Have you ever wondered what God does when we disobey? Often, the thought pattern turns on what He will do with me, in a predictable selfish sense. But have you ever wondered what He does despite our disobedience?
Over the past several days, I have been reading, re-reading, picking apart, and meditating on the book and story of Jonah. Jonah’s story always captivated me as a child and continues to do so into adulthood. I’m not really sure why. I guess it is because his journey is incredibly relatable. God asks him to do something, Jonah knows the expectation, yet he decides he knows better and defies Him like a grumpy, hormonal, ungrateful teenager. *Queue phrases like “duh!”, “as if!”, “whatever!” -- complete with an eye roll and slouchy-stomping to your room.* You get the idea…
There are countless examples of God punishing (or in Christian-ese: “lovingly correcting with a strong hand”) His people: wandering in the desert for decades, slavery to foreign nations for generations, expelled from Eden, a great flood, etc. All of these events were birthed from disobedience. The reaction of God to our disobedience is deeply and inherently personal.
However --- God also works for His glory despite our disobedience.
About 6 months ago, God drew me to the book of Jonah. You know it -- hell, even non-Christians know the tale. Jonah disobeys God, he gets thrown into the sea, swallowed by a fish/whale, he’s like, “Oops! God you’re right.”, gets vomited out by the fish, goes to where he was supposed to go all along, and lives happily ever after. Right?
But the Lord opened my eyes in a different way this time. As I read it, I began looking at it with greater detail. I focused on the minutiae.
When Jonah rolls his eyes and boards a boat to Tarshish, he’s not generically disobeying. Scripture says he actively intended to flee from the presence of the LORD. Jonah took a series of actions to flee from the presence of the LORD. First, he “rose to flee”; he woke up with intent in his heart and spirit. He actively went searching for a ship to Tarshish. Once he found a ship with the right itinerary, he then paid the fare. He then “went down to” the ship and boarded it. (Jonah 1:3)
Jonah didn’t just happen upon the wrong dock or wrong ship. Rather, his first conscious thought that day was to flee the presence of God and he deliberately took successive actions to carry out his defiance. ...At any point in this chain of events, Jonah could have changed his mind, turned around, and obeyed God by going to Nineveh.
You know what’s cool? God does not scramble for what to do next; He doesn’t panic. He knows what Jonah is doing. He watches Jonah take step-after-step to perfect his ultimate disobedience.
As the sea rages during Jonah’s flight, the sailors and other passengers begin to fret. They are acutely aware this storm is supernatural in origin. ...And so is Jonah. It reminds me -- in part -- of Jonathan Edwards’s famous sermon Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. “There is no want of power in God to cast wicked men into hell at any moment. Men’s hands cannot be strong when God rises up.” (Side Note: The whole sermon is so good! You should read it sometime.)
When the men finally cast Jonah into the sea and the storm calms, a glorious thing happens: they feared the LORD exceedingly, made sacrifices to the Hebrew God, and made vows to the Ancient of Days. (Jonah 1:16) God works for His glory despite our disobedience.
Fast forward through Jonah’s come-to-Jesus moment inside the fish, the vomiting of him out onto land, and going to Nineveh… Jonah warns the people of God’s impending wrath (to which he is recently acquainted) and the people respond. From the king to the peasantry, the nation repents, fasts, wears sackcloth, and prays to God for protection and restoration. (Jonah 3:4-8) Their faith is inspiring. “Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish.” (Jonah 3:9)
And God did. God works for His glory despite our disobedience.
Of course, this pissed off Jonah. He’s thinking, Really?! I went to hell and back for what?! For You to renege on your plan to allow Nineveh to be overthrown. God, come on, there’s no way you are really going to be that gracious and compassionate with them when you had me -- your servant -- thrown overboard and stuck in a fish for three days, are you?. And God’s like: “Yup.”
Remember what I said earlier? ----- The reaction of God to our disobedience is deeply and inherently personal. ----- Well, here it is. In the flesh.
While Jonah went out from the city to watch what would become of Nineveh (because he still wasn’t convinced of God’s expression of Mercy), he started talking selfish nonsense and trying to leverage God with “just kill me now”. (Jonah 4:3)
There the story ends. How I wish I knew the ending! Did God “give” death to Jonah as he had asked and pleaded? Or did God have Jonah return to Nineveh for ministry? Or did God send him somewhere else for prophecy? Did Jonah obey?
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God works, even in our disobedience. Though that does not give us license to disobey or escape the call of being fishers of men, it is a mark of His unconditional love toward us.
“Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially those who are of the household of faith.” (Galatians 6:7-10)
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