Bible Commentaries
Jonah 1

Verses 1-2

Jon 1:1-2

GOD’S MESSENGER RUNNING FROM GOD

THE COMMISSION OF JONAH

TEXT: Jonah 1:1-2

Jehovah’s righteous judgment is about to fall upon Nineveh but He commissions Jonah to go with a final message of repentance, which, if heeded, will bring salvation from the impending judgment.

Jonah 1:1-2 . . . THE WORD OF JEHOVAH CAME SAYING . . . GO TO NINEVAH . . . AND CRY AGAINST IT . . . The story of Jonah, beginning with the conjunction vav, unites with all the preceding history of God’s scheme of redemption and thus becomes “one more pearl of great price” fitted to the whole string of pearls which form the priceless revelation of God’s grace to man. It has a specific purpose to serve, it is not incongruous. It reminds the Jews of their election to be a witness to the nations; it proclaims God’s sovereignty over all peoples; it typifies the Messiah’s humiliation and glorification; and it prophesies Israel’s chastening to come. It is God’s trumpet blast warning both Jew and Gentile of their responsibilities toward Him at a critical time in the scheme of redemption.

Zerr: Jonah 1:1. The book of Jonah is composed almost wholly of history. The only prophecy It contains is that of the threatened destruction of Nineveh (Jonah 3:4), which was to be only forty days in the future. But he is called a prophet in 2 Kings 14:25 and Matthew 12:39, hence we know that his work entitled him to that classification. We have no details of his work outside of this book except what is briefly mentioned in the first reference above and the allusion to his preaching by Jesus. And the Old Testament reference gives us the information as to the general date of bis life and work, for he gave instructions to Jeroboam II who reigned in the 10-tribe kingdom of Israel about 800 B, C., which was a century before the Assyrian captivity of Israel, This verse says the word of the Lord came to Jonah, so we see that his work was by inspiration of God as far as his writing and teaching was concerned. Jonah 1:2. Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrian Empire, the power that God intended to use in the chastisement of the kingdom of Israel at a future date. This capital city was located on the east bank of the Tigris River. It had become so wicked that the Lord wished to have it improved before using its forces in His campaign against the people of Israel. Jonah was therefore given the command to go and cry against it. The details of that “cry" are not stated here but they are given move attention later.

The city of Nineveh, according to Diodorus, was the greatest city of antiquity. It had a population of about 600,000 and was some 80 miles in circumference. Upon its walls, 100 feet high, flanked with 1500 towers, each 200 feet high, four chariots could drive abreast. It filled, together with the adjoining suburbs, the whole space between the rivers Tigris, Khoer, the Upper or Great Zab, the Gasr Su, and the mountainous boundary of the valley of the Tigris on the east. This great metropolis occupied an area of about 18 square miles.

The first mention of Nineveh is in Genesis 10:11 where it is stated that Nimrod (or Asshur) went out into Assyria, and builded Nineveh, Rehoboth-Ir, Calah, and Resen, adding, “the same is the great city.” It is very probable that the Nineveh of Jonah’s day consisted of all these cities in one “great city.” The first king of any greatness in Nineveh was Assur-nasipal II (885–860 B.C.) who was warlike and cruel but who welded Assyria into the best fighting machine of the ancient world. Shalmaneser II (860–825 B.C.) was the first Assyrian king to come in conflict with Israel. Ahab fought him and Jehu paid him tribute. Then came Shansi-adad (825–808 B.C.) and then Adad-nirari (808–783 B.C.). Adad-nirari is undoubtedly the person who was king when Jonah went to “cry against” that great city. There are archaeological records to indicate that Adad-Nirari made reforms in his empire similar to those of Amenophis IV in Egypt. And, under the reigns of the three kings following Adad-Nirari (Shalmaneser III, 783–771 B.C.; Assur-dayan, 771–753 B.C.; Assur-lush, 753–747 B.C.) there was a letup in Assyrian conquests. In this period Israel recovered lost territory, 2 Kings 14:25. These are hints that Jonah’s influence on Nineveh was profound.

About 100 years later, under Sennacherib (705–681 B.C.) Nineveh blossomed into beauty and splendor that she had never known, Sennacherib built his palace which covered 8 acres and was elevated on a brick platform 90 feet above the city level. Flights of marble steps led up all four sides of the palace and each entrance was flanked by five pairs of human headed beasts, lions and other figures. These palace ruins show numerous halls, rooms and passages, many of which were faced with slabs of coarse alabaster, sculptured in relief with military operations, hunting-scenes, mythological figures, etc.

