Jonah 1 First Call
God makes the first call to Jonah to go to Nineveh. This is probably not the first call to Jonah over his lifetime, but this one he refuses.
I have a feeling that God has used Jonah before. Jonah has seen the people God sends him to repent of their ways. He has seen God relent in the punishment He promised too. And he doesn’t want Nineveh to receive this forgiveness.
Jonah tries running away instead. BAD move! It is impossible to hide from God. His actions remind me of a story Jesus told once. It was of two sons. The father asked each of them to perform a task. One said he would do it, but as soon as the father’s back was turned, he went and found other more exciting things to do. The other said “No” to the father, but later came back and did the task anyway. Jesus asked which did the father’s will. The answer was the second son. Did he do it out of love, or to relieve his guilty conscious?
Let’s step into the story of Jonah and see where the Spirit takes us in Jonah’s travels. Lead on Holy Spirit. I will follow along.
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Jonah is harvesting in his abba’s fields today. It is a day like many others; filled with physical labor, good friends, and lots of sunshine. As he swings his sickle, he hears a voice speaking to him. He knows this voice, for it has spoken to him before. He drops his arm and stands still.
When the Lord has Jonah’s attention, he continues on.
“Jonah, I want you to go to Nineveh. There you will call out to the people in my name. I have seen their sins and am about to punish them.”
Jonah goes back to his task and finishes his day’s work. While he works, he thinks about this command of the Lord. “God had sent me on several of these ‘missions’ and every time the person or group repents. And then He forgives them and the disaster doesn’t come. I’m made to look like a fool each time. I just bet that Nineveh repents too!”
By nightfall, Jonah has made up his mind. The people of Nineveh hold no place of honor for him. He doesn’t even like them. “Let them perish. I’m not going there and looking like a fool again. I’ll simply run away. That wicked city could use some judgment!”
Jonah rises early the next day, grabs a small traveling bag, and heads off to the sea port of Joppa. He has decided to get as far away from Nineveh as possible. He has chosen Tarshish as his final destination and hiding place from the Lord.
It takes a full day for Jonah to reach Joppa. While he walks along, he thinks of what to say to the boat captain to secure his passage. He doesn’t have a lot of money, so he is hoping for a kind hearted captain to let him work off part of the passage, if necessary.
It takes a little work to locate a boat going the direction he wants. When he sees it, his heart sinks. The ship looks old and battle weary. There are sailors on the dock working on the rigging. Jonah approaches them casually.
“Is this the ship going to Tarshish?”
“Yes. But we don’t set sail until tomorrow. Did you need something?”
“I’m looking to secure passage. Is the captain about?”
“He is over there” says the sailor pointing to a tall man in a weathered coat.
Jonah thanks the man and makes his way over to the captain. Jonah waits while the captain finishes up what he is working on. When the captain looks up, Jonah approaches him.
“I’m trying to secure passage to Joppa. I was told your ship is going there. Are you taking passengers, and if so, what is your price.”
“We are going to Joppa in the morning and have room for a few passengers. The cost is a half talent of silver.”
Jonah breathes a big sigh of relief, as he has that much available. He quickly pays the captain and secures his passage. He now has to find a place to sleep for the night. As his money is gone, he decides to sleep near the seashore so he won’t miss his boat. He visits a little bit with the crew before making his way to his proposed sleeping spot.
Morning breaks and Jonah is MORE than happy to make his way to the boat. He got little to no sleep last night as he was worried about thieves and it was extremely cold by the water.
“Welcome my friend” greets the captain. “We leave in one hour. Go ahead and get settled in.”
Jonah goes down into the sleeping quarters of the ship and finds a corner to lay his belongings down. It is warm and dry in here, so Jonah curls up and wraps his cloak around him and falls asleep. He doesn’t even stir when the boat casts off. The gentle swell of the seas keeps him sleeping.
Midday, the clouds begin to gather. They are ominous! Within an hour, they are pouring down torrential rains and the ship is being bucked about by the sea like a leaf in a whirlwind. The sailors are doing everything they can to keep from capsizing or breaking apart.
Cargo goes into the sea. Anything that isn’t necessary follows right behind it. The sailors are each calling out to their gods for salvation! The captain goes into the sleeping quarters to see if there is anything else they can throw overboard and he spies Jonah, sleeping like a baby in a corner.
Holding onto anything he can, the captain makes his way over to Jonah. He kicks his sandal, startling him awake.
“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 1:6).
