Last week we began by understanding the context and circumstances surrounding Jonah's call from God. Jonah the son of Amittai is anything but faithful. God calls him to arise and go northeast but he has southwest instead just to get away from God. This is extremely counter-intuitive for a Jew. Landlocked Israel has always thought of the sea as a tempestuous place, where uncertainty, chaos and disaster reigns. In this study, we'll dive right in and unpack more of Jonah's response to God's call and command.
(A) Storms reveal true religion (Jonah 1:4-6)
Jonah 1:4 begins with the word "but", indicating some form of narrative contrast between verses 3 and 4. At the end of verse 3, we read of how Jonah tried to run away from the presence of the Lord. However, the LORD had something different planned. The LORD wanted to bring his presence to where Jonah is. The LORD had no intention of letting Jonah out of His presence. Like Jonah, we think that we can try to avoid holy places and evade the Lord's presence, but God brings His holy place to where we are.
When we read on, we really see how God is intentional about going after Jonah. He continues to chase Jonah and uses the wind and the storm (Jonah 1:4). This "great wind" threatened to break up the ship and even the mariners were afraid (Jonah 1:5). It must have been quite something to make these able sailors so fearful. What do they do in their fear? "Each cried out to his god" (Jonah 1:5). Jonah lived in a multi-religious world that is not unlike our world. This is not a Christian world and each one under stress, cried out to God. These mariners didn't just pray, but also approached it with logic and began hurling their cargo overboard (Jonah 1:5b). As a side linguistic note, notice the repetition of the world "hurl" from verses 4, 5, 12 and 15. Lots of people are doing the hurling things in this chapter.
Where was Jonah while the mariners were panicking? Jonah was not with this crowd. He was exhausted from his rebellion and running away and was actually "fast asleep". (Jonah 1:5). It is also quite a wonder that he is asleep in this storm! The captain comes to him and calls him to "arise" (Jonah 1:6). Where else have we seen this word "arise"? We've already seen this in God's initial command in verse 2. Here in verse 6, from the mouth of an unbelieving sinner comes a command to Jonah to arise and pray. There is an element of irony here because everyone else has already called out to their gods but Jonah, the true prophet of the true God was asleep while there was a multi-faith prayer meeting going on above. Is this a picture of us? Are people around us struggling and doing a million things to solve the problems, but we are so comfortable in our middle class life? Sometimes God uses other people to kick His people to action.
In these verses we see that God uses an unbeliever to remind the prophet of God to see the God that God cares (Jonah 1:6). God cared so much for his prophet that He continued to pursue Jonah even when he wanted to run away from God's presence. It's also ironic because the point of God calling Jonah to Nineveh was because He cared for people, even the enemies of Israel. And even in this storm, God provided an opportunity for Jonah to share this God with the mariners. For many of us, desperation reveals our true religion. Has it occurred to you that when someone else is desperate, they could be desperate for your true religion? Sometimes, other people's storms need your true religion! Do you need your non-Christian friend to kick down your door and to ask you to tell them the gospel? If you've never identified yourself as a Christian to your classmates or colleagues, you are sleeping at the bottom of the boat amidst the storms of people's lives! What have you done with the gospel? What have you done with Jesus Christ? What have you done with the God who cares?
(B) Storms explain judgment and wrath (Jonah 1:7-15)
The mariners decide to cast lots in order to try to find out who was responsible for this evil (Jonah 1:7). The lot fell on Jonah (certainly by no mistake!). They then pepper Jonah with a series of questions which Jonah replies selectively (Jonah 1:8-9). The table below summarises their exchange.
| Questions from mariners | Jonah's answer to questions |
|---|---|
| On whose account has this evil fallen on us? (Jonah 1:8a) | Jonah knew that it was due to him, but he does not answer their question with an outright admission. |
| What is your occupation? (Jonah 1:8b) | He does not answer either! He does not tell them that he is a full-time prophet. |
| Where do you come from? (Jonah 1:8c) | He also does not answer, and the answer is in 2 Kings 14:25. He is from Gath-hepher. |
| What is your country? (Jonah 1:8d) | He is from Israel, but he doesn't tell them. |
| Of what people are you? (Jonah 1:8e) | This is the only one he replies to, telling them that he is a Hebrew. |
Jonah doesn't seem to be answering the mariner's questions at all (Jonah 1:9). In fact, his thoughts seem to have taken a different turn. The mariners were trying to problem solve but Jonah was downloading his theology. Jonah knows the real answer to the real question that they are not asking. He is thinking about His God and knows that the cause of their problems is his God, "the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land" (Jonah 1:9b). In verse 9, Jonah also used the personal name of God ("LORD") for the first time, and when Jonah thinks about the LORD, he would also be led to think about his sins.
How did the mariners respond? The mariners were "exceedingly afraid" because they knew the reputation of Israel's God (Jonah 1:10)! The panic and fear in their voice is palpable. Like Jonah, they knew that they were sinners too. Ironically in these verses, when Jonah declares that he fears the Lord, he doesn't really fear Him, otherwise he would have repented and confessed his sins and disobedience.