Assur-banipal (668–626), one of Assyria’s last, but greatest kings, built one of the ancient world’s greatest libraries. It contained originally over 100,000 volumes. It was thoroughly cataloged and indexed and specific volumes were easily referred to. Archaeologists have found magnifying glasses supplied to read the many texts which, because of voluminous amount of material, had to be written in small characters. Among these volumes were such works as grammars, dictionaries, interlinear translations, works on astronomy relating observations of eclipses and the like, religious texts, legal texts including the code of Hammurabi, scientific works in taxonomy, geography and medicine, poetry, epics on the great Deluge and the Creation, fiscal documents relating to collection of taxes and works of various other natures.

About 612 B.C. Nineveh was destroyed by a coalition of armies from the Babylonians and Medes. It happened exactly as Nahum, the prophet, predicted it. Its destruction was so complete that even its site was forgotten. When Xenophon and his 10,000 passed by 200 years later he thought the mounds were the ruins of some Parthian city. When Alexander the Great fought the famous battle of Arbela, 331 B.C., near the site of Nineveh, he did not know there had ever been a city there.

To this cruel, cold-blooded, profligate, power-worshipping, materialistic, animistic metropolis God sent Jonah. Jonah was commanded to “preach against” that great city. Their wickedness cried out to the whole earth and God saw it just as He had seen it before (Genesis 6:5; Genesis 18:20-21). The wickedness of every man and every nation is a “cry against God.” But God has, by sending His Word, “cried out against all wickedness” (cf. Romans 1:18 ff). Who will win in this struggle? Men cry their rebellions against God—God cries His judgments upon men. Whose voice shall be finally heard? The Bible says God’s cry will prevail and history confirms it!

But why send Jonah to a foreign nation? Did he not have enough to do in preaching to his own people? No doubt he had preached to Israel time and time again of God’s judgment to come upon them because of their materialism, rebellion and unbelief. But his preaching had fallen upon sin-deafened ears. Nothing he said, however scathing, could turn them from their headlong plunge into heathenism. But look again at Nineveh. Its power and security, its prolificacy and licentiousness had become a by-word throughout the whole world. It was the subject upon every lip—the fear in every heart. Whatever might be achieved there by God through His prophet would not be “as a thing done in a corner!” The report of whatever should be accomplished there at Jonah’s preaching would be reported throughout the world!

If by this one call to repentance Jonah should effect the repentance of this Gentile city, what a lesson that would be to the sin-calloused hearts of Israel. It should reveal to Israel the perverseness and foolishness of her behaviour toward her loving God—it should make her ashamed. If it did not so shame her into repentance then there was nothing left for God to do but cast Israel out as one no longer worthy to be called a child and receive and honor the recovered and penitent prodigal, Nineveh. This is precisely the use Jesus made of the preaching of Jonah at Nineveh and its results. Jesus told the Jews of His own generation that the people of Nineveh would rise up in the judgment to condemn them, because they had repented at Jonah’s preaching; while He, a greater than Jonah, spoke only to cold and unconcerned hearts. The lesson to be learned from the response of the Gentiles should be even more graphic to the Jews of Jonah’s day. The Ninevites surrendered to the call of God and ceased from their sins while the covenant people despised God’s word and His prophet and hardened their hearts fearing Him not. Israel then could only learn that repentance, such as expressed by Nineveh, would bring salivation. The only other alternative was certain, sure and just retribution from the God they insisted upon spurning.

This is a principle common to all ages. Jesus used it over and over again (Matthew 8:10-12; Matthew 22:1-14; Matthew 21:33-41); Paul reiterated it again and again both by example and precept (Acts 13:46-47; Acts 28:24-28; Romans 11, etc.). This principle is: God is not now nor was He ever a respecter of persons, “But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is acceptable to him” (Acts 10:34). When God chose the seed of Abraham He intended to bless not simply the physical offspring of Abraham but the spiritual seed of Abraham. The people of Israel in Jonah’s day were in very real danger of forgetting this truth. Jonah is merely illustrating by an object-lesson this great truth which Hosea would later prophesy (Hosea 1:10; Hosea 2:23) and which Paul would quote in Romans 9:19-26. When God judged and redeemed Israel it was a revelation—a lesson—to all mankind at large. Just as Israel, in apostatizing, became as the heathen falling under the judgment of God, so Israel in being redeemed upon her repentance was equally a promise to all Gentiles of their redemption if they should repent. In the case of Jonah’s preaching to the Gentiles and bringing about their repentance and salvation it was this same lesson in reverse—teaching the principle which those who should have known it best had so readily forgotten!

