Jonah 1 - ESV - Bible Reading / Study Notes

Jonah 1

Jonah Flees the Presence of the Lord

1:1 Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil¹ has come up before me.” 3 But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD.

4 But the LORD hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up. 5 Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his god. And they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep. 6 So the captain came and said to him, “What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call out to your god! Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish.”

Jonah Is Thrown into the Sea

7 And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. 8 Then they said to him, “Tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us. What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?” 9 And he said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” 10 Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, “What is this that you have done!” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them.

11 Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?” For the sea grew more and more tempestuous. 12 He said to them, “Pick me up and hurl me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.” 13 Nevertheless, the men rowed hard² to get back to dry land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them. 14 Therefore they called out to the LORD, “O LORD, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not on us innocent blood, for you, O LORD, have done as it pleased you.” 15 So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. 16 Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows.

A Great Fish Swallows Jonah

17 ³ And the LORD appointed⁴ a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

Footnotes

[1] 1:2 The same Hebrew word can mean evil or disaster, depending on the context; so throughout Jonah
[2] 1:13 Hebrew the men dug in [their oars]
[3] 1:17 Ch 2:1 in Hebrew
[4] 1:17 Or had appointed

Commentary

v1: The prophet sets the scene, telling his own story, and omitting no embarrassing details. There is humility and courage in many biblical writers who include details of their own mistakes and sins.

v2: Nineveh, the great city, built by Nimrod, Gen 10.10-12, renowned for its wickedness. Jonah is already a prophet, 2 Kings 14.23-26, and God chooses him to take the message of repentance; this precedes Nahum's message of judgment upon Nineveh.

Martin Goldsmith points out that the Jewish nation was not specifically commanded to preach the message of God to the Gentiles, but rather to be the light of God in the world, which would attract Gentiles. Thus Jonah represents an exception to the ways of the OT. Since Christ came to bring the message of God to Jews and Gentiles, He is a “greater than Jonah” (Matt 12.41).

v3: Jonah is fearful and fickle. We cannot flee from the Lord's presence, Gen 4.16; Ps 139.7-8; Jer 23.24; neither Jonah nor Nineveh can escape God's work. The word "presence" refers to a place of service and worship, it is presence with intention and meaning. Jonah would serve God, but wanted to avoid this particular task.

Jonah went down; down to Joppa, down into the ship, down into the lower parts of the ship, and down into the belly of the whale. This matches his own testimony; "From the depths of the grave...the deep...the very heart of the sea...the roots of the mountains," (2.2-6). Thus we read of a man rebelling against God, Luke 10.30; 2 Pet 2.21; he experiences the consequences of his own disobedience. We know from personal experience that any can turn from God for a time.

v4: The Lord "sent" a great wind; later He provided a whale, a vine, and a wind; throughout the narrative, God's hand is clearly evident. The word "sent" is also 'hurled,' as when Saul hurled a javelin at David. This indicates the severity of the storm, and why the sailors were frightened. The word is also translated 'appointed' in Dan 1.5,10, indicating that God has a purpose in sending these things. Each one, being part of the natural world, indicates God's control over all things.

v5: Human responses to the problem; prayer to man-made gods, and reliance on human wisdom and strength.

v6: Jonah is asleep when he should be praying; he is not ready, 1 Pet 3.15.

v7: Since their prayers go unanswered, the grew cast lots; such is the disadvantage to prayer to a god who cannot hear. Until they know the true God, what else can they do? Yet God overrules their ignorance.

v8-10: Jonah's lack of testimony; he did not stand out as a man of God. "I worship the Lord," he testified, yet they know he is fleeing from God; such is his inconsistent testimony, his actions not matching his words.

v11-12: We can imagine a conversation shouted over the storm, which is growing stronger. Jonah begins to recognise his own guilt; this is the power of a conscience.

v13: Although the sailors cannot deny Jonah's words, they want to avoid throwing him into the sea, knowing that means certain death. But again, the storm grows "wilder."

v14-16: This incident happened for the furtherance of the gospel, Phil 1.12; such is God's mercy and power. This does not justify Jonah's disobedience, but demonstrates God's mercy. The sailors now pray to the Lord, no longer to "his own god."

v17: See Matt 12.40; Jonah is clearly a type of Christ, inside the whale for three days and nights.