Jonah Runs and Is Found Out

 

Jonah Runs and Is Found Out

Lesson Text: Jonah 1:7-17 

Related Scriptures: II Kings 5:15-19; Numbers 26:52-56; Acts 17:24-27 

TIME: about 780 B.C. 

PLACES: Joppa; Mediterranean Sea 

GOLDEN TEXT—“Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights” (Jonah 1:17). 

Introduction 

Doing God’s will is a simple matter for His children, right? All we have to do is know His will and carry it out, right? That will always be the easiest way to happiness, right? With truths like this before us, we are always eager to know what God wants us to do, right? Unfortunately, it rarely seems to work quite that easily, as every believer knows. Sometimes it is difficult to do God’s will, either because of our own sinfulness or because of challenging circumstances. 

Those of us who have sought to run from doing God’s will know that it is impossible to escape from His presence. When His will is easy and pleasant, we are eager to fulfill it, but when it demands something difficult, we often try to run from it or ignore it. Jonah tried to run, but God’s love for him was too great to escape. God sought him out and gave him another chance to obey. 

LESSON OUTLINE 

A HUGE PROBLEM—Jonah 1:7-9 

A FRIGHTENING PROSPECT—Jonah 1:10-12 

A SHOCKING RESOLUTION—Jonah 1:13-17 

Exposition: Verse by Verse 

A HUGE PROBLEM 

JONAH 1:7 And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah. 

8 Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us; What is thine occupation? and whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of what people art thou? 

9 And he said unto them, I am an Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land. 

Jonah chosen (Jonah 1:7). Jonah was a prophet during the reign of King Jeroboam (cf. II Kgs. 14:25). God chose him to preach a warning message to the city of Nineveh, one of the most prominent cities of Assyria. Assyria was an evil empire with a brutal army. 

They were a threat to the nation of Israel (cf. 15:19-20). 

• Jonah’s call to speak to a foreign nation is unique among Israel’s prophets. 

• Other nations had prophecies directed against them, but only Jonah was commissioned to go and give a direct message from God. 

{Because of their wickedness, Jonah did not want to do what God said. 

• Jonah would later reveal that this was because he did not want them to experience God’s mercy (Jonah 4:1-2). 

In a ridiculous and impossible attempt to flee from God’s presence, Jonah headed in the opposite direction.}Q1 Success was not a possibility, of course, because God is omnipresent. Still, Jonah was in a ship going west instead of east. Down in the hold taking a nap, he was apparently satisfied with his escape. If God were not a loving God, maybe this would have worked. But God loved Jonah too much to let him escape His will and go his own way. 

He also loved the people of Nineveh too much not to give them a warning of impending judgment. In order to stop Jonah, therefore, God hurled a storm onto the sea, causing even seasoned sailors to panic and cry out to their gods. After being scolded by the ship’s captain, Jonah joined the group of sailors, who decided to cast lots to find out why they were facing such desperate circumstances. Someone on board had obviously displeased his god, and something had to be done about it! 

{For a second time, Jonah was chosen—but this time as a target rather than as a special messenger.}Q2 Even though the pagan sailors did not know God, the Lord oversaw the casting of lots to reveal the truth to them. All eyes were on Jonah. 

Jonah guilty (Jonah 1:8-9). {As soon as the lot fell on Jonah, the sailors began to interrogate him in hopes of determining the cause for the life-threatening storm they were facing.}Q3 

• They sensed the storm was of divine origin and needed to know about Jonah’s connections with his God. What was behind this storm? What was Jonah’s occupation? Where had he come from, and what was his nationality? They wanted to find any possible explanation for their current problem. 

Jonah was completely straightforward. 

• He first told them he was a Hebrew. 