This was why Jonah was sent. God would use the repentance and salvation of Nineveh as a last effort of a loving Father to provoke a recalcitrant child (Israel) to shame and to a jealousy that would penitently seek the favor of its Father (cf. Romans 10:19). But Jonah, so intent upon his own opinion as how to best accomplish Israel’s repentance (which would be by a catastrophic display of God’s wrath upon the sin of Nineveh), was found “running ahead of God.”

Another prophet, enamored of his own ideas as to how best bring about the purposes of God, was also found “running ahead of God” in a similar way and received a similar rebuke (cf. 1 Kings 19:9-14). The Jewish concept of the Messiah was one of a mighty military despot who would come to bring the retribution of God upon the Gentiles thus calling Israel to repentance but the Messiah came with the “still small voice” and the Jews, having already formed their concepts, rejected Him. We shall have more to say of this later.

Questions

1. How does this singularly unique book of Jonah fit into the whole revelation of God?

2. How “great” was the city of Nineveh—population, area, militarily?

3. Who was the king of Assyria when Jonah preached “against” its capitol city?

4. What was the eventual fate of the city of Nineveh?

5. Why was Jonah sent to a Gentile city to preach “against” it?

6. Are there any illustrations of other ages and other people of God’s purpose in Jonah’s commission? Name some!

Verses 1-3

Jon 1:1-3

Jonah Rejects God’s Instructions (Jonah 1:1-3)

“Now the word of Jehovah came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me” (Jonah 1:1-2).

Jehovah calls upon His prophet to perform a duty. Jonah is to go to Nineveh, the great city, and preach a message of repentance due to their wickedness that had “come up before” the Lord (cf. Matthew 12:39-41). Interestingly, the etymology for the word Nineveh indicates an association with a fish. Nineveh was located on the bank of the Tigris River. Nineveh was not, at this date, the capital city of Assyria but latter would be so named. The important point here is to note that God had given Jonah a command; i.e., “go!”

“But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of Jehovah; and he went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of Jehovah” (Jonah 1:3).

Jonah was from the town of Gath-hepher (cf. 2 Kings 14:25). Gath-hepher was located about ten miles due west of the Sea of Galilee. Rather than obeying God’s word and traveling Northeastward toward Nineveh the prophet travels around 50 miles Southwestward to Joppa (a coastal town of Philistia on the Mediterranean Sea). Jonah pays a fare to travel from Joppa to Tarshish (likely a city on the North African coast of the Mediterranean Sea). The fact that Nineveh was a Gentile city belonging to the enemies of God proved to be too much for Jonah’s sense of compassion. The prophet was to learn that you can run but you cannot hide from the all-seeing eyes of God. The Lord tolerates disobedience in no one.

Verses 3-10

Jon 1:3-10

GOD’S MESSENGER RUNNING FROM GOD
THE CONTRARIETY OF JONAH

TEXT: Jonah 1:3-10

Jonah, thinking to relieve himself of the prophetic responsibility if he gets away from the place where this commission was given, flees toward Tarshish. But God arrests him in the middle of the ocean by a storm and the falling of a lot upon him. Jonah then confesses his failure to the ship’s crew.

