Lesson 361: "Noah Ran Away from the Lord, Or did He?"
Jonah was the only Old Testament prophet from Galilee, born in Israel and grew up in a city called Gath-Hepher, about three miles from Nazareth. Jonah was commissioned by God to preach repentance to the Gentile nation of Assyria and its capital of Nineveh. Assyrians had been long standing enemies of Israel and had a brutal and oppressive reputation. Jonah’s fear of the Assyrians and his pride of not wanting Nineveh to repent caused him to run away from the Lord. However, no matter how far and fast and how far Jonah ran, God was there first. After he boarded the ship bound for Tarshish a raging storm caused the crew to cast lots to determine that Jonah was the problem. After a confession from Jonah the crew threw him overboard and he is swallowed up by a great fish. He floated around in the belly of the fish for three days (ugh), repents to God for his disobedience and spit out on dry land. By this time he is 500 miles away from Nineveh but turns back to the original destination that God intended and leads a powerful and successful revival.
The great prophet Elijah ran for his life, not from the lord but out of fear of Jezebel (1 Kings 19:1-3). He “hid” in a cave but guess who was there? “And the Word of the Lord came to him; ‘what are you doing here, Elijah’” (1 Kings 19:9)? Just like God sent the storm on the sea in the Book of Jonah, He sent a storm to the cave where Elijah was cowering, tearing the mountains apart and shattering the rocks. Just in case Elijah did not heed any of this, God sent an earthquake and a fire and then in mercy and kindness came God’s gentle whisper. Elijah was forgiven but his ministry was taken from him and given to his successor, Elisha (1 Kings 19:16).
David wrote Psalm 139 and every verse declares that God is always around and David had no place to hide from Him. “You hem me in, behind and before; where can I flee from your presence? I make my bed in the depths and you are there; surely the darkness will hide me, (but) even the darkness will not be dark to you; when I awake I am still with you”. Even the Lord declares that no one can hide from Him. “Can anyone hide in secret so that I cannot see him? Do not I fill heaven and earth” (Jeremiah 23:24)?
We might run but we cannot successfully hide from God. He sees out every move and will use nature, storms, animals or any other part of His Creation to bring us to a closer union with Him. And if God wants you and has a mission for you He will bring you to the place He desires you to be, even if it be in the belly of a great fish that He transports you!