Shabbat Shalom everyone. I'd like you today to take your Bibles and we are going to begin today to talk about the prophet Yonah or Jonah as we are calling him in English but his Hebrew name is Yonah, Yonah Hanavi, the prophet Yonah and I would like you to turn with me please to Jonah chapter 1. It's a short book. It is part of the minor prophet even though we call him a minor prophet, he has a major lesson to teach us as believers in Yeshua the Messiah. So I'm reading Jonah chapter 1, beginning from verse 1. Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah, the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it.

For the wickedness is come up before me. But Yonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. And he went down unto Yafu and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare thereof and went down into it to go with them unto Tarshish 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. Then the mariners were frayed and cried every man unto his God, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them.

But Yonah 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, What meanest thou, O sleeper? Arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not. I stop now with the reading of Jonah chapter 1. I could carry on and read the rest of the book of Jonah. All those four chapters that we have there because there is a wonderful lesson for us. Just by reading this passage, the Spirit of God takes the Word of God and encourages us to see the ways in which God is dealing with His own people.

The ways in which God is speaking to mankind, the ways in which God is in full control of the affairs of this man, of mankind here in this world. This is what we learn here from the book of Jonah. But I would like, brothers and sisters, to give a little bit of introduction to the book of Jonah, because it is exceedingly important to get some foundation of what does the Spirit of God trying to teach our nation Israel in the past and the believers in Yeshua the Messiah in this present-day dispensation. Now, we begin with, first of all, by turning to one or two verses in the New Testament that we often use when we read an Old Testament passage.

Turn with me, first of all to Romans chapter 15 and this is very important for us when we read an old testament prophecy or a prophet that he wrote or an event that occurred in history of our nation Israel it is important to see what this Hebrew apostle by the name of Shaul Paul wrote to the Roman believers he said to them in Romans chapter 15 he says to them in verse 4 listen what the apostle Paul had said, for whatsoever things were written a full time, were written for our. Learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scripture might have hope. Paul said to the local believers at Rome, he says, listen, whatever were written in the past history of our nation Israel.

Whatever was written a full time was written for our believers today for our learning. Why? So we will learn to have the patience that through patience and the comfort of the Scripture we might have hope. So when we read the first chapter of the prophet Jonah will learn immediately that what God had spoken through the experience of Jonah it was really written for you brothers and sisters and for me in this present dispensation of the church age not only that he said this to the Romans but he did also said in first Corinthians chapter 10 in verse 11 he said to the corinthian believers these words for all these things happen unto them for an example and they are written for our admonition upon whom the end of the age are come in other words the apostle Paul Shaul is saying to the Corinthians here in 1 Corinthians 10 and verse 11 is that whatever happened unto them, namely Israel, the Jewish.

People, the Hebrews, whatever happened to our own nation historically, becoming an example and they are written for our present day dispensation, admonition. So you and me, believers in this church age this assembly age this ecclesia age we learn from that because everything was written as an example to admonish us to correct us to instruct us and to lead us that's the first point we learn in connection with a prophet yonah secondly i want to mention here by way of introduction, that the prophet Yonah becoming prophetically a type of the nation of Israel. What we read in the history of Yonah, as we're going to go through these four chapters, we will learn that in a very vivid way, Yonah, Jonah, is a type of the nation of Israel.

First of all, in his rebellion and disobedience to the word of God, we see how in a type he really became a picture of the disobedience of our own nation Israel but at the same time in the second call of God and commission of God to Yonah we find out the fact that God had restored him and what is seen here in a picture form is the restoration of our nation Israel in the coming days and Yonah by virtue of his life become a type of the nation of Israel our own nation who will one day will be restored even though today they are in a state of disobedience thirdly I want to mention here in connection with the prophet Yonah is the name Jonah the name Yonah in Hebrew simply means dove it is first mentioned in the Bible in relationship to a dove if you remember that Noah sent the dove in Genesis chapter 8 and verse 8 out of the ark to see if the flood is gone down.

And if it's calm whether he can come out of the ark into this new world and the meaning of the word Jonah, Jonah, simply means dove, and there is a character that the Bible teaches us concerning the dove. It was Yeshua the Messiah that said to his disciples, if you remember in Matthew chapter 10, if you just stand there in Matthew chapter 10, and look what Yeshua said to his disciples in Matthew 10 and verse 16 Yeshua said to his disciples behold I sent you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves be therefore wise as the serpents and harmless as a dove the dove's character is being really taught to us in Scripture that the dove speaks to us of that which is harmless and peaceful oftentimes you find out people sending doves out as symbolically that speaks of peace speaks of harmlessness speaks of calmness but what we learn in the life of the prophet yonah Jonah that though his name speaks of a dove that is harmless but in his nature he was not very harmless.

