Jonah 1:3 But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish… The Book of Jonah is a prophetic history. It sets forth in object-lessons truths which bring us very near to the heart of the Gospel. I. THE SCORNED MESSAGE OF MERCY. The prophet was the recipient of a Divine message. He was to declare to the people of Nineveh their sins, and summon them to repentance. This should have been an acceptable and agreeable duty. Why should Jonah have closed his ear against the Divine Word, shut up his heart against compassion for Nineveh, and fled from his duty? The answer uncovers at once God's compassion and Jonah's sin. Jonah's fault lay in narrowing the compassion of Jehovah, and exaggerating the claims of the chosen people. His pride of race overrode his humanity; his sectarian zeal consumed his charity. 1. What shall we say of one who refuses to enter upon a work of salvation such as this? Jonah sinned against God and humanity. 2. If we seek downward for the tap-root of Jonah's fault, where do we find it? In false views of God's nature. 3. There are still men and women — good but misguided people — who hold that the salvation of God is limited to their Church. In the light of Jonah's story, we may regard all such people with sincere pity, even while we condemn their presumptuous bigotry. II. THE SINNER PURSUED BY GOD. If God is com passionate, He is also just. He pities Nineveh, but He punishes Jonah. He pursues the offending prophet with a rod of judgment. If we suppose that Jonah's sleep was one of self-security, we may imagine the sharp awakening to the sad truth of his condition. III. A VERDICT OF THE SELF-CONDEMNED. The behaviour of the ship's crew at the climax of the storm presents an interesting study. We are insensibly drawn to these rough pagan mariners. We respect their manhood, we praise their virtues, we pity their gropings after truth and duty, and long that they and such as they might have knowledge of the one sufficient atonement for sin. We are drawn with even tenderer sympathy to Jonah. He stands there on the tossing deck, self-condemned indeed, but his whole attitude is noble. His fault has risen upon him at once in its full magnitude. He neither denies nor extenuates it; he confesses it fully, and he offers himself in atonement therefor. No wonder that the sailors, profoundly touched by Jonah's act, struggled to the verge of hope ere they could find heart to sacrifice this man. 1. We see here a wonderful illustration of the force of conscience when it is once awakened within the breast. 2. We have here a fine example of the operation of a genuine repentance. What must have beer the influence of this experience upon Jonah's after preaching? IV. BURIAL IN THE DEEP. The miracle consisted not so much in the fact that Jonah was swallowed alive, as that he was kept alive within the fish for three days. We must place this miracle upon the same footing as other Scripture miracles. Our Lord teaches that this burial and resurrection was a sign of His own burial and resurrection (Matthew 12:40, 41). (Henry C. M'Cook, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. |
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