This week at the dinner table we read the Book of Jonah. I found it so intriguing, mostly because of the bizarre ending, that I also studied it during my personal devotional times. I'd like to go through it together here, as well (four chapters total).
Unlike most of the prophet books, this one focuses almost entirely on Jonah the man, rather than on his ministry. He prophesied about seventy-five years after the prophet Elisha, to the twelve Northern Tribes called Israel, at a time when Israel was regaining some of its power and prosperity.
After Jeroboam II came to power the nation of Israel began to flourish. Several successful wars were fought, defeating Syria, Moab and Ammon, thereby bringing great wealth to the nation.
Jeroboam II followed the evil ways of his father, Jeroboam I, in continuing the idolatrous worship of the golden calves. Worship of God occurred too, at Dan, Bethel, Gilgal, and Beersheba, but the Prophet Amos, a contemporary of Jonah, declared these vain ritual acts devoid of any righteous intent. At the time of Jonah the Northern Kingdom was 100 years into idolatry
Jonah 1
1 The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”
What God was asking here? No small order. Nineveh (capital of Assyria) was Israel's worst enemy at the time. It was a grotesquely wicked nation, guilty of horrific war crimes against Israel. All of Israel wanted justice against Ninevah--their enemy destroyed at the hands of their righteous God.
3 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.
Tarshish was probably Spain, a land as far away from Ninevah as possible--the end of the known world at the time. Paying the fare and leaving his family were great sacrifices, obviously. We will come to find out later that Jonah feared Ninevah would repent, and that the Lord, full of compassion and abiding in love, would have mercy on them and spare them. This wild mercy? Instead of total destruction? It didn't sit well with Jonah, to say the least. He was willing to resign from the ministry and leave his family and friends--give up everything--to prevent God's mercy.
What a piece of work...right? A total jerk. Who runs from God's assignments? And who has a heart so hard? You and I and all of mankind. We are all Jonahs.
4 Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. 5 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. 6 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.”
This storm? It was the first miracle in the Book of Jonah. The sailors, all professionals, had never seen anything like it. It struck fear into their hearts and they knew it had to come from some angry god.
7 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. 8 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?”
Casting lots was a pagan custom. Miracle number two--the lot fell on Jonah.
9 He answered, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land. ”
10 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.)
11 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?”
12 “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.”
Jonah, about this time, felt his own death inevitable. His angry Lord's judgement? Imminent, so why drag the sailors down with him? While he had no mercy for the 120,000 pagans in Ninevah, for these few pagans, he did.
13 Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before. 14 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.” 15 Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. 16 At this the men greatly feared the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows to him.
Who comes out better here? The prophet, a man of God who, unlike most of mankind, actually gets to talk to the One, True, Living God? Or the pagan sailors? Sadly, the pagan sailors, who had mercy on Jonah for as long as they could. Instead of immediately throwing him over, they did their best to row back to land. Contrast their mercy, as pagans, with Jonah's heart toward Nineveh.
17 Now the Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Where else in the Bible do we hear of three days and three nights?
Matthew 12:38-40
Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”
39 He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
Many Bible scholars believe Jonah actually died in the fish, and that the Lord brought him back to life. Some claim the fish was a whale, while others, who remind us that whales can't open their mouths that wide, believe it was a large fish. I believe it was miracle number 3. God fashioned the fish especially for Jonah's salvation.
My Lord? He didn't need to find an existing animal for his task. He is the Almighty, Living God, who created all. He needed a special fish on demand? No problem. Sometimes Bible scholars need to get their heads out of their books and put their eyes on God, who walks on water, opens vast seas, makes water appear from rocks, heals the sick and the crippled, rains manna in the desert, makes all things new, and conquers death!
Join me next week for Jonah 2 and 3.
