Jonah 1:7

Jonah chapter one I want to read the first seven verses our focus will be on verse seven now the word of the lord came unto jonah the son of a mitai saying arise go to ninava that great city and cry against it for their wickedness has come up before me but jonah rose up to flee unto tarshis from the presence of the lord and went down to joppa and he found a ship going to tarshis so he paid the fare thereof and went down into it to go with them unto Tarshus from the presence of the Lord. But the Lord sent out a great wind into the sea and there was a mighty tempest in the sea so that the ship was like to be broken. When the mariners, then the mariners were afraid and cried every man unto his God, cast forth the wares that were in the ship. into the sea to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship, and he lay and was fast asleep. So the shipmaster came to him and said unto him, him, what meanest thou, a sleeper? Arise. Call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not. And they said everyone to his fellow, come, let us cast lots. that we may know for whose cause this evil has come upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah. God blessed to us his sacred and holy word this morning. Whether we flip coins or we draw straws, or maybe you pull a number out of a hat, or maybe you pull a number out of a hat, resolving disputes. One of these methods is occasionally used to decide winners in elections that result in a tie. I read once about a city council election in Norman, Oklahoma, where the two leading candidates both got 140 votes. Instead of going through the expense of another election, they decided they were to just flip a coin. And whoever won the coin flip was going to be the one put on the council. Apparently, everybody accepted the outcome. Proverbs 1818 says, the lot causes contentions to cease and parteth between the mighty. Now most people would view all of this as a matter of random chance. Whatever comes up, playing the odds. But the amazing thing about flipping a coin or casting lots, is the Bible reveals that he is ultimately the one who controls the outcome. But the Bible says in Proverbs 1633, the lot is cast into the lap, but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord. This was true in the case of Jonah. as we find in our text this morning where God controlled the lot casting here of the unbelieving sailors to single out the prophet. Now what had these heathen sailors determined regarding this storm? Okay, they were zeroing in on a target here. This was highly unusual storm. This was not a lot of a storm. the normal fare and the ship is like to be broken apart we read and they’re casting all the wares over here overhead over the side and they’re praying to all their gods nothing’s working so they decide to do something here that’s interesting we got to get the guy who’s the cause of all this trouble we got to find out who is causing this trouble so what were they doing here by casting the lots. They’re going to fix the blame. They’re going to find out who is the blame for all this. And so this is what is taking place now on this ship. And in some ways it’s a little bit frightening for us because you may look at this and you see this storm which is very ferocious, supernatural. Verse 4 actually indicates that he hurled the storm. You know, it’s It’s a very strong storm that God has sent. And so the horrible judgment has to be the result of somebody who did something really bad. Someone’s going to pay for this. And we’re going to find out who it is. And that’s what this is all about. So they cast lots to discover the culprit. So one thing may be sinister or evil about this whole procedure. We don’t know. There’s a lot of, looking for a scapegoat. We don’t know what they’re going to do with the individual, but they’re singling them out. And so they have huddled together on deck with the sky dark and the storm raging and they’re casting lots. Now, what is a lot? Can you have any idea what we’re talking about here? Can anybody have any thoughts about what is a lot? Yeah, they’re either stones. Sometimes they’re made out of ankle bones of lamb or sheep or something of this nature where they make things that maybe have a dark side and a light side and they have a way of reading them. And so yes, it would be like sort of like rolling the dice, so to speak. Only they’re checking everybody out. Maybe they went through the names of the passengers. I don’t know how they, or the ship people, the sailors. We don’t know how they ended up a single and a gentleman out, but by some method, by rolling these dice or these lots, so to speak, they’re coming up with an answer. Now, what is revealed here about man’s thinking regarding divine judgment? Talk about here, they’re trying to find out for whose cause this evil has come upon us. But what is their thinking on this matter? Well, that’s what they want to do. My question probably needs to be more precisely. worded. I was thinking, you know, we’re taking it for granted and so that somebody did something that’s guilty before God, and therefore this is why this has happened. Somebody’s angered the Supreme Being. And somebody has done something bad in this life-threatening tempest as the result of God’s punishment for a serious offense. Now, what is interesting here is that you don’t see the sailors asking, is it I? Have I done anything wrong? Have you noticed that? The issue here is, it has to be really something bad for a judgment to come, and we’re not up to that level. Well, it has to be somebody must have done something really bad for this to occur. That’s what I was trying. I don’t know maybe I could have asked the