Running Sunday, August 6, 2017

Transcription

1 Running Sunday, August 6, 2017 Series: A Summer Fish Story: Jonah Scripture: Jonah (pg. 1404) Theme: Sometimes our religion keeps us from God. [Malissa reads Scripture - on PPT Slides] I am pretty sure that if I asked you what the book of Jonah was about, most of you would say, That s the one about the guy who got swallowed by the whale. Even if you never cracked a Bible, you could probably answer that question. And I also know that some of you are tempted to say, No, no, no it wasn t a whale, it was a big fish. But the truth is, whale fish, it doesn t really matter: Neither one can swallow a man whole and keep him alive for 3 days unless God intervenes anyway. And besides, whale/fish he s just part of the supporting cast anyway The swallowing is not what the story is about. The story is about a man who is very angry with God. He is struggling deeply struggling to understand God and he doesn t really like what he s learning Jonah is very much the story of Job in 4 short chapters a man who is angry and wrestling with God. That s what Jonah is about. -2- Now, I love Jonah Partly because I love words & the craft of using words and the author of Jonah is a master at using words to tell a story in such a way that he will catch you, over & over with what the Greeks used to call tragi-comedy --- A story that has you wanting to laugh & cry at the same time And that s Jonah. Now, I don t know if you ll laugh or cry when you dissect a joke and take it apart, it s not funny anymore and I suspect that s what will happen here But I do hope to show you how masterfully Jonah is put together & why the words matter Because this is how the story of Jonah comes to mean the most by coming to understand the detail. So, I ll try my best to help us see the detail. Now: Jonah is told in 4 Acts I ve titled them very simply: [SLIDE] Running (Chap. 1) Praying (Chap. 2) Repenting (Chap. 3) Complaining (Chap. 4) We ll spend a week on each Malissa read Act 1 and if you followed in your Bibles you might have noticed she skipped the last verse because technically, in the Jewish scriptures, our last verse (17) is really the 1 st vs. of chap. 2 and that makes most sense so we ll save it.

2 -3- So, for today: Act 1, Scene 1 Running. [OFF] The book opens with what Bible scholars call the classic prophetic call literally, the opening sentence says, The Word of the Lord came to Jonah, son of Amittai, saying, Get up and go. Now, that phrase, minus Jonah s name, is repeated way more than 100 times in our Bibles It is the common, ordinary way in which you are introduced to a prophet who is going to first listen to God and then speak God s message. You hear that phrase, The word of the Lord came to so & so, Get up and go 100+ times and usually it is followed by the message from God. So, Act 1 opens with a very normal phrase that identifies Jonah as a prophet: The Word of the Lord came to Jonah, Get up and go. Now pay attention, because you will hear that exact phrase, Get up and go 2 more times in the book in what is meant to be a very meaningful and humorous twist. However, we re 1 sentence in to the book and we know we re dealing w/a prophet However, get read, because from here on out, the book will turn everything else upside down from what you normally expect from a prophet. This is no ordinary prophet. -4- Scene 2: God s message continues: Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh... and here the crisis begins: Nineveh. Today, ruins of Nineveh are on the east bank of the Tigris River just across from the city of Mosul in Iraq. At the time of Jonah, Nineveh was not yet the capital of Assyria, but it is a great & prosperous city and it will shortly become the capital of Assyria. And here s what you need to know some of this will be graphic, but unless you know it, you can t understand Jonah The Assyrians had been, and they will be again, the most dominant and powerful kingdom in that world. They were known by every other kingdom, for striking terror in their neighbors and their rivals And the Assyrians were proud of this reputation they boasted about their violence and they proudly considered themselves experts in torture Israel has already been harassed by the Assyrians and eventually Israel will tragically fall to Assyria. Today, all over Assyria, archaeologists have uncovered wall reliefs these are carvings on walls that the Assyrians used to document their history, especially their pride in their violence and their terror [PIC] This is an example you can still see in place, just so you have some idea of what I m talking about

3 -6- Public buildings and monuments and palaces were covered with these wall reliefs and you can see 1000 s of them in museums around the world. At the time of Jonah, these wall reliefs were used as public boasts and everyone in Assyria would have seen these every day of their lives let me give you some examples of the violence the Assyrians boasted about [PIC] This is a picture of an Assyrian beheading one of his captives and there s a pile of heads in front of him [PIC] this drawing of another relief shows the Assyrians piling and counting the heads of their enemies. [PIC] Here they are impaling their enemies on poles. [PIC] This one shows how they would cut off the arms and legs of their enemies but they would keep one hand attached so that they could mockingly shake their enemy s hand as he lay bleeding to death. [PIC] The Assyrians also enjoyed tying their enemies down with ropes and then slowly cutting their skin off. [PIC] They also enjoyed pulling off ears and pulling out tongues [PIC] As well as gouging out eyes. [OFF] -7- Now that s a taste of their terror and 10s of 1000 s of people suffered these fates. This is what decorated the walls of Nineveh and it reflected the twisted pride of this people. And all around the world other people knew of their violent boasts and trembled at the name of the Assyrians. There are prophets in the Bible Nahum is one who talk about this stuff precisely, but my guess is, you never knew because we re not always very good about reading our Bibles carefully & deliberately Nahum s whole book is a collection of messages against the violence of the Assyrians Nahum is speaking to the Jews about 100 years after Jonah and Nahum is announcing the coming judgment and doom of the Assyrians And now you know why the final sentences of Nahum meant so much at that time in history speaking of Assyria s doom, Nahum finishes his book w/ these words: [SLIDE] There is no healing for your wound; Your injury is fatal. All who hear of your destruction will clap their hands for joy. Where can anyone be found who has not suffered from your continual cruelty. (3:19) Makes sense, doesn t it, knowing what you now know about the Assyrians

