Disobedience of the Prophet

Introduction: The Bible's Untouched Snapshots of Heroes

0:04 Now, will you follow, please, as I read from the first chapter of the book of Jonah, the book that is the basis of our evening meditations, has been for several Lord's Day evenings, and will be, God willing, for at least several months to come. The book of Jonah, chapter 1.

0:53 And went down into it to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.

1:03 One of the most amazing aspects of the Bible is its untouched pictures of some of its greatest heroes. Now, you all know the difference between a professionally altered portrait and an untouched snapshot. In the one, a man engages. He uses all the arts and skills of his profession to make you look better than you really are.

1:33 In the other, the truth outs. And rarely have I heard anyone say of a professional portrait, I just don't take a good picture. That's always true of snapshots, because they show us as we really are. Well, I say one of the most amazing aspects of the Bible is that, in a sense, it is a gallery of unknowns.

1:58 But in the midst of it, there's a gallery of un konnte surfaces the Christian Church over 그러니까 just get over them touched photographs of even some of its greatest heroes. It is this book which not only sets Noah before us and his singular godliness in a wicked age, But it describes the sordid experience of Noah in a drunken stupor. It is this book which not only sets Noah before us and his singular godliness in an a wicked age, but it describes the sordid exec celebration of Noah in a drunken stupor.

2:30 If David is set before us as the man after God's own heart, he's also set before us as a man of like passions, who burns with carnal lust to a beautiful woman and cripples himself and his family for unborn generations because of that lust. If this book describes Peter in his boldness, it gives us the account of Peter in his denials. And so we could go on and on, going through the gallery of the untouched photographs of some of the greatest heroes of the Word of God. Well, in the passage I have read in your hearing, we encounter another of those untouched photographs.

3:12 And perhaps this passage is singular in that it records an episode probably unparalleled in all of Scripture,

3:22 an episode in which a true prophet, not a false prophet, receives a direct word from God and, and yet, that prophet sets out in open, blatant disobedience to God and attempts to keep the word that God has given him to deliver locked up in his own heart and never uttered from his own lips to those for whom God had given that word. Well, if God then gives us this snapshot of Jonah in his blatant disobedience, then surely it must, it must be to the end that we may learn from this and be instructed to our own prophet. And so we approach tonight verse 3 as our text, having already considered the substance of verses 1 and 2, the commission of the prophet Jonah,

The Facts of Jonah's Disobedience: Fleeing God's Presence

4:19 something of the righteousness of that commission as well as the nature and sovereignty of that commission, we come tonight to consider what verse 3 tells us, of the disobedience of the prophet. And as we think our way through the text, we shall first of all examine the facts concerning his disobedience. And then secondly, the reasons which lay behind that disobedience. And then in conclusion, we shall seek to extract the permanent lessons from the disobedience of the prophet.

4:56 First of all, then, the facts of the disobedience of the man of God. The word of God to Jonah is very clear. He is to rise up, he is to make his way by whatever means of transportation were available to the great city of Nineveh, and there he is to cry against it. That is, he is to deliver a message of impending judgment because Almighty God is weary with the wickedness of that great city.

5:26 Now, if you know a little bit about your Bible geography, and you are looking at a map up here, here is Jonah in Palestine, in a place that would be near the city of Nazareth, and he is to go to Nineveh, which would be almost due east and a little north. These are his clear directions from God. And yet the facts of the case are such that what he did was to obey God only in the first part of his commission. God said in verse 2, Arise, verse 3 says, Jonah rose up, but there his obedience ended.

6:04 The only thing that he did in direct compliance with his commission was to rise up. But instead of going almost due east and a little north, he takes off in the opposite direction. He goes a little bit further north to find himself a ship, and with that ship then he sets out for Tarshish. Now, it is difficult to pinpoint the Tarshish of the ancient world.

6:30 It could have been a place on the southern tip of what is now Spain, or one of the islands west of Italy, or some conjecture that it may have been a place on the west coast of Africa. But in any case, he took off in the opposite direction from Nineveh. So whether Tarshish was there, there, or there, he could not have gone in any direction more opposite to the clear directive of God. In so doing, the text says, and we're just laying out the facts, that he did so, in an attempt to flee from the presence of Jehovah.

7:10 But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of Jehovah. Now, what does that little phrase mean? Does it mean that Jonah actually thought that he could go somewhere that would put him outside the orbit of the knowledge of God? Outside?

7:35 Outside of the omnipresence of the God who fills heaven and earth? Why, the subsequent history reveals that that's utterly unthinkable.

