Seeking Divine Help in Difficult Times, Rev Dr John Kwasi Fosu

Amazing Grace Baptist Church, Hamburg Bible Study Material on Jonah 1:4-9

Introduction
In our previous lesson on Jonah 1:1-3, we learnt that Jonah became reluctant to obey God’s call on him to go and preach to the people of Nineveh running away from God. It was discovered that running away from God comes with a cost in diverse forms. As a continuation of that theme, this lesson on Jonah 1:4-9 brings out the act of God in exercising discipline against Jonah hindering his effort. It further examines how Jonah’s guilt of disobedience is exposed to the sailors before relevant application and conclusions are drawn.

God disciplines Jonah (Jonah 1:4-6)
Jonah 1:4-6 shows that as Jonah begins the journey to Tarshish, God disciplines him sending a great storm to hinder his effort. It has been observed that the narrative presents an ironic role reversal. Whereas Jonah continually represents a negative example, the gentile pagans offer a positive one. Moreover, as the sailors sought divine help, Jonah was pictured as sleeping amid difficult times. Further, the pagan sailors made an effort to escape the storm actively petitioning their gods and fervently seeking their divine intervention whereas Jonah rests in silence. Recognising their fruitless efforts, the captain approaches Jonah with the hope that the religion of this strange passenger might assist them. The irony in this passage is that an unbeliever who was the sea captain pleaded with a Hebrew prophet to pray to his God.

God’s sovereignty could be displayed in human actions and intentions (Jonah 1:7-9)
In their attempt to know who was responsible for the disaster, the sailors cast lots. It is not clear how the lot was cast. However, it is most likely that they did it in their worldview and cultural understanding in determining the cause of events. In this case, they did that to determine the deity behind their problem and possibly the person who has aroused their anger.

It is important to point out that although God causes the lot to fall on Jonah, the specifics of the answer are not clear. This demanded that the sailors conduct further research questioning Jonah. Jonah’s response indicates his awareness of the God of heaven and earth whom he fears and worships. Jonah’s call upon the name of his God appears to do away with all doubts concerning God’s absolute dominion over the entire universe.

Reflections and Applications
Reflecting on Jonah 1:4-9, among others brings out two major theological significance. To begin the passage invites us to have a proper perspective about God. This is made clear in Jonah’s response describing God as the creator of heaven who made the sea and the dry land. This perspective about God is an encouragement to relate with God as such. God has power over the wind, the sea and even artificial objects such as ships (Jonah 1:4-6). Moreover, God is portrayed as having sovereign rule over all kinds of spiritual, traditional and scientific worldviews. It is this God who deserves our true worship.

In the second place, the passage helps us to understand the true nature of human beings. This is made clear looking at the human characters portrayed in the passage. To begin, fear is the normal human response in difficult times. The sequence of fear is the quest for divine help. For that, even unbelievers seek divine help in difficult times. This is a way of saying that humans are intrinsically religious. This is made obvious when calamities strike. Another essential aspect of human nature is that in difficult moments, some valuables have no place. The sailors threw away their valuables in order to make life easy on the sea. It could be said here that true riches and security are when we place our trust in God and not in material things. Contrary to God who is sovereign and has power over all circumstances, human limitations are portrayed in the text. Jonah sleeps and thus becomes unaware of his vulnerabilities amidst the storms of life. A further insightful fact about human nature is the natural desire to seek solutions to human predicaments. The kind of places people visit to look for answers to their problems is determined who they worship. The sailors called on the name of their deities and they encouraged Jonah to do the same.

Conclusion
This study of Jonah 1:4-9 aimed to describe God’s discipline of Jonah as he ran away from God. It has therefore given us a deeper revelation of the nature of God and humans. It is worthy of note that, as Jonah experienced the discipline of God, God’s discipline of Christians is an indication that we are children of God and that God loves us (Hebrews 12:6). Going through certain challenges and difficulties as believers should serve as a motivation to seek God’s help. Challenges are not meant to separate us from God but to draw us closer to God.