Jonah 1:1-3
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 their wickedness is come up before me. But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord, and went down to Joppa; and he 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.
Jonah, a prophet of God, was called to go to this sinful place and share God's Word with them. This was not a message of vengeance but one of repentance. God wanted Jonah to tell the people that it was their final call. If they didn't repent, God was going to destroy it and them. But look at what Jonah did...
Jonah fled from the presence of God. Notice something there? Jonah didn't flee from Nineveh, like I have always heard. He fled from God. How many times have you not done something because you thought, surely God didn't mean for me to go there or speak to them? You may have thought you were getting away from something or someone sinful, when in truth you were going away from Jesus and His Words.
Our scripture says it twice. He fled from the presence of God. Why would you ever want to flee from the presence of God? I don't know about you, but I always wanted to get away from my parents when I was wrong and when I was in sin. Jonah knew His decision was wrong and contrary to what God asked of Him. He knew that it was sin when he went away from the presence of God. He just realized how far he had gone from His presence when he was in the belly of a whale.
How far will you flee from His presence? Will you also have to be in the bottom of the ocean to realize God is who you need? Or will you be as the people of Nineveh? They heard the message and repented right there in the comfort of their own town.
