Storm Season - The Storm of Repentance

Jonah 1:1-4 NIV 

[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.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jon.1.1-4.NIV)

When I was at school, one of my schoolmates did something not particularly clever. He was riding his bike down a hillside when he realised he was going too fast. However, instead of deploying his brake on both wheels to stop his bike, he deployed it only on the front. His bike flipped, he was thrown to the ground and ended up with a fractured skull and a broken arm. Of course, he should have been counting his blessings that he didn’t end up with much worse injuries. 

We can look at people who make poor snap decisions like that and shake our head and tut, knowing that they really should not have done that. However, he was a young child. Children do crazy things and make crazy mistakes. 

Adults, however, make even worse mistakes. 

Sometimes mistakes are made through sheer naivety. For example, a friend of mine from university was given a £750 grant to last him six months, but he gambled it away on poor bets in one night.  

Or those who were persuaded by dishonest advertising that vapes were somehow a safe alternative to smoking. Really? An industry that is more than fifty percent owned by tobacco firms and deliberately sold and marketed noxious and addictive substances to children somehow cares about our health? 

Or those who have bought the lies of payday loan companies and loan sharks and have found themselves bankrupted by bad debt. 

The reality is that we sometimes make very poor decisions – and are encouraged to do so by those who profit from our mistakes – that have consequences and cause suffering, both for us and for the people around us. 

Jonah is a book about one such man. 

Now, don’t get me wrong: the overall message of Jonah is not about suffering. It’s about how God led a Jewish prophet to bring the Gospel to a people he hated and considered his enemies. It’s a precursor for the Gospel reaching the Gentiles in Acts (10, 11, 15) and Jesus’ command to take it to the ends of the earth (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8-9). 

But at the start of the book, we see someone make a complete stinker of a decision that causes suffering. That is what we will learn from here. 

Now, you might remember that in my first study in this series we looked at Job, and I said that not all suffering is our fault. That is absolutely true. 

But some suffering is our fault. Some of it is a direct cause of our suffering; our sins and failings are the cause. 

This study looks at that type of suffering.  

So let’s more deeply at the cause of this suffering as we examine The Call. 

The Call 

Jonah 1:1-2 NIV 

[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.” 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jon.1.1-2.NIV)

Have you ever been asked to do something you really did not want to do? 

Currently I have to do a few of then as my wife is recovering from surgery, so there are quite a few things she really shouldn’t do, and none of them are exactly my favourite tasks.  

But here, at the beginning of the book named after him, Jonah son of Amittai (or, if you look at the original meanings of their names, ‘dove’, son of ‘truth’) is asked to do something quote incredible.  

God was sending Jonah to Nineveh to prophesy. That was a distance of some six hundred miles. It would have taken around three to four weeks to travel there on foot. 

Already, that’s a lot. 

Now, consider not just the where, but the who. 

Nineveh was the capital city of the Assyrians. It’s ruins are close to modern-day Mosul in Iraq, close to the Tigris River. It was the most important city of the period – a huge city with a massive influence. 

But the Assyrians were also known for their idolatry, wickedness, and the ruthless professionalism of their armies. These armies were a clear and present threat to the people of Israel. In fact, Jonah ministered in Israel no later than the rule of Jeroboam II (2 Kings 14:25). Around thirty-one years after his death – just one generation later – the Assyrians attacked Israel, sacked Samaria and took Israel into exile. 

So Jonah wasn’t just being asked to prophesy to wicked people, but to a people who were a serious threat to his own. 

What’s more, there is another factor at play. This is what is said about the king under whom Jonah most likely prophesied: 

2 Kings 14:24, 26-27 NIV 

[24] He did evil in the eyes of the Lord and did not turn away from any of the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit.  

[26] The Lord had seen how bitterly everyone in Israel, whether slave or free, was suffering; there was no one to help them. [27] And since the Lord had not said he would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven, he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam son of Jehoash. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/2ki.14.24-27.NIV)

So he may have had great military achievements, but this king was downright evil. His people were suffering greatly. 

Yet God called Jonah to prophesy to their enemies. 

Take that in for a second. Read Jonah 1:1-2 and ask yourself if this seems to make sense. From a human point of view, I don’t think it does. 

Yet from God’s point of view, it does – and beautifully so.

Allow me to explain. 

I felt the call to serve God in Romania from around 1994. Many people could not fathom this call – not just non-Christians but Christians too. They asked me, ‘But there are a lot of people here who aren’t Christians. There are a lot of problems here too. Why are you going to Romania?’ 

My answer was simple: ‘Because God is calling me to go there. And if God is calling me, I have to obey.’ 

God’s call on our lives doesn’t have to make any sense, or be at all logical, to us. 

