Jonah 1:6-12 - Opportunity After Gracious Opportunity

How many times have you heard of someone who noticed symptoms of a medical problem, but ignored them again and again and again? Maybe they didn’t want to go to the doctor, or they didn’t want to change their lifestyle, or they just didn’t want to face reality. But they ignored the warning signs, and their condition got worse and worse.

The prophet Jonah had a condition that he ignored. He had a heart condition. His was a spiritual problem.

Now, an examination of Jonah might conclude that his problem was simply that he rejected the call of God, which was a problem, but really, that was only a symptom. Why did he attempt to flee from God’s call? What was underneath the surface?

We’ve learned thus far that it was because Jonah’s heart and mind were not aligned with God’s gracious will. He lacked the deep transformation of grace.

Jonah didn’t want the wicked Ninevites to trust in Yahweh. He didn’t want them to repent of their sin and enjoy God’s mercy. He couldn’t bear a future where these evil pagans received grace like him. So he ran, and in doing so, he began to harden his heart toward God. His actions in these verses demonstrate that.

This hardening is described in Psalm 95 and Hebrews 3: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness.” That was a reference to the ancient Israelites led by Moses. Many of them hardened their hearts toward God and never turned to Him.

You see, every single one of us must heed this warning: an unrepentant heart puts us in danger of hard-heartedness toward God. In fact, a lack of repentance in any area of our lives is a sign of a hardening heart.


And yet the God of grace does not stop pursuing those He has saved or intends to save. And yes, a born-again believer – a true Christian – can temporarily resist God’s will in what amounts to a non-permanent hardness that can cause great trouble in the believer’s life.

This temporary hardness was in view when the author of Hebrews wrote, “Do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by Him. For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and chastises every son whom He receives.” God pursues us in our sin, and He disciplines us for our restoration. The Lord’s discipline comes through inward conviction of sin, through the endurance of the consequences of our sin, as well as through various kinds of trials and suffering that come our way. In all these ways, God presents opportunity after gracious opportunity to admit our sin and to turn from it and back to Him in faith. We see this disciplinary work of God on display in Jonah’s life.

Can you recognize the opportunities God is providing for you to turn from your sin to Christ? How is God convicting your conscience? What consequences are signalling you to turn from some habitual sin? What trials in your life right now are calling not only for your perseverance, but also for your repentance? What is being pried from your hands that you may trust in Christ more, and align your heart and mind with God’s will?

May His Spirit help you answer these questions as you consider these four truths that emerge from a close look at Jonah’s experience. Notice the outline on page 6. First, God repeatedly presents opportunities for repentance. (v.6) Second, God repeatedly presents opportunities for repentance. (v.7) Third, God repeatedly presents opportunities for repentance. (v.8-10) And finally, God repeatedly presents opportunities for repentance. (v.11-12) Opportunity after gracious opportunity. So look with me at these verses now.

The ship was in the midst of a great storm. The crew was above board dumping cargo to lighten the ship, but Jonah was below deck snoozing. Notice verse 6 again. “So the captain came and said to him, “What do you mean, you sleeper?” Jonah was sleeping deeply. He had peace, though he’s being blatantly disobedient to God. And this captain takes exception to Jonah sleeping soundly. He says, “Arise, call out to your god! Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish.”

Imagine someone about to have surgery. They’re lying on the gurney before they
receive anesthesia. The surgeon comes in, and the patient says, “Ok doc, remember to wash your hands. Also, please only use clean surgical tools. Be sure to focus. And when you’re done, remember to sew me back up.” The patient’s anxiety is understandable, but these things don’t need to be said. Why? Because this is what the surgeon does. At your job, I imagine that no one should have to give you a rundown of the basics every time you arrive at work.

But here, a non-believer has to plead with Yahweh’s prophet to cry out to Him in faith. It’s notable that “Arise” is also the first command God gave to Jonah back in verse 2. Jonah knows that Yahweh won’t “perhaps give a thought” to them. He knows the one true God sees, and is present, and is in control of the weather. Jonah knows Yahweh is sovereign, but he’s resisting God’s will. He would need to humble himself before God here, but he won’t. It’s a perfect opportunity for Jonah to repent, but he keeps silent.

Will you keep silent, or will you repent?

Now look at verse [7]. “And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.” “They” refers to the ship’s crew. Casting lots was a normal practice in the ancient world. This was something like drawing straws to make a decision. It’s not an endorsement for casting lots, though on occasion in Scripture we see the practice being used for decision making. It’s similar to flipping a coin. It’s a way to leave the decision up to God’s providence.

Proverbs 16 says, “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD.” However, in this instance, it’s more sad irony, because they have God’s prophet with them. But why does this “work?” Well, because of God’s providence. Jonah is exposed.
God is graciously providing another opportunity for Jonah to repent.

Certainly, all people are sinners, and anyone can commit a great moral failure. And it’s troubling when we see anyone commit a great moral failure. But it’s especially troubling when ministers or outspoken Christian leaders fall. The thinking is “How could they do something like that?”

