See Jonah Sleep

I am a Hebrew senior word means I am in all clients with the God of heaven. Nothing could be at this moment.

Further, Jonah knows it. Listen to what what's happening here is he is responding with the right answer as if he doesn't want to add to his crime, Hebrew, and I follow God, who by the way, created everything, it is good theology but it is absolute you ever given lip service to your mom and devotion to God, but your actions revealed something totally different in some ways the prophet Jonah acted like when were honest with ourselves, we can probably think of times when we've acted much like Jonah. Maybe we talked respectfully and even lovingly about God you wanted people to think that God was important to you that you loved him, but at the same time you were ignoring God's commands and pursuing disobedience, working to explore this tendency together today on wisdom for the heart stay with us as Steven David takes us to the example of Jonah.

In today's message called see Jonah sleep came across this article, Amanda decided to go to a Cincinnati Reds ballgame girlfriend.

He knew he was. He was already in trouble with the law broken parole. No one knew where he was on top of that he had failed to appear in court for a date with the judge during the game you not have the kiss cam they try to get couples to kiss. Well wouldn't you know they spot he and his girlfriend put their picture on the big screen for 30,000 people to see and before the end of the game. He's arrested is a lawyer later complain I called out of 30,000 people in the ballpark that they my client is the one not only get his face put on the screen but his parole officer just so happened to be the same ballgame that I did that just caught in a sea of faces. He is caught well reminded me of this prodigal profit failed to make his court appearance in the courtroom of the Ninevites King. He is evidently under the impression that he can somehow run in the opposite direction and high from the surveillance lens of an omniscient night president God. If you're just joining us in this study through the Journal of Jonah. You could easily summarize what we learned thus far in one very simple sentence.

God said Jonah go and Jonah said no or you could put it in a little longer sentence. God said Jonah I want you to go deliver a message of mercy and Jonah said God I would rather resign and run then see the Ninevites repentance. So Jonah, this prophet has resigned his commission.

He's turned in his prophets bad this hospital pass card is taken a fish off the bumper of his cart is given all of his manuscripts to the younger prophets you know to use if you need it anymore and he's heading in the opposite direction which happens because the spaying but he is about to discover that God is not accepted his resignation. And God is going to give Jonah some time to do some some deep thinking. I didn't think detected there for midlife related what happens in chapter 1 can be divided. What happens next. Three dramatic scene each of them with their own subtitle C 1 don't disturb see number two. Don't ask. See number three. Don't turn around scene one opens in verse four. Let's back up to verse three and get a running start. Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.

So we went down to Joppa found a ship which was going to Tarshish paid the fare went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord and the Lord hurled the great wind on the sea and there was a great storm of the season that the ship was about right wonderfully descriptive yet terrifying language you can render the Hebrew text to read and the Lord picked up a great wind and hurled it on the sea. Now what you got immediately is a spontaneous prayer meeting to take place on that by extremely terrified sailors fact it says then the sailor verse five became afraid and every man cried he was God and he threw the cargo which was in the ship and delighted for them. Jonah had gone down below the hold of the ship, the word for sailor I thought was interesting come from the Hebrew noun used for salt. To this day old fishermen are called old soul is also author immediately calling out to the God that they happened to believe that these men are veterans, sailors, by the way they they have written more than likely most of them. Certainly the captain will be introduced to the minute they they bring a lot of store, but the storm was so suddenly swiftly upon them that they assumed it would take God any God to get them out of it alive and they were right and so right in the middle of verse five. Whether praying were informed the Jonah has gone down below into the hold of the ship he's laying down in his fallen fast asleep. There a lot of ironies in this paragraph will try to pull out some of them for you, but it's ironic to me that here the pagans are praying in the prophet is sleeping. While there, praying Jonah is sleeping sailors are literally tossing out everything that isn't nailed down. Jonah isn't just sleeping the end of verse five tells us that he is sound asleep your translation make a rabies and indeed sleep. He is fast he can render his fast asleep. I thought it was funny that the Septuagint which is the Greek translation of the Old Testament, literally translated this verb to snore. This is centuries ago they translated snore. Jonah is literally snoring away is probably how the captain found him located immensely.

Like the prophets of God that we forget that he's a rebellious prophet in the meantime funny when hurricane Fran slept through, you know are counting my wife told me the next morning, honey, you slept through hurricane Fran I slept through the whole thing.

She said you snored right through everything I thought well to spiritual gifts.

Part of what went right out the storm. When Jonas got this.

Do not disturb sign on the door for the sailors and he's gotta.

He's got a do not disturb sign on his heart for God and he is literally snoring through the storm of the century. In verse six tells us look there, so the captain approached him and said how is it that you are sleeping. Literally, how can you sleep through this storm get all your God interesting when faced with natural disasters how pagans often turn to prayer. Suddenly, these old souls are praying for prayers. The captain wants to make sure he has every base covered heat. He's convinced there's some God behind the storm and he wants to make sure he's got every God covered so he grabs Jonah by the lapels and he pulls him to his feet.

Any barks wake up man start praying to whatever God you believe in and for the first time is Jonah's rows from the deep sleep he feels the relaying of the rocketing of that ability probably hears the wind screeching and howling probably.

