, he's writing against himself, isn't he? Because when we see that which he speaks about himself, he shows his failing in desiring to turn against the will of God, and turn his back upon the presence of the Lord, and as he writes these words, I fear he writes so that they might be a warning to those of us that live in the later day. Also, I don't know whether you've noticed, but in this small book, I feel it's the only book in the Bible where we see that everybody's saved. We see that as Jonah is found, and as he goes away from his God, and as he's found in that ship, we see firstly that those people on the ship all pray to the Lord, and they gave the Lord the credit. They gave him, and they paid the vows that they vowed. They gave him the credit with regard to this thing. They offered sacrifices. Those men were saved in that day. Saved from destruction, were they not? And then, of course, we see that Jonah was saved, wasn't he? He was in that ship, and he was saved by the wonderful deliverance he had. And then, if we turn later on, we shall find that the people of Nineveh were saved, every one of them, even to the fact that the cattle were saved. So, as we look on this book, we see it's a book of salvation in the fact that everybody is saved. Now, I want you to think of Jonah as a man of God because we see he's spoken of as a man of God, we see he's a prophet of God, and now God speaks to him, and God speaks to him in such a way that he hears the voice, and he knows the voice, and he says straight away when God tells him to do something, no, I'm not going to do it. Now, remember who he is. He's a servant of the Lord. He knows the voice, I say again. He hears the words. He knows the voice. And yet, on hearing and knowing these things, he says no to God. Now, I suppose if there was a crowd of people here tonight that were unconverted, you'd say, yes, that's a message for them. It's a message for us. It's a message for us in the fact that if we each and all, that I believe tonight, are believers on the Lord Jesus Christ, aren't we very often doing this same thing? Here's a man of God that discussed this. He says, no, I'm not going to do what God tells me to do. What did God tell him to do? God told him to do a wonderful mission for himself. It wouldn't be an easy thing for him to do. I think that he had a 500-mile journey to take, and at the end of that journey, there was that big walled city. There, I think it was walled, and it was 60 miles around the city. It had high towers, 200 feet high. And I think it was that there were 1,500 of these towers around the city. It was a great place, and it was a wicked place. And he said, no, I'm not going there. I wonder why he possibly said no to God. I'll tell you why he said no to God. Because as God speaks to him, immediately he did just what we often do when God speaks to us. He hesitated. You say, it doesn't say that he hesitated. No, I know that the Scripture doesn't say that he hesitated, but if you look into the last chapter, at least the last or the second to last chapter, he said to God, well, you know, I told you right at the beginning what would happen, didn't I? See, there was a time when God spoke to Jonah and he thought about what would happen if he went to this city of Nineveh. And as he was thinking about what would happen when he went to this city of Nineveh, somebody else spoke to him. Who was it that spoke to him the second time? It wasn't the voice of the Lord at this time. When we hesitate, it isn't the voice of the Lord that speaks to us. It's the voice of the enemy of our souls that speaks to us. And that one who is so great and so powerful in himself, not greater than he that is in us, but great and powerful, that one said to him, Lord, won't you say no? And don't you think that in our pathway, as we leave it on the Lord Jesus Christ, there's so many times when God tells us to do a certain thing, and because we hesitate, the enemy comes in and says, well, why don't you say no? And what happens? We say no. I feel it is that we have more opportunities. I feel that I have more opportunities to speak to others about Christ. I don't think it's a wise thing to speak to others about their soul. No, it might sound to you that I'm speaking in a strange way tonight, but I feel that who we've got to speak about, who we've got to speak about is the Lord Jesus Christ himself. And very often it is when God speaks to us and says, speak to that one concerning the Lord, that gives you the opportunity, you hesitate a moment. Why? Because it might be the neighbour over the fence, and what would they think if after all you spoke in that way? It might be somebody at work that you speak to, and you're asked to speak to, and what would they think of you after? It's not one in the other workplace. And very often it is like this, because Jonah says with regard to himself, well, with regard to you sending me to Nimah, you'd send me there, I know. And I know your heart is a heart of grace, and when I go there, I know that if they turn to you, then it will be that you'll accept them. And what would I look like as a prophet? See, I'm a prophet. And what would my name be like? What would I be like? And how I shall fall in their estimation because of the fact that after all, what I've said hasn't been true, and I've got a little pride in my heart. Yes, and Satan knows we've got a little pride in our hearts, and that's why he says to us, well, you