The Disobedience and Flight of Jonah

1:1 The Lord said to Jonah son of Amittai,

The Hebrew word for “Lord” is יְהוָ֔ה (Jehovah), meaning the covenant-keeping-promise-keeping-God.

The Hebrew word for Jonah is יוֹנָ֥ה (yonah), meaning dove. However, Jonah was more of a hawk than he was a dove.

Jonah was the son of Amittai, meaning “truth.” According to Joshua 19:13, Jonah was from the Gath-hepher, which was a town in the northern kingdom of Zebulin. This city was three miles from Nazareth, which was the city where Jesus grew up as a child under the parents of Joseph and Mary. Therefore, Jonah was a prophet of the northern kingdom of Israel.

Jonah prophesied during the days of King Jeroboam II. (824-783 B.C.) Israel was very prosperous at this time, much like America. The northern and southern kingdoms had extended their Jewish borders similar to those of David and Solomon. However, Israel was also very much like America, in that it was living in an age of materialism and spiritual corruption. Amos and Jonah were prophesying to Israel that they were about to be destroyed by the Assyrian Empire. This message did not tickle the ears of the Israelites. Amos had already pronounced Israel’s destruction.

1:2 “Go immediately to Nineveh, that large capital city, and announce judgment against its people because their wickedness has come to my attention.”

This was Jonah’s second recorded prophecy. He had predicted a near prophecy earlier that Jeroboam would expand the borders of Israel. This near prophecy authenticated Jonah’s prophetic office and his prophetic calling.

Jonah was appointed by God to go to Nineveh and predict their destruction. Nineveh was the capital city of Assyria. Assyria was one of the most wicked empires in history.

1:3 Instead, Jonah immediately headed off to Tarshish to escape from the commission of the Lord. He traveled to Joppa and found a merchant ship heading to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went aboard it to go with them to Tarshish far away from the Lord.

Jonah knew from the earlier prophecy of Amos that Assyria was going to destroy Israel. Therefore; he wanted to protect Israel by refusing to warn Assyria of their judgment to come. Jonah hopped on a ship to Tarshish, which was located on the southern beach in Spain. This Spanish beach was the exact opposite direction of Nineveh.

How can Jonah run away from God, since God is omnipresent? God ran away from Jerusalem which was the residence of the Shekinah Glory. The Shekinah Glory was the visible presence of God in Jerusalem at this time.

1:4 But the Lord hurled a powerful wind on the sea. Such a violent tempest arose on the sea that the ship threatened to break up!

The Hebrew word for “hurled” is הֵטִ֤יל (hital), a hiphil verb, meaning that God Himself caused the storm by hurling the storm like a baseball at the ship.

1:5 The sailors were so afraid that each cried out to his own god and they flung the ship’s cargo overboard to make the ship lighter. Jonah, meanwhile, had gone down into the hold below deck, had lain down, and was sound asleep.

These sailors were very experienced, but this was a supernatural storm which came out of nowhere. They knew something supernatural was happening, so they were scared. These Gentile sailors were from many different nations, so they started praying to their demonic gods. They began to throw all of their cargo overboard in an attempt to save their lives. The Hebrew word used for “flung” is טִ֤יל (tail), which is the same root word used for God’s hurling of the storm at the ship in verse 4.

Jonah’s reaction was different than that of the Gentile sailors. He went below deck and took a nap. How could a man sleep at a time like this? This may have been a traumatic sleep that people often use to escape a trauma. Jonah’s disobedience to God pricked his guilty conscience, causing him into this catastrophic type of sleep. His disobedience had placed many men in trouble.

1:6 The ship’s captain approached him and said, “What are you doing asleep? Get up! Cry out to your god! Perhaps your god might take notice of us so that we might not die!”

The captain told Jonah to wake up and pray to his god.

1:7 The sailors said to one another, “Come on, let’s cast lots to find out whose fault it is that this disaster has overtaken us.” So they cast lots, and Jonah was singled out.

In Proverbs 16:33, Solomon wrote, “The dice are thrown into the lap, but their every decision is from the Lord.” God is so sovereign that He controls the roll of every dice in history. The sailors threw lots to their demonic gods, but it was actually Jehovah who controlled the roll of these dice.

