Instead, Jonah immediately headed off to Tarshish to escape from the commission of the Lord. He traveled to Joppa and found a merchant ship heading to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went aboard it to go with them to Tarshish, far away from the Lord.
Into the Text
It’s always fun to play hide-and-seek with young kids. Oftentimes, they think they found a great hiding place when in reality, they’re hiding in plain view. In a similar way, Jonah thought that he could run away from God and that God wouldn’t notice. But no matter how far we go, we can’t outrun or hide from our good and loving God.
Notice the key word in these verses, “immediately.” God tells Jonah to go to Nineveh, and Jonah immediately tucks his tail and runs. Nineveh was the capital city of Assyria, and the Assyrians were known as wicked people. They were the enemies of Israel, which would explain Jonah’s disliking of them and his fear. Years later, Assyria would be the one to capture the nation of Israel and take the people into exile.
It wasn’t so much that Jonah just told God no but that he tried to run away from God. Tarshish was one of the farthest cities Jonah could travel. He was trying to get as far away from God’s call as he could.
Has God ever called you to do something you didn’t want to do or that seemed impossible or crazy by the world’s standards? As believers we are part of the upside down kingdom of God and called to do impossible things such as living selfless lives or forgiving those who hurt us.
We, too, were once enemies of God (Romans 5:10). But God in His great love pursued us by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to come to earth and pay the ultimate price for our sins. He died the death we deserve and offers forgiveness and new life through faith in Him.
God sees you and may be calling you to do something that requires a leap of faith or to be faithful where you are. No matter what it may be, God is trustworthy. He doesn’t want you to run away but to follow Him, depending on Him for the grace you need daily to fulfill the work He has called you to.
Prayer
God, thank you that you never leave me, and you invite me into your kingdom work. May my first response to your call be “yes,” and may you equip me to be faithful each day. Amen.