question more precisely. It reminds me of a Family Circle comic I once read where the mom comes in the living room. Maybe Anna can appreciate this. It is a total disaster. It’s a real mess. You know, the chairs are out of place. The couch pillars are on the floor. Toys are scattered everywhere. Crayon, paper, scissors are lying around. The mom gets all the children together and said, who did this? And the all in unison say, not me. And in the next frame, you see this little ghost with a little caption on not me. And this is the way the sailors were acting. God couldn’t be punishing me. Not me. I’m not guilty as something this serious that this would occur. They know they were not saintly. They were probably a rough bunch of guys, but no doubt maybe even they would confess that they were sinners, but they don’t see themselves as deserving of any type of severe punishment from God. This had to be for somebody really bad. Really bad. Now, considering sailors and the mouth that they have and the language they use and so forth, you wonder how that could be. But most people today would confess, if you ask them, they would confess that they’re sinners, they’re not perfect, they do some things wrong, there’s nobody as good as they should be, and while acknowledging sinful defects in general, no one wants to find specific causes for God to be angry with them. I’m not that bad. I’m not so bad that God should cast me into hell or have his wrath fall upon me like this. Nobody wants to admit that they’re deserving of God’s wrath and doom. So real sin is viewed to something big and bad. You’ve got to be a serious killer, a child molester, a kidnapper, something of this nature, you know, Charles Manson or something. People think these kinds of sins that God would bother. These are the kinds of people ought to be cast into hell. But I, I have done nothing worthy of death. God shouldn’t be angry with me. When you start talking about God’s judgment against sin, people will tell you, well, I’m not really that bad. One time I was talking to someone at the gym, and the subject came up, her friend had died. She said, I don’t know why God took her at such a young age. She was such a good person. And you’re looking at this and you’re saying, you know, nobody is good. Nobody is good. It’s difficult because people don’t see sin as it really is. They don’t see the seriousness of their own sin. And so this is the problem. They think they deserve good treatment from God. Whenever like a typhoon comes through or a tsunami or something, thousands of people are getting killed and so forth, you hear people deny that God had anything to do with it because good God wouldn’t bring judgment like this upon innocent people. This is the kind of thinking that we have in our world today. It has to be reserved for some really bad people. So what does this tell us about man’s view of sin in general? Yes. As long as you’re not, you know, worse than the average guy, you must be okay. Can you think of the New Testament when we have an occasion like this came up, we have the same type of thinking? Well, he didn’t think he did anything. He thought he was pretty good. He kept the law. That’s not the one I was thinking of, but you’re right, in a way, in a sense, that’s like true too. He thought he was a pretty good person. Let’s look at Luke Chapter 13, verses 1 to 5. Somebody want to read that for us? Russell, thank you. They were present at that season, some that told him of the Galileans. His blood pilot had nimpled, and Jesus answering said unto that, because they suffered such things? I tell you, nay, but except you repent. you shall say, Siloamfeld. I tell you nay. You see the thinking that Jesus is combating here? Bad things happen to these groups of people because they had to be really bad sinners. Therefore, you know, they had their blood mingled with a sacrifice. Therefore, the tower fell on them. And Jesus is saying, no, unless you repent, you’re going to have severe judgment fall upon you. Do you think they’re worse sinners than others? And this is the issue we really, the same kind of idea I think you find here in John. They’re looking for somebody who really did something bad. They could point the finger at this person. We shouldn’t be casting lot for the chief of sinners. For yourself, you have earned the title. Right? Coming to Christ means confessing that God would be totally justified in casting you into hell, that you deserve. the punishment that he would meet out. Remember what Ezra said in Ezra 913 in his prayer. You have punished us less than our iniquities deserve. When trouble comes, the first question you need to ask is, what controversy may the Lord have with me? What is the Lord saying to me? That often isn’t the case. That’s what this elder should have done. Did you have something you wanted to ask? Maybe think of a Pharisee in the public. Yeah. What I want to point out is how typical this is. This is the common thinking of our day as well. Nothing new under the sun. It’s the kind of thinking we see today as well. And so, yes, it’s true. Jonas, fundamentally to blame. But we also said there are others that God is dealing with on this ship, too. And certainly we’re all deserving to perish under God’s wrath. So they’re casting a lot determined the guilty person here. And we find that God’s wrath is poured out against the sinner. If we understand sin properly, we’re going to realize that we come under that category and deserving of judgment as well. The second part here is the fact that Jonah is discovered by Lot as the cause of this evil. What does Jonah being detected as the guilty party reveal about sin? sin. Yes, your sin will find you out. Yeah. God