A sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ the Redeemer Church, 11 July 2010
Bible text quoted from the NASB (except for Isaiah and Jonah)
On the morning of August 2, 1990 the mechanized infantry, armor, and tank units of the Iraqi Republican Guard invaded Kuwait and seized control of that country.
Geoff Botkin, a U.S. ambassador at the time, was in the consultation that President Bush called to consider how to respond. Initially, the idea of a surprise attack on Saddam Hussein was considered, but Geoff remembered a little-known passage in the book of Deuteronomy and instead advised that the USA first warn Saddam Hussein to withdraw before we sent in troops to recover Kuwait.
On August 20 President Bush signed National Security Directive 45, "U.S. Policy in Response to the Iraqi Invasion of Kuwait," outlining U.S. objectives - which included the "immediate, complete, and unconditional withdrawal of all Iraqi forces from Kuwait," and the "restoration of Kuwait's legitimate government to replace the puppet regime installed by Iraq."
What does this have to do with our passage today? As we’ll see, it has a lot to do with it. Jonah is about to be called as God’s ambassador to the city of Nineveh to call for its unconditional surrender to God.
PREPARE TO EXERCISE DOMINION/POSSESS/EXTEND GOD’S KINGDOM: Gen 13:12-18 Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled in the cities of the valley, and moved his tents as far as Sodom. (13) Now the men of Sodom were wicked exceed-ingly and sinners against the LORD. (14) The LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, "Now lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward; (15) for all the land which you see, I will give it to you and to your descendants forever. (16) "I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth, so that if anyone can number the dust of the earth, then your descendants can also be numbered. (17) "Arise, go about the land through its length and breadth; for I will give it to you." (18) Then Abram moved his tent and came and dwelt by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and there he built an altar to the LORD.
HOPE-NEW LIFE: Gen 21:14-19 So Abraham rose early in the morning and took bread and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar, putting them on her shoulder, and gave her the boy, and sent her away. And she departed and wandered about in the wilderness of Beersheba. (15) When the water in the skin was used up, she left the boy under one of the bushes. (16) Then she went and sat down opposite him, about a bowshot away, for she said, "Do not let me see the boy die." And she sat opposite him, and lifted up her voice and wept. (17) God heard the lad crying; and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, "What is the matter with you, Hagar? Do not fear, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is. (18) "Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him by the hand, for I will make a great nation of him." (19) Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water; and she went and filled the skin with water and gave the lad a drink.
also used of resurrection – 1Co 6:14 “God has not only raised the Lord, but will also raise us up through His power.”
DISENGAGE FROM PRIOR FOCUS/ESCAPE: Gen 19:14-15 Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, and said, "Up, get out of this place, for the LORD will destroy the city." But he appeared to his sons-in-law to be jest-ing. (15) When morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, "Up, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away in the punishment of the city."
cf. Mat 2:13 an angel of the Lord *appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him."
REPENT/RE-PRIORITIZE: Joshua 7:5-13 The men of Ai struck down about thirty-six of their men, and pursued them from the gate as far as Shebarim and struck them down on the descent, so the hearts of the people melted and became as water. 6 Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the LORD until the evening, both he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads. 7 Joshua said, "Alas, O Lord GOD, why did You ever bring this people over the Jordan, only to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? If only we had been willing to dwell beyond the Jordan! 8 "O Lord, what can I say since Israel has turned their back before their enemies? 9 "For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it, and they will surround us and cut off our name from the earth. And what will You do for Your great name?" 10 So the LORD said to Joshua, "Get up! Go! Why is it that you have fallen on your face? 11 "Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. And they have even taken some of the things under the ban and have both stolen and deceived. Moreover, they have also put them among their own things. 12 "Therefore the sons of Israel cannot stand before their enemies; they turn their backs before their enemies, for they have become accursed. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy the things under the ban from your midst. 13 "Rise up! Consecrate the people and say, 'Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, for thus the LORD, the God of Israel, has said, "There are things under the ban in your midst, O Israel. You cannot stand before your enemies until you have removed the things under the ban from your midst."