He was not very obedient in his nature he rebelled against God and that shows us that even though his name represent harmlessness the nature of Yonah which is a picture of your nature and mine is sinful and rebellious and unless God curb it unless we judge it we will continue on in our own rebellion in our own self-will and though his name meant harmless and peaceful he was not always behaving so and we know it very well in the life of each and every one of us we might have names like shalom means peace but one is not always peaceful and like other names we have in Scripture that we are not always living up to the name that God had given to us because the old nature, the sin nature that we all have, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

The next thing that we want to learn, and now I would like you to turn with me to the book of Kings into 2 Kings chapter 14. Will you please turn with me to 2 Kings chapter 14? And here we find out about Jonah the prophet. We don't read in the book of the prophet itself about the history of Jonah, who he was, where did he come from, how did he enter into the ministry of being a prophet. We don't read it in the book of Jonah. But what we do read is in 2 Kings chapter 14 and verse 25 about the ministry of Jonah. In fact, I'm going to read 2nd King chapter 14, verse 23, 24, and 25.

It says, In the fifteenth year of Amaziah, the son of Yoash, king of Judah, Jeroboam, the son of Yoash, the king of Israel, began to reign in Samaria. He reigned for forty-one years, and he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord. He departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nevat, who made Israel to sin. Now listen to verse 25. He restored the cost of Israel from the entering of Hamat unto the sea of the plain, according to the word of the Lord God of Israel, which he spake by the hand of his servant Jonah, or Yonah, the son of Amittai, the prophet, which was of Gat-Chefer.

Now here, beloved brothers and sisters, we find out the period of time in the history of our nation Israel in which Yonah was ministering and prophesying. Apparently, Yonah was ministering and prophesying to the northern tribes of Israel. He was from Galilee. And he was prophesying in the time of Jeroboam II. There were two Yeroboam Kings of Israel to our own nation, Israel, the northern kingdom. Two of them, Yeroboam I was the first king of Israel. He rebelled against the Lord, the God of Israel, and he led the northern kingdom astray. He introduced a new system of worship in the north of Israel. He introduced the golden calf there, and the people of Israel, our own nation, the northern kingdom, end up worshipping idols, ending up worshipping the golden calves.

And instead of allowing the ten tribes to come to Judah, to the city of Jerusalem, and to worship there, he didn't want them to go, and he retained them in the north, and he built altars in Bethel, and altars in Dan, and they end up offering sacrifices in the wrong places. That's Yeruvam the first but then Yeruvam the second came and Yeruvam the second was not better because it says here in verse 23 in the 15 years of Amaziah the son of Yoash the king of Judah Yeruvam the son of Yoash king of Israel began to reign in Samaria and he reigned 41 years and listen to these brothers and sisters in verse 24 he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord he did not depart from the sins of yeroban the son of nevat who made Israel to sin in other words he continued in a wrong way in leading the nation astray in worshiping idols in following after other gods in offering sacrifices in a wrong place and at that time yonah hanavi Jonah the prophet was speaking and prophesied to the northern kingdom it says here that he this is jeroboam the second he restored the coast of Israel from the entering of hamat this is there in the north unto the sea of the plain this is the dead sea according to the word of the Lord God of Israel.

Which he spake by the hand of his servant, Jonah. Jonah is called his servant. He was the servant of God, the servant of Jehovah, the servant of the Lord, and he used him to minister to the northern kingdom. And then it says that his father's name is called Amittai. Notice that it says in verse 25, Jonah, the servant, Jonah, the son of Amittai. In the Hebrew, the word Amittai or Amiti comes from the word Emet, truth. In other words, what we read, Jonah, his name is Hamlet, the son of truth. Apparently, his father's name was Amittai. And Amittai comes from the word for Amiti, Emet, truthful.

So, Yonah was actually a servant of the Lord, whose father's name was truth, and the name was supposed to characterize the person as harmless and gentle, a man who is harmless and gentle, the son of the truth. And apparently, he was from a place which is called Gat Hefer, the Hebrew word for Gat Hefer, Gat is a place where you press the olive. It's an olive press. Hefer is where you dig. Apparently that place was named Gat Hefer. Apparently they dug the olive press there in that northern place in that city. This city, Gat Hefer, is about a few miles away from the city of Nazareth where Yeshua, the Messiah, was ministering.

Yeshua was born in Bethlehem, but he lived in Nazareth, very close to Gat Hefer, where was the city of Jonah the prophet. Very interesting. Now, one more thing I want to mention in connection with that name, Gath Hefer. And please turn with me now to the Gospel of John, chapter 7 and verse 52, just that we can get some of this information before us. It's very important. The leaders of our nation, Israel, who did not want to recognize that Yeshua was the Messiah, said, in a sense, in rejection of Yeshua. Look what they said at the end of chapter 7. And Nicodemus, in verse 50, said to them, He that came to Yeshua by night, being one of them right now, Nicodemus said unto them, unto the rulers, He says, Does our law judge any man before it hears him?

