ROOTED - Saturday, May 30, 2026

Jonah 1:3

 3   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.

Reflection: Going to Tarshish

Written By:
Pastor Jesse Caro

Note to the reader: I would like to skip ahead to tomorrow’
reading from Jonah.

The book of Jonah wastes no time, from a literary point of view,
to get us “into the action.” Many of the great films (have you noticed?) do
this... jump us into the deep end without adequate back-story. The original “Star
Wars, A New Hope” (1977), does this. The good guy ship, the Tantive 4,
is being chased by the bad guy ship, the Star Destroyer. We will soon discover
that Darth Vader is trying to capture the stolen plans for the Death Star! It
is riveting! A classic! This film wastes no time. The “Indiana Jones” films
similarly start with Indiana Jones on the run… being chased, for example, by
Peruvian Indians in the Jungle. Jonah reads a little like this… a novel where
the reader is dumped smack dab in the middle of the drama. In this case, the
drama we are dumped into is drama Jonah’s making and the storm is the furious judgment
of God chasing Jonah.

You see, Jonah had such disdain for the people of Tarshish that he
could not (would not) obey God in preaching the message of repentance. So, he flees
“from the presence of the Lord” (verse 3 makes a point of saying this twice). That
is definitely not what you want to do! Make no mistake that when we read, “he
went down to Joppa” and “he went down into it” (the ship) these signal to the
reader that Jonah is in big trouble. Anyone would be in trouble if they
blatantly disobeyed and rebelled against God like Jonah does. Later, in his
prayer in the fish, Job says that he “went down” from the mountain to the land
whose bars closed down upon me (an illusion to the prison of death). The
trouble Jonah is in can be only described as “dark” and “terrifying.” Yep… this
is one of the great run-from-God stories that, unfortunately, gets told to
children in the most playful and lighthearted way imaginable. But this is a
story that is a dire warning against the dreadful decision to rebel against the
voice and calling of God. The book of Jonah serves as a stark reminder that God
is not to be trifled with. If he speaks to you, listen and obey or you may find
yourself in the middle of a whole bunch of drama you may soon regret.

Prayer

Lord, help us to hear you clearly and obey you with sincerity of
heart.