Jonah 1:3 JONAH ROSE UP TO FLEE UNTO TARSHISH FROM THE PRESENCE OF JEHOVAH . . . Was Jonah foolish enough to think that he could hide from God? Destructive liberal critics of the Bible say that the phrase “from the presence of Jehovah” indicates a “tribal concept of God.” That is, the liberal critics think the Hebrews of Jonah’s day had the same concept of their God as the heathen did of theirs—each ethnic group of people had their own localized gods—and when they got away from their homeland the local gods had no power over them. This attack upon the supernatural character of the Bible is too absurd to be given much credence by anyone who has ever read the Bible at all. Long before Jonah ever lived the Hebrew people knew that Jehovah God was the Only True God and that He was Creator and Sustainer of the whole universe—that His presence was everywhere (cf. Psalms 139:7 ff). What then is the meaning of this phrase “from the presence of Jehovah?” The Jewish commentator, Kimchi, says, “He imagined that if he went out of the land of Israel, the Spirit of prophecy would not rest upon him’.’ In other words, Jonah was simply trying to rid himself of the responsibilities of his official status in this one particular task of going to Nineveh. The phrase “. . . presence of Jehovah” is often used to indicate some official capacity (cf. Genesis 41:46; Deuteronomy 10:8; 1 Kings 17:1; 1 Kings 18:15; 2 Kings 3:14; Luke 1:19). Jonah’s intention was not to hide himself from the omnipotent God, but to withdraw from the service of Jehovah. So Jonah acted, as men often do today who do not like God’s call upon their lives to special service, by removing themselves as far as possible from being under the influence of God, and from the place where he could fulfill God’s command. All the circumstances which weighed upon Jonah’s soul causing such disobedience we are not told. However, he gives us one reason himself near the end of the book (Jonah 4:2). Fairbairn supposes Jonah to have rationalized thus: “Alas! what can I hope to accomplish as the bearer of God’s message against the crying sins and abominations of Nineveh? I, a solitary individual, a poor and unknown stranger, in the midst of a proud, overgrown city, reveling in wealth and wantonness! What success have I had at home even among the people of my own tongue and nation? Here, with every advantage on my side, I have borne the testimony of God in vain, and have seen the hand of the Lord stretched out to save from impending ruin, with no other effect among the people at large than of giving new wings to profligacy and corruption. My soul is already sick with looking at the things which have been proceeding around me; my hands hang down nerveless and enfeebled; and yet I am the man to be sent to deal with that mighty mass of pride and unrestrained wickedness! Is there the least likelihood of their listening to my voice? . . . And, whatever success might attend my labors when transferred to that distant field, will not He who has so long spared Israel under so many provocations, much more spare them? Why may not matters, then, be allowed to take their course? Or, if the call to repentance must be proclaimed, let it be at least committed to one better prepared for the toils and difficulties of the undertaking.” Discouragement, the devil’s sharpest knife, has stabbed the heart of Jonah and many a preacher of God since, weakening their faith and prodding them into “fleeing from the presence of Jehovah.” Jonah had seen no visible “success” from his ministry and so he was ready to quit. He had seen enough in the past to believe that all his preaching to Nineveh would not bring the judgment of God upon them but mercy which would be but another failure. His faith was not strong enough yet to accept at all times that the ways of men are not always the ways of God (Isaiah 55:8). When Isaiah was warned many years later that his preaching would not be listened to, Isaiah cried out, “How long, O Lord?” The Lord answered Isaiah and all preachers who have ever asked the same question, “Until cities be waste without inhabitant, and houses without man, and the land become utterly waste . . .” (Isaiah 6:9 ff). Lack of apparent success, unresponsive listeners, discouragement blinded the eyes of Jonah to the power of God and he went with haste to the city of Joppa, one of Israel’s greatest seaports, and paid his fare on a ship bound for Tarshish.

Zerr: Jonah 1:3. This is the only place in the Bible that says anything about the attempt of Jonah to flee from his duty, hence we see him as a faithful scribe since he makes no effort to "whitewash” his action, either in this particular verse or in his explanation to the mariners. Tarshish was a, city on the coast of Spain and hence was about as far away in the opposite direction from Nineveh as Jonah could think of. He was merely showing a common weakness and foolishness of mankind in thinking he could escape from the presence of the Lord. He certainly believed that God is everywhere and that it is impossible to get out of His sight, but in his panicky frame of mind he gave way to the impulse of evading an unpleasant task. Joppa was a coast town of Palestine and a shipping port. Jonah learned of a boat that was scheduled for Tarshish and bought passage on the same.

Tarshish is probably Tartessus, in Spain, about 2000 miles west of Palestine, and one of the most western points of all the Phoenician trade. Jonah was fleeing in as opposite a direction from Nineveh as he could go, as Nineveh is almost directly east of Palestine about 500 miles. Joppa is the city where Peter was when God called him to take the Gospel to the Gentile army captain, Cornelius (Acts 10:5 ff).