You should understand that before a minister or leader is publicly exposed for grievous sin, there were many opportunities along the way for repentance. There were appeals to his guilty conscience, and there were circumstances in which repentance was the logical response. Hebrews 3 says we should encourage (and even warn), “one another every day…that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” Pastors and leaders need this as much as anyone because sin deceives. It tricks us, and it makes us stubborn toward God and His Word.

But you see, even a Christian leader’s public humiliation is God’s grace toward them because it is yet another – and an even more obvious – opportunity for repentance.

Again, Jonah is a prophet. He knows the power and purposes of God. God uses the sailor’s practice – which, in their case, doesn’t acknowledge Yahweh – to expose the one person on the ship who actually knows the one true God. And yet Jonah passes up the opportunity to turn back to God in faith.

Have you resisted an obvious, public opportunity to humble yourself and repent? Maybe in a conflict with someone? Maybe through circumstances that revealed sin on your part? Even in these things, God shows His grace to you. And isn’t it ironic – God continues to show Jonah grace, though it was grace that Jonah doesn’t want the Ninevites to receive?

Now notice verse [8] Then they said to him, “Tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us. What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?” [9] And he said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” Notice what Jonah does not say. He doesn’t say here that he’s a prophet.

It’s very telling that he leads with his ethnicity. The ethnic pride of the Hebrews on display in the OT echoes in the NT. In the book of Galatians, we repeatedly saw how Paul stresses that no one is saved by their ethnicity. Jonah thinks God’s grace is only for the people of Israel.

Also notice that Jonah is living very contrary to what he professes to believe. He literally claims to “revere” Yahweh – to “honor” the Creator.

Look at verse [10] Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, “What is this that you have done!” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them. The sailors are appalled that Jonah would test God in this way. It’s important to note here that admission of guilt is not the same as repentance. Repentance is not merely confessing. There must be godly sorrow and a willingness to turn from the sin and to God with faith that He will receive you. And the foundation of that faith must be that God is gracious and merciful.

Jonah later admits that he knew God to be so in his head, but he needed the deeper, transformative experience of it. Without it, this narrative of events is just one absurdity after another.

Here’s a question: what was the first absurdity in this narrative of Jonah? It was stated in verse 3, “Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.”  

Psalm 139 says, David wrote, “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in [the grave], you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.”

We cannot – we cannot – get away from God. You may successfully run and hide from people, but no matter where you go, you are no further and no less visible to God than when you started.

At this point, Jonah has confessed what he’s doing (though he never directly reveals that he’s a prophet). He admits what he’s doing, but his heart is still hard. He’s still resisting. There is still no repentance. This is another example of contradiction in the life of Jonah.

It’s meant to be a rebuke of Israel as a whole. Jonah is presented here as worse than the pagans. The sailors are appalled by his sin, but he’s not. It would appear that Jonah still thinks he’s better than them. And of course, it’s not that the sailors don’t need to trust in Yahweh. They do need to. But Jonah is going down, down, down in spiritual stubbornness.

Are you doing this? Can you think of seasons in your life when you have done this? We’ve all done it.

Now look finally at verses 11. “Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?” For the sea grew more and more tempestuous.” Jonah is the prophet. He should know the answer. Repent, Jonah! But see verse [12], “He said to them, “Pick me up and hurl me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.”

There’s no evidence that Jonah expected to survive going overboard. He would rather die than obey God’s difficult command. He would rather perish than repent and share God’s grace with his enemies. Rather than forgiving or loving the Ninevites, Jonah would choose death. He would rather die than repent.

Seems extreme, doesn’t it? Also, irrational, don’t you think? He knows he’s guilty, he knows the storm is because of him, but still no humility. And yet, the storm is another gracious opportunity from God for repentance. The storm is God pursuing Jonah. The tempest is the discipline of the LORD. Through it, God intends to bring Jonah to the end of himself.

What are the circumstances in your life that trouble or frustrate you today? Does God intend to reveal your self-righteousness through them? Is God teaching you about His grace, guiding you to repentance?

Often, the way God works is the opposite of how we think things should go. Isaiah 55 says, [6] “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while He is near; [7] let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. [8] For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. [9] For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Jonah’s heart and behavior were wicked and unrighteous – and each of us is naturally the same way. We must submit our whole lives to the God of grace.

And who is this God? We learn about His character and ways here, but we learn even more about Him in a very similar situation – one described in Matthew 8 in the NT. Matthew writes that Jesus Christ got into a boat, and “his disciples followed him. [24] And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep.” Sounds familiar.

[25] And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” That also sounds familiar. [26] And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. [27] And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”

You see, in the book of Jonah, Yahweh brings the storm. In the book of Matthew, it is Yahweh who calms the storm. Jesus is Lord of all.

How gracious of the triune God, for God the Son to come into the world in the person of Jesus Christ to save us from our stubbornness – using even difficult circumstances to bring us to repentance.

As we go to the Lord’s table now, let me ask you: what are you waiting for today? Why delay God’s work of grace in your heart and life? You do know that you can’t beat God, don’t you? You cannot escape Him. There have been many more opportunities to repent than you even realize.

Will you trust in Christ today? Will you humble yourself before Him who orchestrates all circumstances for your repentance? Will you lay your life down before Him in faith? Will you turn away from the sin, and turn to the LORD of all?

Let’s bow together in prayer.