7:46 Jonah knew well, both from the revelation of God's stance upon his consciousness, and from the revelation of God given to him in the Old Testament scriptures, which were his possession, the truth of Psalm 139, that if he were to ascend up into heaven, God is there. If he were to make his bed in heaven, God is there. If he were to take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost part of the sea, even the sea which lies between Joppa and Tarshish, even there the hand of God shall lead him. The fact that he prays to God out of the belly of a great fish, knowing that he shall be heard, is eloquent testimony to Jonah's fundamental conviction that God does indeed fill heaven and earth. No, the little phrase, to flee from the presence of Jehovah, is to be understood in terms of a concept that is initiated in scripture in chapter 4 of Genesis. And I want you to turn to that passage. Genesis chapter 4.

9:01 God has judged Cain for the slaying of Abel, and now he makes him a fugitive. And we read in verse 16 of Genesis 4, and Cain, went out from the presence of Jehovah and dwelt in the land of Nod on the east of Eden. Now, did he put himself outside the orbit of the presence of him who fills heaven and earth? Of course not.

9:29 You see, the presence of Jehovah in this initial instance has reference to the fact that God was peculiarly present when he set up that guard by his own special, specially manifest presence outside the gate of Eden. And Cain is banished from that place where God, in a peculiar sense, had appointed his own presence to be manifested. And then we turn further to 2 Kings chapter 13, and we have an additional commentary which enlarges upon this concept. 2 Kings 13, verses 22 and 23.

10:12 And, Hazel, king of Syria, oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz. But the Lord was gracious unto them and had compassion on them and had respect unto them because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them, neither cast he them from his presence as yet. Obviously, it has a reference to driving them out of the land which he had given for a possession. So, you see, God's presence is the place where God is pleased to deposit his worship, his ordinances.

10:54 In the case of Israel, he had given the priesthood. He had directed them to erect the temple. He had established all the ritual of that worship. He himself had come with his own peculiar glory and presence into that temple.

11:10 Therefore, the presence of God in this sense is that place where God in a peculiar way manifests himself by those means he himself has appointed. Now, you see, it was in Israel that Jonah would be continually reminded of these peculiar things that surround the presence of God. It was there that the temple was erected. It was there that the ordinances of the priesthood and the prophetic office were given.

11:47 And so what Jonah is doing is this. In his state of disobedience, he is determined to put himself as far away from every visible reminder of the living God.

12:03 Everything that would impinge upon his tortured conscience concerning the claims of the God of Israel to whom he was accountable. You see, there, in Israel, there were too many vivid reminders to agitate his conscience. Therefore, he must flee and get away from as much as possible that would remind him of his God. What better thing than the high seas and the rude company of a bunch of pagan sailors?

12:33 It'd be pretty easy to forget God in that kind of a situation. And so he goes up to Joppa, and there he finds what to him no doubt appeared a kind providence. A ship is there. He has the proper money for the fare.

12:47 They have a place for him. The winds are favorable. And it isn't long before the captain gives the orders. The anchor is pulled up and the sails are hoisted.

12:56 And he's on his way. And no doubt in some sense sighed a sigh of relief that he was putting behind him that place where he would have so many reminders that he was a prophet of God, that he was under the rule of the king of Israel, and that he was a prophet of God, and that he was in a present state of disobedience to that king. So then the facts of the prophet's disobedience are set before us. Now then, in the second place, what reasons does the Word of God give us as the rationale for Jonah's disobedience?

The Reasons for Jonah's Disobedience: Anger at God's Mercy

13:38 Why did Jonah so blatantly disobey the commandment of his God? Well, in a negative way, let me say at the outset, there is nothing in the entire narrative to indicate that he did what he did because he was afraid of the consequences of preaching to Nineveh. There is no hint that he was fearful for his life. There is no hint whatsoever that this man who says to a bunch of sailors, throw him in the ocean, is someone very fastidious about physical things.

14:15 There is no hint whatsoever that he was afraid of the well-being. We must, as it were, sweep aside all such notions, and I am amazed how commentators will read these things into the narrative and impute these kinds of motives to Jonah. What then was his reason for the disobedience? If we are to allow the Scriptures to interpret the activity of verse 3, what will our conclusion be?

14:39 Well, if you will turn to chapter 4 in verse 2, we have the answer to that question. In chapter 4 we find Jonah in Nineveh, or just outside Nineveh. He has already been swallowed by the fish, vomited out upon the land. He has gone to Nineveh.

