THE WAY OF THE TRANSGRESSOR.
By F. I. RICHARDSON
THAT the way of the transgressor is hard is well illustrated in the case of Jonah. The Lord requested Jonah to go and proclaim to the people of Nineveh that their wickedness had become so great that He could not allow them to remain longer on the earth—that in forty days He would destroy them. But to Jonah the task was an unpleasant one, so he began to cast about in his mind for some excuse for not going. He reasoned: I know He is a gracious God, merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repents of the evil that He threatens to bring upon the people. Therefore He will not destroy the Ninevites, even tho I do go and proclaim it. In the eyes of the people I will appear to be a false prophet. I can not stand the humiliation of such an experience; I would better run away from the Lord until His anger is past and He changes His mind about destroying them. So he went to Joppa, and found a ship that was about to sail for Tarshish. He paid the price of the passage, and went on board. Evidently feeling satisfied that he had so cleverly escaped the undesirable mission, he went below, laid down, and went to sleep. But not long was he left to the enjoyment of his wrong course of action. The Lord was watching him, and sent a mighty tempest, that tossed the ship about until it was in great danger of sinking. The sailors were very much alarmed, and “cried every one unto his god.” The cargo was thrown overboard to lighten the ship, but neither prayers nor efforts availed anything. The storm increased in fury, and it appeared as if the ship must soon be broken in pieces, and all would find a watery grave. In this dilemma Jonah was called up; a consultation was held; there seemed to be an impression that the storm was upon them because of somebody’s wrong-doing, so lots were cast to discover the guilty party. It proved to be Jonah. All eyes were immediately fixed upon him, and he was plied with questions: “What is thine occupation, and whence comest thou? What is thy country, and of what people art thou?” Jonah’s answer not only startled but greatly alarmed those idolatrous boatmen. “I am an Hebrew; and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land.” With blanched cheeks and trembling voices, the momentous question was asked, “What shall we do with thee, that we may escape this awful and imminent peril?” What agony of soul poor Jonah must have experienced as those fatal words were forced from his lips, “Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea.” Very reluctantly, and only after a strong effort to battle against the angry billows, and a beseeching cry to the Lord who made the sea not to lay that sin to their charge, did the sailors at last take up poor Jonah, and consign him to the briny deep. While musing upon the experience of poor Jonah, this text came to mind: “Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples, and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.” 1 Cor. 10:11. Then there must be some things in this story for us, for we are certainly living very near the end of this world in its present condition. Let us see if we can find some of them. We can not hide from the Lord. “Jonah rose up to flee into Tarshish from the presence of the Lord” (Jonah 1:3), but signally failed. The psalmist says: “Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit? or whither shall I flee from Thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven Thou art there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, Thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall Thy hand lead me, and Thy right hand shall hold me.” Ps. 139:7-10. Jonah, by refusing to obey the Lord, not only got himself into trouble, but he also brought trouble upon others, causing the loss of the ship’s cargo. It is rarely, if ever, that a person travels the downward road of sin and transgression alone; many actually endeavor to draw others with them. Some even devote their time, money, and talents to the awful work of leading people away from God. The Lord can overrule the opposition of rebellious man to the furtherance of His cause. He can make even the wrath of man to praise Him. Ps. 76:10. Those sailors were idolators. When the storm came on, it is said “they cried every man unto his god.” Jonah 1:5. The confession of Jonah, “I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, which made the sea and the dry land” (verse 9), brought the knowledge of the true God to their benighted minds. They had also witnessed the mighty power of Jonah’s God over that storm-lashed sea. The blessed result was, they forsook the gods they had been worshiping, “feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the Lord, and made vows.” Verse 16. Thus6the Lord used Jonah’s transgression to bring about the conversion of these men. Just how the Lord spoke to Jonah when He told him to go and warn Nineveh we are not informed; but He speaks to us through His written Word. We learn from the study of it what He requires of us. For instance, Christ says, “If ye love Me, keep My commandments.” John 14:15. We may, like Jonah, reason ourselves into a carnal security; we may succeed in quieting our conscience, and may go down in the hold of the ship and go to sleep; but, “be sure your sin will find you out.” Num. 32:23. That false peace will be broken; there will be a sudden and terrible awakening; and when we examine the lots that have been cast, we will see only the yawning abyss of eternal destruction staring us in the face. As Jonah sank beneath the turbid waters, he undoubtedly thought he was going to his death, the result of his disobedience to his God. He not only acknowledged the justice of his punishment, but had himself named the penalty for his crime—“Cast me forth into the sea.” Jonah 1:12. Thus every one who is finally lost will acknowledge the justice of his punishment. “As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” Rom. 14:11. But God’s mercy was still extended to Jonah, and after passing through a wonderful experience, he found himself again safe on land, undoubtedly a very penitent and thankful man. The Lord still had the work for Jonah to do. There were thousands of precious souls in Nineveh that must be warned of their impending doom, and given a chance to repent. At the present time the Lord is sending another message, not to the people of one city only, but a world-wide message, “to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people.” Rev. 14:6. A solemn message, “Fear God, and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment is come.” Verse 7. “The end of all things is at hand, be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.” 1 Peter 4:7. Many years this message has been sounding. It is rapidly drawing to a close. The end is near. Soon the decree will go forth to all the world. “He which is filthy, let him be filthy still; and he that is righteous let him be righteous still.” Rev. 22:11. Dear reader, do you not think that the grief-stricken, sin-laden, and self-condemned Jonah, as he went over the side of that ship and sank beneath those storm-lashed billows, deeply regretted the course he had taken, and acknowledged from his inmost soul that “the way of transgressors is hard”? Prov. 13:15. Remember that “God is no respecter of persons.” Acts 10:34. If we refuse to obey Him, He will as surely mete out judgment to us as He did to Jonah. Let us be wise, and follow the example of David, who said, “I made haste, and delayed not to keep Thy commandments.” Ps. 119:60.