ALPHA MAAMA (A.M.)

 Tu‘apulelulu Tisema 14, 2023

Jonah the Downer

Ko Siona na’e hifo

JONAH 1:3

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.

SIONA 1:3

Ka ka tu‘u hake ‘a Siona ke hola ki Tāsisi mei he‘ene fakafeangai kia Sihova; ‘o ne ‘alu hifo ki Siopa, pea ne ‘ilo ai ha vaka ‘oku ‘alu ki Tāsisi; pea ne ‘atu ‘a e totongi, ‘o ne heka ki ai, ke ‘alu mo kinautolu ki Tāsisi mei he‘ene fakafeangai kia Sihova.

Consider these two phrases: "Things are looking up for mel" and "I'm feeling down today." We associate "up" with good and "down" with bad. Jonah exemplifies this tendency: he's literally a downer. Four times the verb yarad ("to go down") is used in his story: he yarad to Juppa and yarad into the ship (v. 3); he yard into the inner part of the ship (v. 5); and in the big fish, he yarad to the depths of the sea (2:3). He went down and God brought him down. Sometimes it's only at our lowest point that we can truly hear words from on high.

Arrogant hearts deafen our ears to God's words. So the Lord disciplines us, humbles us, yarads us to open up space in our ears and hearts. We go down and there discover Christ, awaiting us, to speak wisdom and grace in our time of need. He will lift us up again, even as Jonah reemerged from the fish's belly, for he himself blazed the trail out of the depths.

Lord Jesus, "hide not your face from me, lest I be like those who go down to the pit" (Ps. 143:7).