Isaiah 55:8-9 NIV 

[8] “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. [9] “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/isa.55.8-9.NIV)

1 Corinthians 1:25 NIV 

[25] For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/1co.1.25.NIV)

God sends us where He wills. We don’t have to understand it. We don’t even have to agree.

Our job is to submit and obey. 

Because if we don’t, we may find our that there are consequences. 

Apart from the call, we also see The Response. 

The Response 

Jonah 1:3 NIV 

[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. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jon.1.3.NIV)

Have you ever ran away from a responsibility?  

Cutting school might have felt like that for those who tried it, although nothing good ever came of that. I remember on a few occasions in high school I would see a fellow pupil arrive late in the back of a police car.  

Going on holiday can sometimes feel like that too. Everyone needs a break sometimes. 

But Jonah took that idea way too far.  

Having been called by God to travel north-east to Nineveh, he decides to travel in the almost complete opposite direction – and then some. 

Nineveh was six hundred miles away on foot. Tarshish – recognised as likely being Tartessos in modern southern Spain – was more than two thousand four hundred miles away – more than four times as far. In fact, for ancient Jews, it would have been perceived as being the very edge of their known world. 

Basically, Jonah was planning to run to the edge of the world to get as far from God as possible. He was trying to outrun God. 

Bad idea: 

Jeremiah 23:23-24 NIV 

[23] “Am I only a God nearby,” declares the Lord, “and not a God far away? [24] Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them?” declares the Lord. “Do not I fill heaven and earth?” declares the Lord. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jer.23.23-24.NIV)

Given what Jonah was being called to do, maybe we can sympathise with him. Maybe we can understand why he would flee from God like this. 

Maybe we would even consider doing the same. 

But consider this: the core of both his faith and ours was comprised of two commandments: 

Deuteronomy 6:4-5 NIV 

[4] Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. [5] Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/deu.6.4-5.NIV)

Leviticus 19:18 NIV 

[18] “ ‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/lev.19.18.NIV)

By disobeying God and running as far as he could from him, Jonah was showing that he had no love for God. That was one commandment broken. 

By refusing to prophesy to the Assyrians in Nineveh, Jonah proved that he didn’t love his neighbour as himself – certainly not that neighbour. That was a second commandment broken. 

What is God’s opinion on that? 

James 2:10 NIV 

[10] For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jas.2.10.NIV)

We need to understand what we are seeing here. We are seeing a prophet with a recognised ministry in his home country disobeying God and breaking the very essence of his own law.  

Jonah, therefore, has done something worthy of punishment. 

Yet within this there is a serious warning for all Christians everywhere. 

Jonah was anxious to avoid this call because God was calling him to minister to his nation’s aggressors. He ran away because he did not love them. In fact, it’s pretty clear from how he interacted with God that he hated them (Jonah 4:1-3). By hating those who hated him, Jonah was violating the very foundations of Jewish law. 

So what about us? 

There are groups nowadays which have a profound dislike of any form of religion, but particularly Christianity, and Evangelical Christianity most of all. The book of Jonah tells us that we have no right at all to hate them, because God doesn’t. Instead, we should seek to bring them to Jesus Christ by all feasible means. 

So we have seen the call and the reaction. Let’s then more on to the focus of these studies: The Storm. 

The Storm 

Jonah 1:4-6 NIV 

[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.” 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jon.1.4-6.NIV)

Have you ever worked with people who are alcoholics or drug or gambling, or even pornography, addicts? Whatever their addiction is, one thing becomes plain. All addicts share the same compulsive behaviour that cares little for the people around them – whoever they are – and focuses entirely on the feeling brought by the next high. 

This singular obsession causes incredible and heart-rending tales of neglect and pain. The mess it creates can sometimes take years of counselling and therapy to undo.

And the addicts at the centre of it all often have no idea of the terrible pain they are causing. In fact, they are utterly oblivious to it. If someone mentions it to them, they either write it off as exaggeration or find the truth to be extraordinarily painful. 

But nonetheless still true. 

What we see here is quite a similar picture of those awful events, but an ancient version.  

Jonah believed he had successfully evaded a challenging call to prophesy to people he did not want to be saved. So he hid below deck and fell asleep. On top of the deck, the situation was rapidly becoming frantic. The Mediterranean is not known for having as huge storms as the Atlantic or the Pacific, but the ancient peoples of the Mediterranean Basin didn’t really know of those parts of the world yet. Their boats were also smaller and made of wood. So when a fierce squall blew up, these sailors became terrified. So terrified, in fact, that they threw their means of income – their cargo – into the sea (Jonah 1:5).

And all the time, Jonah slept below deck, oblivious to the panic above deck. 

What caused this storm? The Bible tells us plainly: 

Jonah 1:4 NIV 

[4] Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jon.1.4.NIV)

The Lord sent the storm. 

And why did he send it? 

Because Jonah had disobeyed Him and run away. 