By this time in the chapter, all the dramatic actions and experiences led the mariners and Jonah to recognise who this God, and they also saw their sin. Knowing God truly always leads us to know our sin. This is the pattern in the Bible. Everyone who sees the God in His glory leaves in fear. No one meets God goes away feeling #blessed or #deeplyloved and unmoved. Instead, those who encounter God leave saying with Isaiah the prophet "woe is me". Why do we not all feel this way when we come to the Word or go to church? We have all developed profound coping mechanisms and also rationalize away all that we hear. Sometimes we cling to the "good" that we have done, like reading our Bibles. At other times, we think that this sermon is good for someone else. We may even tweet what we hear and then move on with life. We devise a million ways to push away what we have heard and tell ourselves that we are not as bad as we are. But when God shows up in a storm and forces us into the corner, we are forced to see who we are and who He is. We are also reminded from this chapter to shut off our coping mechanisms when we come before God's Word.
(C) Storms reveal a mighty God (Jonah 1:16)
Now that the mariners knew the source of their problems, they tried to solve it and asked Jonah what they should do to him to quiet down the sea (Jonah 1:11). From Jonah 1:11-15, we read of a series of actions by the mariners.
| Mariners' actions | Implications |
|---|---|
| Question Jonah (Jonah 1:11) | They initiated the practical steps. |
| Hear his answer (Jonah 1:12) | They also took time to listen to his answer ("pick me up and throw me into the sea"), the outcome ("then the sea will quiet down for you"), and the rationale ("for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you"). They understood the actions, and for them to toss him into the sea, it means that they agree with what this man is saying. |
| Row (Jonah 1:13) | They did not want to do what Jonah told them to do and were possibly in a bit of denial. They tried to solve the problems in their own way, "but they could not, for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them" (Jonah 1:13). God was acting against them. How could they win against Him? |
| Pray (Jonah 1:14) | In their desperation after failing to escape this storm by their own efforts, they called on God using the covenantal name of God (Jonah 1:14). Hear the flattery and formality in their prayer. They responded out of whatever limited theological knowledge they had, for they had an imperfect faith, but nevertheless, they called on the name of the Lord! |
| Throw (Jonah 1:15) | When the mariners threw Jonah off the boat, they were sending him to his death. But here, let's not miss the picture of how the man of God has to go to be sent to his watery grave in order for sinners to be saved. |
| Worship (Jonah 1:16) | They already made a sacrifice by listening to the prophet and throwing him off. What is this sacrifice for? This now is a sacrifice for themselves, and the mariners also made vows, by responding in faith. They converted at the end of this experience, after "killing" the prophet. But this whole thing is part of God's plan. Acts 17:26-27 tells us that this is all that God intended. |
Do you find the mariners' response surprising? The mariners saw something of God's divine power over the sea and storm. After all, the one who can calm such a fearful storm has a power greater than nature! Ps 89:6-9 reminds us that the God of the Bible indeed has authority over nature and can quell the raging of the sea. In this psalm, the psalmist speaks of a literal sea, not merely the raging of the emotions within us . We must not internalize the power of God and metaphorically turn everything into our emotions. God has real and raw power and is not just a God of psychology. Later on in the Psalm, we learn about God's King who will have his hand on the sea and rivers (Ps 89:20-27) and will have authority over the sea.
The Israelites feared the sea because it represented chaos and an untameable power, but the sea also was a picture of God's judgment. In Gen 6:17, we are familiar with the story of Noah and the ark, but the main point is not how the animals boarded the boat in pairs, but how God had to judge the evil in the world.
What can we learn from this passage then? Jonah's God, and our God cares for His people, both the people of Israel, and also the people of Nineveh. This God also cares for His rebellious prophet, and pursued him relentlessly even as he tried to run away. Years later, another Prophet of Israel was caught in a storm so great, "the waves were breaking into the boat" (Mark 4:37). He was unfazed, "in the stern, asleep on the cushion" (Mark 4:38a). His disciples woke him up for they were afraid that they would perish in this storm (Mark 4:38). Jesus was caught in a storm with His disciples too, but unlike Jonah, it wasn't because He ran away from God and had His own disobedience to atone for. On the contrary, Jesus was fully obedient to the commands of God the Father, and took the form of man. Jesus was a righteous prophet with the full authority of God's King. He "rebuked the wind" and calmed the sea with His words (Mark 4:39), and his disciples were "filled with great fear" (Mark 4:41). "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?" (Mark 4:41). Jesus is the God of Ps 89.
In this storm, Jesus wasn't hurled off the boat and calmed it with His words. But just as how Jonah died that the mariners might live, Jesus drowns in the sea of God's wrath on behalf of sinners. He willingly hurled himself off, walking to the cross and laid down His life on His own. He paid the price in full.
If you are a Christian today, you have One who gave himself for you and all other Christians, and hurled Himself headfirst into God's wrath. Can't you see the depths of His love? He is not a reluctant Savior! He walked to the cross by Himself. He did not need to be kicked and push to act on behalf of the sinners. Every step He took was His own free will. Why? He loves you and me. Sometimes this thought grows stale, because we have developed our own coping mechanisms. But let us not forget and constantly remind ourselves that He loves you and me because He loves you and me. Is your heart cold today? Have you forgotten this wonderful news? Have you been running away from God? What will melt your cold heart? Only the white-hot passion of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. See this God who chases us down and could throw a storm to bring us to our knees and back to Him. See this God who pursued us relentless, who though He was God did not consider equality with God something to be grasped but emptied Himself and gave Himself willingly for us. See this mighty God hurling Himself into the storm.
Behold your God!