Jonah 1:4-5 BUT JEHOVAH SENT OUT A GREAT WIND UPON THE SEA . . . THEN THE MARINERS WERE AFRAID . . . BUT JONAH . . . WAS FAST ASLEEP, His going out from the presence of the Lord did not ensure his escape from the government of the Lord. All the forces of nature are at the command of God, and are pressed into His service when need requires. The ship started on course, but God sent out a wind (cf. Psalms 104:4; Hebrews 1:7). The mariners were heathen—they were polytheists—men who worshipped many gods. This tempest was so severe that even these experienced seamen were terrified. When prayer to each one’s deity did not avail they hurled their cargo overboard, but even this did not help. The ship was groaning and creaking, tossed about, and in immediate danger of breaking apart. And Jonah was fast asleep! It is hardly justifiable to attribute his ability to sleep through the storm to a perverse stupefied, seared conscience. He was probably so exhausted from the long trip from Gath-hepher to Joppa (a distance of some 60–70 miles) and from the psychological wrestling with his soul (which causes physical exhaustion) that he simply fell into a deep sleep which the rocking and rolling of the ship might even have helped, as we ourselves have experienced drowsiness induced by the rolling of a ship under our feet.

Zerr: Jonah 1:4. Jonah was to learn "the hard way” that it is impossible to evade the hand of God by fleeing. Yet the Lord did not wish to injure him since He expected to use him after the present lesson had been taught and appreciated. Neither did God intend that any damage should come to the owners of the ship as we shall see. So He sent forth a wind that threatened to rend the vessel hy the violence of the waves. Jonah 1:5. These mariners were idolaters and showed their faith in their gods by praying to them. But they did not depend wholly on them for help but co-operated by lightening the load for the ship, an example that could well be observed by Christians who seem to think that "God wii! take care of us” whether we do anything or not. The side* of the ship means the recesses or nooks of the vessel that were more or less secluded and suitable for repose. Jonah was sound asleep In one of these and unaware of the storm that was raging out-side.

Jonah 1:6-7 . . . WHAT MEANEST THOU, O SLEEPER? . . . COME, AND LET US CAST LOTS . . . AND THE LOT FELL UPON JONAH, The “chief-sailor” (shipmaster) remembered the passenger who had boarded at Joppa and probably had been informed that he was asleep down in the hold. Jonah had told them (exactly when, we are not told) that his purpose for buying passage was to flee from the presence of Jehovah (Jonah 1:10). So the chief “rope-puller” (the literal word for “sailor”) awakened Jonah shouting, over the noise of the storm and in incredulity that he could sleep, “What do you mean sleeping at a time like this? Get up and call upon your God in hope that he will look with favor upon us all that we do not perish.” These ploytheists had tried calling upon every god represented by every other man on board all to no avail. They had thrown the cargo overboard. Now, they will try Jonah’s god. The record does not indicate whether Jonah prayed then or not, but the crew decided to take further action as a last resort. These sailors were at their wits’ end when it occurred to them that this violent storm was the expression of the gods’ anger with someone on board. Although many of the ancient and contemporary heathenistic concepts of God and natural phenomena are utterly false yet the Bible reveals very plainly that there is a relationship between man’s sin and natural calamity (see our comments on Joel and Special Studies on Prophetic Philosophy of History and The Day of Jehovah).

The Arabic word which corresponds to the Hebrew word “lot” is translated “stone, pebble, etc.” Stones, pebbles, dice, colored balls, pieces of wood of different lengths, and so on, were used for the “casting of lots.” Because men of old believed that the will of the powers which ruled over man’s destiny could be known in this way, it was a common practice to cast lots for important decisions. We also read that individual Israelites and the entire nation made use quite frequently of some sort of “lot.” The Urim and Thummim, placed into the breastplate fastened to the ephod worn by the high priest in his official duties served to reveal God’s will, the exact manner of such revelation being unknown to us (cf. Exodus 28:30; Numbers 27:21; Joshua 9:14; 1 Samuel 22:10; 1 Samuel 22:13; 1 Samuel 22:15; 1 Samuel 23:6-13; 1 Samuel 30:7 ff; Nehemiah 7:65). The Lord commanded the casting of lots only in important matters (Leviticus 16:8; Numbers 26:53 ff; Numbers 33:54; Numbers 34:13; Joshua 7:13 ff; chs. 14–21). Saul’s use of the lot (1 Samuel 14:37-45) was an act of a king rejected by God (1 Samuel 13:13 ff), an example illustrating Proverbs 13:13-23, without giving permission to resort to casting the lot. In the New Testament there is no divine command to cast lots and only one example of such being done (Acts 1:26). Neither the deacons (Acts 6:1-6), nor Paul and Barnabas as missionaries to the heathen (Acts 13:1 ff), nor the delegation sent to Antioch by the congregation at Jerusalem (Acts 15:22 ff), nor the evangelists placed in the newly planted congregations (1 Timothy 4:14; Titus 1:5) were chosen by casting lots. We do not think it would be sinful if a congregation or individual Christians resorted to the lot in order to decide certain details in carrying out a work in which they are agreed in general. But the outcome of the lot is not to be regarded as a divine decree. God has made know His will through which “he has granted unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through a knowledge of Him (Christ)” (2 Peter 1:3 ff). God has given us minds to make intelligent decisions and when our decisions are in accord with His revealed word we do not need to cast lots.

