A Ticket To Tarshish
Our Bible passage, introduction to Sunday 1st December service and hymns are below.
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Our principal verses are:
Jon 1:1 Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,
Jon 1:2 Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.
Jon 1:3 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.
Jon 1:4 But the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken.
Jon 1:5 Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep.
Jon 1:6 So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not.
A Ticket To Tarshish
Jonah was a prophet of God in Israel around eight hundred years before the coming of Christ. He is thought to be amongst the earliest of the named writers whose prophecies we have in our Bible. Jonah is called God’s prophet in 2 Kings 14:25-27. He prophesied the successful recovery of occupied land by King Jeroboam, the son of Joash. Most of what is known of Jonah comes from the book that bears his name. It tells of his calling to preach to the heathen city of Nineveh and his reluctance to do so.
Finding Christ in Jonah
There is no reason to doubt that the book of Jonah was written by Jonah himself. Its divine authority is confirmed in the New Testament by the repeated testimony of Jesus who declared, ‘an evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas’ (Matthew 12:39). From this we understand Jonah to be a sign or type of the Lord Jesus. His three days and three nights in the whale’s belly typifies the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
A personal testimony
Jonah was instructed to preach against the sin of Nineveh a large and growing threat to Israel. He was to warn the people of God’s impending judgment upon their sin. However, he was reluctant to undertake this task because he knew God was merciful and this was a problem to him. Instead he boarded a ship bound for Tarshish. The ship was beset by a mighty storm, and at his own request Jonah was thrown into the sea. He was swallowed by a great fish but remained alive and conscious in the belly of the animal for three days.
A relevant message
The book of Jonah contains many enduring truths and practical applications of God’s dealings in grace with His people and His judgment against sin. Jonah is relevant to Christ’s church and the ministry of the gospel. The Saviour told those of His day, ‘The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here’. It is always important to keep focused on the Lord Jesus in these Old Testament passages, especially when the Saviour Himself leads us to do so.
The power and goodness of God
In the coming weeks, God willing, we shall witness the mercy of God to repenting sinners and the early evidence Jonah’s story gives of grace being shown to Gentile nations. We shall see the sovereign power and goodness of God in nature and providence as well as in salvation. We shall obtain an insight into the defiance and contrariness of the best of men in this life, a warning to us all. We shall be reminded of the role and work of gospel preachers and ministers of the word.
The story begins
Our tomorrow verses deal with the call of God to Jonah and Jonah’s effort to flee his responsibilities. We shall hear how God marks the sinfulness of man, notes the iniquity of cities and ultimately of nations whose ‘wickedness is come up before me’. We shall note how God holds men and women personally responsible for their sin and how the delay of justice should not be perceived as an absence of accountability.
God’s will revealed
We shall note the determined effort of Jonah to avoid ‘the presence of the Lord’ and thereafter God’s action to restrain the wayward prophet and turn him around. We shall give attention to the religious efforts of the heathen master of the ship and his crew to call on their respective gods to deliver them and the practical steps they took to lighten their vessel and keep it afloat. We shall draw some implications for preaching the gospel today.
An enduring lesson
The dispatch of Jonah to Nineveh by the Lord is itself an act of mercy. Being warned of impending judgment gives opportunity for repentance. The sinners of Nineveh, so cautioned, were given a way of escape. Hearing the gospel is a privilege of mercy by Almighty God. ‘How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation?’ May the Lord give us ears to hear.
The burden of Jonah
Finally, we shall make some personal applications as to the means and method of the Lord in converting His people as He constrains and directs our insensible hearts according to His great love and wisdom. As Jonah slept it was as though hell opened wide to consume this little ship and its passengers. Today, the souls of men and women are in imminent danger of destruction unless the Lord sends a preacher with the gospel of saving grace.
Amen
Our hymns are below.
Hymn 1
Gadsby selection 1095
“And such were some of you.” 1 Cor. 6. 11; 12. 2
J. Kent C.M.
1
Ye souls redeemed by Jesus’ blood,
Salvation’s theme pursue;
Exalt the sovereign grace of God,
For “such were some of you!”
2
From head to foot defiled by sin,
Deep in rebellion too;
This awful state mankind are in,
“And such were some of you!”
3
Whilst they are sinners dead to God,
Ye highly favoured few
Are washed from sin by Jesus’ blood;
For “such were some of you!”
4
As ye are chosen from the rest,
To grace the praise is due;
Be sovereign love for ever blest,
For “such were some of you!”
Hymn 2
Gadsby selection 1097
The Refuge. Deut. 33. 27; Ps. 46. 1; 48. 3
J. Kent 11s
1
A refuge for sinners the gospel makes known;
’Tis found in the merits of Jesus alone;
The weary, the tempted, and burdened by sin,
Were never exempted from entering therein.
2
This refuge for sinners his love did ordain,
In Jesus the Lamb, from eternity slain;
And if God the Spirit reveal this to you,
Take refuge in Jesus, though hell should pursue.
3
The soul that shall enter in safety shall dwell;
There’s no peradventure of sinking to hell;
The oath of Jehovah secures him from fear,
Nor shall the avenger of blood enter there.
4
Here’s refuge for sinners, whose guilt shall appear
As black as the confines of endless despair;
Who, stripped of all merit whereon to rely,
Are taught by the Spirit to Jesus to fly.
5
Should conscience accuse us, as oft-times it may,
Here’s blood that can take its defilement away.
In Jesus the Saviour, the sinner shall view
A city of refuge and righteousness too.
Jonah is a well-known Old Testament prophet. He is also a lovely type of the Lord Jesus Christ. Here we begin a short study of Jonah's life and the lessons taught him by the Lord.