And know what he doeth? In other words, our law doesn't judge anyone before he hears that person. He's speaking concerning Yeshua, the Messiah. And so he says doesn't know to our law doesn't judge any man before it heals the person and he knows what he's doing and look at the way they answer him and you can see that they were wrong in their answer when they said in verse 52 unto him art thou also of Galilee search and look for out of Galilee arises no prophet. Now they were wrong, because 2nd King chapter 14 and verse 25 shows us very clearly that there was a prophet who rose out of Galilee, and his name was Yonah.

Because as we read in 2nd King chapter 14 and verse 25, we read that he spoke according to the word, the Lord God of Israel, which he spake by the hand of his servant, Yonah, the son of Amittai, the prophet, which was of Gath Hefer, which is very close to Nazareth, a few miles, three miles or so, and that is clearly in Galilee. But you see, the Galileans were not considered very important because they were not from the city of Jerusalem, from the Judean mountains and the hills where God set his name there and therefore any prophet who came out of Galilee like Jonah was not recognized or looked upon and that's why they could say they said to him you search and you look for out of Galilee arises no prophet but they were wrong because you're not a prophet did come from God which is in Galilee next beloved brothers and sisters by way of introduction here where we learn about Jonah.

Jonah the prophet prophesies at the time where Yeruvam II was the king of the. North, the king of Israel. It's about 824 BC to 783 BC. Some suggest between 800 BC to 700 BC. Some were there in these hundred years. And when we think about it, this is about 750 years before Yeshua the Messiah came. Like Isaiah about 750 years before Yeshua the Messiah came. He was prophesying in the north of Israel in the time of Jeroboam the second. And that is also very significant because apparently whatever he spoke came to pass. Because Jeroboam the second have done something that God said through Jonah that it will come to pass. And that is very interesting as well.

And so Gat Hefer, he speaks about the olive press that had been dug, and that's where Yonah came from, about a few miles away from the city of Nazareth. Now a couple of things more that I want to mention before I'm going to go to the actual verses about Jonah, the time that he prophesied. When did he prophesy? You know, when Yonah prophesied, he prophesied in a period of time where the northern Israeli tribe were in a state of prosperity. Everything is great. They had many things. They had tremendous outward prosperity. They had many things that they possessed. They were well-to-do at that time. And you know how it is when they were well-to-do and things are going well and very little problems, if you will, and it sounds like, wow, who need God at this time?

And God used Yonah to speak to a proud nation in a time of prosperity. That's why the apostle John said to the church of Laodicea, that is where the Lord spoke in the book of the Revelation at the end of chapter 3, he says, you are rich, you say that you are rich and you have a need of nothing, and you will see that I will spill you out of my mouth, he said to the church of Laodicea. And Jonah, Jonah the Proven, had prophesied exactly to these kind of people in the same kind of condition. I don't need God. I don't need the things of the Lord in my life.

I'm fine. I'm well-to-do. Everything is fine with my family. Things are well. I got my house. I got my car. I got my this. I got my that. And I don't need God in my life. And Jonah was prophesying in a time where the nation was prosperous. And I remember what we read through David in the book of Psalm. When riches increase, set not your heart upon them. Remember the Lord in a time of need and in a time where your needs are met. We always do remember the Lord. And it was King Solomon that they've said already in his writings, Remember thy Creator in the day of thy youth.

Don't forget God when things are well. Don't forget God, because things are not always going to be well. And God will have to discipline his people who turn away from him. And then another suggestion concerning the time when Jonah was preaching, he was also preaching not only in a time where Israel was tremendously prospered, but he was preaching in a time where they had very sad spiritual condition. Look at us today. We have so much physically, but we have so little spiritually. Look at the world, the Christian world today. We have been so blessed with so much material things, but we are so poor when it's come to our spiritual life.

We are in poverty when it's come to our spiritual life. And God used Yonah to present his message, which was really not a message in his life, To show in a time such as this, but before the book of Jonah, he was preaching to the nation of Israel in a time of prosperity, but also in a time of poor spiritual condition. We also learn here about Jonah the prophet, that Jonah the prophet spoke in a time where he knew that a judgment was coming. Already Amos, the prophet, already prophesied and he said God used Amos, the prophet, to speak about the judgment that is coming upon Israel.