14:59 He has preached, and there has been a great movement of God upon the hearts and minds of the Ninevites in response to his preaching. And the whole city is humbled before God in repentance and seeking the mercy of Jehovah. Now the reaction of Jonah to this is recorded in verse 4. But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry.

15:23 And that is one of the keys to an understanding of this whole narrative. It doesn't say he was perplexed. It doesn't say that he was filled with a sense of confusion. He blew his cork.

15:35 He was angry. And he prayed unto Jehovah and said, I pray thee, O Jehovah, was not this my saying when I was yet in my country? Therefore I hasted fully unto Tarshish, for I knew that thou art a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness, and repentest thee of the evil. Therefore now, O Lord, take I beseech thee my life from me, for it is better for me to live than to die than to live.

16:11 And the Lord said, Doest thou well to be angry? And there is no answer to the question from Jonah immediately. It's as though he goes off in a hop and says, I'm not even going to talk to you, God. You've done something that so disturbs me.

16:25 And he goes off to sulk and then God continues to deal with him. And then we read, verse 9, God repeats the question, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death. And then God says, You had care for the gourd.

16:44 Should not I have regard for Nineveh, that great city? Well, you see, we have here, at least something more than a conjecture or a strong hint. We have from the very lips of Jonah the basic rationale for his disobedience. God says, Go to Nineveh, that great city.

17:04 Cry against it, for their wickedness is come up before me. And if I may paraphrase, this is what Jonah says, O God, the revelation you have given of yourself in the word and in the history of your dealings with my own nation, Israel. O God, the underscoring of your gracious character through the prophecy that I have made that you would restore the borders of Israel even when she was in a condition deserving judgment and punishment. O God, this so convinces me that mercy and forgiveness and grace are so much a part of your character and that it is your great delight to do so that, God, I have got a sneaking suspicion that the reason you are sending me to Nineveh, not with a message saying judgment will come in the next moment when I finish my message, but forty days. If you remember the subsequent revelation, forty days Nineveh shall be overthrown. He says, O God, I had more than a sneaking suspicion that you were sending me to Nineveh because you had purposes of grace for Nineveh, and because you had purposes of grace and mercy that contradicted my notion of what was right and proper then I made haste to flee from that call and to make my way to Tarshish for I knew that you were a gracious God. So the basic

18:33 reason for his disobedience is given to us by Jonah. It was his conviction that God was a God of grace and mercy and that he in all likelihood was going to magnify that grace and mercy upon the city of Nineveh. Now why would he be reluctant that mercy should be shown to Nineveh? If God is a gracious God and Jonah professes to love God in the full spectrum of his attributes why would he not rejoice that God would magnify his mercy to the Ninevites?

19:09 Well it's here you see that God doesn't give us an authoritative answer and where we must be very careful in asserting and I want to move from the best possible motive for that action to the worst. And there are commentators ranged on all points. The best would be this. Jonah is fearful for the honor of Jehovah God.

19:35 You see the heathen concept of God as we were reminded in the adult class several weeks ago is that the gods were very fickle. You could never predict how they were going to act. They were very moody, might get up one day frowning next day get up smiling. You never knew. So the safety thing to do is to send them lots of gifts so if they get up in a bad mood you'll placate them. Well it could have been that Jonah was fearful for the honor of God. Here he will come with a message, Nineveh is to be judged. Your wickedness has come up before Jehovah.

20:13 Judgment is about to come down. And oh God knowing that you are a merciful God who in the past history of your people many times you have used the message of coming judgment to be the very means of bringing down mercy. And oh God I was jealous for your honor. I was fearful lest the heathen should think that you Jehovah were like unto their own pagan deities.

20:39 So it could have been that his fear that God would be merciful was a fear for the honor of God. And if that's so then it was a case of Jonah being more fastidious for God's honor than God was. And we ought never to be more jealous for God's honor than God is. Now this is essentially the position Hugh Martin and John Calvin take, so you better not poop pot.

21:07 That's pretty high class company. And I'm very reluctant to reject that position when I realize such men hold it and hold it for what they feel are good and wise reasons. Well, descending in terms of honorable possibilities in answer to that question why was he reluctant for God to show mercy, there is a middle position. Perhaps Jonah feared his own credibility as a prophet and the well-being of his own nation.

21:33 He feared his own credibility. Here he comes saying God says that your sins have come up for judgment. Now instead of judgment coming, mercy comes. Will people question whether or not I'm a true prophet?