• He then stated his belief in and fear of Yahweh, Israel’s God. Jonah’s description of God as the One who had made the sea and dry land was especially powerful to these men. Many of them may have been worshippers of Baal, a Canaanite god of the sky who was believed to control the weather. Now, however, they were traveling on the sea that Jonah claimed was made by God. If He made it and controlled it, the storm must indeed be evidence that Jonah had done something significant to displease Him. Something had to be done to take away God’s displeasure. 

The sailors appear to have been closer to this realization than Jonah was. From Jonah’s next words, we see that he still may not have accepted the fact that there was no escape from God. 

A FRIGHTENING PROSPECT 

10 Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, Why hast thou done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them. 

11 Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous. 

12 And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you. 

Great fear (Jonah 1:10). It is possible Jonah had previously mentioned to the sailors that he was running from his God, but if not, he told them now. What caused their extreme fear was that it was Jonah’s God, who was the Creator of the sea. {These two bits of information together explained the roiling sea: it was God who made the sea, and Jonah was running from Him.}Q4 Jonah’s God was after him, and because of his presence on the ship, He was after the sailors too. 

None of them had any ideas about how to appease this foreign God. They clearly were up against a very powerful deity, as evidenced by the increasingly strong raging of the water. It appeared to be a totally hopeless situation for all of them. They had no doubt battled bad seas before—but never one that so clearly indicated a divine cause for which there was no known solution. They were exceedingly afraid. 

Why had Jonah done this to them? How unbelievable it must have seemed that if Jonah served a God that powerful, he would try something so ridiculous as running from Him. What sheer folly it was to take a sea voyage to run from the very God who—by Jonah’s own testimony—had created the sea! The men had been fearing the sea, but now they began to fear Jonah’s God. Lest we unduly blame Jonah, we should ask ourselves whether we have ever presented a wrong portrait of God by how we live. Have we been inconsistent like Jonah? 

Drastic solution (Jonah 1:11-12). “The sailors might have known what to do with Jonah had he been a criminal guilty of some crime against persons or if he had accidentally transgressed a law of his God. However, he was guilty of being a servant of his God and directly disobeying the Lord’s order to him. They had no idea what would placate the creator of the sea in such a case, so they asked Jonah since he knew his God” (Constable, Constable’s Notes, net.bible.org). 

{Talk about being between a rock and a hard place! These sailors were facing a raging sea that was obviously of divine origin, and now they discovered it was coming from a God they knew little to nothing about! What were they supposed to do with a man who was being deliberately disobedient? What would it take to appease his God in this case?}Q5 Their only hope was that he might know and could give them the solution, so they asked him. They were desperate, for the sea was becoming more violent. {Jonah knew he was the cause of the raging sea and therefore had to suffer the consequences of his action. He laid out a plan, one in which he would have to give his life. Why did he not simply submit to God and ask the sailors to turn around? Is it possible that Jonah preferred to die than take God’s message to Nineveh? At least he knew that his absence from the boat would save the sailors.}Q6 

A SHOCKING RESOLUTION 

13 Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring it to the land; but they could not: for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous against them. 

14 Wherefore they cried unto the LORD, and said, We beseech thee, O LORD, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, O LORD, hast done as it pleased thee. 

15 So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging. 

16 Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the LORD, and made vows. 

17 Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights. Desperation 

(Jonah 1:13-14). To the sailors, Jonah’s solution did not seem like a good idea. How would the God who created the sea react if they killed his prophet? Therefore, they initially resisted Jonah’s plan and tried to row to land (vs. 13). 

The sailors showed that they had a sense of respect for human life in their unwillingness to do what Jonah said. They might have been seasoned and tough men, but they were not malicious. They were not eager to take a life and possibly be guilty of murder. This is quite a contrast to Jonah’s attitude about the Ninevites. The sailors were willing to go the extra mile to save the life of one man who had admitted his guilt, while Jonah was unwilling to take God’s message to an entire city under the threat of destruction. 

