I don't want to allegorize the story of Jonah, but there are lessons we can learn from him about what it means to resist joining God to reach the nations. It would be going too far to see parallels in story details like his "paying the fare" (supposed lesson: it costs to disobey the Lord), or like his going "down" to Joppa (supposed lesson: disobedience always takes us down). But some details illustrate clear spiritual principles. Let's consider one today.
In chapter one verse three it says, "But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord" (NIV, italics added). The spiritual principle taught in these emphasized words is that rejection of the Lord's call is a rejection of the Lord Himself.
In previous posts I have demonstrated that God's eternal purpose, as revealed in His Word, is to reconcile all peoples in the world with Himself. This aim is not just a part of His plan; it's the main point. Some might argue that God's purpose is to reveal His glory so that man's purpose becomes "to glorify God and enjoy Him forever," in the words of the Westminster Shorter Catechism. But for His glory to be revealed to its fullest extent, it must reach "every nation, tribe, people and language" (Rev. 7:9). The Great Commission was not an afterthought, something Jesus tacked on to His ministry at the end as if He were saying, "Oh, by the way, there has been something I've been meaning to tell you but it has slipped my mind. I've got something I want you to do that will keep you busy until I get back." No, as I have tried to show in the previous posts, all the Word focuses on all the world.
A soldier who refuses to obey an order does so only by rebelling against his superior's authority. But perhaps we can see the consequences of not joining God in His purpose by thinking of a more loving relationship. Suppose a woman wishes to marry a man who has a passion for sports and whose life goal is to become a professional athlete then later a coach. But she doesn't care for sports. Now you may argue that they can still have a happy relationship, but can they really become one as God intended for husband and wife to be? If she refuses to have anything to do with sports, isn't she rejecting an important part of who her husband is? Or think of a son whose father is a master mechanic. If that son has nothing to do with cars and engines, won't he miss out on many opportunities to be close to his dad? So we cannot draw close to our heavenly Father unless what interests Him interests us.
If our heart is truly linked to God's heart, we will have the same heart for the nations that He does. If we don't have a passion for the nations, then we don't share His passion. To ignore His purpose is a rebuff to His person. Let us pray today that our hearts will become aligned with His.
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