Now, let’s think about this for a moment. God sent this storm to get Jonah to repent and obey Him. That much we understand. But do you also notice that the pagan sailors – who were not a part of Jonah’s disagreement with God – were also caught up in it? 

Does this not happen when we sin? 

We think that we can get away with it. We think it’s a victimless crime. We think that we are the only ones who will be affected. 

But it isn’t true. 

As throwing a rock into a pool of water creates ripples, sinning will always affect more than just ourselves. Other people will also be affected. Always. Even the most personal, private sins will inevitably have an impact on other people. 

Even if we are unaware of it. 

Quite the sobering thought. 

But this storm was not sent to punish Jonah. If it was, it would not be fair or just, because it affected people who were not responsible for it. 

No, this storm was a storm of grace. 

Think about it. 

Jonah was a prophet who had fled from his calling and disobeyed God’s clear and unmistakable command, yet God had not given up on him. 

The sailors had come from a pagan background. They were totally ignorant of the Jewish God. Yet God used this storm to lead them to worship Him (Jonah 1:16). 

Let’s not misunderstand it. This was not a little rain shower with a gentle breeze. This was a full blown storm in the middle of the most frightening body of water of which the ancient Jews were aware. This was terrifying and it was hard and it involved painful loss and they could have been killed. There is no doubt about that. 

Yet the storm that God sent was a storm of grace that gave Jonah a second chance and the sailors the chance to repent. 

When someone who has been hurting those around them is confronted with the ugly truth, it isn’t easy. It feels like a huge storm has descended on their psyche and their emotions. 

The question is: what do they do with the storm?  

Do they deny it? Do they fight it? 

Or do they repent? 

Maybe today as you read these lines, you know precisely what I am talking about. Maybe, like so many who are wrapped up in addiction, the very thought of the pain you are causing others makes you want to recoil back into your addiction because you just don’t want to face the truth. 

But it is the truth. God has sent this mighty storm into your life: not because He doesn’t care, but because He cares too deeply. He wants you to repent. He wants you to be free. 

The question is: are you listening? 

We’ve seen the call, the response and the storm. We’ll end this study by looking at The Reaction. 

The Reaction 

Jonah 1:7-17 NIV 

[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. [17] Now the Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jon.1.7-17.NIV)

How do you react when you are found out? 

That’s a tough, and quite uncomfortable, question, is it not?  

As someone who has both witnessed a crime and worked in police stations, I’ve seen all kinds of reactions to this question. When people decide to ‘lawyer up’, they often decide to ‘clam up’ to try to get away with it. From my experience, it doesn’t really work. If the police have any evidence, they will be found out in the end. 

I’ve also seen someone almost take their case to a full-blown jury trial, before they realised that if they confessed, they would get time off their sentence. The confession came, followed by the guilty plea. 

Jonah was cornered. The sailors now knew that he was to blame for their predicament.

Almost like detectives, they got to the bottom of the crime in just three questions that we ought to heed: 

‘Who are you?’ 

They have taken on a paying customer and taken his money without being in the least bit concerned about who he was.  

Jonah’s response in Jonah 1:9. He said that he was a worshipper of the Lord, the God of heaven and maker of heaven and earth. 

Really? 

So should a man who is a worshipper of God have disobeyed Him? Should he be running away from Him? 

Of course not! That is as far from worship as it gets! 

So let me ask you the same question: who are you? Should someone like you be doing the things that you do? 

‘What have you done?’ 

The sailors already knew the details of what Jonah had done because he had told them. This seems to more be an exclamation of horror at the implications of what he had done towards the God who controlled the wind and the waves. They were shocked that his actions had put them at risk. 

Let me ask you the same question: what have you done? What are the consequences of your actions, of your addictions and predilections? Do you see them? Are you aware of them? 

 Do they hurt you or cause you pain? 

 Should they? 

 'What do we do?' 

Their last question showed their desire to solve the situation immediately. They'd had enough. They had lost their cargo. Now their very lives were on the line. 

 Jonah's response is telling: 

 Jonah 1:12 NIV

[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."                                                      

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jon.1.12.NIV)

Perhaps when we realise the deep and painful cost of our sin for those we love, we might cringe and wince and feel like it would be better if we’d just die. It’s nonsense, of course. It’s just a reaction of deep shame at being found out. 

Jonah, however, wanted to do precisely that. Rather than admit he was wrong, turn around and repent, Jonah asked the sailors to throw him into the deep. 

We might interpret this as a self-sacrifice to save these sailors. But if we read through the whole book of Jonah, there is nothing there to indicate even the slightest hint of compassion towards those who are not Jews. 

No, this is a selfish and cowardly act to avoid any possibility of God turning him back around to Nineveh, and any responsibility for the predicament of the sailors. 

