Running Away

Most Shakespeare fanatics channel their interest by going to see performances of the plays, meticulously analyzing them, or reading everything they can about the playwright’s life. Schieffelin wanted more; he wanted to look out his window and see the same kind of birds in the sky that Shakespeare had seen.

Inspired by a mention of starlings in Henry VI, Schieffelin released 100 of the non-native birds in Central Park over two years. (He wasn’t acting alone – he had the support of scientists and the American Acclimatization Society.) We can imagine him watching the starlings flutter off into the park and hoping for them to survive and maybe breed. Which they did. In fact, the birds didn’t just survive; they thrived and bred like weeds.

Unfortunately, Schieffelin’s plan worked too well. Far, far too well. The starlings multiplied exponentially, spreading across America at an astonishing rate. Today, we don’t even know how many of them live in the U.S., with official estimates ranging from 45 million to 200 million. Most, if not all, of them are descended from Schieffelin’s initial 100 birds. The problem is that as an alien species, the starlings wreak havoc because they were introduced into an ecosystem they were not naturally part of and the local species had (and still have) no defense against them.

If you live in an area with a starling population, you are doubtless familiar with the hardy, fearless nature of these birds. They gather in enormous flocks, destroying crops, snatching food supplies from native birds, and scavenging in cities. Starlings now consume millions of dollars’ worth of crops each year and cause fatal airplane crashes. Starlings also spread diseases, including e. coli infections and salmonella.

Schieffelin’s starlings are a prime example of unintended consequences. In Best Laid Plans: The Tyranny of Unintended Consequences and How to Avoid Them, William A. Sherden writes:

Sometimes unintended consequences are catastrophic, sometimes beneficial. Occasionally their impacts are imperceptible, at other times colossal.

You have a purpose, a mission, a calling…and the people effected by your response will be many other than yourself.

Big Idea: Jonah rejects God’s call to preach to the city of Nineveh and finds himself floating in a sea of regret.

BOOK

Jonah 1:1–16 NLT

The Lord gave this message to Jonah son of Amittai: “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh. Announce my judgment against it because I have seen how wicked its people are.” But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the Lord. He went down to the port of Joppa, where he found a ship leaving for Tarshish. He bought a ticket and went on board, hoping to escape from the Lord by sailing to Tarshish. But the Lord hurled a powerful wind over the sea, causing a violent storm that threatened to break the ship apart. Fearing for their lives, the desperate sailors shouted to their gods for help and threw the cargo overboard to lighten the ship. But all this time Jonah was sound asleep down in the hold. So the captain went down after him. “How can you sleep at a time like this?” he shouted. “Get up and pray to your god! Maybe he will pay attention to us and spare our lives.” Then the crew cast lots to see which of them had offended the gods and caused the terrible storm. When they did this, the lots identified Jonah as the culprit. “Why has this awful storm come down on us?” they demanded. “Who are you? What is your line of work? What country are you from? What is your nationality?” Jonah answered, “I am a Hebrew, and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land.” The sailors were terrified when they heard this, for he had already told them he was running away from the Lord. “Oh, why did you do it?” they groaned. And since the storm was getting worse all the time, they asked him, “What should we do to you to stop this storm?” “Throw me into the sea,” Jonah said, “and it will become calm again. I know that this terrible storm is all my fault.” Instead, the sailors rowed even harder to get the ship to the land. But the stormy sea was too violent for them, and they couldn’t make it. Then they cried out to the Lord, Jonah’s God. “O Lord,” they pleaded, “don’t make us die for this man’s sin. And don’t hold us responsible for his death. O Lord, you have sent this storm upon him for your own good reasons.” Then the sailors picked Jonah up and threw him into the raging sea, and the storm stopped at once! The sailors were awestruck by the Lord’s great power, and they offered him a sacrifice and vowed to serve him.

Jonah 1:

LOOK

ASSYRIA: JONAH’S HATRED FOR THE PEOPLE AND FEAR FOR HIS LIFE

Jonah is commanded by God to go to Nineveh and to preach on his behalf to this “great city” (v. 2).

This idea repulses Jonah, due to his great hatred for the Assyrian people—and with good reason. According to James Bruckner, “The Assyrian Kings were proud of their cruel and terrible reputation and went to great trouble and expense to record their exploits for posterity” (James Bruckner, “Jonah,” in The NIV Application Commentary, ed. Terry Muck [Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004], 28). Cruelty at the hands of the Assyrians included torture, dismemberment, and the pain and shame of their victims. Despite their reputation as a renegade city, God still considers them worthy of his message and his grace.

AN EXPENSIVE TRIP DOWN

Instead of obediently following God’s command, the rebellious prophet pays a costly fare to board a ship for Tarshish, hoping to suppress his calling through distance (v. 3). Although the cost of the fare is not mentioned, passage from Joppa to Tarshish, which according to Bruckner, “was a Phonecian city in southern Spain, just west of Gibraltar” would have cost a great sum (Bruckner, “Jonah,” 42).

Down to Joppa to board, Down to the hold

“was a Phonecian city in southern Spain, just west of Gibraltar” would

500 miles northeast - instead 2500 miles west to southern Spain - as far as he could fathom.

STORMS HAVE EFFECTS ON OTHERS

have cost a great sum (Bruckner, “Jonah,” 42).

God sends a storm to reroute Jonah; however, caught in the crosshairs, the weathered crew becomes so frightened that they begin to throw the cargo overboard, hoping to withstand the waves (v. 5). Jonah’s rebellion has now cost these unsuspecting sailors their precious goods—and threatens their very lives. Many times, our rebellion against God proves devastating for others around us—our friends, family, coworkers, neighbors.

STORMS: JONAH RELUCTANTLY REFERS TO GOD AS THE ONE WHO MADE THE SEA AND THE LAND.

In the midst of this turmoil Jonah is fast asleep, hiding in the belly of the ship (v. 5). When his part in the storm is revealed through the casting of lots, Jonah finally begins to admit to his true identity and calling (vv. 7, 9– 10). Jonah then offers his life in substitute for the safety of the crew (v. 12). In this, the redemptive nature of this narrative begins to emerge. Though reluctantly, Jonah begins to proclaim the true nature, power, and intention of his God.

STORMS: REST ASSURED… GOD ALLOWS STORMS FOR OUR GOOD AND HIS PURPOSE

The storm, though terrifying and costly, is an act of God’s grace. He commands the seas, which obediently thwart the reluctant prophet from attempted abdication of his calling. God often allows storms into our lives in order to redirect our course. However, his actions are always corrective, never punitive. Jesus paid the full price for all our rebellion against God. There is no punishment left for us—only grace, forgiveness, and redemption. We can rest assured that the storms God allows our way are always for our good and his purpose.

SAILERS: WORSHIP! EVEN IN REBELLION, GOD USES HIS ANOINTED PROPHET (PRODIGAL PROPHET)

With no other options the sailors reluctantly throw Jonah over board and immediately the seas become calm (v. 15). At once the sailors begin to worship and offer sacrifices to the God of Jonah for his great salvation (v. 16). Even in the midst of his rebellion, Jonah can’t help but be used by God to bring his message of salvation.

TOOK

Big Idea: Jonah rejects God’s call to preach to the city of Nineveh and finds himself floating in a sea of regret.

Application Point: Don’t try to outrun God’s purpose for your life; it is futile and often costly for you and for those around you.