7.31.24

This week we are looking at the issue of fear from Jonah 1. Jonah was afraid of God’s mercy. The sailors were afraid of his wrath. But they were even more afraid of his power over this storm.

What do we do with our deepest fears? Yesterday we saw that the natural instinct of the human heart is to run to religion. Certainly we often run to God - even the true God. But so often we run as bargainers - trying to manipulate God into giving us the things we most want through living a good life - or offering some sacrifice to him. But much like the sailors here, even offering sacrifices to God won’t eliminate our fears, if those offerings are made in fear and not in love.

If running to religion to be a better person isn’t the answer to dealing with our fears, then what is? And our story reminds us that rather than running to our own efforts, we should run to Jesus - run to our willing substitute. Jonah pictures - though rather poorly and dimly - the answer we are looking for. It slowly begins to dawn on this proud man that his own personal rebellion against God was threatening the lives of all these men on the boat. And he began to take pity on them.

I’m not sure that Jonah was yet at the point of full repentance here. Certainly he understood his guilt in running from God. And he saw the painful consequences of his foolish choice. But his heart - at least at this point - was directed toward the sailors, whose lives were in danger because of his choices. And his compassion for them began to awaken him to the reality that he truly did deserve God’s judgment. He deserved to be cast into the waters of that judgment.

Whether they agreed or not, the sailors were not willing to risk further offending this terrifying God by throwing his prophet into the raging sea. And so they tried everything their skills and training told them to do in order to save the ship. But nothing worked. And so in the end, they conceded to Jonah’s request, and threw him into the sea.

When the raging storm immediately stopped, the sailors’ fears grew even deeper. What kind of God could control the raging seas like this?! We’re not sure here whether their fears and the subsequent sacrifices made to God were done in holy fear or bargaining fear. We’re simply not told. But it’s still a picture, nonetheless, of the only right way we can deal with our deepest fears. Only a willing substitute can stop the raging wrath of our God. And only THE perfect substitute has the record to silence that wrath forever.

This opening chapter is a picture for us of how only Jesus can save us from THE storm of God’s wrath. Because that storm is the only one that could ever truly sink us forever. Jesus himself links these stories when he tells the religious leaders that Jonah was just a picture of what he ultimately came to do for us. The sacrifice of Jonah for these men certainly saved them from impending death. But it does nothing to save you and me. But Jesus does. And he did.