And therefore Jonah knew that the judgment was coming upon the nation of Israel and he knew even who is going to be judging Israel. The Assyrians are going to come and will judge the nation of Israel because of Israel's disobedience. And will take them captive, and it will be very cruel to the nation of Israel, very aggressive with the nation of Israel, and he knew that. That's the time when Jonah was prophesying to the northern kingdom. Now, the next thing by way of introduction, please bear with me. In the story of Jonah, and in the life of Jonah, we learn another thing concerning Jonah as being a type of the nation of Israel, because Israel were called to be a light to the Gentiles.

And we will learn that Jonah, Yonah, did not want to go to preach the message to the Gentile world, to the goyim. Israel, our nation, was called to be or la goyim, light to the nations. But they failed. We failed in that. Later on in the future, God will use Israel to be or la goyim, light to the Gentiles. But in Jonah, we see the same thing, beloved brothers and sisters, that he did not, in his first call by God to go to preach to Nineveh, he did not want to go there because of violation of the Word of God. And then as we draw on to the end, from the book of Jonah, we learn other things that are very important, that God is the God of all creation.

He's in full control. Whatever you'll see as we study that book of Jonah, you'll see that God is ultimately controlling everything that's happening in the life of mankind. He's in full control of everything that's going on in this world. We are not to be surprised and not to be wondering what's going on in the world today because God is in full control like we will see it in the book of Jonah, Yonah Hanavi. The next thing we find out in connection with this book is that God is not willing that any should perish. Like we have it in the Brit HaChadashah, the Apostle said this, that the Lord is not willing that any should perish.

God loves the world. He gave the Messiah Yeshua, the son, to this world. He is not willing that any should perish. And by sending Yonah to the people of Nineveh, he wanted to reach out for this city. The wicked city, he wanted to reach out to this city. And finally, by way of introduction concerning the book of Yonah, is that we learn there that God is always faithful to his servants, to his people. Even though you and I sometimes, and maybe more than sometimes, disobey Him, violate His Word, God is a God of a second chance. Not a second chance after death, but a second chance in our life as we live here today.

When we have gone astray and gone the wrong way, even as believers, He's always ready to restore us, always ready to bring us back to Himself, always ready to use us again after shaping us and molding us. He is a God who is willing to restore His people. He is a faithful God to His servants. And that is very encouraging for us as we study here the book of Jonah. And just before I'm going to move to the verses themselves, we read earlier the passage in Matthew chapter 12, and this is very precious, is that many critics of the book of Jonah do not believe that the book of Yonah is really the word of God because they don't believe certain of the miracles that happen in the life of Jonah.

And by desiring to swift this, to reject it, and to set it aside, they said there was no such a thing as a man by the name of Jonah. There were no such events that occur in the life of this man of Yonah. They are fairy tales. They are not real. Well, thank God we have the words of Yeshua the Messiah. In Matthew chapter 12, which we have read earlier, and we're going to read that again a little bit later, brothers and sisters in Matthew. And I want to read these verses in Matthew chapter 12, what Yeshua himself said about the prophet Yonah in Matthew chapter 12. And I'm reading this verse.

Yeshua said in verse 39, he answered unto them and he said, an evil and adulterous generation that's seeking after a sign, there shall no sign be given unto it but the sign of the prophet Yonah. For as Yonah was three days and three nights in the fish's belly, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh shall arise in judgment with this generation and shall condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, a greater than Jonah is here. Those who are the critics who reject to accept the book of Jonah may say whatever they wish, but we will take the word of the Lord Yeshua the Messiah concerning the prophet Jonah, and we better trust what the Lord Yeshua the Messiah said rather than to take sides with those that reject the message of the prophet Jonah.

So, brothers and sisters, Jesus just had to be given in order for us to introduce this book of Jonah. And so please now turn to chapter 1, where we have read, and let's begin by dealing with the first few verses. And look how the book began. We don't read about the history of who Jonah is, nothing about his parents, his background, nothing here. We only read that in verses 1 and 2, the first commission of God to Jonah, in verses 1 and 2. Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it, for the wickedness is come before me.

Here is the first commission of the Lord to his servant yonah and God is just simply telling Jonah he says listen Jonah verse 2 arise and go to nineveh that great city and cry against it because their wickedness has come before me now very interesting because here in this whole book we don't read about Jonah preaching to Israel and saying to them listen one day is going to happen now. Repent from your evil ways and turn to the Lord and follow the Lord. In the future, the Messiah will come. We don't read in this book of Jonah ever speaking to his own nation or what we find out that he was called by God to go outside of the nation, to the neighboring nation.

And so the Lord spoke to Jonah, again, as I remember it, his name is Jonah, the son of Amittai, the son of truth. And he's saying to him, arise and go to that great city. Now, in verse 2, there are a few things that we learn. There are a few things that I mention here in verse 2 that we want to point out. First of all, Jonah, at this time, was called to go to a city of Nineveh, and it was a city that belonged to the Gentile nation. It was not part of our nation, Israel. It says here, it was a great city. The word great city speaks about it was a large city.