Rom 13:10b …love is the fulfillment of the law. (11) Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. (12) The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. (13) Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy.
LEADERSHIP AFTER REPENTENCE Ezr 10:1-4 Now while Ezra was praying and making confession, weeping and prostrating himself before the house of God, a very large assembly, men, women and children, gathered to him from Israel; for the people wept bitterly. (2) Shecaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, said to Ezra, "We have been unfaithful to our God and have married foreign women from the peoples of the land; yet now there is hope for Israel in spite of this. (3) "So now let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives and their children, according to the counsel of my lord and of those who tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law. (4) "Arise! For this matter is your responsibility, but we will be with you; be courageous and act."
Eph 5:14-15 For this reason it says, "Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you." (15) Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, 16) making the most of your time…
WITH THE COMMAND COMES THE ENABLING TO FULFILL THE COMMAND: Mat 9:6 "But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"--then He *said to the paralytic, "Get up, pick up your bed and go home."
(cf Luke 7:14 And He came up [to the funeral procession coming out of the gates of Nain] and touched the coffin; and the bearers came to a halt. And He said, "Young man, I say to you, arise!"
Mar 5:41 Taking the child [of the synagogue official] by the hand, He *said to her, "Talitha kum!" (which translated means, "Little girl, I say to you, get up!").
Moses: Exo 4:19 Now the LORD said to Moses in Midian, "Go back to Egypt, for all the men who were seeking your life are dead." (20) So Moses took his wife and his sons and mounted them on a donkey, and returned to the land of Egypt. Moses also took the staff of God in his hand. (21) The LORD said to Moses, "When you go back to Egypt… (22) "Then you shall say to Pharaoh, 'Thus says the LORD, "Israel is My son, My firstborn. (23) "So I said to you, 'Let My son go that he may serve Me'; but you have refused to let him go. Behold, I will kill your son, your firstborn."' Exo 33:1 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, "Depart, go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought up from the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, 'To your descendants I will give it.' (ESCAPE)
Abraham: "Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father's house, To the land which I will show you; (Gen 12:1) (POSSESSION)
Jdg 4:6 Now she [Deborah] sent and summoned Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh-naphtali, and said to him, "Behold, the LORD, the God of Israel, has commanded, 'Go and march to Mount Tabor, and take with you ten thousand men… 4:14 "Arise! For this is the day in which the LORD has given Sisera into your hands..." (POSSESSION)
Jdg 6:14 The LORD looked at him [Gideon] and said, "Go in this your strength and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you?" (POSSESSION)
1Sa 15:3 [Samuel told King Saul] 'Now go and strike Amalek and utterly destroy all that he has, and do not spare him; but put to death both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.'" (POSSESSION)
1Sa 23:2b the LORD said to David, "Go and attack the Philistines and deliver Keilah." (POSSESSION)
Prophets were sent not only out into the world but also back to God’s people to call them to repentance:
· Exo 32:7 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, "Go down at once, for your people, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves… 34 "But go now, lead the people where I told you. Behold, My angel shall go before you; nevertheless in the day when I punish, I will punish them for their sin."
· 1Ki 17:9 [Elijah] 1Ki 18:1-14 Now it happened after many days that the word of the LORD came to Elijah in the third year, saying, "Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the face of the earth."
· Isa 6:9 He said, "Go, and tell this people: 'Keep on listening, but do not perceive; Keep on looking, but do not understand.'
· Jer 2:2 "Go and proclaim in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, 'Thus says the LORD, "I remember concerning you the devotion of your youth, The love of your betrothals, Your following after Me in the wilderness, Through a land not sown.
· Eze 3:4 Then He said to me, "Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with My words to them.
· Hos 1:2 When the LORD first spoke through Hosea, the LORD said to Hosea, "Go, take to yourself a wife of harlotry and have children of harlotry; for the land commits flagrant harlotry, forsaking the LORD."
poreummai commands in NT
Joseph: Mat 2:20 "Get up, take the Child and His mother, and go into the land of Israel; for those who sought the Child's life are dead."
