Title Jonah's Disobedience/Jon 1:1~3
Content Jonah's disobedience/Jon 1:1~3
“… Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before me.” But Jonah got up and went down to Joppa to flee to Tarshish to escape the face of the Lord, and he found a boat going to Tarshish. He paid a wage and got into the boat to go with them to Tarshish, from the face of the Lord” (Jon 1:1-3).
One day, around 760 B.C., God spoke to the prophet Jonah. It is a command to go to the city of Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, and cry out for God's judgment. There are three important verbs in verse 2 of the text: “Get up,” “Go,” and “Cry”. This is a missionary command. I believe that this command today is the great missionary command of God given to all Christians.
However, Jonah did not obey God's command. Despite God's command, Jonah decided to disobey and went down to Joppa (verse 3). When you literally choose your own way instead of God's, it must be a downhill road. Distance from the Lord is always the way down. The great tribulation, the storm and the famine are prepared there. When they went down to Joppa, they met a ship going to Tarshish, in the opposite direction from Nineveh.
Brothers and sisters, you have to be careful when you say things are going as you want. If you think that it is God's will that the road opens up the way you want it to be, it's a big deal. In fact, when Jonah came down to Joppa, there was a boat going to Tarshish, which is tempting. The road to sin was wide open. If there was no ship, Jonah might have been troubled and returned to God. Even if the business is going well and the things I have planned seem to be going well, if the church is distant and the relationship with the Lord is estranged, it means that we have found a ship going to Tarshish. Do you have no remorse in your heart even though your religious life is becoming sluggish and indolent?
Disobedience to the Lord is the great sin of life, and it is a waste and a vain investment. Let's forsake the way of disobedience and live in obedience to God. There is eternal life.
Prayer: Heavenly Father who called Jonah! I believe that you are calling us who are here now. Help me to become the saints who immediately respond to the call of the Lord, Amen. I pray in Jesus name. Amen.