Jonah 1

The Explanation

God speaks to a man named Jonah. He is a prophet, someone who has to pass on God's messages. God says: "Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach against it, for their wickedness has come up before me." Nineveh is a huge city, but there is a problem. The people there are enemies of Israel. They are known for their cruelty. And God sees that they are doing wrong.

You would expect Jonah to obey. But he does exactly the opposite. He goes to the port of Joppa, buys a ticket for a ship to Tarshish, and flees "from the presence of Yahweh." Tarshish lies in the other direction, as far away as you could sail in that time. Jonah does not want to go.

Then God does something. He hurls a great wind onto the sea. A storm rises so heavy that the ship threatens to break. The sailors are terrified. They throw the cargo overboard to make the ship lighter. Each one cries to his own god. And Jonah? He is lying deep down in the ship, sleeping.

The captain wakes him up. "How can you sleep? Cry to your god!" The sailors cast lots to find out through whose fault this storm has come. The lot falls on Jonah. They ask him everything: Who are you? Where do you come from? What do you do?

Then Jonah says something big. "I am a Hebrew, and I fear Yahweh, the God of heaven, who has made the sea and the dry land." The sailors are shocked. So this God, whom Jonah is fleeing from, made the whole sea on which they are now sailing?

Jonah himself knows the solution. "Take me up, and throw me into the sea. Then the sea will be calm for you." The sailors don't want to. They still try to row back to land. But it doesn't work. The storm gets worse. Finally they pray to Yahweh, lift Jonah up, and throw him into the sea. Instantly, the sea becomes still. The men fear God greatly and offer a sacrifice. And Yahweh prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. Jonah is in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights.

What Does This Mean?

This story is honest about a prophet who does not want what God wants. Jonah is not a hero here. He runs away. Perhaps because he is afraid, perhaps because he hates the people of Nineveh and does not want them to hear God's word. The text does not yet say why in chapter 1.

But look at how God works. He does not let Jonah go. The wind, the sea, the lot, even the fish, they all listen to God. Meanwhile the sailors, who did not know Yahweh at all, come to believe. That is strange, isn't it? Jonah flees from God, and precisely through his flight these foreign men come to know God.

The Common Thread

Jesus once spoke about Jonah. He said: just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Jesus saw himself in this story. But there is a difference. Jonah was thrown into the sea because of his own disobedience. Jesus went into death because of our disobedience. Jonah had to be sacrificed to save the sailors. Jesus let himself be sacrificed to save people who did not even ask for it.

For You

Have you ever known very well what you should do, and just not done it? Not because you didn't understand, but because you didn't want to. Jonah understands you. And God, who searched for Jonah with a storm, is the same God who searches for you. Not to punish, but to bring you back. Sometimes God uses uncomfortable things in your life to get your attention. That is not always pleasant. But it means He has not let go of you.

Talk About It

Why do you think Jonah could sleep during that terrible storm? What was going on inside him?

The sailors came to believe in God through Jonah's disobedience. What does that tell you about how God works?

Praying Together

Lord, sometimes I run away from what You ask. Thank You that You keep searching for me. Teach me to listen, even when it is difficult. And thank You that Jesus did go, all the way, for me. Amen.