2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.” 3 But Jonah arose 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 from the presence of the Lord. (Jonah 1:2–3, NKJV)
Jonah did not want to obey God. So, he tried to run away from God, like many today who do not wish to obey God’s commands. As events unfolded, it became obvious Jonah could not run away from God. Neither can we. Jonah even paid to fulfill his futile quest, buying passage on a ship to a far away land. Like Jonah, many pay great sums of money as they try to rid themselves of God. They pay for drugs and alcohol. They pay for pornography. They pay for the indulges of the flesh and the excesses of worldliness as they try to escape God and His will. But, they fail, too. Even as they pay with their own souls, they only succeed in hastening the day of their destruction (Matt. 16:26). The irony is that God’s salvation is obtained “without money and without price” (Isa. 55:1). Why do we pay for sin when God offers us the gift of salvation without cost to all who call on His name (Acts 2:21; 22:16). Run to God, not away from Him. Salvation is in His Son, not away from Him (Matt. 11:28-30; 28:19-20).
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