Part 1: Introduction | Part 2: Jonah, for the First Time
Though the book of Jonah is unusual among the Prophets, as we’ve noted, it does begin in the usual way, with a call from God to a prophet to deliver a message. God calls Jonah to deliver a message of judgment to Nineveh for its great wickedness.
So far, so good.
But verse 3 slaps us in the face with surprise. Jonah not only refuses the call (can prophets even do that?!), but he boards a ship bound for Tarshish, all the way at the other end of Mediterranean Sea, about as far as anyone of that day could get from Israel—or Nineveh. Does he think he can distance himself from God?
And why does he run in the first place? We know that Assyria, of which Nineveh was the capital, was the imperial power of the day, and that it was unspeakably cruel as well. Assyrian soldiers would pile the heads of their conquered enemies in a pyramid at the front gate of the conquered city; they would cover the city walls with the skins of their victims; they would torture men, women, and children in ways that I choose not to specify. (This is a family-friendly blog, after all.) Further, both Hosea and Amos, who prophesied at roughly the same time as Jonah, warned that Israel would one day go into captivity in Assyria. All Jews, including Jonah, hated the Assyrians. Why would he hesitate to deliver a message of judgment?
Well, we’re going to find out later, but until then we’ll have to be patient.
Remember my earlier assertion that this book is not about Jonah, but about God? We see that demonstrated clearly in the rest of this first chapter, where the actor in chief is God himself.
First God sends a great storm (Jonah 1.4)—literally, he “flung a powerful wind.” The sailors, likely Phoenicians, call out to their gods for help (Jonah 1.5); they do seem genuinely religious, not something we would expect of sailors—but then this is an unusual storm.
Sidebar: I’ll note in passing that this account parallels in many ways the story of Jesus calming the Sea of Galilee. I’m not sure why, but it’s interesting to think about.
Then they cast lots to see who’s to blame for the storm. The Mosaic Law condemns the use of various devices of divination, but these pagans do what comes naturally. And what do you know: here the lots are reliable. So here’s a second thing that God “throws” into the account.
The lot identifies Jonah. By interviewing him, they learn where he’s from and can thereby identify, in their minds, which god is angry (Jonah 1.9). They ask the prophet how they can best appease his god (Jonah 1.11), and he tells them (Jonah 1.12).
Initially they don’t want to throw him overboard; they try to row to shore. But since their efforts are to no avail (Jonah 1.13), and since Jonah has already told them what to do, they throw him overboard (Jonah 1.15)—they too do some throwing—but not before asking Jonah’s God to forgive them (Jonah 1.14). And they demonstrate reverent respect for the God of Israel (Jonah 1.16).
How much better were the pagans than the prophet? Though he had nearly cost them their lives, they treated him with kindness and grace. And how was Jonah treating his enemies? Even worse than it initially seems; as I’ve noted, the full explanation will come later.
There’s a third thing that the Lord sends. He sends a great fish (Jonah 1.17), who swallows the drowning prophet, thereby protecting him from the raging sea.
Now, this is a mixed bag. He’s no longer drowning—he can still breathe—but what he’s breathing is pretty unpleasant; we’ve all learned what stomach contents smell like when they show up uninvited.
This first of the two narratives in the book will end, as I’ve noted, with a conversation with God. We’ll look at that next time.
Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash
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