Here's the timber creaking and he knows immediately. He knows which God is behind the store is run from God. God has been waiting for him to arrive, listen, God is always ahead of you and me is behind us.

He's above us sees beneath us whenever you run is already there. Thank Jonah is the only man on board who knew the true and living God.

But at the moment he is and on speaking terms with them is no doubt in my mind, though, that Jonah can hear the voice of God in the howling of that when one more observation I want to make some scene one you notice of the captain says at the end of verse six, where he says get up and call on your God, to notice the next phrase.

Perhaps your God will be concerned about so that we will not perish. The captain is urging him. It's interesting he says you know where to praying to God it interesting how pagans can hold a believer to a higher standard than the believer will hold himself to whatever is disobedient. The world knows how you live and me. Don't ever doubt it.

The captain is urging Jonah. Maybe your God will feel sorry for you can translated that this this iron this this old salt speaking word that I'm convinced were like salt in the wound of Jonah's rebellious heart and it hit him like a shot of rock salt he has resigned from the service of God because he does not want God to feel sorry for the Ninevites and now he's in the middle of a storm that's about to take the ship to the bottom of the sea and he's being asked for his God, to feel sorry for them.

Supposed to be the same per request an obedient prophet would make in the land of Nineveh. Now it's requested of him on the Mediterranean Sea and I know it. Jonah hard Jonah will prayer that you won't find him praying in chapter 1 he will pray that prayer is that to pray for them either didn't you read the sign to not disturb, don't bother my life. Why, why can't I just hide away. I miss sleep on Our Way, God and get off the boat in Spain. That's my plan.

That's my life and I pray don't disturb that's my life motto now this is this is an extremely profitable profit.

Pray for them.

The second scene opens in the subtitle again could be simply stated, don't ask the pagans of called a prayer meeting that in working so they moved to the next thing in there a lot more familiar with this one rolling dice were seven. Each method was made, this cast lots that we may learn his account. This calamity is struck as of the cast lots of the lot fell on Joan, he sees pagans in this dice perhaps milestones the Arabic counterpart to this word referred to color stones all one color except for one which was a different color make role of you to have a stone assigned to you.

It could have been pieces of wood and they would literally draw them to see who got the longest decent and that person would be the winner and Jonah's got anything he could cure for this is my lucky day in his Jonah is Jonah draws the longest fees are that or he gets the colored stone immediately. He is deceased, with a flurry of questions per se. Then they said to tell us now on his account has this calamity struck is what what is your occupation where you come from, what is your country from what people are you just bang bang bang bang there, terrified there convinced now this is the problem. Can you imagine the scene.

The wind is whipping across this deck ship is rolling up and down hardly able these men are to stand there probably rain drenched their drawing straws, or pulling sticks or throwing stones and if this stranger he's been keeping to himself. He's something going on there.

You can render the first question that they asked him this. What what have you done what have you done and you can you can render the next question you notice that one effect is translated in fact this way, what is your occupation what your occupation that is the last question Jonah ever wanted to answer what you do for a living caught what your occupation what you do with your time. You believe it. God has pinned him down at sea Joan.

It's obvious your God is upset.

This incredible storm is from some God and now we know it's your God, what did you do to bring this on us and by the way what is your occupation that he can no longer say with authority and conviction. I am a prophet of God can't say that this is a wonderful thing when you do something right and somebody notices and asks you to.

Aren't you one of those Christians in that terrible moment when you're doing something wrong and somebody says hey, aren't you. You want those Christian such a tragic thing in a believer's sin is exposed by the world. Joan answers in verse nine look there on the Hebrew and I fear the Lord God of heaven invade the sea and the dry land.

This is this is classic. I am amazed by Joan is still maintaining his composure when he was five and I may Hebrew the Jewish people would speak the pagan I Hebrew and and I fear the God of heaven. By the way, made see in your amazed he has a cruel detachment to their panicked cities on the good side, I am a Hebrew. That's true. I fear that word means I am in all and in compliance with the God of heaven, that's not true that's absolutely wrong. Nothing could be at this moment further from the truth.

And Jonah knows it. Listen to what what's happening here is he is responding with the right answer as if he doesn't want to add to his crime. He's given perfect theology, Hebrew, and I follow God, who by the way created everything it it's good theology, but it is absolute hypocrisy for him to say, I fear I am in compliance with I am surrendered to this God.

It's almost as if he doesn't want to add to his sins that he knows his argument so he responds carefully discrete. According to the Chicago Sun-Times. An article about a woman named Nita she she didn't seem to be the kind of person that would be involved in a police pursuit. She was after police chief Mike Potter attempted to pull her over for a traffic violation with the serious one just pull her over. She refused to stop the article. Honestly, even after flipping on his lights and sirens that are pulling over the 66-year-old woman pulled away from him. Police would follow her through three counties and it didn't end of the state police put a spike strip in the road in front of Friedman's car after driving over three of her tires and flat.

