This week in our weekly study of the Bible, we looked at,’The presence of the Lord’ from the book of Jonah.
We see that the phrase ‘The presence of the Lord’ appears thrice in the book of Jonah. Surprisingly, all three times it appears in the chapter 1 of the book. This chapter describes Jonah’s effort to evade the command given by God Almighty.
How hard was Jonah trying to get away from the presence of the Lord?
Jonah was trying real hard to run away from the presence of the Lord.
Firstly, at the time when Jonah lived, the people did not believe that the world was round. In fact, they believed that the earth was flat and that if people traveled far enough, they would probably fall of the edge of the earth.
Secondly, travel by ship was not as easy as it seems today. It was a big deal. Jonah would have had had to spend a great deal to get on a ship to go away to Tarshish.
Thirdly, Jonah was going away to almost close to the end of the known world at that time, in a direction opposite to the direction that God had called him to go.
Is it really possible to run away from God?
The Psalmist writes beautifully about this in Psalm 139.
Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Psalm 139:7-12 talks about this great God
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
9 If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,”
12 even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.
The Psalmist says that God is everywhere and we cannot go away from God. He is there in the highest heaven and in the deepest seas. He is even there in Sheol. The Lord God whom, Jonah was running away from is the God of both the heaven and the earth. Therefore, it is impossible for us to run away from the presence of the Lord. This truth, the prophet Jonah surely knew, for he would have known this Psalm of David!
No wonder the prophet gave it his best shot in trying to run away from the presence of the Lord. So much so that he perhaps spent a fortune, put his life at risk, and was willing to go to the end of the known world!
The story tells us how God is sovereign over the forces of nature: His creation. It tells us how Jonah could not run away from the presence of the Lord but was reminded of God’s sovereignty.
What about us?
How do we respond to God today? If God has called us to do something, what do we do? Do we try to evade it like Jonah? Do we run away? Hide?
There is a Sunday School song that I am reminded of now as I write this, taken out of Psalm 139
Where can I go from Your Spirit?
‘Where is God?’ by Dana Dirksen
Where can I flee from Your presence, oh Lord?
If I go up to the heavens You are there
If I make my bed in the depths, You are there.
Where is God?
Everywhere.
Where is God?
Everywhere. God is everywhere.Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Where can I flee from Your presence, oh Lord?
If I go up to the heavens You are there
If I make my bed in the depths, You are there.
Where is God?
Everywhere.
Where is God?
Everywhere. God is everywhere.Psalm 139, verse 7 and 8, God is everywhere.
There is nowhere that we can go from the presence of the Lord. Let us know this, remember this. He is over all, above all and is omnipresent. Therefore it is rather foolish to try and run away from the presence of this omnipresent God.
We serve a great God!
