THE BOOK OF JONAH

(“What Have You Done?!”)


Jonah 1:1-16 (NASU)


9”(Jonah) said to them, ‘I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord God of heaven who made the sea and the dry land.’ 10Then the men became extremely frightened and they said to him, ‘How could you do this?’ For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them.” (Jonah 1:9-10)



  1. JONAH VS. GOD

(1) It’s hard to imagine a true “prophet” of God choosing to blatantly disobey a direct command from his Sovereign “Lord” (c.f. Jonah 1:1-2) – but, that’s what we find Jonah doing in the opening verses of the book that bears his name.

It’s hard to imagine that a true “servant” of God (c.f. II Kings 14:25) would WANT to thwart his Master’s plan – especially one that involved saving a whole city full of sinful people. But, that’s exactly what we find Jonah doing here in the opening verses of chapter one (c.f. Jonah 4:2).

It’s hard to imagine that a true believer would TRY and derail God’s sovereign plans, by running away from his divinely appointed duty – but, that’s what we find Jonah doing in tonight’s Scripture lesson.

It’s hard to imagine that a true man of God would even THINK he could disrupt God’s sovereign plans – but here in chapter one, Jonah was apparently willing to give it a try. Hence, we’re told that: 1“The word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai saying, 2‘Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me.’ 3BUT Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. So he went down to Joppa, found a ship which was going to Tarshish, paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord” (c.f. Jonah 1:1-3).

(2) One important lesson the Book of Jonah teaches us is that no man can prevent the plans of the Sovereign Ruler of heaven and earth from coming to pass. Men can (and do) break God’s holy laws – by stealing and committing adultery – lying and dishonoring their parents – neglecting worship and coveting things He has not chosen to give them (c.f. Exodus 20:1-17). BUT, no man (or group of men) can prevent what God has sovereignly ordained to happen from happening.1 Hence, we read familiar passages like these – “I know that You can do all things, and that NO PURPOSE OF YOURS CAN BE THWARTED” (c.f. Job 42:2) – and again: “… our God is in the heavens; HE DOES WHATEVER HE PLEASES” (c.f. Psalm 115:3) – and once more: “… He does according to His will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of earth; and NO ONE CAN WARD OFF HIS HAND …” (c.f. Daniel 4:35) – and then for good measure, God Himself says: “… Truly I have spoken; truly I WILL BRING IT TO PASS. I have planned it … I WILL DO IT” (c.f. Isaiah 46:11).

(3) R. C. Sproul points out that God’s sovereign will is often hidden from us until AFTER it comes to pass.1 Once something occurs, however, we can be sure it was God’s will – even though we may find it painful at the moment – or beyond our finite ability to understand. When either (or both) of those things happen, other familiar verses give us comfort – like the one that says: “… you meant evil … but GOD MEANT IT FOR GOOD …” (c.f. Genesis 50:20) – and also the passage that says: “… we know (by faith that) … GOD CAUSES ALL THINGS TO WORK TOGETHER FOR GOOD (not for everyone, but) to those who love (Him), to those who are called according to His purpose” (c.f. Romans 8:28). Those two qualifying statements mean the promise found in this verse is reserved solely for God’s elect – and that it applies to them both before and after they become a Christian. Moreover, this great promise, that so many Christians have drawn comfort from, is dependent on God being absolutely sovereign!


(B) EXAMPLES OF GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY

(1) Here in Jonah chapter one, we see several examples of God’s sovereignty. For instance, in verse four we see His sovereignty over the created order – in that He “hurled a great wind on the sea”, even “a great storm” that threatened to overwhelm the ship Jonah was on (c.f. Jonah 1:4). As the Book of Job says: 11“… HE LOADS the thick cloud (with moisture); HE DISPERSES the cloud of His lightning. 12It changes direction, turning around BY HIS GUIDANCE, (to) do whatever HE COMMANDS it on the face of the inhabited earth. 13Whether for correction, or for His world, or for lovingkindness, HE CAUSES IT TO HAPPEN” (c.f. Job 37:11-13).