If you just turn to chapter 3 for a moment in the book of Jonah in verse 3, we find out that he went unto Nineveh according to the word of the Lord. Now, Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days journey. In other words, if you're going to cross that city or get into the center of that city, it was a long journey of three days. It was such a huge city, the city of Nineveh and some suggest that it was a link between three cities that's why we have this expression three day long to reach to the center or to cross over to the other side of that city that's what we find out in that verse and by the way Nineveh was the capital city of Assyria, and it was a huge city.

In fact, the Bible suggests that Nineveh had wall that was. About 40 or 50 feet high surrounding that city, and that it was around eight miles right around the city itself. Now, can you imagine in those days to have such a large city as the city of Nineveh. Some suggest and some said that the city wall had 15 main gates in the city of Nineveh. Each gate had a stone statues of bulls and inside and outside of the wall was a beautiful garden and a zoo. It was a huge city, beautiful city, tremendous high walls, 15 gates. It was a secured city you would say the next thing we find out in verse 2 is that God said to Jonah not only you go to that great city he said to him in verse 2 that they to cry against the city of Nineveh again I'm pointing out to verse 2 arise go to Nineveh that great city secondly cry against it the Hebrew word call upon it the word is really suggests a coming judgment cry against it well why is it to cry against it well the next statement says why look what it says in verse 2 see now for their wickedness has come up before me their wickedness have risen up before God apparently the kind of life that was lived in that city of Nineveh was wickedness and sin idolatry all kind of immoralities that have existed there and there was all kind of drunkenness.

Everything that was going on in the city of Nineveh all these wickedness rose up before God and God saw it do you think God does not see what's going on today in the world in which we live in he sees everything he sees what's going on in the world in cities in countries in various he sees everything and notice he's saying to Jonah it rose up it came up before me he sees everything and he sent his servant to go to cry against the city of Nineveh that expression arose up i think is good for us to see that it's not only that wickedness rises up before God but also the prayers of the saints now if you turn to James in a new testament for a moment in chapter 5 of the book of James the book of Yaakov in the brit hachadasha we read those verses as well where people are being oppressed and they cry from heaviness of heart that rises up before God.

Look what it says in verse 4 of James 5. Behold the hire of the laborers who have. Ripped down your fields which is of you kept back by fraud. They crying and the cries of them which have ripped are entered into the ears of the Lord of Tsevaot. In other words, God hears the cry of man who suffers here in this world, and he hears it, and it rises up towards him. But also the wickedness of man rises up towards God. He can see it, and he's going to judge it. On the other hand, those that cry for help from the Lord, he's going to assist them.

He's going to bring them an answer the cry of them, rise up before me, come up before me. So apparently God is going to send Jonah, his servant, to go to that city of Nineveh in order to cry and to warn them because judgment is coming. And that is what the message of the prophet is, is to speak to the nations of the world, to speak to the world and cause them to repent and turn to God. So what does Jonah do now? That's interesting, because in the next verse, we find the servant's disobedience. Jonah made a choice, and the choice was disobedience. And this is what we learn in verse 3.

But, you notice that word, but? But Jonah rose to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. And he went down to Jaffo, and he found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare thereof, and he went down into it to go with them into Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. Now, this is something that is amazing. Here is a servant, a saved, we can say it in the New Testament language. He was a believer, a saved servant of God. And he's making a choice, conscientious choice. God told me to go to Nineveh, I'm not going to go to Nineveh. God told me to go to Nineveh, which is in the east.

I'm going to go to another place called Tarshish, which is in the west. I'm going to go in the opposite direction. That tells us what a child of God can do, what a servant can do. Instead of obeying the word of God and following what God is asking him or her to do, he makes a conscientious choice and he goes in a wrong direction. Now these verses are very interesting because it says that Jonah rose up you would think he would rose up to follow what the Lord gave him the instruction like Abraham you remember when God said to Abraham you take thy son thy only son whom thy lovest and offer him on mount moiah as a sacrifice for me and he says that Abraham rose up early in the morning and he went as an obedient servant but what does yonah does exactly the opposite he rise up yes but instead of going to nineveh to this wicked city he flee or he thinks that he flee and to a place that is called tarshish from the presence of the Lord that word tarshish is actually is a port on the coast of spain and he actually went west instead of east and so he's fleeing from the presence of the Lord but remember brothers and sisters and ladies and gentlemen that no one can ever flee from the presence of the Lord now there is the presence of the Lord God of Israel in the city of Yerushalayim.

