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| Sperm whale (Physeter microcephalus) illustration by Uko Gorter |
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| To Part 2 |
I believe that Jonah was at the
temple in Jerusalem when he got the news to go to Nineveh. For it was in
Jerusalem where the ark of the covenant, which represented the manifest
presence of God was located in the Holy of Holies in the Solomonic temple.
Though technically, God is everywhere present; Yahweh’s manifest presence was
not understood in locations like Gath Hepher (Jonah’s hometown) or Samaria (the capital
city of Israel) but only in the Jewish city of Jerusalem.
Anyone who knew about the God of
Israel knew that He was located only in Jerusalem. Some have argued that Jonah
was elsewhere (based on Jon 4:2, in my
country). Jonah was on foreign
soil when he prayed and made reference to the prepositional phrase in my
country which can be seen in two ways.
One, Jonah was making reference
to the northern kingdom of Israel whose capital city was Samaria. His hometown, Gath Hepher, was of the tribe of Zebulon, one of the ten tribes that broke from Judah under Jeroboam I when Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, was king of the twelve tribes of Israel.
Two, as a true prophet of Yahweh, this phrase
Did not Jonah turn his back on Yahweh? Yes, but that was not only addressed by Yahweh with some whale-time, but it illustrates that true prophets or genuine believers are not perfect and have a sinful nature. They made mistakes just like you and me in serving Yahweh, but like I said, a true prophet prophesied with 100% accuracy; Jonah was spot-on in his prophesying though he had some personal issues as with all of us, yes? The capital of Israel, Samaria, was never recognized by Yahweh. He was/is not bound by geo-political boundaries nor His prophets.
Others contend Jonah was
attempting to literally flee from the presence of God because it is
mentioned twice in v3 and once in v10b where Jonah told the mariners in Joppa
that he was fleeing from the presence of the
LORD or His God. This was in satisfying a natural curiosity of the (Phoenician?) seamen on board, desiring to know why their passenger was sailing to a faraway place as Tarshish. Apparently, he said nothing further concerning himself (cf. Jon 1:8).
So, let’s revisit pertinent
distances as the crow flies. Joppa to Tarshish is ~2,346 crow miles. From
Jerusalem to Tarshish is ~2,379 crow miles. Tarshish is ~2,716 crow miles from
Nineveh; before Jonah took off from the Temple, he was only ~551 crow miles
from Nineveh.
Ironically, Tarshish was a
metaphor for the farthest end of the world, the ultimate Thule at the time. It may have been in southern Spain on the Atlantic side. I say that because it
is quite a contrast that the manifest presence of Yahweh was in Jerusalem, and
Jonah was heading to Tarshish where Yahweh through Isaiah under inspiration
characterized it, among other places, as a place who have not heard My fame nor seen My glory (Isa 66:19)! Jonah hated those Assyrians alright. He was
attempting to put some major distance between himself and Nineveh; wasn’t he,
but not from Yahweh though!
The word of the LORD coming to
Jonah was not offensive to him, it was the content of God’s commission that was
loathsome. Why Tarshish is puzzling. Perhaps Jonah, being super-charged
emotionally by the commission, envisioned Tarshish as typifying a spiritual
reality – Getting to Tarshish (a physical act) typifies the spiritual result:
no word, no possible repentance, and death ensues.
Before casting that notion aside
as ridiculous, how often have we resorted to going physical to produce
spiritual outcomes that fit our narrative? It is that old line of reasoning,
the end justifies the means. Contrast the futility of going physical to bring
about a spiritual reality with Zech 4:6; Eph 6:12; 2 Cor 10:4. What was Jonah
thinking? He was going to circumvent God’s will by his own will!
If Jonah was not running from
Yahweh, why was the phrase from the presence
of the LORD used to describe Jonah’s actions
twice in v3 and once in v10b, suggesting that it might be possible to flee
God’s presence or that he thought it was? Ever hear of people taking a verse
out of context and arguing for a certain interpretation that is contrary to the
truth? It happens all the time,
“It’s right there! Read it for
yourself, ‘Jonah fled from the presence of the LORD,’ not once but twice! You
believe the Bible; don’t you? Jonah himself even told the mariners taking him
to Tarshish that that was what he was doing! It says right here in the good
Book that it is possible for you or me to run from the presence of the LORD
because Jonah did, but God caught up to him! Yesiree, God doesn’t look too kindly on
people who don’t believe in His Word!”
You know; we can prove anything
from the Bible if we take it out of its context. When Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the
LORD, he wasn’t trying to run from the [omni]presence of the LORD
for that would be theologically nonsensical for a true prophet of God or a
believer like you or me to attempt to do.