(2) We also see God’s sovereignty over the casting of “lots” in verse seven – in that He caused “the lot to (rightly fall) on Jonah” (c.f. Jonah 1:7). As Scripture says elsewhere: “The lot is cast into the lap, but ITS EVERY DECISION IS FROM THE LORD” (c.f. Proverbs 16:33).

(3) More importantly, however, we see God’s sovereignty over the lives of men – for not only does God hold the lives of everyone on board Jonah’s ship in His hands – He’s also exerting His sovereign control over Jonah, in that, even though the prophet was running away from his call to go to Nineveh, God wasn’t having any of it! Even though Jonah was apparently trying to thwart God’s plan to save the people of Nineveh (c.f. Jonah 4:2), God wasn’t about to let that happen. For, as He says elsewhere: “My purpose will be established, and I WILL ACCOMPLISH ALL MY GOOD PLEASURE” (c.f. Isaiah 46:10).

(4) You see, Almighty God had sovereignly ordained something very specific – namely, that He was going to convert the people of Nineveh through the preaching of Jonah (we know this because that’s ultimately what happened!). And neither Jonah nor anyone else was going to keep that plan from coming to pass EXACTLY as God had ordained it. Hence, God goes after Jonah (as it were) to bring him back and resend him to Nineveh (c.f. Jonah 3:1-3) – which is what the “great storm” (c.f. Jonah 1:4) and the “great fish” (c.f. Jonah 1:17) are all about. Hence, the psalmist wrote: “WHATEVER THE LORD PLEASES, HE DOES, in heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps” (c.f. Psalm 135:6).

(5) Nor should we view these events as though God’s plans had suffered a temporary setback – or as though He had to delay carrying out His original plan, while He tracked Jonah down and tried to straighten him out. On the contrary, even though this is hard for us to understand, Jonah’s disobedience was actually part of God’s sovereign plan. You see God is so great He’s able to multi-task. I can’t read and listen to the radio at the same time – but God can carry out dozens (even hundreds or thousands) of secondary plans through a single event! (More than three thousand US citizens died on 9/11 – but God’s plan for each one of them was carried out through that one event!)

Hence, in the midst of accomplishing His sovereign plan to save the people of Nineveh, WE ALSO find Him teaching Jonah some lessons he needed to learn – WHILE ALSO making a deep impression upon a group of pagan sailors! WHILE ALSO using Jonah’s experience with the “great fish” (c.f. Jonah 1:17; 2:10) to give us a picture of the death, burial and resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ (c.f. Matthew 12:38-40) – AND, He’s did all these things (and more) at the same time, through the same events!

(6) Surely, then, Scripture is right when it asks: “Who is like You … O Lord? Who is like You, majestic in holiness, awesome in praises, working wonders?” (c.f. Exodus 15:11). And again, when it declares: 8“O Lord God of hosts, who is like You …? … 9You rule the swelling of the sea … 10You scattered Your enemies … 13You have a strong arm; Your hand is mighty, Your right hand is exalted” (c.f. Psalm 89:8-13). And once more: “You … have done great things; O God, who is like You?” (c.f. Psalm 71:19) – the answer, of course, being: “no one” (c.f. Exodus 9:14; Psalm 86:8; Isaiah 46:9). No one is like our God – no one can do the things He does – no one can multitask the way He can.


  1. Q & A

(1) Tonight, then, we’re going to pick up our study in verse eight, where we encounter a series of questions and answers. The sequence of events leading up these questions and answers is as follows: in verse four “the Lord hurled a great storm on the sea” that was threatening the lives of everyone on board Jonah’s ship (c.f. Jonah 1:4). In verse five “the sailors” are “frightened” because they realize this is no ordinary storm – so they start “praying to their gods” and “throwing cargo overboard to lighten the ship” (c.f. Jonah 1:5). In verse six “the captain” wakes Jonah up and implores him to “call on his god”, saying: “perhaps your god will be concerned about us so that we will not perish” (c.f. Jonah 1:6). Then, in verse seven the sailors “cast lots” to see why they are in this life-threatening predicament – to see whose fault it is – and we’re told: “the lot fell on Jonah” (c.f. Jonah 1:7).