makes it so. And we see it coming to pass here. The experience of Jonah is one of those examples that we have. He couldn’t escape detection and he’s exposed. When these pagan sailors cast a lot, they were doing it in probably more barbaric, superstitious manner. And yet God causes the lot to fall on Jonah. You know, man throws the dice, but God makes the spots come up. And that’s the way it is. So when you land on boardwalk and have to pay all the money out, God is the one that caused the dice to come up the way it came up. That’s his direction. You can imagine how Jonah felt at this moment. He’s been exposed. He, you know, he’s hiding away in the hole of the ship, and everything has come down on him very quickly. When you sin as a believer, the best course of action is to confess your sin immediately, to address that sin immediately. Because sin has a way of coming back to haunt you. You’re not going to get away with it. Every person who commits a crime has within his heart the hope that somehow they’re going to escape justice. Maybe they’ve carefully covered their tracks. Maybe they think they’re clever enough. But it’s clear in human history, everything has a cost, if not in this life and the one to come. There’s going to be a time when you’re going to have to give an account. The chickens come home to roost. Sin has a boomerang effect. Eventually, it comes back to you. You know, terrorists and ruthless dictators don’t tend to die in peace at a ripe old age. Thieves do not generally retire to Rio de Janeiro. to live out their lives in luxury. They’re either on the run constantly or eventually they get put behind bars. Wife beaters rarely go on to enjoy a happy home life in their old age with grandchildren and children around them. They usually die lonely, bitter, and unhappy. It is true that sometimes it seems like evil goes unpunished in this world. Or you may sin, and for a while, seems like nothing will happen. David went at least nine months after his sin with Bashiba before God dealt with him and sent Nathan. But man has to face the consequences of his sin. Does anybody remember where this phrase, Be sure your sin will find you how it comes from? We know it comes from the Bible, but I mean, you remember the story around it? It’s found in Numbers chapter 32. And the story is, remember when the Israelites were going to go into Canaan. They were camping across from Jericho. And God was going to cause them to go over the Jordan on dry ground, sort of like another Red Sea crossing. And three of the tribes, well, two and a half, you want to be technical, wanted to stay on the west, on the eastern side. They had found some nice cities and a great place for their sheep and cattle. and they said, we want to stay over here. We would like to go ahead and keep this part of the land. And this upset, Moses, he rightly rebukes them. He likens it to the sin of Israel 40 years earlier at Cadish Barnia. When Israel refused to enter the promised land and were sentenced to wander in the wilderness for 40 years, the whole generation of them died off. Moses doesn’t want to repeat of that. And so he gives them an option. He said, if Ruben Gad would help the rest of the Israelites subdue the Canaanites and also the half tribe of Manassah, then the Lord would give them Gilead for their inheritance. If you send your soldiers over and fight and help us conquer the land, then you can have the land here on the east side of the Jordan. And then he adds this warning. But if you will not do so, behold you, you have. sinned against the Lord and be sure your sin will find you out. Now, you made a promise. If you don’t keep it, God’s going to hold you accountable for this. And that’s where this phraseology comes from. It still echoes down through the halls of history. God’s going to deal with you in such a way that eventually your sins will be found out. there will be consequences to what you’ve done. Jonah is a warning to all of us in this. Now, let us think a moment about this whole issue of casting lots. What is the biblical teaching about casting lots? What can you tell me about the use of lots in the Old Testament? When were there occasions where there was a casting of lots? Anybody remember? Anything? Come the mind? Yes. They had the Urim and the Thumban, which is sort of, they had two stones. So I had some kind of. a similar connotation connected with it. Yes. Forget, is that used for the city of their refuge? They had to appeal to the elders of the city, I think, in order to be accepted in the city. So they would have to be, I don’t know if they would use. Oh, you know what? they may have, no, I think when they found a dead body, they measured to the various cities to see which one was the closest, and that one was the one that had to take responsibility for dealing with the issue. But they did use it for… Yes. Yes, when they were, yes, by lot they cast for the distribution of the land of Canaan. Remember Jonathan? When his father Saul made that oath for the whole army when they were fighting the Philistines, that they weren’t allowed to eat anything, and Jonathan not hearing it, because he had already started the victory by defeating the Philistines, by God’s help. And he tasted some honey while he was in the woods, and his kind of, countenance brightened, but they had to discover who was guilty here of violating the oath. And when they took lots, was it the lot was either for the army or it was for Saul or Jonathan. And it came up, Saul or Jonathan. And then they separated, you know, is it Jonathan or Saul? It came up, Jonathan. And he said, father said, what did you do? And he had eaten the honey, but he didn’t realize that that was the