(Jonah 1:1)The word of the LORD came to Jonah: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”
Nineveh was the most powerful city on earth at this time. A sight to behold!
It was an awesome city—but it was also an awful city. To this day, Assyrians are known as the cruelest, most sadistic people in world history. Furniture made of human skin and pyramids constructed of human skulls attest to their atrocities. So, telling Jonah to go to Nineveh would have been comparable to telling him to go to Isis today.
But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port…
Nineveh is to the northeast of Israel. Joppa is to the west. Therefore, Jonah sailed in the opposite direction of the Lord’s command. Whenever you’re running in the opposite direction from the presence or call of the Lord, you can be sure that Satan will have a ship all ready for you to set sail.
But also…
Anytime you rebel, know this: The ship will be there waiting, but you’ll pay a heavy price because, although sin is exciting initially, it’s expensive eventually!