(2) Now in verse eight comes a flurry2 of questions – all directed at Jonah, because he’s been identified as the culprit – “Tell us, now! On whose account has this calamity struck us? What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?” (c.f. Jonah 1:8).

(a) We can sense the urgency of the sailors in their declaration: “Tell us, NOW!” (c.f. Jonah 1:8) – i.e. “Right now!” – “This instant!” – “Without delay!” “We’re all in big trouble, and we need some answers right this minute!”

(b) We can sense the sailor’s perplexity, especially in their first question: “Tell us now! On whose account has this calamity struck us?” (c.f. Jonah 1:8). The casting of lots has singled out Jonah – BUT, no one on board ship knows anything about him – least of all who he is,2 or what he may have done to cause “this calamity” to befall them (c.f. Jonah 1:8).

(c) We can sense the sailor’s desperation, as they pepper him with one question after another, without pausing to give him a chance to respond: “What’s your occupation? … where do you come from? What … country? (Who are your) people …?” (c.f. Jonah 1:8).

(d) If we were to try and distill all the sailor’s question into one – it might be, “Why is this happening?” That’s a question people still ask today – especially when a “calamity” (c.f. Jonah 1:8) strikes close to home. It’s a question even Christians ask when their own personal circumstances become particularly difficult or painful – i.e. “Why is this happening – to me?” “What did I do to deserve this?” “What did I do to bring this on?” – “What’s the cause of it?” – “What’s the reason for it?” Sometimes we even look around (away from ourselves) and ask, “Who’s to blame?” “I haven’t done anything I know of to deserve this – so whose fault is it?”

(3) Jonah’s answer is found in verse nine, where he says: “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord God of heaven who made the sea and the dry land” (c.f. Jonah 1:9).

(a) Jonah answered the last question first,3 identifying himself in ethnic terms4 as “a Hebrew” (c.f. Jonah 1:9) – which was the way Israelites often identified themselves when talking with Gentiles.4 Most Gentiles knew the “Hebrew” (c.f. Jonah 1:9) people traced their ancestry back to Abraham – and that they generally lived in the lands of Judah and Israel. Neither of these things would have caused the sailors to be concerned.

(b) BUT, then Jonah went on to identify himself in religious terms,4 saying: “… I fear the Lord God of heaven who made the sea and the dry land” (c.f. Jonah 1:9) – i.e. “I fear the true God, not some idol made by human hands” – “I worship the true God, not one your local or national deities”4 – “I serve ‘the Lord’ (i.e. “Jehovah”) (c.f. Jonah 1:9), whose name is ‘I AM’ (c.f. Exodus 3:14), not some god made of wood or stone, who lacks life and breath” – “I fear the ‘God (who dwells in) heaven’ (c.f. Jonah 1:9), not some god whose supposed existence is confined to a certain place on earth, apart from which he’s of no use to his worshippers” – “I fear the God ‘who (created) the sea and dry land’ (c.f. Jonah 1:9), and can control them” (which was the kind of God he and the sailors needed just then).2

The point is, Jonah’s reply made a clear distinction between the God he served and the “gods” his shipmates had been praying to recently (c.f. Jonah 1:5), without any visible success. In this regard, then, Jonah made a “good confession” (c.f. I Timothy 6:12) before these pagan sailors, even though he was still in a state of disobedience.

(c) By identifying God as “Maker of the sea and dry land” (c.f. Jonah 1:9), Jonah was using a figure of speech that uses two opposites to communicate totality3 – in this instance, those opposites were “the sea” and “the dry land” (c.f. Jonah 1:9) – so that what Jonah was really saying was, “I worship the God who created everything!”5 What’s more, the implication was that the God who created everything (including the sea!), is also able to control everything (including the sea). Hence, Jonah was telling these pagan sailors that his God – the true God – the God of heaven – the God who created everything, including “the sea and … dry land” (c.f. Jonah 1:9) – was responsible for the violent storm they now found themselves in.