Jonah was well versed in God’s
attributes, and he revealed that by his words from the ship during the storm,
from within the whale, and outside the city of Nineveh upon completing his
task. Keep this in mind; it is impossible to run from God but not obedience.
Even with that said, disobedience to God has a short leash on backsliding
believers, but the length of that cord, timewise, is known only to Yahweh. I
think it is accepted that God does not look upon time as we do (cf. Peter’s
simile in 2 Pet 3:8).
It is absolutely amazing to see
Yahweh sending a messenger like Jonah to Nineveh, knowing that he hated the
Assyrians to such an extent that he wanted them all to die, in order to
preach repentance to hundreds of thousands of people that they might live! And
to beat all, the people of Nineveh repented! Jonah was right; his misguided
fear became a reality because He knew Yahweh and His ways (cf. Jer 9:24).
This was the greatest successful
evangelistic effort in the Old Testament! Folks, you can’t make things like
this up! This was why Jonah fled because of the possibility that the Assyrians
would respond positively to his message (Jon 4:2); it was something Jonah
didn’t want to see happen.
Now, we are not privy as to why
Jonah hated the Assyrians so. Some of the speculations are reasonable and
plausible. God’s silence on the reason behind the reason/s suggests it was
irrelevant. There is no reason to literally hate someone to the point you wish
for their death. My flesh thinks that there is…
I think it is important that we
look at the phrase, from the presence of the LORD (emphasis mine) in the Old Testament then come back to Jonah and try to
make some sense of what is going on in v3 with this clause, Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the
LORD. This phrase, from the presence of the LORD [YHWH], occurs 7 times in the Old Testament.
Ref
|
Characters
|
Action
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Gen 3:8
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Adam and Eve
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hid themselves from the
presence of the LORD
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Gen 4:16
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Cain
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went out from the
presence of the LORD
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Job 1:12
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Satan (Lucifer)
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went out from the
presence of the LORD
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Job 2:7
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Satan (Lucifer)
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went out from the
presence of the LORD
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Jon 1:3
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Jonah
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arose to flee to
Tarshish from the presence of the LORD
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Jon 1:3
|
Jonah
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to go with them to
Tarshish from the presence of the LORD
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Jon 1:10
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Jonah
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fled from the presence
of the LORD
|
Without getting bogged down in
nuances, what do these five persons have in common? None of them agreed with
Yahweh on a particular matter. Adam and Eve disagreed with God about not eating the forbidden fruit. Cain was the wicked one and the first murderer of
humankind. His departure to the land of Nod, east of Eden was the result of
disagreeing with Yahweh over his offering, which led to anger, murder, and
banishment. Satan disagreed with God that Job would not curse Him to His
face, and Jonah disagreed with Yahweh about going to Nineveh and preaching
repentance to undeserving people.
They all did something literally
in connection with the phrase from the
presence of the LORD. Adam and Eve hid from Yahweh, Cain departed for Nod, Satan departed to cause mayhem for Job, and Jonah departed for Tarshish to avoid preaching to the Assyrians. None of these
actions were figurative on their part. They moved to a position from the
presence of Yahweh but not physically because Yahweh is omnipresent.
In light of the common thread
found in the usage of the phrase, from the
presence of the LORD, in the Old Testament, we
can conclude by the incorporation of the phrase here in v3 that Jonah had no
intention of literally attempting to flee from the LORD’s presence but His
will – going to Nineveh and preaching repentance. The mention of Tarshish and from the presence of the LORD informs us that Jonah strongly disagreed with Yahweh about his
commission. Jonah’s anger and prayer in Jon 4 support this conclusion.
By fleeing to Tarshish, Jonah,
in his rebellion, was hoping that a greater distance between himself and Nineveh
would only enhance their destruction – for
their wickedness has come up before Me (Jon
1:2); he knew that if he went to Nineveh, the outcome might be different (cf. Jon 4:2). Again,
Jonah had no intention of proving the psalter wrong in Psalm 139, that is, to even attempt running from the presence of the LORD. But he did plan to run from His will because he hated the Assyrians.
Do we live our lives in the
light of God’s perfections? David teaches us in Psa 139:1-6 of Yahweh’s
omniscience; He knows where we are! In Psa 139:7-12, David speaks of
Yahweh’s omnipresence; He never loses sight of us! In Psa 139:13-19, he speaks
of Yahweh’s omnipotence; we are never beyond His reach!
Truly, Jonah knew right well,
that we are never beyond the range of His knowledge, presence, or power! Jonah
was fixing to learn, however, a new perspective on God’s perfections. This is something for
you and me to keep in mind when we get a fleshly itch to run from obedience to
God’s will for whatever reason. <><
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| To Part 4 |
