The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”
But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.
Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship.
But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. The captain went to him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.”
Then the sailors said to each other, “Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity.” They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. So they asked him, “Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What kind of work do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?”
He answered, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”
This terrified them and they asked, “What have you done?” (They knew he was running away from the Lord, because he had already told them so.)
The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, “What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?”
“Pick me up and throw me into the sea,” he replied, “and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.”
Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before. Then they cried out to the Lord, “Please, Lord, do not let us die for taking this man’s life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, Lord, have done as you pleased.” Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. At this the men greatly feared the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows to him.
Now the Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
- Jonah 1:1-17
Noted Biblical Scholars, Teachers, and Preachers Comments
Jonah 1:1 ‘Jonah the son of Amittai’: “Jonah’s name is Heb. for ‘dove,’ while that of his father means ‘truthful’ or ‘loyal.’”
- John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)
Jonah 1:2 ‘Nineveh’: “Built by Nimrod (Ge 10:9–12), the great city of Nineveh was the Assyrian capital and the residence of many Assyrian kings. Located in northeastern Mesopotamia on the Tigris River, Nineveh flourished from 800 to 612 BC, when it was destroyed by the Medes. The city limits spread widely along the river making it a great city both in size and influence.”
- Dorothy Kelley Patterson, General Editor, NIV Woman’s Study Bible (Karen H. Jobes, Minor Prophets contributor)
Jonah 1:3-6 ‘Disobeying a direct order’: “Observe the misconduct of the prophet Jonah. He had a plain command from the Lord, and he knew it to be a command, but he felt that the commission given him would not be pleasant and honoring to himself so he declined to comply with it. We see from his action how some who really know God may act as if they did not know him. Jonah knew that God was everywhere, yet he ‘got up to flee to Tarshish from the Lord’s presence.’ What strange inconsistencies there often are even in good men! Here is one who is favored with a divine com-mission-one who knows God and fears him-yet, for all that, he ventures on the fool’s errand of endeavoring to escape from the omnipresent One.
“Learn from this that providence alone is not a sufficient guide for our actions. He may have said, ‘It was remarkable that a ship was going to Tarshish just when I reached the port. I gather from this that God was not so disinclined for me to go to Tarshish.’ Precepts, not providences, are to guide believers. And when Christians quote a providence against a precept-which is to set God against God-they act most strangely. There are devil’s providences as well as divine providences, and there are tempting providences as well as assisting providences, so learn to judge between the one and the other.”
- Charles H. Spurgeon, from sermon notes
Jonah 1:3 ‘Really? Running from God?’: “The great God knows everything in one instantaneous, perfect act. And yet, He comes down among us and acts like us and says, ‘I will go down and see.’
“When Jonah refused to obey God and broke off and alienated his heart, he got in a ship to get away from the presence of God. He thought he could get away from God.· How foolish of him to think he could get away from God! Then there was Peter; who knelt down and said, “Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord” (Luke 5:8).”
- A. W. Tozer, The Root of the Righteous
Jonah 1:3 ‘Jonah sails for Tarshish’: “When Jonah decided to flee from God, he boarded a ‘ship going to Tarshish’ (Jon. 1:3). The narrative about Jonah indicates that Tarshish was in an opposite direction from Nineveh, but the specific direction is not given.
“Tarshish is mentioned over thirty times in Scripture, yet its exact location is uncertain. The kings Jehoshaphat and Ahaziah built ships at Ezion Geber, near the Red Sea, which were intended to ‘go to Tarshish’ (2 Chr. 20:36, 37). Nevertheless, the location of Tarshish was not necessarily in the vicinity of the Red Sea.
“The most likely candidate for a location is the Phoenician colony Tartessus in southwestern Spain. This colony was known to the Greek historian Herodotus and the Latin writers Strabo and Pliny. Their writings refer to its rich metal resources. Assyrian records from the 7th century B.C. also mention a place called Tarsisi, but its location is unknown.
“Some scholars suppose that the term ‘Tarshish’ may well describe an activity associated with a place rather than a specific geographic location. Besides Strabo and Pliny, the prophets Jeremiah (Jer. 10:9) and Ezekiel (Ezek. 27:12) also knew that Tarshish was a source for metals. In the Hebrew language the word ‘Tarshish’ often refers to a precious stone, usually translated as ‘beryl’ (Ex. 28:20; Ezek. 28:13). Possibly then, ‘Tarshish’ did not identify one specific location, but rather several places where the activity of metalworking took place.