In the Old Testament times God revealed His will in “divers portions and divers manners” (Hebrews 1:1). In the case of Jonah here it is very evident that God controlled the outcome of the casting of the lots. The lot fell upon Jonah. It was God’s way of saying, “Thou art the man!”

Zerr: Jonah 1:6. Up to now the mariners knew nothing of Jonah’s connection with the situation, so the shipmaster or captain was surprised that he could be so unconcerned about it. Sleeper is from radam which Strong defines, “A primitive root; to stun. i.e. stupefy (with sleep or death)." Nothing Indicates that they had been at sea very long, and there was no apparent reason why anyone would be needing sleep, hence the captain thought that Jonah was stunned by some cause unkown to him. So he aroused the "sleeper" and told him to join in the general petition to their respective gods for help in their time of distress. The name of God is capitalized which is the work of the translator or editor of the A. V,, hut it should not be so for this heathen captain knew nothing of the God of Jonah. All he meant was that, he was to do as all the rest had been doing, call upon his god for help, and perhaps the god would come to their aid. Jonah 1:7. Nothing is said in the text about whether Jonah made any response to the request of the captain or not, but the indication is that he did not. He knew that the very God to whom he would have "sailed” was the One from whom he was fleeing, and that it would be inconsistent for him to make such a call. The mariners were still ignorant of the true situation, hut they concluded that some special reason must exist for the storm since it came up so unexpectedly and out of season. In their extremity they felt that some person present must be responsible for the disturbance. Had they been the people of Israel they might have expressed it by saying there was "sin in the camp” as it is usually said in the case of Aehan in Joshua 7. Being heathen they did not have that view of the case, yet they were religiously inclined and thought that something was wrong. The casting of lots would ordinarily be only a chance decision, but Proverbs 16:33 shows that the Lord sometimes takes a hand in it and “disposes" the decision according to His will. Such will be done in the present case because God really wants these innocent mariners to know on whose account the distressful situation has come upon them. Accordingly, when they cast their iota the "lucky number” was drawn by Jonah because God directed the operation.

Jonah 1:8-9 . . . WHAT IS THINE OCCUPATION? AND WHENCE COMEST THOU? . . . I AM A HEBREW; AND I FEAR JEHOVAH . . . They inquired about his occupation, because it might be a disreputable one, and one which excited the wrath of the gods; also about his parentage, and especially about the land and people from which he sprang, in order that they might deal with him according to his position, or influential friendships, They would not want to deal severely with a man whose influence might get them into trouble later.

We cannot but admire the frankness of Jonah’s confession of guilt, and his willing surrender to the claims of justice, when he was tempted sorely to take an opposite course. This certainly shows that Jonah’s conscience was not seared over. He answers their questions truthfully and at the same time finds an opportunity to bear witness to the One True God. His testimony resembles a great deal that made by the apostle to the Gentiles (Acts 14:14-18; Acts 17:22-31).

Zerr: Jonah 1:8. The captain was surprised when he found Jonah in profound sleep while a violent storm was raging, and now that feeling was doubtless increased by the outcome of the lot. It prompted him to make the inquiries stated in this verse, for Jonah must have belonged to a mysterious clan to have had such a significant part to play In the affair that was overwhelming the whole crew with fear. Jonah 1:9. Jonah gave the captain and other mariners a brief but clear explanation of the case. Ali of the men on board professed to be religious and to be worshipers of some god, but Jonah claimed devotion to the God who had made the very sea that was threatening to destroy their ship with all its passengers and men. He told them further (as we may learn from the next verse) that he was fleeing from liis own God when he went on board their ship.