21:51 May have been fear for his own credibility as a prophet and the preservation of Israel. For Jonah was aware of the movement of history in his own day. Nineveh was the seat of that great Assyrian power. This was the nation that was bringing all the nations under its heel, a warlike conquering expansionist nation. And it could well be that Jonah realized if God shows mercy to that nation he's showing mercy to the very scourge that in his hands will be brought upon the back of my own nation Israel. And what will happen when I get back to my own people and tell them through my preaching God's going to avert judgment upon the very nation that's going to be a scourge in his hands. I won't be the most popular preacher back in Israel. Now that could have been his motive.

22:42 And we can certainly understand and sympathize with that. Or the worst motive could have been this. That Jonah was filled with carnal Hebrew exclusivism. Now what do I mean by that mouthful?

22:57 Simply this. He was filled with an attitude that was rooted not in the operations of grace upon his heart, but in the remains of flesh and sin in his redeemed personality. There was the acting of this carnal remains which in a very real sense made him a specimen of his own nation. You remember we pointed out the principle last week that when the people of Israel were most conscious of their own unworthiness and that it was all of grace that they should be set apart by God for peculiar privileges then it was no problem to them to think that God would show mercy upon the Gentiles. But when they began to think of themselves as God's little favorites then they thought the rest of the world you see were the outcasts. And when they lost the fragrance of grace in their own religious experience they could not conceive of grace for others. Let alone those Gentile daughters.

24:03 I mean these people at Nineveh have no temple, they have no prophetic office, no law, no revealed system of sacrifice. As such they are pagans unworthy of mercy. And if God through my preaching shows mercy upon them, well that puts them on the same footing with us. Now which of these motives is it? Or is it a combination of all of them? Well I opt for the worst although the others may have been mingled and I do so for this simple reason that the Holy Ghost has recorded that Jonah was angry. Now you remember there is the record in the book of Habakkuk of a prophet who was perplexed when God had said through him that he would raise up the Babylonian nation to be a scourge to Israel. This perplexed the prophet and he cries out. He said God

24:54 how can it be? Here's a nation more wicked than we are and you're going to use them. But what does he do? He doesn't go off and sulk. He says I will set upon my watch and wait and see what the Lord will say to me. You see it is perfectly right for a prophet to be perplexed concerning the mystery of God's dealings with him but Jonah was not just perplexed he was angry. He said God I'm upset you show mercy to those Ninevites and this wasn't just a passing thing it was a settled disposition. He even remonstrates with God and then God goes through this strange thing of causing this gourd to grow up overnight and to wither and then God comes with that resounding note should I not have regard for the Ninevites.

Application 1: The Unchanging Activity of One with a Controversy with God

25:45 Jonah you have no regard for them but I do. I delight to show mercy you're angry that I show mercy therefore I believe and I have reason to believe that that confidence is rooted in what is clear in the passage and we must seek to preach from what is clear that Jonah then becomes the very embodiment of this carnal Hebrew exclusivism and his example becomes a rebuke to the nation of Israel. Well then if these are the basic facts of the prophet's disobedience if this is the proper understanding of the reason for the prophet's disobedience what does all of this say to us and I propose to draw out four lines of application from this text the first is this behold in this text the unchanging activity of one who has a controversy with God what do we see in this text I suggest that we see the unchanging activity of any man any boy any woman any girl who has a controversy with God the text says Jonah rose up to flee

27:13 unto Tarshish but his concern for Tarshish was only that he might flee from the presence of Jehovah that is everything that had a peculiar ability to remind him of the claims of his God and I say in that text there is an eloquent testimony to the unchanging activity of every person who has a controversy with God he will do all within his power to get as far away from everything that puts pressure upon his conscience to remind him of his obligations to the living God this is true of the unconverted and it's true of the child of God you know why some of you sit far to the back when you get a chance I didn't say all of you I said some of you you know why you want to get as far away as you can from the preacher's voice the preacher's finger and the preacher's eye now I didn't say all of you so if you sit to the back I'm not judging you I know why some of you sit to the back for other reasons so don't anyone go out and say Pastor Martin if you sit at the back you're disobeying God Pastor Martin did not say that Pastor Martin did not say that but what I'm saying is the reason some

28:41 of you get as far back as your mom and dad will let you and as far back as you can is because you'll do anything to get as far away from that which impinges upon your conscience that's why you only come to as many services as mom and dad make you come to because here God's presence is known and felt and sensed that's why you listen only to as much preaching as you have to that's why you have as much dealing with this book only as much as you have to you don't read your Bible why because every time you pick it up it's a reminder that the living God has claims upon you he has not said arise go to Nineveh but he has said flee your sins and go to Christ and you're saying I want my sins and I don't want Christ I'll not have this man to reign over me and your tortured conscience is the constant motivation to flee from the presence of God that's why you're miserable when people pray because when there's silence and they're calling as it were into the air you know either there's a God there and they're calling and knowing in your heart of hearts