“In the Bible, ships are frequently called ‘ships of Tarshish’ (Is. 23:1, 14; 60:9). Tarshish ships were often found in the Mediterranean area, carrying goods from Tyre (Ezek. 27:25). We may never know whether the destination of the Tarshish ship in the Jonah story was one site known as ‘Tarshish’ or one of several sites referred to by that name.”
- Timothy B. Cargal, et al., The Chronological Study Bible
Jonah 1:4 ‘The Lord sent the storm’: ”’But the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea.’ God was responsible for this storm. I call your attention to that at the very beginning. This storm is supernatural.
“The storm on the Sea of Galilee, during which our Lord was asleep in the boat, was such that those men on board knew that they were going to perish. They were experienced with that sea and knew that it was a storm which they could not weather and that their boat soon would be at the bottom of the sea. It was a supernatural storm also, but Satan was responsible for that one in an attempt to destroy the Lord Jesus. Peter came to Him and said, ‘… carest thou not that we perish?’ (Mark 4:38)—for that is what would have happened had He not intervened.
“Here in the Book of Jonah, God is using a storm, and He is using it for a good purpose. He is going to save a city with this storm. He is going to turn around a prophet who has been going the wrong way and start him going the right way.”
- J. Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible, Vol III, Proverbs to Malachi
Jonah 1:4 ‘God did not accept Joanh’s disobedience’: “God did not accept Jonah’s deliberate disobedience. While Jonah felt safe as he fled from God’s call, God intervened supernaturally and caused a storm at sea.”
- Dorothy Kelley Patterson, General Editor, NIV Woman’s Study Bible (Karen H. Jobes, Minor Prophets contributor)
Jonah 1:5 ‘Regret: Jonah says “no.” Others say “woe.”’: “Jonah brought trouble to a boatload of pagan sailors because he fled. Rather than being the blessing God desired, Jonah was a curse to the men of on the ship with him. Such is the nature of sin. Innocent people routinely pay for the mistakes made by others.
“Joshua 7 tells the story of a man named Achan. He disobeyed God’s instructions and kept some of the bounty from Joshua’s defeat of Jericho. In response, 36 Hebrew soldiers fell in their next battle. These kind of stories cause us to ask, how much is my sin trusting others”
- Jay McCluskey, A Long Walk with the Minor Prophets
Jonah 1:6 ‘how could Jonah sleep?’: “In effect, the shipmaster says, “You sleepyhead, you! Do you mean that you can sleep in a storm like this?” Jonah could. In fact, he is the only one on board who could sleep! The shipmaster goes on, “Arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not.” So Jonah now comes up on deck, and he sees this great storm they are in which is threatening to send the ship to the bottom.”
- J. Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible, Vol III, Proverbs to Malachi
Jonah 1:7 ‘cast lots’: “The last resort is to ascertain whose guilt has caused such divine anger. God could reveal His will by controlling the lots, which He did. This method of discernment by casting lots, the exact procedure of which is not known, was not forbidden in Israel (cf. Prov. 16:33; Josh. 7:14ff.; 15:1; 1 Sam. 14:36–45; Acts 1:26).”
- John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)
Jonah 1:9 ‘fear the Lord’: “What a blessed occupation it is to fear the Lord! Though Jonah was not properly following his occupation while he was on board that ship, he did not hesitate to assert, ‘I worship the LORD.’ If you test the child of God, even when he gets where he ought not to be, he will stand by his colors. He will confess that he is, after all, a servant of the living God.“
- Charles H. Spurgeon, from sermon notes
Jonah 1:10 ‘pagan sailors feared God’: ”The sailors, though filled with fear, realized that there was no escape from God. While Jonah confessed his attempt to run from God’s presence, the storm reminded him of God’s constant presence.”
- Dorothy Kelley Patterson, General Editor, NIV Woman’s Study Bible (Karen H. Jobes, Minor Prophets contributor)
Jonah 1:11 ‘the pagans ask Jonah’: “These men recognize that they are up against a very hard decision, and they want Jonah to make that decision. They ask him, ‘What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us?’ And Jonah gives them a very straightforward answer.”