The sailors weren’t keen. If God could punish one of His own this severely for running away, what would He do to them for murder? But they have no option, so they carry out the act. 

God, however, has the last word. He had provided Jonah with a ship and taken it from him. Jonah sought suicide; God took it from him and saved him with a great fish. Jonah sought satisfaction in seeing the Assyrians destroyed; God took it from him (Jonah 3). Jonah sought shelter from the heat of the sun; God took it from him (Jonah 4). 

Why? 

Because Jonah did not have the heart of God for his enemies. Jonah was not obedient to God. The storm, and all that came with it, was God’s way to bring his servant back to obedience. 

So now we have to ask the deeply challenging, deeply difficult, deeply personal question: 

What will it take for you to obey God? 

Conclusion 

Jonah 1:1-3 NIV 

[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. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jon.1.1-3.NIV)

The Christian thinker and writer CS Lewis once wrote the immortal line that ‘Pain is God’s megaphone to rouse a deaf world’.  

Sometimes it's God’s megaphone to rouse a deaf believer. 

We cannot escape the reality that the protagonist in this narrative – the person who brought suffering down on otherwise innocent people – is not only one of God’s followers, but a man appointed as a prophet with a successful ministry. And the root cause of the suffering was his disobedience and law-breaking. 

That should shock us. Even a man appointed to a high, respected position is not immune to causing suffering for himself and others by turning away from God and running from him. 

At the start of this series, we looked at Job and saw how we aren’t always to blame for the storms that affect us and those close to us. That does not diminish the reality that sometimes we are. 

You see, the greatest and oldest lies told by the devil and the world to entice us into sin are that ‘God is not good, but this is, and no-one will get hurt’. That heinous tactic has been used down through the ages and is still being used now, for example: 

Until as late as the 1950s, smoking was not just socially acceptable, it was even considered as medicinal. It was then found to be the cause of lung and throat cancers, as scientists found that it was actually an addictive and deadly habit. 

It’s often been argued that alcohol has health benefits. At the same time, it’s probably the worst legal drug for causing social ills. 

Cannabis has often been touted for many for supposedly being a healthier alternative to alcohol. However, as the substance has gradually become stronger, mental health experts are now warning that it causes serious psychological effects, such as depression and psychosis. 

Vaping was promoted as a healthier alternative to smoking. There were even calls for it to be made available free, on prescription. Thankfully common sense prevailed. Experiments on these products showed that they contain deadly chemicals that are seriously injurious to health. 

Promiscuity was actively promoted as a lifestyle from the 1960s onwards, before it caused an explosion in sexually transmitted diseases and HIV. 

Gambling has often been touted as nothing more than a fun activity, and is also a key source of sponsorship for our sports teams. However, those who become habitual or dependent gamblers are capable of doing immense harm to their families and themselves.

Since the 1980s in my country, debt has been touted as a way of getting the life to which you have always aspired. Yet debt repayment is one of the biggest struggles people face when salaries and jobs are put at risk.

Do you see how it works? We believe, like Jonah, that God somehow has got it wrong, that He isn’t good after all. We believe, like Jonah that we have a better idea. We convince ourselves, as Jonah may have done since he fell asleep on the boat, that we are not doing anything harmful. 

Then BAM! The storm hits. 

We try to defend our actions. We try to pretend that we were just naive. We argue that the storm can’t have been caused by us because we’ve done nothing wrong. 

But it isn’t true, and we know it full well. 

We followed Jonah through God’s call on his life, his response, the storm and his reaction. He was on the verge of committing a tragic and wasteful act to get out of the storm, when God carried out a miraculous rescue. 

There, in the belly of the fish, Jonah came to his senses and decided to obey God. He didn’t get everything right. Jonah 4 proves that. But at least he was now obeying God. 

You may also feel like you are trapped and cornered by your own sins and mistakes. You may be convinced that there is no way out but to remove yourself from this mortal coil. 

Don’t go there. 

There is another way. 

You can repent. You can admit your wrongdoing and its awful impact. You can confess your sins to God. You can ask for forgiveness. You can start again. 

It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been causing the storm to rage. Even a thief repented as he was dying on the cross (Luke 23:39-43). You have your chance now to repent of your sin, trust in Jesus and let Him calm the waters. 

I urge you to take it. 

Before the storm sinks you too. 

Prayer 

Lord Jesus, I am appalled and deeply ashamed of the storm my actions have caused. I confess my sins to You and ask You to forgive me. Help me to also seek forgiveness from those to whom I have caused harm. Come into my life, Lord Jesus. Calm my storm, I pray. Amen. 

Questions for Contemplation 

• What caused Jonah’s storm? Why is this important for us? 

• Why did Jonah say he should be thrown into the sea? What did God do about this? 

• Was God able to bring some good out of the storm? What good was that? Does it make the storm, and its root cause, both good, or should they not have happened? Why?