Jonah 1:10 . . . WHAT IS THIS THAT THOU HAST DONE? Now if Jonah’s claims were true, it was Jonah’s God who had sent the storm. How then could Jonah rebel against such a god? The sailors were amazed by what Jonah had told them. It was as if they said, “Jonah, if your god is the god of heaven, sea, and land, how could you dare disobey him and run away from his command to you?” They also wanted to know why he had involved them in his troubles with his god!

Zerr: Jonah 1:10. Then were the man exceedingly afraid, This was the most logical result that could have come after the explanation of Jonah, for it harmonized with all tive facts as they had seen them. Only the creator of the sea could throw it into the condition it then manifested as he willed, and hence such a being should be feared.

Questions

1. Was Jonah foolish enough to think he could hide from God?

2. What does the phrase “. . . from the presence of Jehovah” mean?

3. Why did Jonah “flee from the presence of Jehovah?”

4. Where is Tarshish?

5. Why was Jonah asleep?

6. Should we try to determine God’s will by casting lots?

7. Why did the sailors question Jonah about his occupation, country, etc.?

Verses 4-10

Jon 1:4-10

Jehovah captures Jonah with a Great Fish (Jonah 1:4-17)

“But Jehovah sent out a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken. Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god; and they cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it unto them. But Jonah was gone down into the innermost parts of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep” (Jonah 1:4-5).

Let us consider the facts up to this point. God has given Jonah a task yet the prophet has disobeyed. Jonah has fled “from the presence of God” (Jonah 1:3) (so he thought). Jonah has now involved others in his punishment for disobedience. The mariners of the ship bound for Tarshish are not guilty of Jonah’s disobedience yet they are now caught in the middle of this struggle between God and His prophet. These mariners are filled with terror as they experience God’s wrath unleashed upon the seas of the Mediterranean. The identity of the mariners is found as they, in a time of trouble, call upon all to turn “every man unto his god.” The mariner’s idea of a source of help was each man’s deity. Unity in diversity was an obvious practice among the Gentiles (see study # 1; Unity in Diversity of Beliefs). Whatever deity one so chose to serve and associate with was ok with everyone else. There was not one true deity in the minds of the Gentile heathen. The mariners begin to throw everything not tied down over board to lighten the ship and lessen its chances of sinking. Meanwhile, Jonah is fast asleep within the ship.

“So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? Arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not” (Jonah 1:6).

The sea was apparently so turbulent that the mariners truly feared for their lives. This was no ordinary storm but rather a violent tossing about. The master of the ship finds Jonah asleep and cannot believe it. He calls upon Jonah to pray to his God too. No help was coming from any of the other men’s deities and so they request that Jonah call upon his God. They are desperate and seek to find help from any source. The words “that we perish not” illustrate a common fellowship that all the men shared. No one wanted to die!

“And they said everyone to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah. Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us; what is thine occupation? And whence comest thou? What is thy country? And of what people art thou?” (Jonah 1:7-8).

Lots were often cast to determine many things in Bible days (cf. Joshua 18:10; 1 Chronicles 25:8; Luke 23:34; Acts 1:26). Jonah received the short stick (i.e., some form of throwing stones or choosing sticks of various lengths) that identified him as the source of the trouble. The mariners of the ship now want to know everything about Jonah. Though they believed in a multitude of gods it was now clear that this great calamity was caused by the God of Jonah.

“And he said unto them, I am a Hebrew; and I fear Jehovah, the God of heaven, who hath made the sea and the dry land. Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, What is this that thou hast done? For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of Jehovah, because he had told them” (1:9-10).

Jonah proceeds to tell the mariners all about himself and Jehovah God (i.e., the creator of all things). News of a mere man angering such a powerful God as the creator of the sea and dry land caused the mariners to be “exceedingly afraid.” It is clear that the men’s question, “What is this that thou hast done” is not a request for information regarding why Jonah was disobedient but rather a question of utter astonishment that Jonah would do such a thing. Jonah proclaims his “fear” of Jehovah God; however, his actions illustrated otherwise.

Verses 11-17

Jon 1:11-17

Jonah is cast off the ship and swallowed by a great

fish due to his disobedience to Jehovah (Jonah 1:11-17)

“Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? For the sea grew more and more tempestuous. And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you” (Jonah 1:11-12).