- J. Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible, Vol III, Proverbs to Malachi
Jonah 1:12 ‘Jonah sees how his decision affects others’: “Jonah realized that his rebellion from God had brought danger to all aboard the ship. God has many ways to get our attention. Jonah’s admission of guilt was the first step in his return to God.”
- Dorothy Kelley Patterson, General Editor, NIV Woman’s Study Bible (Karen H. Jobes, Minor Prophets contributor)
Jonah 1:14 ‘the sailors beg help from Jonah’: “The sailors themselves called out to Jonah’s God for help when their attempt to steer the ship back to shore failed. They did not want to die as a result of Jonah’s sin or to receive blame for his death. The great fish was the means for God’s gracious deliverance of Jonah from death.”
- Dorothy Kelley Patterson, General Editor, NIV Woman’s Study Bible (Karen H. Jobes, Minor Prophets contributor)
Jonah 1:15-16 ‘Repent: God shows grace period Jonah repents in haste.’: “At this point, the sailors appear more righteous than the prophet! No doubt, Jonah expected to die in the waters of the sea. But when he woke up inside the fish, he realized God graciously spared him.”
- Jay McCluskey, A Long Walk with the Minor Prophets
Jonah 1:15 ‘the sea ceased’: “This was similar to Christ’s quieting the storm on the Sea of Galilee (cf. Matt. 8:23–27).”
- John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)
Jonah 1:16-17 ‘The Sign of Jonah’: “God called the prophet Jonah from northern Israel to preach judgment upon Nineveh. Instead of going to Nineveh, Jonah fled in the opposite direction and was eventually swallowed by a great fish for three days and three nights (1:17). In the New Testament, Jesus refers to this event as the ‘sign of Jonah the prophet’ (Matthew 12:39), using it to illustrate His miraculous resurrection after three days and three nights in the grave. The actual period of time that Christ was in the grave was either, at minimum, from Friday evening to Sunday morning, covering parts of three days, or at most, from Wednesday evening until Sunday morning. Regardless, Jonah’s experience in the great fish was a prophetic type or picture of Christ’s experience.”
- Tim LaHaye and Ed Hindson, Exploring Bible Prophecy
Jonah 1:17 ‘the pagan sailors knew throwing Jonah overboard was wrong’: ”… he said, ‘Pick me up and throw me into the sea, and it will become calm.’
“The sailors were reluctant to do so, and tried to row back to land, but the storm lashed the ship even harder. So the sailors prayed that God wouldn’t hold them responsible for Jonah’s death, and they threw him overboard. The sea went calm-and the sailors all became followers of the Hebrew God.“
- Ray C. Stedman, Adventuring Through the Bible
Jonah 1:17 ‘God’s sovereignty in action’: “God prepared a storm, he prepared a fish, and we afterwards read that he prepared a gourd, and he prepared a worm. In the great things of life and in the little things, God is always present. The swimming of a great fish in the sea is surely not a thing that is subject to law. If there is ever free agency in this world, it must certainly be in the wanderings of such a huge creature that follows its own instincts and plows its way through the great wastes of the wide and open sea. Yet there is a divine predestination concerning all its movements. Over every motion of the fin of every minnow, pre-destination presides. There is no distinction of little or great in God’s sight. He that wings an angel guides a sparrow.”
- Charles H. Spurgeon, from sermon notes
My Thoughts
The Children’s Bible Stories spend little time in the minor prophecies. But nearly all of them tell the story of Jonah and the fish. Yet, they only speak of this one chapter (and then Jonah did what God told him to do), but even then, there are details that are never mentioned, or barely glossed over. And there is a great deal of meaningful details in this chapter. There is so much in store in the following three chapters.
First, who was Jonah and to whom did God send him to prophesy?
Jonah, son of Amittai places Jonah in the tribe of Zebulun. Jonah was from the northern tribe of Israel. Jonah knew who the Assyrians were. The Assyrians were mean, vicious foes from the north. Jonah could not see the distant future, but it would be the Assyrians that God would use to exile the northern tribes, but that was some time away, possibly 40 years later.