In the shekinah glory found in the temple in the city of Jerusalem where God's manifest presence is there but there is also the presence of the Lord that is everywhere God is not limited to one location because God is everywhere turn to the book of Psalms for a moment Psalm 139 and verse 7 David said this of old about the Lord about the God of Israel David says in verse 7 of Psalm 139 He says, hold me? If I say surely the darkness shall cover me, even the night shall be light about me. He continued to say in verse 12, yeah, the darkness hides not from thee, but the night shineth as the day.

The darkness and the light are both alike to thee. You know, we can't run from the presence of the Lord. We cannot hide from the presence of the Lord. You see, we may think that God does not see we may think that God does not know but he knows everything David said of all search me oh Lord and know my heart try me and all my thoughts and see if there is any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting he knows everything but Jonah he fled went westward instead of eastward in disobedience as a servant of Jehovah the servant of the Lord in disobedience he flee into a place that is called tarshish from the presence of the Lord he might fled from the immediate presence of the Lord in the land of Israel but he never could flee from the presence of God who knows everything and he's everywhere he's omnipresent he's everywhere.

He's all-powerful omnipotent he's everywhere and have all power and he's omniscience he knows everything no one can flee from him but Jonah he rose up he went unto tarshish westward from the presence of the Lord now notice beloved brothers and sisters very interesting verse here in verse three the word down is mentioned twice in fact if you go on to verse five it's mentioned a third time the words down every time we go away from God it is always a downward course when we go up to the city of Jerusalem where God's name is said this is always up this is upward spiritually going upward but when we turn away from God and we go away from him we end up always downward course we can never enjoy the blessings of God when we turn away from here and Jonah look we find out that he rose up fled to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord and he went down unto Jaffa and he found sheep going to Tarshish and he paid the fare thereof and he went down into it.

To go out unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord he is going downward course away from God away from his God who called him for this service. Now, look what happened. He's going down to Yafo, and he found a ship going to Tarshish. It just happened that he found a ship. Now, you might think it's a coincidence, but it seems to be that the Lord is in full control. And not only this, beloved brothers and sisters, Satan is always there to assist us to go away from the Lord. He always makes things just right so you can go and get further and further from God.

It seemed to be that he set situation in our life that will help us to go astray from God. We can see the work of the enemy at the same time here because look what it says. He went down to Jaffa and he just found a ship. Listen, you go even today with all the hustle and bustle that's going on in the ports, you just don't find ships just like this that are ready to take you someplace far away. Look at the second thing you find here in verse 2 it says and he paid the fare thereof now funny that he had now the means to pay for the fare and someone even suggested that could it be possible that there would be no room at the ship and perhaps somebody came to him and he came and he was standing there to buy the tickets and they told him it was full but all of a sudden somebody come he says hey listen i'm canceling my trip to tarshish oh you need a trip Jonah here fine in other words the enemy will make it possible for us and will make a way for us when we are in the flesh to go astray from the Lord and everything seems to be fine oh everything is working out i go to yafo there is a ship ready oh i need to have the means to pay i have the means to pay or if there is room or no room don't worry the Satan will make it possible for us to go.

Astray and then it says here that he went down to it now he went down into that ship and again it's not only down to yafo but it's down into the ship and he doesn't even recognize at least at this point that there is a price that he's going to have to pay because of his disobedience and not only him because others he's going to drag along with him when he's gone astray gone away from obedience to the God that called him brothers and sisters disobedience always have a price look at the verse that i made a note for here in Numbers chapter 32 verse 23 the Lord is speaking through Moses to our nation Israel in verse 23 he says if ye will do not so behold you have sinned against the Lord and be sure your sin will find you out you know sometimes we carry on in our lives and we don't recognize and don't realize that our sin our ongoing sin will find us out there's a price to pay and Jonah's sin and rebellions against God proved it.

You remember what Paul said in Roman 6 verse 23 the wages of sin is death not only the physical death but there are deadly results that are going to come out of it and here we see how clearly Yonah by violating the word of God by allowing himself to have his own will of disobedience he finding himself going down to Yafo down into the ship and down on a way to Tarshish away from the presence of the Lord. Now obedience on the other hand I don't want to dwell only on disobedience but obedience on the other hand bring blessings obedience always bring blessings obedience lead people the people of God to act to do things that are pleasing to God the apostle Paul told to Timothy fight the good fight first Timothy chapter six in first corinthian chapter six he said flee youthful lust action obedience in John we read in chapter 12 follow me to follow that which is right 1st Timothy again Paul said hold fast to that what you know hold it get a hold of it and keep it.

