Jonah's story is one of the most interesting and well-known in all the Bible. Yet often our familiarity with his experience in the fish's belly obscures from us the true meaning and importance of his story. When we ponder the story of Jonah, it is surprising that his story and mistakes are just as common today as they were almost three millennia ago, save only the days inside the great fish and his ability to speak directly with God. Let's consider his story and see how we can avoid being modern-day Jonahs.

Modern-day Jonahs think they can flee God's presence. When God called Jonah to preach to the people of Nineveh, Jonah wasn't interested. "But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord"(Jonah 1:3). Jonah thought that if he didn't want to do what God had commanded him, he would simply leave the place where God was. What Jonah forgot was that God is everywhere, and He troubled Jonah's ship and prepared a great fish to swallow him. Modern-day Jonahs are much the same. They think that when they travel on vacation God no longer sees what they do. They may drink whatever they like, do whatever they desire, and just skip worship services if they want to sleep in. In short, they feel that leaving home means leaving God! David knew the truth: "Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me…"(Ps 139:7-10). Rather than being Jonahs wanting to flee God and our obligation to Him, we must be modern-day Daniels, who in a foreign land "purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's delicacies"(Dan 1:8). We must be modern-day Josephs, who say to temptation in a foreign land, "How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?"(Gen 39:9). God has never taken a vacation from you. How and why would you take a vacation from him?

Modern-day Jonahs only cry out to God when in need. Once in the belly of the great fish, Jonah "prayed to the Lord his God from the fish's belly"(Jonah 2:1). He utters a tremendous prayer, incorporating in almost every verse a quotation from the Psalms. Jonah knew his Bible and used it in his prayer, and God was pleased, causing the fish to spit him out on dry land (Jonah 2:10). But we must ask, where was this prayer before? Why didn't Jonah cry out to God with Scripture telling of God's great love and compassion in wanting him to preach to Nineveh? It seems that Jonah, as many of us today, felt the strongest desire to speak to God in times of distress. All of us have had times when we were in great trouble and felt our need for God most keenly. It is fortunate that God helps such. When Israel forsook God during the time of the judges, He said, "Yet you have forsaken me and served other gods. Therefore I will deliver you no more. Go and cry out to the gods which you have chosen; let them deliver you in your time of distress"(Judges 10:13-14). How can we do whatever we like and ignore God, then hope He will help us when we need Him? We need a commitment deeper than this-one willing to follow and rely on God in good times and bad. "Pray without ceasing"(1 Thess 5:17).

Most of all, modern-day Jonahs are jealous of God's attention to the lost. This is Jonah's great failing. He ultimately goes to Nineveh, and when the people there repent, Jonah is angry! He explains, "Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm. Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live!"(Jonah 4:2-3). God then uses a plant to teach Jonah a lesson about pity, which Jonah should have had for the people of Nineveh, "who cannot discern between their right hand and their left"(Jonah 4:11). Modern-day Jonahs are also jealous of God's attention on the lost. "Why do we have to hear so many first-principles lessons?" they bellow. "Should we really spend so much time and money on trying to convert the lost?" they moan. Yes! In answer to the Pharisees who had a similar attitude (Luke 15:2), Jesus said, "I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance"(Luke 15:7). God's attention is on the lost, and He will go after the wandering sheep (Matt 18:12-14). Rather than being modern-day Jonahs, angry and sulky because we are not receiving all the attention, we should share God's concern! Why not be the ones teaching the first-principles sermons? Why not be the ones on the front lines of the battle for lost souls? Jonah had an opportunity to do this, but failed. Let us not be like him in this area!

Certainly there is much more to Jonah's story than a big fish. And while he certainly did some things pleasing to God, his failures teach us a lot about dangers that face us. Let us never think we can leave God behind, no matter where we may go. Let us maintain a relationship with our God no matter what our physical state. Most of all, let us share His concern for those who are dying without salvation. God "desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth"(1 Tim 2:4). Do you? ___Jacob Hudgins