The Chronological Study Bible raises a large question mark as to where Tarshish is, but let’s just say that Tarshish was the furthest point away from Israel that the people of Israel knew about. Many of the maps that I have place Tarshish in modern Spain. And everybody knows that if you sailed past the rock of Gibraltar, you fell off the edge of the earth. Okay, they thought that back then, so going there and not falling over the edge was Jonah’s idea.
Then, God sends a wind to create a storm.
Wait! Winds producing storms is a bad thing. God only does good things. We don’t even have the morality play unfold between God and Satan here. God does it. But is anyone harmed? Yes, they threw their cargo overboard, but God is sovereign. He wanted Jonah to go to Nineveh. God sent the wind.
Jonah slept through the storm until they woke him up. Does this not sound familiar? Rev. MacArthur speaks of Jesus calming the storm sounding like Jonah being thrown into the sea to calm the storm. But Jesus was asleep, just as Jonah had been.
And again, I am amazed at the wording that Rev. MacArthur used regarding how casting lots was not forbidden. No, it is thought that the Urim and Thummim were basically the same thing and these “dice” should be cast to show what God’s will was. Each time it says that David inquired of the Lord, David went to the priest and asked that the lots be cast. And why does the Bible stop talking about casting lots after Matthias was chosen in that fashion in Acts 1? In Acts 2 the Holy Spirit comes, and we have the Holy Spirit within us to guide us to the correct decision. Do not cast lots. Throw them away. God within is the best way.
But now that Jonah is found to be the culprit, the reason for the storm, and these pagan sailors hesitate. Jonah says that the only way to calm the storm is to throw him into the sea. The sailors face certain death if the storm continues to rage, but they fear the God of the Israelites more than the storm. They pray to God, a God that they do not worship and essentially do not believe in, except until this moment. They pray to be absolved from this sin. But they must throw Jonah into the sea, or they will die with him onboard.
Romans 1:20 says that none will have an excuse. God has made His existence clear. And this story points to that. The sailors had the false gods of their people, their ancestors. They had special false gods just for being a sailor. But when they were at the brink of death, they did not turn to them. They turned to the true God. But then, they did as Jonah said, they tossed him into the sea.
When the storm cleared, the sailors feared God. They worshipped God and sacrificed to God. They made vows to God.
And then, God’s sovereignty comes through again. God provides a fish. First, He refused to let Jonah run away. Then He refused to let Jonah die from drowning.
Many unbelievers argue that this story is untrue since no bones of a fish that could have sufficed for this purpose has ever been found.
But every bone record of every species has a missing link. Every reported missing link has been proven to be a fraud or sloppy archaeology – a sign that they are desperate to find the missing link. And these scoffers laugh at the missing bones of one fish.
But God provided this one fish. It does not have to be an existing species that we see today. It does not have to appear in the fossil records. And if there is a fossil record, we simply have not dredged every inch of every ocean yet, to find one set of bones.
And those who know that they need a Savior do not need those bones to believe. Angels could have surrounded Jonah to form a fish that would keep Jonah alive in the deep waters for three days. God has many ways to accomplish His will being done.
And Jesus calls upon this story. The scoffers wanted a sign after Jesus had performed many signs and wonders. They wanted another sign. Jesus said the only sign He would give them was that of the sign of Jonah. Jesus was killed on the cross. He was buried. And He arose from the grave on the third day.
Some Serendipitous Reflections
Jonah 1 1. God’s pursuit of Jonah is quite revealing. What does it reveal about: (a) The jus-tice and mercy of God? (b) The gifts and call of God? (c) Human fear and faith? (d) God’s claim to judge all the earth?
“2. When have you ‘run away’ from God-refusing to do something you know he’s telling you to do? Where can you escape him (see Ps 139:7-12)? What ‘storms,’ then and now, bring you back?
“3. Could God intervene in the world in a miraculous way more often? Why doesn’t he? What kind of Christians would that create?
“4. What’s the meaning of Jonah’s entombment for Jesus (Mt 12:40-41)? For you?”
- Lyman Coleman, et al, The NIV Serendipity Bible for Study Groups
Jonah 1 has one set of questions.
Substitute whatever group for any reference to a small group or ask who could come to your aid.
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Soli Deo Gloria. Only to God be the Glory.
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