Interestingly Jonah had no desire to do anything that may save the Gentile heathen of Nineveh; however, due to this great distress and fear of the events at hand he sees these men’s desire to live. The ungodly are no different than the godly from the view of their occupying fleshly bodies and desire to continue their existence rather than perish. Jonah now shared a common plight with the heathens and he was the one to blame for their perilous condition. The prophet, recognizing that he was the reason for all the current stress, fear and danger to human life, request that he be thrown overboard. Jonah concluded that his life was not worth the lives of all the men on the ship. The prophet said, “For I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.” Jonah thereby instructs the mariners to cast him into the ocean so that they might be saved. The prophet has learned his lesson on compassion for other people’s lives and is soon to learn the lesson regarding the value of men’s souls. Jonah would take his life to save the lives of the mariners. Jonah is thereby a type of the Christ (cf. Matthew 12:39-41).

“Nevertheless the men rowed hard to get them back to the land; but they could not: for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them. Wherefore they cried unto Jehovah, and said, We beseech thee, O Jehovah, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not upon us innocent blood; for thou, O Jehovah, hast done as it pleased thee” (Jonah 1:13-14).

Jonah has gone from being cold and callous toward the heathen to learning of the value of their lives. No doubt the prophet noted how hard these Gentiles worked to get the crew safe on dry ground yet it was to no avail. Their efforts, however, must have struck a chord of compassion within the prophet. He was put to shame by these heathen Gentiles in the realm of compassion for men’s lives. The very reason he fled the presence of God was because he did not want to see the heathen Gentiles saved from destruction. Now, these same type of men he condemned are trying everything within their power to save him and their own selves. Jonah has fully recognized the Gentiles value of life as they cry out unto God, “lay not upon us innocent blood...” and their faith in God as they proclaim, “for thou, O Jehovah, hast done as it pleased thee.” The event has brought the mariners to now cry out to Jehovah God for help rather than crying to their own heathen deities (cf. Jonah 1:5). Jonah and the mariners have come a long way in their faith and compassion through this awful ordeal. Often times in life it takes extreme conditions to wake us from our sinful state. The ordeal; however, was just beginning for Jonah. His lessons were yet to be learned from the belly of a great fish.

“So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea; and the sea ceased from its raging. Then the men feared Jehovah exceedingly; and they offered a sacrifice unto Jehovah, and made vows. And Jehovah prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah; and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights” (Jonah 1:15-17).

As soon as Jonah’s body hit the sea the fierce storm ceased. We are not told but it seems probable that the mariners witnessed Jonah being swallowed by a great fish. The mariner’s new found faith gave way to their sacrificing unto the one true Lord. Meanwhile, Jonah remains in the stomach of a great fish for three days. During these days he contemplates all that has happened and it prompts him to pray unto Jehovah God.

Bible Questions for Jonah Chapter One

Jonah 1:1-2 Who spoke to whom? Where did God want Jonah to go? What did God want Jonah to do? Why?

Jonah 1:3 What did Jonah do? What price did he really pay?

Jonah 1:4 What was God’s reaction to what Jonah did? What was the result?

Jonah 1:5 What was the difference between Jonah and the sailors? What did the sailors do to try to change things?

Jonah 1:6 What did the captain think Jonah should be doing?

Jonah 1:7 How did the men decide to find out who was guilty?

Jonah 1:8 Who first asks you questions like this that you hear? God, yourself or other people? If you are wise, who would it be?

Jonah 1:9 Who are you? What would you say if someone asked you? Was what Jonah said right?

Jonah 1:10 Why were the men so scared when they had their own gods? What could the men not understand?

Jonah 1:11 What did the men experience? Where did they expect to find an answer?

Jonah 1:12 What was Jonah’s reply to the men? Did Jonah understand his situation?

Jonah 1:13 What did the sailors want to do? What did they try to do? What was the result?

Jonah 1:14 What do these sailors know about the *Lord? What did they know about the value of human life? What did they know about justice (being fair)?

Jonah 1:15 Who threw Jonah into the sea? What did the *Lord do then?

Jonah 1:16 What happened to the men? What did they do as a result?

Jonah 1:17 What do you learn about the *Lord? What do you learn about Jonah and the huge fish?