Jonah and the Left Turn

Several lessons on Jonah from Erwin Lutzer. Jonah was running from God. The farther away he got, the farther "down" he was. And he was more confined. First he left his home country for a foreign country. "...down to Joppa." Then he went to the harbor and got onto a boat. "...down into it." Then he went into the hold to sleep. "...down into the ‘sides' of it." v .1-5 Then he went down into the sea. V. 14 Finally he went down into the "great fish." V. 17 Can't get a much tighter fit than that, I bet.

Then there was a cost involved. "...he paid the fare." v. 3 The ship was endangered and finally they jettisoned the cargo. V. 5 He was thrown overboard, which potentially cost him his life. Except for the intervention of the Lord. Notice that the "cost" is not limited to the disobedient prophet. Others' safety was put in jeopardy and they paid a heavy monetary ransom.

The fish is the second intervention. First the Lord "hurled" a wind. (ESV) It was deliberate and it was intense. Then the Lord "appointed" a fish. (NASB and ESV) Jonah thought that he was in control of his life but forfeited it.

The final observation was that when we are compassed by storms, it is not always because of the wicked. Our country is in great turmoil and peril, but it is probably not a consequence of wicked unbelievers. The sailors were innocent victims of Jonah's disobedience. How many times in the Old Testament do we find Israel in the middle of a storm due to someone's disobedience?

The solution for the problems facing America is not for the unbelievers to "straighten up and fly right." They are behaving like unbelievers behave. The problem lies with someone else. Guerss who.

And you know the hackneyed expression, "When I point a finger at you, there are three pointing back at me." Trite it may be, but accurate it is. (Yoda) Jonah literally had to turn around and go back. (2:10 Where do you think that "dry land" was? I would venture a guess that it was in the vicinity of Joppa.)

Going down, paying the fare, and returning, is the history of Jonah's rebellion. Joppa was "on the way" to Ninevah. Jonah just took a wrong turn there. It is part way up the Coast towards Phoenicia. He went left instead or going "right on."

I could not figure out how to insert this map.  You can follow the link.