And use it for the glory of the Lord for the blessings and then there are so many other things that we can read in the Scripture concerning the action of believers in obedience we read in Scripture we are to pray without ceasing in action of prayer first Thessalonians chapter 5 act upon it do it obey it the other verses can read to put on and to put off like we study in the book of Ephesians when we obey the Lord we will put on the new man and we'll put off that old man so there's a difference between obedience and disobedience we see here but here in the case of the servant of the Lord, it was clear-cut disobedience to God, which led him down to Jaffo, down to be able to pay the price, the fare, down into the ship, and ultimately seeking to flee, as it said at the end of verse 3, to Tarshish, from the presence of the Lord.

But he can't flee from the presence of the Lord, because the Lord is there to see everything that is going. On in the life of Jonah. Well, let's move on a little bit for a few more minutes into chapter 1. In verses 4 to 16, we have Jonah at sea with their merriness. You look at the consequence of disobedience. When Jonah disobeyed, others have paid a price along with him. I'm reading verses 4, 5, and 6, the trouble at sea. Look, it says here, 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.

Then the mariners were afraid, and they cried, every man unto his God, and cast forth the waters that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah, here he is going down again. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship, and he laid there fast asleep. So we read here in verse 6, So the shipmaster came to him and he said to him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? Arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us that we perish not. Now look at the consequences of the disobedience that Jonah now brought upon, not only upon himself, dear brothers and sisters, but others have suffered because of Jonah's disobedience.

In verse 4, first of all, we find out that God is in full control. And it says here that the Lord sent out a great wind. It was sent by God. It's not only the natural wind that came from the air and on the sea. It was sent by God. It was by divine design that he's sending the wind. Here we can see God who is in full control. By the way, the word to send out in Hebrew is hetil. It's almost like casting. You are throwing the wind into the situation. God put the wind into the situation right there at sea where Jonah was at the bottom of the ship.

He threw in as if it were that wind. The word is lehatil, to put down a heavy load. That's what God have done here. And it is amazing because he places now the ship in the midst of a windy and storm that he brought into the situation there. And brothers and sisters, let me just make a point here that sometime when we are away from the Lord, the Lord is going to send some winds of trials into our lives. He's going to send it. Why? Because he wants to speak to us. He wants to restore us. He wants us to be turning back and serving him and ministering to him and living for him here in this world.

And that's what he was going to do now in the life of Jonah, in the life of Jonah. He's going to send a wind. He's going to throw that wind into the situation. Now, mind you, let's reverse it for a moment. Sometime when we obey the Lord, we have trials that are coming our way. But these trials are not because God wants to correct us, but it is some of the storms that are coming into our life are because either God tests us, like he did it with Abram, or the enemy will send some storms to harm the people of God, like Ephesians 6, the wiles of the devil, who shoot darts in order to harm the people of God.

That is done by Satan. That is done by the world. But here, beloved brothers and sisters, It is a clear-cut message from the Lord to his disobedient servant, Jonah, who was on the way to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord. That great wind was cast by the Lord himself. Look at now the reaction. In verses 5 and 6, we find out the reaction of the ones that were in the ship. A disobedient servant of God, he ends up allowing others now to suffer because of his disobedience. Notice verse 4b that it says here that there was a mighty tempest in the sea so that the ship was like to be broken, moving from place to place.

Have you ever been on a ship where the storm is coming and the waves are coming and you're right in that ship? I had one experience like this. I think I mentioned this before. I had one small experience, one bigger experience. The small one was with my little family, when our boys, my dear wife Irene and I, with our little boys, Shalom, Yoav and Nathaniel, were in the little canoe. And we were going on a lake here in the north of Canada, and the storm came, and the wind, and the waves, and we were trying to go back to the place where we were, and we couldn't.

And when I jumped, I got them all inside, Irene holding Nathaniel, little Nathaniel, and Shalom beside Yoav, Yoav, crying. Everybody's crying, and this, and the, and I tried to get into the canoe, I got them all upside down, the whole canoe upside down, and I tell you, we all so scared, and thank God, we were pushed into the shore, and somebody was gracious enough to take the canoe, put it on the truck, and take us to the other side of the lake, that was a scary experience, when you have a little baby in your hand, but then we had another experience, that I had with my wife, Irene, when we were traveling in Europe, and in Europe, it happened, when there was waves on the way to Italy, and the ship was like that and people were throwing up and the whole boat was filled with everybody you know puking it was a scary thing and we are holding dead and trying just to want to get there to where we were it was a scary experience now those are the people who are in the ship are experienced sailors but that storm was abnormal was not ordinary storm even it was sent by God.

