AUGUST 3, 2026 – AWAY

READ: Jon. 1:3: … to flee … from the presence of the LORD …

Jonah responds to God’s command by fleeing toward Tarshish without consultation or hesitation, away from the presence of the LORD. At Joppa he finds a ship, pays the costly fare, and departs. He not only refuses the commission but seeks to escape from God Himself.

Nineveh lies in the distant east, Tarshish in the distant west. Does Jonah underestimate the LORD? Surely he knows the LORD’s power and omnipresence. Does he not know David’s Psalm 139?

What is the reason for Jonah’s panic? Is he afraid? No. Jonah cannot reconcile God’s command with his own idea of God’s love for His covenant people. Would God pass by His own people in order to call a hostile, ungodly city to repentance? Surely God’s grace belongs to Israel alone? Jonah knows that God is not only righteous but also merciful and longsuffering (cf. Jon. 4:2).

In former times God’s judgment had indeed been proclaimed against heathen nations, but never directly to those nations beforehand. For then there would be opportunity for repentance!

Jonah may also have considered that the stubbornness of God’s own people would stand in sharp contrast to the possible repentance of wicked Nineveh (cf. Matt. 12:42). Would this not bring the judgment foretold in Deut. 28 upon Israel even nearer? But this is precisely what Jonah does not want.

Yet what Jonah is doing is refusing the commission of the Most High Majesty as His servant. In so doing, he commits a grievous sin as a deserter. Moreover, he departs from the presence of the LORD.

Obeying the LORD is something different from agreeing with Him only when His will fits our own ideas. The latter is familiar to us, but sinful. We also find it difficult to deny ourselves when the LORD requires it. Yet Heb. 10:36–39 warns us not to become negligent and desert our calling.

The Lord Jesus Christ is here the greater Jonah. He prayed for those who nailed Him to the cross. As the Servant of the LORD, He remained perfectly faithful, even when He had to reconcile God’s enemies unto God (Rom. 5:10). What faithfulness and love He displayed in the way of perfect obedience, saving us while we were yet sinners.

What application does this have for our own lives?

Sing: Ps. 139:3,4