30:11 that he is and that he has claims upon you you can't wait for the amen that's why some of you can't step through your house without flicking on your TV without turning on the radio whether it's rock or Montevanni Bach or Beethoven you've got to have some music into your ears why? because silence reminds you of your obligations to God it's different here is Jung seeking to flee from the presence of God and dear child of God for this is a child of God whose activities are recorded we are not the same in degree but certainly in kind you see it's only a conscience void of offense to God and man that can feel comfortable in the presence of God only a conscience void of offense to God and man that can feel comfortable in the presence of God and in the presence of God only a conscience of God can experience such a state as that the way in which a person is both selfless and religious like a spirit like a person who is in the spirit and one who is not in the spirit and one who is in the spirit and one who's in the spirit

31:40 which is the most powerful and incredible and the most powerful and the most powerful and the most powerful intense manifestations of the presence of God when that should be your greatest delight.

32:02 What a frightening thing.

32:05 But isn't it your testimony that when you've got a controversy with God, you feel uncomfortable where God is most near? Oh, what a tragedy. Because the Scripture says, in thy presence is fullness of joy.

32:20 The presence of God ought to be your most heightened delight. It's going to be in heaven. God Himself shall be with them and be their God. I say in this text, behold the unchanging activity of one who has a controversy with God.

Application 2: The Weakness of the Best of Men When Left to Themselves

32:37 And Christian, if you ever find yourself gravitating to a preoccupation with the public duties of religion as opposed to the inward and the private, you better sit down and look yourself in the mirror and say, are you a Jonah? Is there some commission, some sin, some duty that God is pressing upon the conscience concerning which you are in a present state of disobedience? Well, in the second place, I would encourage you to behold in this text the weakness of the best of men when left to themselves.

33:15 Behold the weakness of the best of men when left to themselves.

33:23 We are reading in this text of a man named Jonah, a holy prophet, a man of God, an instrument through whom the Lord brought a wonderful message to his people. As we studied last week from 2 Kings chapter 14. He was an instrument of consolation in a time of great upheaval and a time of great disturbance. And as we shall see later on, he is a man who manifests tremendous graces.

33:53 The grace of transparency puts himself at the mercy of these pagan sailors and says, chuck me overboard, fellas. I'm the one who's causing all this trouble. He didn't equivocate and justify and rationalize and go on for days and years covering his sin. He said, I'm the culprit.

34:13 And then, oh, how he prayed. And no man prays in a crisis as he prayed in chapter 2, hasn't prayed before. You see, your prayers in a crisis rise no higher than the basic state of your soul.

34:26 Here's a holy man, a transparent man, a praying man, a fearless man. He goes to this warlike nation and says, look, my God's going to get you guys.

34:37 He doesn't come with any army. He doesn't come with any chariots. Here's the most powerful warlike nation. And he says, my God, whom you can't see and carry along in a cart and the rest, he's going to zap you guys in 40 days.

34:51 You're going to have it. That takes a lot of guts. That takes a lot of courage.

34:58 I say the best of men, characterized in normal spiritual states with transparency, prayerfulness, courage, and all of those many graces of the Spirit, behold the weakness of the best of men when they are left to themselves. For this, you see, was not the reflex sin committed in an unguarded moment. This wasn't a matter of somebody brushing by and stepping on his toe and he had a corn on it and all of a sudden he blew off the handle and said, watch where you walk. No, no.

35:32 This was a calculated journey of two to three days from his hometown in Gathiever up to Joppa. Then all that inquiring about the availability of a ship and all of the rest.

35:46 God does not in any way mask the weakness of this man when he's left to himself. Now, why does God record these weaknesses? Why is the Bible the gallery of untouched photographs?

36:00 Well, it is not to excuse the sins of these men or ours when we follow them, nor are they set forth as an example to imitate, but they are there as a beacon to warn us. 1 Corinthians 10, verses 11 and 12 are the inspired answer to the question, why does God record these sins and weaknesses?

36:29 Verse 11 of 1 Corinthians 10, Now these things happened unto them by way of example, and they were written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the ages are come. Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed, lest he fall. For in the language of our blessed Lord, watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

37:05 How merciful of God to put these beacons in the scripture, these beacons to warn us. And Jonah in his disobedience is not an excuse to alleviate our guilt, nor an example, nor an example to follow. He is a flashing beacon to warn us that with all his privileges and all his graces left to himself, he's a mass of prejudice and weakness.

