The Great City

Building Your False Eden

But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. So he went down to Joppa, found a ship which was going to Tarshish, paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. Jonah 1:3

Cain 🤝 Jonah

The narrator mentions twice that Jonah went to Tarshish “from the presence of the LORD”. This reminds us of a statement the author of Genesis made in the narrative about Cain.

Then Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden. Genesis 4:16

This statement is made of Cain, after he had murdered his brother. After this, he built a city an expression of his reliance on himself to accomplish the protection that God has said he would freely give him. This should make us ask - was Jonah fleeing to another city of Cain? Why is this city presented as a place away from God’s presence?

Tarshish

Tarshish is presented in scripture as an exotic, distant nation, often associated with wealth and maritime trade.

Jehoshaphat made ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold, but they did not go for the ships were broken at Ezion-geber. 1 Kings 22:48
Tarshish was your customer because of the abundance of all kinds of wealth; with silver, iron, tin and lead they paid for your wares. Ezekiel 27:13

We consistently see “the ships of Tarshish” as a false Eden, or a source of supply for human rebellion because of the great wealth in it.

Too long, please open your Bible Jeremiah 10: 1-10

This is why “the ships of Tarshish” are found in oracles of judgment along with other evil empires.

Too long, please open your Bible Isaiah 2: 12-17
Too long, please open your Bible Isaiah 23: 1,6,10,14
Too long, please open your Bible Psalm 48: 4-8

Tarshish plays the role of a pseudo-Eden, a place for precious stones that is exploited by human scheming (ships and trade routes). The destroyed ships of Tarshish become an image of God's defeat of humanity's search for Eden life on their own terms.

Solomon

Solomon began as a wise, godly king who restored Israel’s borders to Edenic proportions, but ends up resembling the power-hungry rulers of the world: accumulating wealth, wives, horses, and military strength against God’s instruction.

His kingdom transforms from a potential Eden into an Egypt-like empire.

“Moreover, he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor shall he cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses, since the LORD has said to you, ‘You shall never again return that way.’ “He shall not multiply wives for himself, or else his heart will turn away; nor shall he greatly increase silver and gold for himself. Deuteronomy 17: 16-17
Too long, please open your Bible 1 Kings 10: 14, 21-22, 26-29
Too long, please open your Bible 1 Kings 11: 1-8
Now King Solomon levied forced laborers from all Israel; and the forced laborers numbered 30,000 men. He sent them to Lebanon, 10,000 a month in relays; they were in Lebanon a month and two months at home. And Adoniram was over the forced laborers. 1 Kings 5: 13-14

What should we learn?

Our inordinate desire to create our own versions of Eden will only lead us to idolatory

Therefore, put to death what belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry. Colossians 3:5
For know and recognize this: Every sexually immoral or impure or greedy person, who is an idolater, does not have an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Ephesians 5:5
“No one can serve two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. Matthew 6:24
But those who want to be rich fall into temptation, a trap, and many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and by craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. 1 Timothy 6: 9-10
Too long, please open your Bible Psalm 84