Did you ever run away from home? That thought never entered my mind because I knew that my mother would be there waiting when I returned; and it would not be a pleasant experience.

When our son was about 16, he decided he would run away. He was a typical teen that objected to a rule, so he decided to just leave. Being a typical mom, I panicked. I wanted to jump in the car and start looking for him. As I recall, we did just that only to discover later that he was hiding in a wooded area less that a few hundred yards from home. He didn’t stay gone long, but the experience taught parents and child a good lesson.

Though the situation was different, Jonah had a similar experience. God gave him some instructions, and he simply didn’t want to obey. But why did he not want to obey? Though the Scripture doesn’t reveal his reason immediately, a study of the entire story shows us exactly why he didn’t want to obey.

God gave the instructions to Jonah. He said, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me” (Jonah 1:2 ESV). That was a straightforward command straight from the Lord. Jonah had his orders; go to Nineveh and tell the people they are sinning.

“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 down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD” (verse 3).

Nineveh was a pagan city. It was known for the cruel way they dealt with captives, and they were known for being very wicked. Because of this, many people think Jonah was afraid of the people; and that is why he didn’t want to go. But that is not why.

We know the story of how Jonah was thrown off the ship going to Tarshish, swallowed by a great fish, spent three day and three nights inside that fish praying to the Lord, and was spit out on dry land. The Lord spoke to him a second time, telling him to go to Nineveh and preach to them. This time Jonah went. He preached to the people of Nineveh. They believed what he said, proclaimed a fast, put on the clothes of mourners, and cried out to God. God saw that they were penitent, that they had turned from their wickedness, and He changed His mind about destroying them.

Now we get to Jonah’s reason for running away when God first told him to go to Nineveh. When he saw how the people repented and that God changed His mind about destroying them, “It displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry” (Jonah 4:1). This great preacher and prophet of God was angry because they responded to his preaching. Then he told God why he ran away. He said, “…for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster” (verse 2). He knew that if the people repented, God would let them live; and he didn’t want that to happen. He was so upset that he asked God to take his life.

God knew things about this city Jonah didn’t know, just as He knows things about our hearts that others do not know. He knew their potential. He was longsuffering with them, just as He is with us.

So, what do we learn from this story? We learn that God may ask us to do things we neither understand nor want to do. We tend to want to do things our own way, but we need to do things God’s way.

Second, we need to understand that if we don’t do things God’s way, we will perish. Jonah was headed for destruction until he decided to do what God asked him to do. We don’t always understand God’s plan, but we must do things His way. God said, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9).

Third, we can’t look at the world and say that there are those that aren’t worth saving. We must look at every lost soul as a potential child of God. James spoke about bringing someone back to the Lord. He said, “My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins” (James 5:20). The same applies to someone who has never known the truth.

Fourth, we must turn to God in prayer. We must ask for His guidance as we seek the lost. We can’t win the lost without God’s help. God is the power source behind conversions. Paul said, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth” (First Corinthians 3:6).

The people of Israel thought they were exclusive to God and His favor. They looked at other nations as being unworthy of salvation. This is one of the greatest lessons we learn from this story. The people of God are those who love and obey God. It doesn’t matter the nationality, the color of their skin, man or woman, master or servant. Paul says, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

James says, “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin” (James 4:17). Let’s not be like Jonah, knowing the right thing to do, and trying to run away from our responsibility.

Sandra Oliver