Week 31: Quo Vadis, Jonah?

 

1. We all know the story of Jonah, the guy who deliberately disobeyed God’s command. It starts with an unmistakable imperative from God: “get up”. A wake-up call.

Sometimes we close our eyes – cat like – and hope that whatever it is that is troublesome will pass. That the call will not be insistent. That someone else would be woken up instead and that someone would respond. So that we can continue to sleep on, in willful nescience. We may even think that we heard wrong: “eh”? we say, pull the blanket over our ears and turn to one side.

But God persists. He immediately follows up with the word “go”. About this time, you’d better be awake.

“Get up and go” (Jonah 1:2)

Jonah’s immediate response suggests that he is acting in obedience. For he does get up, and he does go……the world is impressed by the dramatic departure of this sleepaholic ; what it does not know is that he has a different destination in mind.

Oh, the dichotomy between what we seem to be or what we want to be seen as, and what we really are inside in our minds! Up to a point you can’t tell the difference. Men of God hear the voice of God and immediately swing into action. Wow! But could it be that there is a subterfuge? Could Jonah be slyly inserting his own agenda into God’s scheme of things, even as the gullible public applauds his exemplary submission to God’s call?

Once you’ve made up your mind to move away from God, everything becomes hunky-dory. You are not put to any great hardship. The devil welcomes you with open arms and takes it upon himself to make all the arrangements. In no time at all, you find yourself in Joppa, where there is a dazzling array of ships bound for attractive foreign destinations. Colourful flags of Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Egypt, Malta, Tunisia, Libya and  Morocco  are all gently fluttering in the breeze. Multiple opportunities shining invitingly, all of them bidding fair to take you away from God’s purpose for you. Ah, among them there is a ship ready and waiting to set out for Tarshish proudly sporting the Spanish flag!

And oh, there is money in your pocket to pay the fare!

But my point is not so much about Jonah’s action but God’s counteraction. God waits for the Spanish vessel to sail some distance. Jonah is gradually lulled into the notion that God has given up on him and chosen a fall-guy for the Nineveh mission. So he goes to sleep, dreaming big about the unseen wonders of Tarshish.

Now, God is not mocked (Galatians 6:7). This is a situation that calls for reproof.

God did not make a mistake in the first place in selecting Jonah for the evangelical campaign. In His prescience He also knew all about Jonah’s wayward ways. But He doesn’t hold him on a tight leash; there is some leeway which Jonah mistakes for freedom to act according to his own will.

And then comes a verse (Jonah 1:4) which sounds very innocuous in Tamil:

கர்த்தர் சமுத்திரத்தின்மேல் பெருங்காற்றை வரவிட்டார்; அதினால் கடலிலே கப்பல் உடையுமென்று நினைக்கத்தக்க பெரிய கொந்தளிப்பு உண்டாயிற்று.

It is in passive voice suggesting a gentle action. The only English narrative that comes close to this sense is found in the Contemporary English Version: “But the LORD made a strong wind blow, and such a bad storm came up that the ship was about to be broken to pieces.”

If we just take the operative phrase “A strong wind blew“, you might think it is happenstance. Afterall “the wind bloweth where it listeth” (John 3:8 KJV).

Sometimes when you are moving away from God, you’d better watch your steps. He won’t let you go easily. If He does that, that will be sad indeed. What will you do in Tarshish abandoned by God, roaming like a vagabond with no Word to preach?

Listen for the signals. Yes, it could be a still small voice, a gentle whisper (1 Kings 19:12).

Happenstance? No way! It is deliberate, purposeful, redemptive. Turn around 180º my friend. Realign yourself with the plan of God. He will make a way.

The whale is waiting, this trip is free!