Disobedience and Deliverance

Jonah 1:1-17

Jonah's Disobedience

1 Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 "Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me." 3 But Jonah arose 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 from the presence of the LORD.

The Storm 

4 But the LORD sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was about to be broken up.

5 Then the mariners were afraid; and every man cried out to his god, and threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten the load. But Jonah had gone down into the lowest parts of the ship, had lain down, and was fast asleep.

6 So the captain came to him, and said to him, "What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, call on your God; perhaps your God will consider us, so that we may not perish."

7 And they said to one another, "Come, let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this trouble has come upon us." So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. 

8 Then they said to him, "Please tell us! For whose cause is this trouble upon us? What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?"

9 So 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, "Why have you done this?" For the men knew that he fled 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 be calm for us?"—for the sea was growing more tempestuous.

12 And he said to them, "Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will become calm for you. For I know that this great tempest is because of me."

13 Nevertheless the men rowed hard to return to land, but they could not, for the sea continued to grow more tempestuous against them. 14 Therefore they cried out to the LORD and said, "We pray, O LORD, please do not let us perish for this man's life, and do not charge us with innocent blood; for You, O LORD, have done as it pleased You." 15 So they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. 16 Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice to the LORD and took vows. 

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

The man Jonah was the son of a prophet whose name meant “My truth.”  When Jonah heard God call him to speak against the great Nineveh for their greater sin against the Lord (presumably their idolatry and immortality), he flew away like the dove which his name meant.  He did not want to confront the sinful people there and warn them more out of disdain than fear.  It seems to have been a form of self-righteous judgment that kept him from obedience to the LORD’s call.  Heaven forbid that we ourselves should ever refuse to bring good news of forgiveness and deliverance to any people we look down on and consider unworthy of the gospel!  God stopped the runaway by ensuring that the ship he escaped on was buffeted by a huge storm to either destroy or turn Jonah back.  The tempest tossed the ship as the crew cried out in vain to nonexistent gods to no avail.  Then they woke Jonah and asked him to call for help to his God.  He remained silent until they cast lots to identify him as the cause of their calamity.  Then he testified to his God being the creator and who lived in heaven above this storm below and to fearing Him alone.  This caused great fear among the crew because they had heard of this powerful God and because this man before them had defied and disobeyed Him, bringing the calamity upon them all.  In running from His presence, Jonah had brought His presence to them all with fearful power and judgment.  That is why their imagined gods could do nothing and they knew it.  The tempest raged on until they realized that the only course of action was to do as the prophet told them and cast him into the stormy sea’s billowing waves.  They did not want his blood on their hands and so cried out in prayer to the God of heaven for forgiveness as they realized His sovereignty in the whole matter.  They tossed him in and calm settled in, leading the crew to turn to fear and worship the LORD with sacrifices and resolutions to follow Him.  These were the first converts to the LORD as it were by Jonah.  God still kept the messenger safe by providing a great fish, likely a whale shark, to swallow him and transport him to the predetermined destination.  We see that we can run from God’s calling only so far until He brings us back, even when we feel washed up in our disobedience and timidity (2 Timothy 1:7).  If we turn from our disobedience to remember His deliverance of our salvation, we will find the strength to face the ungodly with compassion and grace instead of prejudice and judgment of condemnation.  How much better to follow in trusting obedience when He calls a man to do what he is gifted and placed in the world to do!