4 -8- All who hear of your destruction will clap their hands for joy. I guess they would I guess they would. So, God says to Jonah, Get up and go to Nineveh. And Jonah gets up and he goes to Tarshish. [PIC] Now, Tarshish was known as the other side of the world like us saying, Timbuktu. We are not 100% certain about this, but most Bible scholars have identified Tarshish as a Phoenician city that was on the southwest coast of Spain Jonah got on a boat in Joppa, on the coast of Israel, and he sailed for Tarshish it s about a 1-year journey. It s the opposite direction and about as far away as he could get from Nineveh So Jonah runs away. God said, Get up and go and Jonah got up and went far, far away. Now, some people say that Jonah was thinking he could get away from God that he could go somewhere where God is not That s ridiculous you will discover later in this book that Jonah knew better He knew his scripture he knew that you cannot go where God is not. However, Tarshish is actually mentioned at other places in Scripture -9- [SLIDE] The prophet Isaiah talks about Tarshish as a land that is so far away no one there has even yet heard about God So, Jonah doesn t think he can get away from God, but he does plan to go where no one is going to talk about him, not one will bother him with God-talk He s so angry he doesn t want to even think about God. And I m sure you understand if you re angry w/ God, the last place you want to be is in church A bar maybe Home Depot and get some projects done watch a mindless movie click on some porn No one is going to talk about God there You can put him out of mind in Tarshish. And that s what Jonah wants to do. And if you are wondering why Jonah is so angry w/ God- This is why: here is the message God gave to Jonah: V2. Announce my judgment against Nineveh because I have seen how wicked its people are. Well, that s not so bad, is it? Seems kinda appropriate, doesn t it? Why run from that? Welllll here s what we miss, and in truth, there is no easy way to convey this in English, but let me show you something [SLIDE- KEEP ON] Other translations say it this way: Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and speak against it, for their evil(a) has come up before me. ESV

5 -9- Couple things while that s up there 1) To speak against a city means you confront that city with its ungodliness you let them know they have sinned against God. 2) Whenever God says a thing has come up before me, -- that means God s passion has been aroused & he must act he can no longer let a thing go. And what is it that has aroused God s passion? Welll, the word, Evil, right? But you will notice the word evil has a footnote Because that word evil, in Hebrew, means 2 things at once [SLIDE] We do not have an English word that we can substitute for the Hebrew word that is used here 1) On the one hand, it means what we would call, evil it s wickedness it s the doing of wrong, ungodly actions. [SLIDE] 2) The same word means, at the same time, means calamity, or disaster or great trouble. Which is a picture of really bad things happening to you And this word means both of those at once. You with me? OK now, stay with me: We don t know the exact year that this episode occurred when Jonah ran away But we do know the general time period when Jonah was a prophet because he is identified: 2 Kings 14:25 talks about Jonah and his time the mid-700 s BC. Now, at exactly that time, Assyria was at a low point they had had a series of weak, inept kings and there was economic and social and political chaos In 765 BC, a deadly plaque swept Assyria and 1000 s died On June 15, 763 BC, there was an eclipse in Assyria and it caused the population to wonder, Maybe this is a sign but of what, we don t know? So there s chaos & calamity in Assyria. Now stick w/ me this is vital: When God says, Their evil has come up before me he means both, their wickedness and their calamity Which means Jonah knows that he has a kind of 2- sided message: [PIC] 1) He is being asked by God to say, I have seen your wickedness and you will be judged for your evil. [PIC] 2) AND, he is being asked by God to say, Your evil is the reason for why God has allowed calamity to happen to you. God is addressing their wickedness & calamity. And here s the thing every prophet knew Every prophet knew: that when you announced Part 2, God was always intending to leave the door open always.