Because his servants were there in disobedience and he's going to deal with his servant and he's going now to speak to him. So we find out in verse 5 the reaction of the mariners. There are a few things that we mentioned. First of all, notice the mariners themselves in verse 5a. These are the sailors. Then the sailors, the mariners were afraid. You notice they were afraid and they cried every man to his God, small g. And they cast forth the waters that were in the ship into the sea to lighten it from them now look what they've done all of a sudden first of all you find that they become very spiritual everyone have his own God small g idols all of a sudden they crying to their God and being an experienced sailors mariners what do they do they cast force into the waters all that which was in the ship in order to make it light so it will not sink that's what they were doing they've done the right thing by casting things out but you see when problems are coming everyone become very spiritual all of a sudden all of a sudden we are spirit oh God help me all of a sudden the idols oh God help me help me save me that's the way we are when trouble come our ways.

But when trouble are over, they'll say, God, I'll talk to you later. Don't bother me right now. I don't need you right now. Things are fine. I know that again and again, and I'm speaking for. Myself, from flying. When you fly a lot, when the turbulence coming, oh God, help me. When the turbulence are over, you relax, you sound like everything is fine. But when trouble are coming, all of a sudden, you need God. But we learn, brothers and sisters, we learn that we always have to have an attitude of dependence upon God and saying, God, I thank you for every situation in my life.

But here's those mariners, unbelievers, because of the disobedience of the servant of the Lord, they end up to face this unusual storm that was sent by God. That's what we find out in verse 5a. Secondly, look at Jonah. What does Jonah do? The mariners prayed each one to their own gun. Look about Jonah in verse 5b it says here but Jonah he was gone down into the side of the ship and he was fast asleep now look at him you remember he went down to Yafo he went down into the ship and now in the ship he's going down into the lowest part of the ship and what does he do he's falling asleep carefree everything is fine he's not worried it seemed to be at this point he's going down he's fast asleep and we learn again there's a lesson here to learn brothers and sisters sometimes because our conscience is hardened and not tender as it should be we are so callous with things that are going on around us we become hard-hearted and not tender hearted we are not sensitive to what's going on we are no longer hearing the word of God or we don't want to hear the word of God and we carry on we continue in our life as if everything is.

Fine and we end up to be so callous not sensitive the conscience is seared hardened heart and we can just carry on and we can sleep with him everything is okay but God is going to wake up this man just the same like he's going to wake up us when we are away from the Lord astray in our self-will as servants of God as believers in Yeshua the Messiah God is going to do something about it but you can see the contrast here between the mariners who are crying because of fear to their gods and doing something about it. And the servant of God laying down there in the lowest part of the ship, sleeping, as it says here in verse 5, he just went down to the side of the ship and he lay and he was fast asleep.

Well, that was the condition of the servant who is away from the Lord. And finally here in verse 6, in connection with the trouble at the sea, that the captain of the ship came to him. And notice that's verse 6. Then we read, So the shipmaster, this is the captain, he came to him, he came to Jonah. And he said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? Arise and call upon thy God. If so be that God will think upon us that we perish not. You see, the captain perhaps had many years of experience in his being a captain at sea. Never experienced this before. A scent wind from God a scent storm from God so he's coming to Jonah and what does he see he see him sleeping there at the lowest part of the ship and he's saying to him hey what is it meaning what are you doing what are you doing sleeping get up awake call upon your God that if so be that God will think upon us this is Jonah's God capital G and then he says that we perish not like he was anticipating to be perished because he knew there's something unusual here.

And he's calling Jonah. And again, brothers and sisters, I want to make an illustration here that is also very important, I believe. Sometimes the unbelievers are challenging us as believers who are sleeping spiritually. And they tell us, don't you care? Aren't you going to do something about the situation? Look at you. What do you do? What does it mean? What is that that you're doing? Alerting us to be awakened from the sleep that we find ourselves in when we are not in a right spiritual state. That is something that is important for us to bear in mind. And what a shame it is for us when we need the unbelieving world telling us to wake up, to awaken, and to change our way, and to cry to our God, and to change our manners.

What a sad thing. I think of the verse that we find the Apostle Paul, he says, wake up from sleep. It's time for us to wake up from sleep, spiritual sleep. That does not mean that we are not the children of God. That does not mean that Jonah was not the child of God, but he needed to be awakened and to cry to his God for help and for mercy in a time such as this, when the storm was coming upon that ship in the middle of the sea, and the cause of it was definitely the cause of Jonah's disobedience. And so here, brothers and sisters, just these thoughts, and I think I'm going to stop here with verse 6.

In verse 4, 5, and 6, we see the trouble at sea. The Jonah is caught in a storm because he violated the word of God by disobedience to go westward instead of eastward and departing from the presence of the Lord. And the Lord sent this storm upon him, and because of his disobedience, others end up to suffer by the hand of God because of Jonah's disobedience. We're going to continue in the will of the Lord from verse 7 on to the end of the chapter and move on in the book of Jonah and to see the lessons that we learn about the time of Jonah and the heart of God during the time that Jonah was called to serve him.