Jonah 1:1-16
Jonah Tries to Flee God
1 The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”
3 But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.
4 Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. 5 All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship.
But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. 6 The captain went to him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.”
7 Then the sailors said to each other, “Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity.” They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. 8 So they asked him, “Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What kind of work do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?”
9 He answered, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”
10 This terrified them and they asked, “What have you done?” (They knew he was running away from the Lord, because he had already told them so.)
11 The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, “What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?”
12 “Pick me up and throw me into the sea,” he replied, “and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.”
13 Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before. 14 Then they cried out to the Lord, “Please, Lord, do not let us die for taking this man’s life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, Lord, have done as you pleased.” 15 Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. 16 At this the men greatly feared the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows to him.
Jeremiah 23:23-24
God is Near
23 Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off?
24 Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord.
Psalm 145:18
God is Near
18 The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.
God is near and is present when we need Him...And God cares about being there for us...He cares about us physically and mentally and emotionally...He cared about the Ninevites who needed a revival of sorts, and Jonah was the one to go to the people of Nineveh...
So no matter where we go we cannot hide ourselves from Him...God fills the heavens and the earth...Jonah found this out when God wanted Him to talk to the Ninevites...The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai and God ask him: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”...But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish...Jonah went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port...After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord...Jonah thought he could get away from the LORD...Jonah did not want to go and talk to the people of Nineveh...Jonah tried to flee God but could not do it, because God is everywhere, filling the universe...God is not far from any of us, including His Prophet, Jonah...
God told the Prophet Jeremiah that He is a God not only near and far away...We cannot hide in secret places, because the LORD sees all...God fills both the heavens and the earth...Jonah had no place to hide from the LORD...We have no place to hide from the LORD...