37:34 No matter what our privileges have been, no matter what our graces may be, if in any area God leads us to ourselves, we too are a mass of weakness. And there is no sin that any man, any woman has ever committed that you are not able to do. You are not capable of committing even if you're the most mature, well-balanced saint in this entire congregation.

38:02 Wherefore, let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. Then in the third place,

Application 3: The Frightening Power of Uncrucified Racial Pride and Spiritual Smugness

38:13 I would suggest that you behold in this text the frightening power of uncrucified racial pride and spiritual smugness.

38:27 Behold, the frightening power of uncrucified racial pride and spiritual smugness. This nation so privileged as was the nation of Israel was the nation to whom God had spoken of his intent to bless all of the nations through the seed of Abraham. No Jew aware of his scriptural heritage should ever have thought he was God's little favorite and the rest of the world could go to hell. Without the concern of God.

39:01 No. And as we pointed out last week, there are many strands of emphasis, particularly in the Psalms, in which the people of God, when they were in states of spiritual health, had that vision of all the nations being the recipients of the mercy of Jehovah.

39:22 But here's a man who is blind to all of that clear revelation and that which has been, as it were, the patch-over, over his eyes, was the sin of unmortified racial pride and spiritual smugness.

39:42 You see, it is that sin which to this day cripples many segments of the church in terms of aggressive evangelism. Our Lord has commanded us to take the gospel to the whole creation.

39:57 He has told us to take that message to the most unlikely recipients. And yet how often racial pride, pride in spiritual smugness, has caused the wheels of evangelism to come to a grinding halt. It's been like sand in the gearbox.

40:17 Why, if we go to those people,

40:21 that group of people, I've even heard missionaries talk concerning national, those people,

40:32 and I had all I could do to keep my mouth shut. The very way they said it,

40:36 it was obvious that their whole lifestyle was one in which they walled themselves in from those people. Oh yes, come and dump a few gospel packets on their doorstep, as it were, but don't get close enough to make it evident that you regard them as equals, as image bearers before God.

41:01 What a hindrance to evangelism, to missions. What a hindrance to real openness in our churches. You see, toleration is one thing and whole-souled acceptance is quite another.

41:14 Every one of us knows the difference. You know places where you're tolerated and if necessity draws you there, you may go, but you're glad to get out of there. And you know places and circumstances where you are received with whole-souled abandonment. Those are the places you like to go.

41:34 And people sense that very quickly.

41:38 And there are people who are actually telling us that you cannot have a functioning church made up of diversities of racial and ethnic and educational and age levels, that like attracts like and therefore if churches are to grow it must be a middle-class young couples church. And that kind of church will grow. And then if you're going to reach lower class, older people, you're going to have that kind of, that's ridiculous.

42:02 But the tragedy is they've got statistics to prove their case. They don't have the Bible.

42:08 Now what are those statistics? They're the monuments to the spirit of Jonah.

42:15 Linnivites! Can't go to those people. Warlike, pagan, Linnivites!

42:28 Need I draw out the application more specifics?

42:32 Oh, that we may cry to God if anything of the spirit of a Jonah is in us. Uncrucified racial pride or spiritual smugness that God will show us that thing for what it is.

42:46 Do we really believe that English-speaking people are a little more susceptible to the gospel? Well, I think sometimes we tend to believe that.

42:56 I know one group that really believe their national temperament is more susceptible to the spirit. And that's why greater preachers are produced in their particular country. This view is actually expounded that the blank temperament we are told is more susceptible to the spirit. Hogwash.

43:16 He hath made of one blood all nations for to dwell upon the face of the earth. As in Adam, all die.

Application 4: The Danger of Determining God's Will by Providence

43:25 And when people are united to Christ, then the possibility of the development of the graces of Christ is as rich no matter who it is that is thus joined to Christ in grace. So we should behold in this incident of the disobedience of the prophet not only the unchanging activity of one who has a controversy with God, the weakness of the best of men when left to themselves, but the frightening power of uncrucified spiritual smugness and then forth and finally, behold in this text the danger of determining the will of God by providence.

44:06 Look at the text. He found a ship going to Tarshish. What a lovely, lovely providence.

44:18 When God says, go to Nineveh, Jonah says, no. I want to go to Tarshish. I want to get as far away from God, His word, His ordinances, His temple, His priest, everything. I want to get away from it.

44:32 The best place I know to do that is Tarshish because on the way I'll have nothing but the company of the dolphins, the open heavens and the cursing pagan sailors. Nothing, nothing to embed in my life. My consciousness, my disobedience.

