2019-05-12T08:00:00-05:00
1:1 Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.” 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.
4 But the LORD hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up. 5 Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his god. And they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep. 6 So the captain came and said to him, “What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call out to your god! Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish.”
7 And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. 8 Then they said to him, “Tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us. What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?” 9 And he said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” 10 Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, “What is this that you have done!” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them.
11 Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?” For the sea grew more and more tempestuous. 12 He said to them, “Pick me up and hurl me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.” 13 Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to get back to dry land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them. 14 Therefore they called out to the LORD, “O LORD, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not on us innocent blood, for you, O LORD, have done as it pleased you.” 15 So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. 16 Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows.
17 And the LORD appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright (c)2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. http://www.esv.org
The "favorites" lists come out about this time every year. There's Elijah and Isaiah. Eli and Levi make the lists, and so do James and Jude. Aaron and Thomas, Ezra and Benjamin are in the top fifty for 2019. And of course, we all know Marks and Lukes and Matthews and Davids. I have recently even met a young man named Moses. Bible-based baby names, even these days, grace boy bassinets far and wide.
But not a single list offers the name Absalom. Maybe there are a few out there, but far fewer than there should be. You see, all of us reflect the man Absalom. All of us are rebel sons who lead an insurrection in our own souls.
We are Absalom in our discontent. Dissatisfied with God's provisions, we scheme for more. We lust for those things forbidden. Our heart rebels. Yet God's Word teaches us,
But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. (1 Timothy 6:6-9)
We are Absalom in our anger. Somehow, in the siren song of the insurrection, we hear that we've been cheated. And we fume. Seething anger characterizes our outlook on all we see, particularly when we look upon our heavenly father. "He could've made a change.", we think. "He could've altered the outcome, or changed the wind, or given me what I demand." Like Absalom, our anger drives us to be slanderous and sinister.
We are Absalom in our fear. We live our lives in the shadow-stained half-light of the fear of man, the fear of the future, the fear of the past. So we reject the very one who promises joy, and proclaims peace. But then our rebellion does nothing to lighten the load of terror.
Indeed, we all are Absalom, armed and dangerous, and headed for destruction.
But unlike Absalom, we have a Father who intervenes before the battle is lost. For we are adopted sons of the Most High God. And God, in His mercy, sent His only begotten son to take the punishment for the rebels. His son was suspended on the tree of shame, and bore the thrust of the enemy's spear. The perfect son, who knew no sin, accomplished the work to bring peace into the chaos of rebellion. In Christ, our battle is over, the victory is won.
So we, Absaloms all, may put down our treasonous weapons of discontent, and anger, and fear. And we can, with God's blessing and empowerment, be found in league with the perfectly loyal Son of God.