She still try to keep going but escape became possible. She finally pulled over and and stop what astounded the police and caught my attention. In the article was the fact that throughout the entire ordeal. Miss Friedman never went over the speed she observed all the traffic laws even stopping at one point behind a vehicle that was making a left turn ironing while running from the law. She is determined not to break the law.

This was happening here.

Joan is trying not to discredit God while he is in the midst of disobeying God. He is speaking. Respectfully, God while he is disrespecting God with his life.

If he doesn't want to add that evidently these sailors pulled more out of Jonah did just that simple answer because verse 10. Another tells us Jonah had also told him he was. He was running ways fleeing from the presence of the Lord and and they immediately saw through his foolish hypocrisy sees that III fear the Lord God of heaven who made the sea and the dry land, and then by the way, I'm also running from them. They they see through it immediately.

Jonah, you say that your God made the land and the sea. Let's see, where are we now were on the sea. That's great that one is tragic when pagans conceded and profits can is tragic when the world exposes the sins of Christians that Christians can't quite see scene one Mr. scene two is don't ask but they did nothing. Three opens with the subtitle don't turn around. In other words, I'm still not going back to look at verse 11. So they said well what should we do you see may become call for us to see was becoming increasingly stormy.

In other words, it was bad before networks getting worse. What these pagans were missing was a motive, they thought Jonah was running away from his God because he done something they didn't know he was running away from God because he wouldn't do something they thought Jonah had done something wrong. They didn't know Jonah was actually refusing to do something right. They just wanted dad okay.

We've identified the culprit. You told your running and now we know who your God is and we know that your God. Accordingly, you created the sea which were now to try to survive upon no Jonah, I believe, stuns them by offering the solution verse 12 he said to them, pick me up and thrown into the sea, then the sea will become call for you, for I know that on account of the discrete storms come up on you now. I would expect them to just pick them up from over sold salts okay works for us. Your history, hold your breath knows everything. What surprises me is verse 13. However, the men road desperately to return to land, but they could not for the sea was becoming even stormy. The road desperately Hebrew literally means they with their own words with all their might save their lives in the same Jonah's life and don't miss this ironing either.

Jonah wouldn't lift a finger to save the lives of pagan Ninevites and now these idol worshiping sailors are putting their lives on the line to save his amazing can you imagine how convicted Jonah sitting over somewhere watching these men with their backs into these orders, knowing they all wanted to die to save this man's life, along with our own is no use. So the pagans now print a desperation to Yahweh. Verse 14: the Lord and said we earnestly pray. Oh Lord, do not let us perish, on account of this man's life. Do not put innocent blood on us for you, oh Lord, have done as you have, please, that's a pretty incredible prayer for a pagan permissive or something happening in their lives. Come back to normal verse 15 so they pick up Jonah and they thrown into the sea and the sea stopped its raging now.

Have you noticed before they throw him in there is not one offer of repentance to God one prayer to God and as soon as he gets the water. The seed grows. Call verse 16 says then the men feared the Lord greatly only the second did you catch that your circle that would fear tracking back to where Jonah said I fear now they're fearing guidance as they fear God greatly. Jonah said that earlier and he didn't mean it. Do they notice they offered a sacrifice to Yahweh and made files. This is no foxhole conversion. By the way they make these valves when after the storm is over.

After they had been delivered. They promised God to serve him as God alone. Imagine the revival and Jonah missed prodigal's miss the good times of God's spirit because there there there too focused on not having their way with God's spirit.

So the Misty's time, let me pull out two truths of God's grace here that I observed in these scenes one number one.

Even when Jonah was disobedient. God used him for his glory interesting to me.

The conversion of these pagan sailors mean, who would've ever thought possible.

If the revival in this little book. Actually, that is most often overlooked in it in spite of himself, Jonah would be used as a messenger of God to deliver just enough of an introduction that would bring about the submission of these old salty sailors. One more lesson God's grace. Jonah was discarded by the sailors but he is not discarded by God, I love that truth that we can observe here. God has a fish just about ready to move in and I'll tell you something. If I'd been God I would've sent a sharp big one yeah so you know you know Jonah could be swallowed whole, and how the story ends to make sure Jonah live, but he'd have teeth never forget the good news here is that while Jonah wants to forget about God.

God is not forgotten. Jonah has resigned you and I can never tire God said about race factors relates to the walk.

Jonah with God wonderful beginning is about to take place. Thanks for joining us today here on wisdom are Bible teacher Stephen Devi is the pastor of the shepherd's church in Cary, North Carolina. If you haven't already, I encourage you to install our app on your phone so that you can quickly and easily access all of our Bible-based resources. That app contains the audio in the transcript of each of these daily Bible messages. Our ministry is called wisdom international. So when you go to the app store for your device you're looking for the wisdom international.

Also, Stephen has a hardback book that contains his practical and pastoral exposition of Jonah and we been offering the book at a very special rate during this series, we want you to have this resource in your library so contact us about the special promotion. There are two ways you can get the CD set or the book go to our website which is wisdom online.org search the store for the word Jonah and you'll find these resources. The number here at the wisdom international office is 86 648 Bible or 866-482-4253. The website is wisdom online.org thanks for joining us will continue through Jonah. Next time, so be with us for more wisdom