1:8 They said to him, “Tell us, whose fault is it that this disaster has overtaken us? What’s your occupation? Where do you come from? What’s your country? And who are your people?”

Jonah used his free will to escape God’s sovereign will, but all that did was to set up another sovereign divine appointment. Some of these Gentile sailors were part of God’s elect. They were hired by their captain from all nations of the world to be on this ship at this very time that Jonah bought a ticket.

God knew before the foundations of the world were created that Jonah would disobey Him, get on this ship, and sail for Tarshish. Now, these Gentiles began asking questions to this Jewish prophet about the one true God.

1:9He said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord God of heaven who made the sea and the dry land.” Jews identify themselves to Gentiles as “Hebrews.”

The Hebrew for “the Lord God” is יְהוָ֞ה אֱלֹהֵ֤י (Jehovah Elohim), meaning the covenant-keeping-promise-keeping-triune-creator-God. Jonah added that his God created the heaven, the sea, and the dry land. He was the one true God who was responsible for this storm. This was an instance of Gentile evangelism. The Jews were called to be priests to all of the nations. Jonah was fulfilling his calling at this time, yet not the way that he expected.

1:10Then the men became extremely frightened and they said to him, “How could you do this?” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them.

Jonah’s testimony frightened these Gentiles. Jonah’s disobedience had endangered them all.

1:11 Because the storm was growing worse and worse, they said to him, “What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?”

Notice that these experienced sailors were asking an amateur passenger what they should do about the storm. This meant that they believed in Jonah’s testimony. Their eyes were opened.

1:12 He said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea to make the sea quiet down, because I know it’s my fault you are in this severe storm.”

This is the principle of substitution. Jonah was exchanging his life in place of their lives, just as Christ exchanged His life for the believer’s life.

1:13 Instead, they tried to row back to land, but they were not able to do so because the storm kept growing worse and worse.

These pagan men were a new creation. They now respected life. They were not about to kill a prophet who told them about the one true God.

1:14 So they cried out to the Lord, “Oh, please, Lord, don’t let us die on account of this man! Don’t hold us guilty of shedding innocent blood. After all, you, Lord, have done just as you pleased.”

These men were a new creation. They began to pray to יְהוָה֙ (Jehovah). Before they threw Jonah into the sea, they prayed for forgiveness.

1:15 So they picked Jonah up and threw him into the sea, and the sea stopped raging.

As soon as Jonah hit the waters, the storm stopped. This miracle authenticated to the sailors that Jonah was a true prophet of God.

1:16 The men feared the Lord greatly, and earnestly vowed to offer lavish sacrifices to the Lord.

These men feared Jehovah, meaning that they recognized Him as the one true God. They made vows to Him. They sacrificed to Him, meaning that they recognized the blood atonement which pointed to the Messiah.

1:17 The Lord sent a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights.

The Hebrew word for “sent” is מָנָא (mana), a Piel intensive verb, meaning that God intensely appointed, destined, or numbered a fish to swallow Jonah.

The Hebrew for “fish” is דָּאג (dag), meaning fish (and not whale). The Hebrew for great is גָּד֔וֹל (gadol), meaning great, marvelous, and prominent. Many children’s Bible stories teach Jonah and the “whale.” It should actually be Jonah and the “divinely-appointed great fish.”

There is some Hebrew humor in this choice of words. The paradox is that Jonah, who was a rational being, failed his “appointed” commission, while the fish, an irrational creature, was able to fulfill its “appointed” commission.

Jonah was in the belly of this appointed great fish for three days and three nights. In the Jewish language, this is not exactly 72 hours, or 1,728 minutes, or 103,680 seconds. The Jewish idiom means any period of time that touches these three days and three nights. In the Jewish reasoning, any part of the day counts as a whole day. Keep this in mind when dealing with skeptics. They incorrectly will use the 72 hour American days as an attempt to discredit the resurrection of Christ.

The point is that God can use a bad witness or a disobedient believer to bring His elect to a saving knowledge. These sailors from all nations would take knowledge of this event into all of the seaports of the other nations. God’s message to the Gentiles was alive and active during the days of Israel.