44:50 I'm going to go to Tarshish. So he goes up to Joppa where ships fly the ocean. Phoenician ships on their way to Tarshish put up. This is their port and lo and behold when he comes and he begins to inquire and says, fellas, is anything going out to Tarshish in the next couple of days?

45:07 Oh, yes, sir, Mr. Jonah. There's a ship right there now. Why, it's putting on cargo.

45:12 As far as I know they don't have a full booking. Well, where's the nearest travel agent? Oh, he's down there two streets to the left and then you go right and he comes in and says, sir, I understand and he says, oh, yes, sir. In fact, we have a lovely, lovely space on there.

45:26 It's the best of the second class accommodations. You've got an outside berth. You've got your own portal and everything's going to work out fine. So Jonah rattles around in his pocket.

45:40 You know, he knows there's a prophet. He isn't on easy street and he says, how much for that second class? And he says, well, so much. Oh, another kind prophet.

45:50 He had just enough money. So he plunks out the money. Now he goes with his ticket down to the ship, presents it to the ship steward and he's shown into his berth and he says, when do you think we'll set sail? Well, we've been sitting here for two or three days but today it's obvious the winds are favorable.

46:06 It'll be a matter of just a couple of hours. Another kind prophet. And it isn't long before he feels the ship moving away from its appointed place of rest. Providence is really with him.

46:19 Isn't it? You see, if Jonah were to determine the will of God by providence, he would have every reason to believe at this point that God was putting his imprimatur upon his disobedience.

46:34 And we learn from this the terrible danger of determining the will of God by providence. Jonah had a clear word from God, go to Nineveh. But when he blatantly disobeys the revealed will of God and sets out in a course in the opposite direction, he has what could be called a kind and favorable set of providential circumstances. And we've looked at some of those circumstances and maybe he even prayed, and Lord, if it's not your will, stop me.

47:08 You ever pray that?

47:10 That's tempting God.

47:13 Lord, break my leg while I'm walking up the gangplank.

47:19 Lord, may my room be full of rats so I can't sleep and have to get off the ship. Or some other kind of foolish prayer. I say this is tempting God. But as one has said, success in a way of rebellion against God is a terrible snare to many.

47:36 Success in a way of disobedience to the revealed will of God is a snare to many.

47:45 As someone else has said, being in the way of disobedience helps to disobedience when readily available.

47:53 Have you heard anyone say, well, I know the Bible says be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers, but I just have a feeling that in my case God's going to be going to use this marriage to save this person. And I've prayed if it's not the will of God that we'll fall out of love.

48:13 Or I've prayed that God would hinder the marriage. What do you want God to do? Step down out of heaven and lasso you on the way down the aisle?

48:23 You tempt God. Or someone else pursuing a personal ambition in the realm of career saying, well, if God doesn't want me in this, I've prayed He'd close the doors. What do you want Him to do? Take away your rationality?

48:38 Take away your rationality?

48:42 You have a clear word from God concerning the priority of the kingdom of God and the claims of Christ upon you. And you have a controversy with respect to those claims and the demands of that kingdom. And yet all the while you've got the bit in your teeth. And these favorable providences you say must be an indication that God is pleased.

49:06 You see, David no sooner lusts after Bathsheba than when it's convenient for her to come and pay him a visit. What a kind providence.

49:16 Oh, what a tragic thing to determine the will of God by providence.

49:22 No, you see, God in His providence hedges up the man who's walking by the rule of the word so that He accomplishes His preceptive will in that individual life. But for us to be insensitive or disobedient to the revealed will and say we're trusting to providence to hedge us up is again, I repeat, to tempt the living God.

Conclusion: Behold the Greater Than Jonah

49:50 Well, these are not the things These are not pleasant lessons but life is not pleasant even for the believer in all of its dimensions. And God has left these warnings and lessons for us. And I lay them before you tonight and as I close may I urge you for just this closing moment to turn away from Jonah because he's not a pretty picture at this sight. He leaves me with a heavy heart as I find him at the end of verse 3.

50:20 May I urge you to look for a moment at the one who described himself as the greater than Jonah even the Lord Jesus. Look at the contrast. He too had a strange commission. Jonah's commission as we saw last week was unheard of.

50:37 Never had a prophet been asked to go out of the precincts of Israel and preach to the citadel of a heathen power. Never before. And when Jonah gets this strange commission he turns aside in disobedience. But thank God the greater than Jonah received a commission never given to anyone before.

