Jonah 1:1–3a - Grace Lessons Begin

Jonah is a well-known book of the Bible, famous of course because it recounts the experiences of the prophet who was swallowed by a great fish and vomited out three days later and then survived to tell about it. But what is this OT book about?

What purpose does it serve in the Scriptures and in redemptive history?

We’re going to begin to discover that today and in the weeks ahead. Sinclair Ferguson states that these events occur in Jonah’s life, “in order to teach Jonah that he has a gracious God.” But Jonah was an Israelite prophet. Didn’t he know that the true God is a God of grace?

He had certainly experienced the grace of God. But Jonah still had a lot to learn about grace. As it turns out, so do we. We think we understand it and we presume to live in light of it more than we actually do. Richard Phillips writes, “It is one thing to know the doctrine of salvation by grace, and quite another to know the grace of the doctrine of salvation.”

God’s will for His people is that we would know and be transformed by His grace. But in the process of transformation – which in itself is a result of that grace –  you won’t always like (right away) what you learn about God or about yourself. However, God already knew that about you. He already knew that about Jonah.

But He’s gracious. And two aspects of His grace are on display here right from the start. Two lessons today for Jonah and us. Notice the outline for you there. When He receives someone into His school of grace, God graciously urges our repentance and exposes our ungraciousness.

These lessons connect to what the apostle Paul establishes in Romans chapters 1-5. All humans are born sinners, completely unable to justify ourselves in God’s sight. But then he explains that we can be made righteousness by grace alone through faith in Christ alone. We in no way contribute to this justification. It’s all Christ – all grace.

Paul anticipates someone asking, “Does this mean I can go on sinning without a care – since grace covers all my sin?” Paul replies, “By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?” God saves us by grace for this purpose: to conform us to the image of Jesus Christ. His purpose is to make us like Jesus, and His grace undergirds and drives and fuels the whole process.

The goal is to “form Christ” in us. And as God does that, He will show us more and more of our sin – which is a gracious thing to do. Jonah saw His own sin through these providential events in his life, and as we make our way through this book, God will show us our own sin as well. And the result will be a deeper and richer experience of His life-changing grace for those who are “called according to God’s purpose.”

So, look with me at verse [1] “Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying.” Who was Jonah? Well, he lived during the 8th century B.C. According to 2 Kings 14 in the OT, he was from the northern area of the northern kingdom which was called Israel.

What was this “northern kingdom?” Originally, Israel was one nation composed of 12 tribes that eventually thrived under King David and continued to be united until after the death of David’s son, King Solomon. After Solomon’s death, the 10 northern tribes seceded to establish their own kingdom under a new king.

This new kingdom was called Israel, though the true capital Jerusalem was not within its borders and the kingdom was not led by a king from the family of David. The other two tribes – Judah and Benjamin – composed the southern kingdom, which was called Judah. So, during Jonah’s lifetime, Israel was in the north, and Judah in the south.

What we know about Jonah is found in this book and 2 Kings 14, along with references Christ made about Jonah, which we will look at eventually. But notice again, verse 1 says, “the word of the LORD came to Jonah.” This identifies Jonah as a prophet of God.

The word “LORD” in all capital letters tells us that here, in the Hebrew manuscripts, the tetragrammaton was written, which is the Hebrew letters Yod, He, Vav, He. We transliterate this “YHWH” and, with the vowels added later by Jewish scribes, pronounce it “Yahweh.”

The message of Yahweh came to Jonah. This was no small thing. The word of Yahweh also came to Abram, Moses, and Joshua, just to name a few. The one true God spoke to His prophets and, through them, to His people. What a high and holy calling!

Let me tell you a little bit about the reference to Jonah in 2 Kings 14. Jeroboam II was the king of the northern kingdom. He was a strong military and political leader, but he was spiritually corrupt, and many Israelites suffered as a result. Scripture says, “he did what was evil in the sight of YHWH” and “he made Israel to sin.”

Yet, during his reign, the northern kingdom experienced some blessing from God. God enabled Jeroboam II to take back land north of Israel that had been lost. It was surprising, given the idolatry in Israel, that God would help them in this way.

Many prophets had been calling the northern kingdom to repent of their sin, which was abundant, but the heart was the practice of mixing the worship of YHWH with the worship of pagan gods – which is typically called “syncretism.” Well-known prophets Elijah and Elijah preached against this, to little effect.

But then, God sent Jonah to prophecy in his homeland – the northern kingdom – that God was going to bless them. In spite of their sins, God would give them prosperity. That prosperity came in the form of restoring the northern territory they had lost. 2 Kings 14 says “according to the word of the LORD, the God of Israel, which he spoke by his servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet…For the LORD saw that the affliction of Israel was very bitter, for…there was none to help Israel. But the LORD had not said that he would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven, so he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam.”

God blessed Israel outwardly – despite their great sins – and Jonah was the prophet who had delivered that message of blessing. God showed them His grace when they deserved His wrath. And that was Jonah’s resume when this word from YHWH arrived. See verse [2] “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.”

Nineveh was the capital of the wicked empire of Assyria. At this time, Assyria did not yet border Israel, but they were getting close. Israel and Assyria had a history of conflict. The Israelites were no doubt bitter towards the Assyrians, who were known for their brutality and cruelty. Dr. Mark Ross stated, “Assyria was a war machine like the world had never known.” The Assyrians certainly didn’t deserve for God to call them to repent. They weren’t seeking God. But God was seeking them.