say no. And so often we say no. And so often it is that unbelievers say no, don't they? They say no, they hear the word, and they know that word, because so many that come into the meetings have heard it from their childhood, and if they hesitate, as they've hesitated before, and then it is the enemy says, say no to God. Then, you know, if you listen to the enemy, so soon you'll be going his way. Now, that's not a word to a believer. Yes, it is a word to a believer, because as I look into the Scripture, and as I look around today, I feel that there are so many that have gone astray because they've listened to the word of the enemy. It hasn't been that they're not converted, they're converted, but you see with regard, well, I talk to my other men now, but we've read God. One has been with the Apostle Paul, and he's been a wonderful help to him. What does he say? On one occasion, he has to write and say to somebody, Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present evil world. What has happened? Demas hath thought with regard to his work with the Apostle Paul, well, the time has come now that, I feel I didn't talk to do these things, I ought to settle down a bit. He hadn't returned to ungodliness, but he thought that he should settle down, and he'd gone to this certain place, and the enemy says, yes, why don't you settle down after all, you've had enough, haven't you? He'd forsaken the Apostle Paul, and he'd gone and left the Apostle Paul, having loved this world. He was settled down from there, he was no more a testimony to the Lord. So if you do say no to God in your pathway, if I do, then it is we say yes to the enemy, and we're very soon going his way. How was it with Jonah? Well, with Jonah, it says concerning him, instead of taking a northeasterly direction, and going to Nineveh, he went down to Joppa. And he had in mind to go across the Mediterranean to the other side into Spain, that's what he wanted to do. See, he was going south of Spain, he was going west. And as we see him going down there, and going to Joppa, there it is, he has one thing in mind, to get away from the presence of the Lord. You know, in this case, I don't think for a moment that Jonah was as wise as David. Have you ever read the 139th Psalm, where there David delights in the presence of his Lord, and says, where can I go from thy presence? How can I flee from thy presence? If I take the wings of the morning, and go to the outermost part of the earth, you're there. And yet this poor man, this poor prophet Jonah, at this time thinks, if I only pay my fare, and go to the other side of the Mediterranean to Spain, I should be out of the presence of the Lord. So we see he was limited in his thought, concern, his God, and therefore he goes down and goes to Joppa. And there he takes a ship in Joppa. I want you to think of him there a minute, because he's the man that said no to God, but now something's going to happen to him. His life is not going to be an empty life, he just can't say no and stay where he is. He's got to go and he's got to be occupied with other things. So he goes through that shipyard, and as he goes through that shipyard, he finds a ship going to Tarshish. You know, if we say no to God, I think we shall find that ship going to Tarshish. I mean this with regard to that man. Don't you realize what a different man he was when he went on that ship? And don't you realize how different people are? Sometimes we've met them in the meetings years and years ago, they've been very, very bright in themselves, but then for some reason they've gone away altogether. Then you meet them, and they're a different person altogether. Now this man, Joe, I want you to think it, of the steps that brought him to that. Now he's there, he's walking through, and he looks at one ship after another, and here's one that's going to Tarshish. You wonder what the name was on that ship. You say, well, maybe it didn't have a name. I know that at that time they did have names, and I can't see the name on that ship, but I can certainly give it a name. I can put on that ship indifference. Because when Jonah went into the sides of the ship, it says that he went down into the sides of the ship, and he lay and was fast asleep. What had happened to the word that God had given him? Well, if you are able to go to sleep on that, you've forgotten what God said, haven't you? Because if he had had an exercise at this time concerning what God had said, he couldn't have gone to sleep. And so we see he's in a position of indifference at this moment, and I say that we very often have our ship going to Tarshish. What do I mean? There's things that come into our lives that make us indifferent to God's claims upon us. It is, I remember this sadness, a girl that was in a class of mine at home, in the Sunday school. She took a class, and there were 17 in that class. She was a very bright girl, and she began courting a young man who was not in the meeting, and then she found that she was good at archery. And it wasn't long before, instead of coming as she so frequently did to the meeting, she was found to be among the archers of the county, and she became the archer of the county. And she did that on Sundays. She had her ship going to Tarshish. Tarshish made her indifferent to the claims of God upon her. So we see that this man, Jonah, he goes down into the sides of the ship. There he is, indifferent as to the claims of God. I do