50:58 The beloved of the Father is commissioned to become accursed of the Father.

51:05 The darling of the Father's eye is commissioned to become the object of the Father's wrath. And in the garden of Gethsemane he wrestles with that commission. The cup is put to his lips and the beloved is confronted with the fact that he shall be the accursed. And he trembles before that commission.

51:27 And he trembles before that commission. And you remember he wrestles in prayer in agony. And then he says not my will but thine be done. Oh behold the contrast between Jonah and the greater than Jonah.

51:41 The Jonah of our text receives a strange commission and disobeys. The greater than Jonah receives a yet stranger commission.

51:51 And in perfect obedience to the Father he marches to the cross and the beloved one becomes the accursed one. And in so doing his obedience unto death becomes the ground of the hope of every needy sinner.

52:09 Dear child of God imitate not the Jonah of our text but the greater than Jonah whom he prefigured. And this is the marvel of grace. God overrules all of that disobedience to give a picture of his antitype.

52:27 Even the Lord Jesus Christ. And when God calls upon you to do things that are strange and hard to your flesh take the beacon warning from the Jonah of our text. But then in the language of Hebrews 12 fix your eyes upon the greater than Jonah looking unto Jesus the author and the finisher of our faith who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross despising its shame and is set down at the right hand of God. And to you who are in a state of impenitence your salvation does not depend on your attitude to Jonah.

53:03 There's a sense in which you can leave tonight loving the Jonah of the text being indifferent to the Jonah of the text despising him or even being disgusted with him and it will not affect your eternal destiny. But Matthew 12.41 says Behold the greater than Jonah is here and if you do not repent at his preaching as did the Ninevites at the preaching of Jonah the day of judgment will unveil the horror of your folly. We do not set Jonah before you as the Savior.

53:38 But Jonah the greater than Jonah and we declare to you if you will not bow before him who is the Savior and the King. Oh my dear friend listen it were better for you that you had never been born and I urge you in this closing note of our study tonight look beyond this Jonah and his disobedience to that greater one who in his obedience even unto death prevailed for the salvation of God of this sentient being who сначала gave him the strength to save himself from his own changing and peace and his ensuing adversity and has already pen.� So many of you have heard these words at the temple ofкладe pcie how he said I´m guilty hell deserving sinners and bid you shortly after when the fan 1-20 heat that you cauterize, as it were, your spiritual senses so that you do not feel the pressure that you feel here does not change the fact that the eye of the Almighty is yet upon you and the frown of that God is toward you and His wrath hangs over you. Oh, my friend, come out of that state.

55:03 Embrace the Son of God and have a conscience purged in His blood and then you will delight in the presence of God. Let us pray.

55:26 Our Father, we are indeed grateful that You have given to us the Scriptures.

55:33 We thank You that in the narratives there are profound and practical lessons for each of us to heed. And we pray that what we have considered from the life of this man of God may fill us with a great sense a sense of holy dread that we should ever be left at the mercy of our own remaining corruption. Help us to watch and to pray lest we too enter into temptation. We do not feel it in ourselves to stand and throw stones at Jonah.

56:09 We are saddened by his disobedience but we see mirrored in his disobedience our many disobediences. We can only pray with the publican of old, God, be merciful to me, the sinner. How we thank You that as You patiently dealt with Your child, Jonah, You have been so patient with us. We pray for those who sit here this night who perhaps even under the preaching of the Word have done their best to flee from Your presence.

56:41 O God, track them down. O God, in sovereign and irresistible mercy, draw them to Yourself.

56:54 Now we commend to You all that we have considered from Your Word this day. We praise You for the joy that we have had in being in Your presence. Surely in Your presence we have known the fullness of joy. At Your right hand we shall know pleasures forevermore.

57:15 Seal to our hearts the word preached this morning, this evening, the word taught in the Sunday school hour. Those things, those things shared together in the afternoon hours of fellowship. And now as we go, many of us, in a very real sense into the Ninevehs of this age to live and to work. O God, help us to be instruments through whom mercy is brought to sinners who deserve nothing but judgment.

57:44 Sweep away from us all of the remains of spiritual smugness, any racial or ethnic or cultural pride. That puts up barriers between us and needy sinners. O God, make us like our Savior, a friend of publicans and sinners. Give us a heart like unto His.

58:06 Give us, we pray, the privilege of both living and speaking the reality of the Gospel. Hear our prayers and receive our praises for all of Your mercies to us this day. We bring our praises and our petitions in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Amen.

58:22 Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

58:24 Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

58:24 In the worthy name of our Lord Jesus Christ, amen.