case. determining the scapegoat for the sacrificial, remember the sacrifice, one would be a scapegoat and one would be sacrificed then. How they determined that was by lot. And so you find that in Leviticus 16. So there’s a solemn appeal at times where they’re looking to God to give them direction and they use the Lord. lot to do that. However, you could have used the lot to actually try to overthrow God’s will. It can be used in a very wicked manner. Who else used lots? Who used it in a book of Esther? Yes. Well, Haman used the lot system to figure out what would be the best month to attack the Israelites and kill them because he was going to slaughter them in the whole kingdom. And you remember that God made it come up the last month so that they had time to deal with the issue. If it’d come up right away, if it came up that month, they might have been able to kill them off, but they had time to react and ask her to go in and appeal to the king and so forth. But that was evil because he was trying to destroy the people of God. And you mentioned that I was going to ask about the New Testament use. We see the evilness of casting lots for Christ’s garments at the cross. There. Now, in the New Testament, the practice of casting lots to discern God’s will practically disappears. You don’t see it as much. There’s only one case that I think is using a positive light in the New Testament. Does anybody know what case that was? Yes. Yes. Usually, when you’ll find, if you go through the Acts and some of the epistles, you see that when they were voting for elders, where they were selecting elders, they voted. There was a raising of hands. There was some type of vote that took place. But why wasn’t that the case with an apostle? Right. They had to be chosen by God. So this is one of those, that’s why they cast lots for the replacement for Judas. And so we find that in the New Testament. But we don’t find it very often mentioned in the New Testament. When we have the New Testament, we have the, the completed scriptures where it’ll rely on the scriptures to guide us and direct us. Now, are there occasions where you could use the lot in a positive way? Yeah, it’s possible that you could, but we wouldn’t be selecting, you know, we don’t select elders by lot, we select it by qualification. We look at the qualifications. We see if God is gift to anybody, and if they make the qualifications, then they can be voted in by the congregation. The people can vote on this individual. to be their representative. So we don’t use lot to do that. We look at qualifications. I suppose if you were a general of an army and you had to assault an enemy’s stronghold and it might be a bloody situation and you had had various regiments that you were going to send in, you may possibly decide to do it by lot so that you’re not, you’re personally not the one that’s selected which one’s going to be in the the tip of the spear and it’s going to take the brunt of the attack. I suppose if we were going to give a prize and we wanted to, you know, do something fairly, you could do it with regard to that, a randomly selected prize or parking arrangements or something. You could do it in a simple manner. But certainly it would be an unlawful thing for a group of men to stand around or, kneel around with a sum of money and a common pool and be casting lots and gambling over the pot. So God has basically indicated to us in the New Testament we should just use this scripture to guys. There may be occasions that we could use a lot when it’s a matter of it’s not covered by scripture or something of this nature, but it’s not something we should be commonly doing. Let’s see, didn’t work out well. We see it didn’t work out well for them. Well, as Raydon pointed out, when I mentioned before, that’s true. It’s kind of ironic. Does God’s sovereign? See, here’s where a person should be studying the scriptures and determine what the scriptures say, not be casting lots to determine which way I’m going to go. And so, yeah. Let me mention a couple of things here, and as I wind this up here. We see here that Jonah, he gets awakened and he’s told to pray, but he’s not really in the mood to pray. The passage doesn’t tell us how Jonah responded to the captain’s request for him to pray. However, it seems like he was more silent than anything here. He’s still a rebel against God’s command. And prayer is an appeal to God to accomplish things that he has promised, and he doesn’t want God to accomplish what he’s promised, which he thinks is going to be the repentance of none of them. So he’s not. and in a mood to say thy will be done here. And he sort of has shut the door of prayer and locked it tight. There’s not a submissive spirit in Jonah at this point. Oh, he will pray. God’s going to put him in the mood to pray, but he’s not in the mood yet. But God’s an omniscient God. We dare not approach him with known disobedience that we’re not willing to confess. I’m not willing to address by the very attempt to pray in such a case would be like an insult to God. yet God will not leave a believer in such a condition. Isaiah 515 says, I will go and return into my place till they acknowledge their offense and seek my face. and their affliction, they will seek me early. That’s how God works. God often does the same thing in your life. and mind will become cold and indifferent to the things of God. And he brings affliction to us. He brings us to our knees to confess our sin and repent. It puts us in the right spirit of prayer. And so we begin to seek his face. Any other thoughts on this particular passage of scripture that you can think of that may be of benefit to us this morning? Let’s close with a word.