trust that we never get into that position that this man being able to sleep when he should have been going on his mission. But you say, well, there is Jonah. There he goes, he's paid his fare, everything, and now has been done, and there's no claim upon him in a way from God. And there he's going. He'll go down and sleep in the side of the ship, and that will be the end of that which God has for him. Will it? Let's remember that God does never feel lightly with any one of us. And if it's an unbeliever that he's spoken to concerning his son and his love to him, he's not going to lightly let you go. It is a believer that turns his back upon his God, as Jonah did just at this moment. He's not going to lightly let you go. Here it is that Jonah might have said, that's an end. Off I go to Tarshish, and I shall never remember, and never going to Nineveh, never remember that which I had to do. No, this is the end. I've closed. This is a closed book, and I'm on my way to Tarshish, never to come back. No, but he hadn't drawn the fact to mind that the God who had placed him in the position as a prophet, and he had been a godly prophet, no doubt under the hand of God, that God was to do with him, and that God was to proceed on his behalf. Do you remember in the Acts of the Apostles when there was one to be converted, a hard soul, that man that was keeper of the prison? What did God do then? God looked down in that prison, and he saw that man, that jailer, and he said, I'll convert that man. How can I convert him? Not perhaps by a still small voice on this occasion, because he won't listen to it. I'll convert him by an earthquake, and make fear enter his heart. And so it is that God can move the earth, and he can move the sea, and he moved the sea on this occasion. We see that here he goes down again, I mention, into the sides of the ship, and there he goes off to sleep. And yet, just at this moment, God begins to work, and as we see that ship flying its way across the Mediterranean, we see the ship master coming out on top, and as he looks around, he sees a storm coming up in the distance. Well, they've had storms before, and no doubt they had the storms today, and no doubt at the beginning, that storm did not worry him. But the storm came on, and the storm was on in no time, and no doubt the ship master called those men to their places, and whatever they tried to do, it had no effect because of the fact that this storm had been brought on by God. He raised a mighty wind. He brought the power down against this vessel, and as these men began to work, they realized that their efforts were, well, they were useless with regard to this storm. There'd never been such a storm. No, there hadn't. And God makes this greatest storm in history to arouse a man as to what he ought to do for him. Just at this moment, I want you to think of Jonah. It's still true of him that he's come down into the side of the ship and he's fast asleep. There he is, and the storm is about that ship, and those men are in fear of their lives. We see concerning them that everyone was filled with fear, and as we see them filled with fear, we say that they pray to their gods. Gods rule. We remember that with regard to these men, there were no doubt many on that ship that were the crew of the ship, and as they're working there, they had their gods, and they all prayed. I don't think that it is an easy thing for an unconverted man to pray. I don't think it is a thing that unconverted people do very much. Some of them do, and I've spoken to them with regard to it, and some do pray, but very, very rarely will a man pray, but here, these men were in such fear because of the storm, and it says concerning them that they all prayed to their gods. Their gods that could not hear, but see those men down upon their knees praying this storm. Aren't they nervous just at this moment? I feel that in eternity, there will be so many men in earnest that have never prayed before, and how sad it is that these men were in earnest just at this moment, and we see how earnest they are because the cargo that they brought on the ship, it says they cast that precious cargo over the side. Their eyes were at stake, and you know, if a man's eyes are at stake, he'll do anything, won't he? And they cast the precious cargo over the side of the ship, and as they cast it over, it made no difference. I think that this is a vivid story, is it not? But it was just at this moment that the master of the ship seeks under God's hand and under God's guidance to search the ship. It may be that there are others that are not in the knowledge of the storm that's raging at this time, and he hasn't gone there because of the fact that as he searched the ship, as God would guide him through that ship, he comes to one that's lame and fast asleep. I don't know what to say with regard to this. What a picture it is today for us. As I think of many of us that believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and as I think of the danger in which unconverted people are, don't you think that we are laying fast asleep with regard to them? When we think of the so many hundreds and hundreds of people who know not the Lord Jesus Christ as their saviour, and very rarely do we speak to them, and very rarely do we do anything about their simulation, and yet there they are, going on their journey. It was brought to me very much while I was in hospital, when I saw one or two here