Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.” But Jonah rose 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 on board, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD.
(Jonah 1:1-3 ESV)
Jonah often gets a really bad rep for his dealings with God. And I was always taught this from a flannel-graph as a little kid. And if you're like me, I've heard this story hundreds of times. This time, I'm just walking through it...slowly. So the first few verses...
I get it. Ninevah is a really bad place with psycho people who are far from the Lord. And I understand Jonah's desire to get out of God's plan. But he makes an attempt to flee from the Lord's presence? How's he going to do this? Board a ship...of course! Yes, but he pays a good fare for this ride.
And what about the idea of paying to get away? I mean...how much was he willing to pay to get away from God? Are we in the same boat sometimes? Maybe we're not boarding ships and trying to physically flee from God's calling, but what are we willing to board to get away? And from the Lord's presence of all things.
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