Jonah quickly gets up and follows the captain back on deck. Jonah is terrified by the waves as they pitch the ship higher with each passing. The sailors are at their wits end! They want to know who is the cause of all their ‘bad luck’.
“Come, let us cast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us” (Jonah 1:7).
Each man puts in his belt from around his waist, including Jonah, into a burlap bag. The captain pulls one from the bag. It is Jonah’s belt that is brought forth. All eyes turn towards 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?” (Jonah 1:8).
Jonah looks them square in the face as he answers. “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land” (Jonah 1:9).
They have heard of this God and they already fear him. But their fear jumps even higher as they remember their conversation from the day before they left. Jonah shared that he was running away from his God. He didn’t give them any details or tell them which god he was running from. They had switched gods a time or to themselves, so Jonah’s revelation didn’t worry them; until NOW!
All of their faces go white. The captain cries out to Jonah; “What is this that you have done!” (Jonah 1:10).
Jonah drops his eyes to the deck in shame. He KNOWS that their present situation is all of his making. The sailors plead with Jonah.
“What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?” (Jonah 1:11).
Jonah raises his eyes to them and boldly tells them his solution. 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” (Jonah 1:12).
Mouths drop open at Jonah’s words. They couldn’t possibly think of throwing a man into the sea! It is getting rougher by the minute and it would certainly mean his death. “ROW HARDER!” calls the captain.
The men all grab their rows and try with all their might to get the boat to land. With every backbreaking stroke they are dragged ever farther away from land by the waves. There is no hope of salvation in themselves.
Jonah had joined in with the rowers, but he gives up and goes to stand by the rail. “You have to do it to save yourselves” he calls above the sound of the crashing waves. He can’t do it himself. He needs their hands, otherwise he would be killing himself.
Finally, the captain drops his oar. “Throw him overboard” he calls to his men.
Three sailors approach Jonah with sadness evident on their faces. They take hold of Jonah, who puts up no resistance, and throw him into the sea. They send a prayer to Jonah’s God just as they heave him into the sea. “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” (Jonah 1:14).
As soon as Jonah’s head goes under the water, the storm ceases. The waves die in mid heave and the rain stops as if a bucket has been righted after being spilled over.
This sudden change sends the captain and all the sailors to their knees. They grab whatever they have on hand and make a sacrifice to the Lord. They vowed that they would serve no other gods but Jonah’s God for the rest of their lives.
The ship continues on its original course without even one eye turning to see if Jonah still lived. They fear angering God if they tried to save him.
As Jonah is being pulled down under the water by the weight of his garments, he doesn’t even struggle to find the surface. He KNOWS that he has sinned against the Lord and is ready to accept his punishment. He continues down, getting tangled in seaweed along the way. His eyes are closed and he is ready for death to swallow him.
Jonah feels himself being pulled sideways instead of downward. A moment later, the water around him is evacuated and he is lying on something spongy. He opens his eyes and looks around. He appears to be in a cave, but how did he get here.
Jonah carefully stands and moves about the cave looking for the entrance. There is none. He examines the walls of his cave and finds that they MOVE! They also have ridges as their structure. He has no idea what to think. After thoroughly examining his surroundings, he sits down to ponder this predicament. As he sits still, he notices that this ‘cave’ has the same undulating movement that the ship did. This CAVE is IN MOTION!
God looks down on the great fish that swallowed Jonah. He made it for this very moment in time. He KNEW what Jonah would do on this day, before He even gave him his first call. Now all that is left to do is to wait for Jonah to figure out that he needs a Savior. God can wait.
(to be continued)
I don’t think that Jonah figured out where he was right away. It’s going to take time. The fish also has a journey ahead of him. Joppa is some distance away from Nineveh. God is bringing Jonah right where He wants him. Talk about personal transportation!
If Jonah had said which God he was running from, would the crew still have welcomed him on board? Probably not. If they did, they probably would have figured out their predicament much sooner too. Jonah KNEW there was no way out of the mess he got the crew into, other than that he die. He willingly sacrificed his own life to save those who he barely knew. After all, it was his actions that put everyone in danger of losing their lives.
Father God, You had to do A LOT to get Jonah’s attention. And we haven’t even scratched the surface of what You did! You had a purpose for Jonah and You made sure he could complete it. You didn’t call another and let him off the hook. You made it more comfortable to comply than it was to resist.
You haven’t put me in any BIG ‘Jonah’ situations, but You have brought me to places where I have to surrender if I’m going to get through them. I have learned over my lifetime that YOU are my Salvation. I need no other Savior than Jesus.