and there going to death, and nothing much had been said to them. There they are going, and we lay in their fast asleep. There the shipmaster goes, and he rouses this man, this man who could have made all the difference to these sailors. In fact, it was because of him the storm had come upon them, and yet here he is in his indifference state. So you see, he was on the ship of indifference, and I haven't made it round, have I? This ship speaks to me of indifference, and there he lay, and now the shipmaster rouses him, and calls him to pray to his God. I wonder how long it was since he prayed. Yes, I just wonder, because if you turn your back against your God, if you're a believer, you don't pray to you, you can't, you've got no contacts. You've relinquished that contact, haven't you? After all, you hadn't needed, you hadn't wanted that contact. If he flees from the presence of the Lord, he's not going to pray to him, and now he's an unconverted person, says to him, now I want you to pray, because of the state that we're in. You know, what a serious position he found himself in, didn't he? He says that Jacob was called upon to pray. And then, as they cast lots, for whose cause this evil was upon them, the lot fell upon Jonah, and just at this moment, Jonah realised that he was found out. He was told to pray, and no doubt, as he would realise, having that big exercise that he hadn't prayed to God up to this moment, since he'd fled from him, he would realise something concerning God, whose eye was searching him out again, and as he's spoken to concerning himself, he realises that God's found him out. God's found him out. God is following him, and therefore, when they ask the questions concerning him, he has to tell them who he is, and he says he's fleeing from his God. You know, what a sad thing to think that a man here, that had been entrusted with messages from God, was now willing to say and confess that he was fleeing from his God. The one who had been so gracious and so loving and kind to him, the one that had protected him up to this moment, fleeing from him, fleeing from him. Yes, and he told these men clearly what had happened, and now they said, well, tell us what we should do to thee. And he knows just at this moment what must happen, because after all these men, they, well, there must be him going over the side of the ship, because it's because of him that this evil is upon them, and if it be that he goes down into those waters, if they put him over into those waters that speak of death, it will mean salvation for them. Yes, but you have to realize that although these were godless men, and although they were hardened seamen, it wasn't in their hearts to throw a man into the water just as it was at that moment. And yet that was the place that he was to go. He was to go into death so that they might be saved. And here I revert a little to say that with regard to anybody that's in a dangerous position with regard to their soul, it means the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. It means the death of the Lord Jesus Christ for their salvation. It cannot be that the Lord Jesus Christ has staked that death upon the cross. It must be that he must suffer there. And as we think of the things that are written in the second chapter several of them, now digressing a little, we can see how prophetically they speak about the Lord Jesus Christ. He went down to the bottoms of the mountains. The earth with her bars was about him forever. The weeds were wrapped about his head. Words that speak of him prophetically. But let's go back to Jehovah. With regard to him, we see that they pray to God. And as they pray to God, they pray that they might not have the blood of this man upon them. And as they pray, they cast him over the side of the ship. And as they cast him over the side of the ship, salvation is theirs. Salvation is theirs. Then the men pray and offer sacrifices unto the Lord. Yes. In the ship, just at that moment, is a dead priest because that man was put in the place of death. But how about Jehovah? Let's look at him in another way. How about Jehovah? He wasn't in the ship of indifference now. It wasn't an indifferent condition that he was down in now. It was a condition of exercise, wasn't it? There he was in that sea, in the Mediterranean Sea, cast over, and God in his grace had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jehovah. And that is one thing that people doubt today. Let us remember that God had prepared the fish and God who is able to create all living beings, is able to prepare a fish to swallow up Jehovah and to allow him under his hand to do what he will. And therefore we see the fish swallowed up Jehovah and now Jehovah is in the belly of the fish in the Mediterranean. I want you to think of his natural position for a moment, his natural condition as well. There he is in awful darkness and awful heat. There he is in the awful stench of the place in which he finds himself. There he is, if you think of it in a natural way, without any hope at all, without any hope at all of getting away. Of getting away, there he is. And yet there's one thing that's uttermost upon his mind. It is the exercise with regard to his God. In that second chapter we see that he felt that God had cast him behind his back. God had forsaken him. Yes, I feel now that he's in a different place. He's in the sea of exercise. And however awful his position and condition