(REFLECTIONS ON Jonah 1:1-17)

Jonah was called to go to Nineveh, the future capital city of Assyria, the enemy of the Israelites. How could he go to the enemy to proclaim a message of repentance from the Lord? So, although the word of the Lord came to Jonah saying, “Arise” and “go“, Jonah tried to flee in the opposite direction to Tarshish.

The Lord’s command was for Jonah to “Arise” and “go“. Yes, he did arise, but he didn’t go in the direction that the Lord directed him. In fact, we read that after he got on the ship to Tarshish, Jonah “went down” to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.

Jonah was trying to escape the Lord, to escape His presence. However, the Lord hurled a great wind on the sea and there was a great storm on the sea so that the ship was about to break up.

Everyone was afraid, but “Jonah had gone below into the hold of the ship, lain down and fallen sound asleep.” How could someone sleep in a time like this? How is it physically possible to sleep when the ship is about to break up?

Perhaps it wasn’t physical sleep that Jonah struggled with, but spiritual sleep.

6 So the captain approached him and said, “How is it that you are sleeping? Get up, call on your god. Perhaps your god will be concerned about us so that we will not perish.”

“How is it that you are sleeping? Get up!” How can we ignore what the Lord is doing in our church, in our community, in our world? How can we ignore the Lord’s call on our life?

Yes we often hear that people want to know what God wants them to do with their life, but is it possible that what we really want is for God to give us an answer according to the choices that we give Him?

It is possible that we haven’t really given up our lives completely over to Him to let Him lead and guide us to His choice, but rather are like Jonah in someways, trying to run away from His presence, living life based on the choices we present to Him, rather than arising and going in the direction He desires?

“How is it that you are sleeping? Get up!” Perhaps we don’t even know we are asleep. Have we assumed we have risen as God has called us to arise, but rather than going to Nineveh, we have gone our own way, down below, and need to once again be awakened?

Awakened not tell the Lord what our choices are, but rather to do with our lives as He wills?

Isn’t that the life Jesus Christ led? He didn’t tell God how to use Him, give him the alternatives on how to save the world, but humbled Himself, being Son of God, to become Servant of the world, and to walk the path to the cross.

Let the Holy Spirit speak truth to us so that we can Get up! and Go!

Pastor Michael Lu
Enduring Word Bible Commentary: Jonah 1