6 -11- Whenever God said, This is why this disaster has occurred always, always, always God was saying, If you repent, I ll bring relief calamity will end. That was the message of the prophets. Any Bible scholar in the world knows that you could sum up the message of the prophets in 1 word: In Hebrew... shuv In English Repent Turn around, change your ways. And that is the last thing Jonah wants to say to Nineveh he wouldn t mind at all saying, You re evil; you re dead. But to leave the door open? To allow for even the slimmest of hopes that God would show kindness to Assyria? Never. Never. [OFF that s it!] Jonah hates so much and he is so angry at God and he is struggling so much to understand, God, why would you leave the door open for these people? That he runs away. Get up and go, God says, and Jonah got up and went in disgust the other direction. And how does God respond? v. 4 God hurls a great wind. Now, here is where there is some comic relief in this story in the next few sentences, multiple things will get hurled same word over & over -12- God will hurl a wind Panicked sailors will hurl cargo overboard. Jonah will say, Hurl me overboard. And although they resist, eventually, the sailors will do just that, Hurl Jonah into the sea. Did you ever get so angry or so frustrated you start to hurl things? Anyone a hurler? I once saw my grandfather hurl a chainsaw It was still running I didn t say a thing. This is the comedy here things get so messed up, everybody is hurling chainsaws everywhere Until Jonah himself is hurled into the sea. And, in a wonderful moment of irony It turns out the most Godly people on this ship were the pagan sailors and they don t even know! If you look at verse 6, the pagan sea captain will say something that sounds very familiar literally, in Hebrew, he will say, Why are you sleeping? Get up and go - pray to your god. Does that sound at all familiar? Get up and go Remember, Jonah is trying to run away from God s Get up and go and a pagan sailor says the same words he heard from God: Get up and go!

7 -13- Imagine what a fun sense of humor has our God. Think you can run from me? Think you can go where no one will talk about me? Well, watch this: I can put my words in the mouth of a pagan sea captain, and he does! I wonder if Jonah s eye s got wide What did you just say? Of course, Jonah does NOT get up and pray He has a conversation with the pagan sailors in which Jonah admits, Look, I m a dead man either way. The God who made the sea and the land the God who is in charge, is after me. He s relentless. He ll either kill me in this ship or kill me in the sea. So, save yourselves and hurl me overboard. And it s a wonderful, ironic, somewhat humorous episode: These pagan sailors who should be far from God, turn out to be far more Godly than God s prophet: 1- They knew immediately this was no ordinary storm, they just didn t know why. 2- They knew you can t run away from God, they just didn t know which God was being run away from. 3- They re the ones who show compassion to a man who doesn t deserve it they risk their lives to get Jonah to shore even though they know he s guilty. 4- They know there s a god who is in charge, they just don t know who he is... AND The minute they discover who he is they give him their lives Which is really interesting, isn t it? Jonah was sent to get a bunch of pagans to repent that was his God-given mission. He doesn t want to do it But here he is shaking his fist at God and saying, I m so angry at you I won t do it! And what happens? A bunch of pagans repent! Even in Jonah s failure God is winning. Some of you know about this: This past Father s Day, I had a really unusual week preparing for my message: 1 there was a guy who was coming who I know is a skeptic Although we get along very well, he thinks of church and Christianity as kind of a failure He doesn t believe, and he knows I know he doesn t believe but he was coming. 2- I felt an unusual burden that week to give people an invitation to become followers of Jesus. I wrestled with it all week it wasn t the focus of the message; it didn t fit the message; it felt forced and awkward and I tho t, This is going to be one of those invitations where I look at a room full of blank faces and go home feeling like a failure. But it was a burden all week, so I decided I would: Maybe God is doing something in his life?

8 -15- So I go through the whole week praying for him, assuming God is up to something in his life. Well, he sat right in the middle of this side he actually fell asleep during the message which is not a great confidence-builder I was actually thinking Just skip the invitation. No one will ever know. 5 minutes before I get to the end, he gets up and leaves Had to get rid of some coffee, he said later. So here comes the invitation I m looking at his empty seat, thinking, I don t know why you wanted me to do this, but I believe you did so here we go maybe he can hear me in the lobby. So, looking at his empty seat I gave the invitation And 4 other people raised their hands, including 2 people I ve prayed for for a long time Right prayer wrong seat. Even when we re looking entirely in the wrong direction, God is winning. You can run from Jesus, but he s never going to run from you. 3 Sundays ago, had a funeral Joyce Stuart on a Sunday right after our service left here to do a service for Joyce in Emmaus Night before, Donna & I ate dinner on back porch and were reminiscing about Joyce During last year s Alzheimer s stole Joyce s memories Lose memories, in many ways, you lose your life. Donna: I want to show you something Got laptop & showed me blog she reads 2 men traveling interviewing Christian thinkers 1 started Regent Univ in Vancouver Retired early to care for wife. Early stages of Alzheimer s. Knows has very lucid times Carry on conversation & she did w/ 2 men & what it s like. Knows course disease will take & her future. Left to take a nap Returned didn t know who 2 men were & why there Told her & started all over again She said, This is my greatest fear. That someday when I forget everything, I will forget Jesus. Hub looked at her talking to 2 men said, And I always tell her, That s OK, Jesus will never forget you. You can run from Jesus, but he will never fun from you.