must have been naturally, spiritually it was much worse for him. Because now he was brought to the realisation that God, he felt that God, his God had forsaken him. There was a time in the first chapter when regularly he said, I want to get out of the presence of God. I want to get away from him. But now, brought to his senses, he feels that God has forsaken him. And what an awful position that's in. You know, there are times when human beings do have those thoughts. I have spoken to people who, because of their nervous tension in their mind, that felt that they had been forsaken of God. I wonder whether God does ever forsake anybody. I wonder whether God had forsaken Jonah. As I look at Jonah, just at this time, it might have appeared that God had forsaken him. There he was in that hopeless position. And there he would feel that if something does not happen in a little while, well, he must die. But does God ever forsake anybody? Is it that God, a gracious and a loving God, willingly and readily forsakes people? I don't think that he does. As I look into the scripture, I see that God is ever ready and willing when we come to accept us. But there was one that he did forsake. And we must never forget that. When our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ was on the cross of Calvary, when he was bearing our sin in his body there in those three hours of darkness, what did he say? My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? That's what he said. Because he was forsaken of God. Why? Because he didn't want me to be forsaken in a time to come. He didn't want it to be that as I stood before him as a judge, I would, apart from this, that he could say to me, depart, I don't know you. He wanted it to be that through his death, the death of his son on the cross, that I was not forsaken in a time to come. That I should be in a place of blessing. That I feel that as we speak to people that are still in their sins, we must say that if that's not the turning of heart and mind to him, that there will be a time when God does forsake. There's that sad time coming when God will forsake those that have not turned to the love of his dear son. So we see this man in this awful condition, but it says concerning him, then Jonah prayed. Then Jonah prayed, yes, and he prayed in earnest. And as he prayed in earnest, I feel that he prayed in this way. He prayed to God and he told God how that he was in this position. And as he told God that he was in this position, he showed God that he felt that his back was turned to him. That God's back was turned to him. And yet he felt that if it was that he was to be saved, he felt that God could save him, he felt that it was possible that God could save him, that he didn't deserve that salvation from God. How could he deserve the salvation from God when he turned his back upon him? But there was one thing that he said he would do. He says in his prayer, yet will I turn to thy holy temple. Salvation is of the Lord. It's possible that you can save me. I do not deserve this salvation, but it's possible that you can save me. Salvation is of the Lord. And we must remember that on every occasion where a person receives salvation from God, it's in that way, it's by his grace alone. We don't favour him. And it isn't that there's anything in our lives that gives credit so that he can save us. Salvation is of the Lord. And how marvelous it is to see that just that moment when he clearly shows his condition before the Lord and then says salvation is of the Lord, then the great fish vomited out Jonah on dry land. Where did it land him? Well, when I think of his salvation that's of the Lord, it's in a wonderful place, isn't it? He doesn't say it with regard to any one of us, but when we come to him, we've got to carry on and it's according to how we are before the judgment time when we appear before the judgment seat of Christ. It depends upon what we've been like from the time that we've converted, whether we'll be saved or not. It doesn't depend upon that. See, he vomited up Jonah on dry land. He had that standing of security. We must remember that. When we see that man going from Jerusalem to Jericho, what did the Samaritan do with him? Did he wind up his wounds and pour in oil and wine and say get to Jericho the best way you can? Did he say that? Did he say get to the inn? The inn will be there and you get the best way you can. If you can't get there, well, you'll die. Let's remember the one that was healed and Jonah loved him and if he loved him, he knew the fame of Jonah and it says that he was put in a position of security just as we are tonight, every one of us. Let's remember that we must adhere tonight. We trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and there's nothing that can cut us out of his hand. If we sincerely believe that Jesus died for our sins on the cross, whatever happens in our pathway, we have that same feeling, we have that surety in knowing that he that has begun this work in us will complete it in that day when he calls each and all of us that belong to him to be with him in heaven with joy. Shall we sing in closing number 137? O walk with Jesus, wouldst thou know how deep, how wide his path can flow? Nay, only fail, his path can prove. Look in the ways of sinners grow. Walk thou with him, that way is night. All other pathways end in night. Walk thou with him, that way is rest. All other pathways are unblessed. 137. …