That is who He is. In Titus 3 in the NT, the apostle Paul writes, “[3] For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. [4] But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, [5] he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy.” God sends His word to graciously call sinners to faith in Him. He sends His message to invite His enemies to turn to Him and away from our sin. Here’s the first lesson about grace: God graciously urges our repentance.

Sometimes God urges us through difficult circumstances; sometimes He urges us through blessed circumstances. Are you willing to receive the word of the LORD as it comes to you today?

Is there something you know you need to turn from? Are you caught in something?

Is there some secret struggle, some activity or addiction behind closed doors?

Is there some habitual sin in your life that harms you or others, and you aren’t dealing with it – not with the urgency that God’s Word advises.

God graciously urges our repentance. He is merciful to call us out of our sins. Jesus Christ is our good shepherd who came to our rescue. Be rescued today! Turn from your sin, be helped, and begin to heal. Be restored and renewed. Turn to the God of grace. And if you think, “He would never extend mercy to me,” well, here is God – extending His great mercy to wicked, undeserving people.

You might expect Jonah to be happy about that. I mean, he’s a prophet. Calling sinners to turn to God was his thing. And the last time Jonah delivered a big message from YHWH, it happened.

But Jonah wasn’t happy about this message.Notice verse [3] “But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.” What’s going on here?

Well, let me try to set it up for you geographically. This isn’t exact but I think it will help. Imagine that you are told to go from Florence to Philadelphia. About 500 miles NE. But instead, you decide to go to Los Angeles. About 2500 miles directly west. Pretty much the opposite direction.

On a map of the ancient world, this comparison to where Jonah was called and where he went is similar. The main difference is that instead of crossing land in the opposite direction, Jonah tried to cross water. He attempted to sail the Mediterranean Sea to what today we know as Spain instead of crossing land to what we know as Iraq.

Why would Jonah do such a thing? Well, we know Israel feared and detested Assyria. And it wasn’t an easy assignment, but Jonah was God’s prophet. The prophets generally did what God told them to do – though they were, of course, human. Jonah no doubt understood the assignment and his role.

So why then? The answer comes later in the book, but I want to share it with you now to frame your understanding as we go. Spoiler alert: the Ninevites do, in fact, repent. And in chapter 4, Jonah himself reveals why he fled from God’s call. After the Assyrians repent, the Scripture says, “it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. [2] And he prayed to YHWH and said, “O YHWH, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.”

Jonah went to Tarshish because he did not want the Assyrians to turn to God.

Have you heard the phrase “Rules for thee, not for me?” You know the meaning of this? It’s used to describe a situation where someone believes they are above the law. They act as though the rules don’t apply to them, but others should follow the rules. The phrase is often used referring to people in power or authority who command others to do things that they don’t do themselves. “Rules for thee, not for me.”

Let me give you a new take on that phrase. “Grace for me, not for thee.” Think about that for a moment. “Grace for me, not for thee.”

Jonah didn’t want the Assyrians to receive God’s grace. He says, “That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful.” But didn’t prophets want sinners to repent?

Jonah wanted the Israelites to repent. He wanted the Israelites to be blessed by God. He didn’t want the Assyrians to be blessed by God. They didn’t deserve it – which was true, but neither did the Israelites. And if the Assyrians did repent, what would that mean for the Israelites?

Another famous OT prophet named Hosea came along after Jonah, and Hosea prophesied that God would use the Assyrians to punish the Israelites for their idolatry and wickedness. One scholar points out, “Jonah probably realized that his actions in calling the people of Nineveh to repent would ultimately result in the destruction of his own nation,” which, in 722 B.C., about 50 years after Jonah’s life, is what took place.

God’s grace is not a zero sum game. Do you know what I mean by that? It’s not like a game of poker, where two or more people put money in the pot, and what someone wins is directly proportional to what the others lose. There is plenty of God’s grace to go around. Someone else receiving God’s grace doesn’t mean you must lose some.

Do you feel that someone who has wronged you is beyond God’s grace? Is it very difficult to show them grace, though you know God has shown grace to you? That reveals that you don’t know as much about grace as you think you do. But YHWH is “a gracious God and merciful.” He knows how you truly are. And God graciously exposes our ungraciousness.

You should understand that when Jonah fled to Tarshish, he didn’t know – without a shadow of a doubt – what God had in store for Nineveh. That part wasn’t Jonah’s department. Many prophets called Israel to repent, and the kings and many of the people never did. The Assyrians might do the same.

But remember what I said when I began this sermon: from Sinclair Ferguson, these events occur in Jonah’s life, “in order to teach Jonah that he has a gracious God.” And from Richard Phillips, “It is one thing to know the doctrine of salvation by grace, and quite another to know the grace of the doctrine of salvation,”

What is God teaching you about His grace through your circumstances right now? This morning the Lord Jesus Christ invites us to His table again. And at this table we are reminded that God’s grace came to us at His expense.

The grace that has come to us is the fulfillment of the “word of the LORD” in Gen. 12, where YHWH told Abraham, “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” This is the blessing that came to the Assyrians, and to the whole world. This is why, in Titus 2, Paul writes, “the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, [12] training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, [13] waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, [14] who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.”

The grace of God has appeared – in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Will you trust in Him and learn grace from Him? Christ will give you the strength to desire grace for others as you do for yourself. He will help you to show that grace to them even as you receive it for yourself.

Let’s bow in prayer.