{Instead of immediately throwing Jonah overboard, they did their best to return to land. They quickly dug their oars into the water and rowed as hard as they could.}Q7 It was an impossible task, however. God caused the sea to become more and more violent against them, and it soon became evident that they were not going to succeed. It simply is not possible for anyone—believers or unbelievers—to go against God successfully. He will have His way, whether in this life or in the coming judgment. 

{In their desperation, the pagan sailors cried out to Jonah’s God. By now they understood that it was indeed the God of Israel who controlled the sea, so they knew He was their only hope for physical salvation. They would have to do as Jonah had said, but still they did not want to be held guilty for taking a man’s life. Calling upon God by His covenant name, Yahweh, they begged Him not to punish them for what they were about to do, and they pleaded with Him not to hold them accountable for taking an innocent man’s life. 

In an amazing confession, they acknowledged that God was in control and was doing as He pleased. It was an absolute submission to the God they were just beginning to know. 

Salvation (Jonah 1:15-16). Once they realized they were fighting a losing battle against God, the sailors hurled Jonah into the raging waters.}Q8 The Hebrew word translated “cast” is the same word translated “sent” in verse 4. Just as God had hurled the storm onto the sea, so now the sailors hurled Jonah overboard. Everything else they had tried had failed, so they now felt they had no other choice. They had prayed to their gods and had done their best to row against the sea, but nothing had worked. 

{The moment they threw Jonah overboard, the sea became calm. Suddenly, God had their full attention.}Q9 The psalmists knew of God’s power over the sea. Psalm 89 reads, “Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them” (vs. 9), and Psalm 107 says, “He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still” (vs. 29). In Matthew 8:23-27, Jesus calms the sea in an instant, just as when Jonah was cast overboard. This was easy for God! 

Far from setting the sailors’ minds at peace, this sudden calm greatly increased their fear. 

• The God Jonah served was far more powerful than they expected. 

• Their fear was combined with a sense of awe, for God had just done what none of their gods could do. 

• It also proved that Jonah had been right in acknowledging his wrongdoing and declaring God’s sovereign power over the sea. 

This led them to offer a sacrifice to God and to make vows to Him. 

We cannot conclude with certainty that these pagan polytheists became exclusive worshippers of God at this time, though it certainly is a possibility. Maybe their vows involved a complete change of attitude toward Him. They seemed to show a true character change in their fear and honor of God, exceeding what Jonah had been showing. 

“These verses (4-16) provide an interesting study by way of contrast between Jonah and the mariners. In spite of the mariners’ lack of past experience with Yahweh, they display more apparent sensitivity to God and more compassion toward man than does Jonah” (Criswell, ed., The Believer’s Study Bible, Thomas Nelson). 

Preparation (Jonah 1:17). God knew that the frightened sailors would cast Jonah into the sea, so He had prepared a great fish ahead of time. He led it to the right place at the right time. It was not by accident or good luck that the fish passed by the instant Jonah hit the water. As Jonah sank deeper into the sea, the sovereign God who deeply loved His runaway servant was showing His presence, providence, and protection. As Jesus teaches, not even a hair can fall from our heads apart from God’s loving purpose (cf. Matt. 10:29-31). 

Jonah could have said with the psalmist, “The Lord hath chastened me sore: but he hath not given me over unto death” (Ps. 118:18). How good it is that we serve a loving, forgiving God who often gives us second chances! {The fish was not punishment; it was a means to rescue Jonah from drowning and to draw him to repentance.}Q10 

This text shows that God’s sovereignty is certain, even when it does not seem that way. He prepared a great wind to threaten the ship. He also prepared a great fish. Later on, we’ll see that God prepared a gourd for shade and a worm to chew through the gourd. In His sovereignty, God disciplines His children; He does not suspend His love. When needed, God’s loving discipline draws those who have erred back to Him. —Keith E. Eggert

Union Gospel Press, Union Gospel Press. Bible Expositor and Illuminator (pp. 234-242). Union Gospel Press. Kindle Edition.