12 Disciples: Mat 10:6 but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
Paralytic: Luke 5:24 "But, so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,"--He said to the paralytic--"I say to you, get up, and pick up your stretcher and go home."
The teacher of the law: Luke 10:37 [Good Samaritan parable] And he said, "The one who showed mercy toward him." Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do the same."
The one leper who came back to say thank you for healing Luke 17:19 "Stand up and go; your faith has made you well."
The King’s official from Capernaum: John 4:50 Jesus *said to him, "Go; your son lives." The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started off… and he and his whole household believed
Woman caught in adultery: John 8:11 "I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more."
Mary: John 20:17 "Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, 'I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.'"
The apostles after springing them from jail: Acts 5:20 "Go, stand and speak to the people in the temple the whole message of this Life."
Philip: Acts 8:26 But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, "Get up and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza." (This is a desert road.)
Ananias of Damascus: Acts 9:15 "Go, for he [Paul] is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel;
Peter when Cornelius’ messengers arrived: Acts 10:20 "…get up, go downstairs and accompany them without misgivings, for I have sent them Myself."
Paul: Acts 22:21 "And He said to me, 'Go! For I will send you far away to the Gentiles.'"
1. God, your master, can command you with authority. Mat 8:9 "For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, 'Go!' and he goes, and to another, 'Come!' and he comes, and to my slave, 'Do this!' and he does it."
2. Many of these were difficult assignments.
a. Go 750 miles on foot to the capitol city of the world’s superpower?
b. Go back to the place where soldiers tried to kill my son?
c. Go back into the temple after they thew me in jail for preaching in the temple?
d. Go right up to Saul who came to town to kill Christians and tell him I’m a Christian???
3. Jesus says come unto me, but then He sends us out. Just as we come in to worship as a church and then are sent out into the world every Lord’s Day.
4. Going is not a sending away from God’s presence “I am with you always,” but rather the way our king normally expands His kingdom into the world.
a. Son 2:10 "My beloved responded and said to me, 'Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, And go along.
b. Mt. 28:19-20 “Go into all the world and make disciples… I am with you always…”
Most English translations render “cry out against.” But I do not believe this is the best way to translate it. This phrase is an allusion to Deut 20:10 "When you approach a city to fight against it, you shall call upon it peace. (“offer it terms of peace”)
The word can also connote meeting someone with a message:
· Gen 24:15 Before he had finished speaking, behold, Rebekah who was born to Bethuel the son of Milcah, the wife of Abraham's brother Nahor, came out with her jar on her shoulder… (17) Then the servant ran to meet her, and said, "Please let me drink a little water from your jar."
· Isaiah 7:3. And Jehovah said to Isaiah, "Go out to call on [meet] Ahaz, you and Shear-jashub your son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the Washer's Field. 4. And you shall say to him, 'Be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands, at the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and the son of Remaliah.
In the LXX, this word used in Jonah 1:2 is kerussw. It is used three times as an imperative in the NT like it is in Jonah:
What is your message? It should be the word of God!
SEE GOD’S REASON slide
• Their wickedness/calamity/distress
• has come up before me (lit. to my face)
"We preach to people not only because we have good news that God loves people (that is our primary message) but also because people's sins have come up against God, because they are lost and headed for judgment." ~A. Fernando
CLOSING
Jonah was being given a very challenging assignment. Walk up to Nineveh as though he were a conqueror and offer it terms of surrender. What Nineveh’s might God be calling you to call upon?
· EXTEND GOD’S KINGDOM in a new realm of science or medicine or among an unreached people group
· HOPE: to conquer fear or depression and start life anew
· ESCAPE: from habitual sin or deliver a group of people from the crushing consequences of sin
· Whatever it is, arise and come to Jesus, then go with Him and call upon your Nineveh!