(d) Verse ten indicates Jonah also “told” the sailors he had disobeyed the God he claimed to fear (c.f. Jonah 1:10) – that instead of sailing with them for “Tarshish”, God told him to “go to Nineveh” and “cry out against” the people living there on account of their “wickedness” (c.f. Jonah 1:1-3). The fact Jonah was with them onboard the ship was all the evidence these sailors needed to figure out that he had sinned against the true God – and that his disobedience was why they were all now caught in this life-threatening storm. No wonder verse ten says that, after hearing what Jonah had to say: “Then the men became EXTREMELY frightened” (c.f. Jonah 1:10). Up to this point they had just been afraid of the storm (c.f. Jonah 1:5) – now they were afraid of the God who was causing the storm!

(4) Hence, they ask Jonah another question (in verse ten): “How could you do this?” (c.f. Jonah 1:10).

(a) Actually, it’s not so much a question as a rebuke6 – as in, “Are you crazy?” – “What’s the matter with you?” – “What in the world were you thinking (when you go on board our ship)?” – “How could you do something so stupid (like disobeying your God – the true God – and try and run away from Him)?”

(b) Part of the irony at this point in the narrative, is that Jonah isn’t being rebuked by a fellow-prophet, or by fellow-believers – he’s being rebuked by pagans! He’s not being reprimanded by people who share his love for the true God – he’s being reprimanded by men who worship dead idols! He’s not being scolded or censured by people who serve and worship the living God – he’s being chewed-out by men who serve and worship false gods! Surely the humiliation of being chastised by pagans (and rightly so, I might add) was not lost on Jonah – surely the shame and disgrace of being castigated by the kind of people he was supposed to be preaching the gospel to did not escape his notice.

(c) As evidence, I offer the fact that (at least so far as the biblical record is concerned) Jonah did not try and answer the question posed to him at this point (i.e. “How could you do this?” – c.f. Jonah 1:10). As far as we know, he remained silent – like the man in one of Jesus’ parables who managed to slip into the wedding of the king’s son without the proper wedding clothes (c.f. Matthew 22:1-2, 11-12) – there was nothing he could say – he had no defense – no explanation – there was no excuse for what he had done. He was guilty of knowingly sinning against the God he claimed to fear – and (at least this much was to his credit, that) he did not try to justify himself before God, or before the pagan sailors whom God used to rebuke him.

(d) James Boice makes a pointed (and painful) application by asking a series of questions of his own: “Suppose you were in Jonah’s place – having deliberately and blatantly disobeyed the Savior you claim to love and serve – and an unbelievers asks you, ‘How could you do (that)?’” (c.f. Jonah 1:10). Boice then continues: “Why did you do that? Did your God provoke you to flee from Him? Did He deal so harshly and unkindly with you that you had no alternative but to run away? Did you find Him unworthy of your trust – your obedience? Did you fulfill all the duty you owned Him? Did you exhaust all the protection and support He could give you? Why didn’t you obey Him?”6

“Has God become a wilderness to you? Have you found a better friend? Have you found a worthier portion? Have you found a sweeter employment than meditating on His word, and calling on His name in prayer? (If not, then why did you disobey Him?”6

“Have you found Him unfaithful to His promises? Have you discovered that He discourages His people? Will you say that the more you have learned about Him, the less you have thought of Him? (If not, then why didn’t you obey Him?)”6

Boice suggests that if Jonah were thinking clearly when the pagan sailors asked him: “How could you do this?” (c.f. Jonah 1:10) – i.e. “How could you deliberately disobey the Sovereign Ruler and Creator of heaven and earth?” – (if he were thinking clearly) he surely acknowledged to himself that nothing God had done or could ever do could deserve his disobedience (not even the conversion of the Assyrians living in Nineveh).6 And if we are thinking clearly when we are tempted to disobey Him, we will acknowledge the same thing – and then, by His enabling grace, act accordingly.

(5) Verse eleven contains one final question from the men sailing with Jonah – i.e. “What should we do to you that the sea may become calm for us?” (c.f. Jonah 1:11) – followed by the prophet’s answer in verse twelve to toss him overboard (c.f. Jonah 1:12). But we’ll save that for next time.



BIBLIOGRAPHY

1Sproul: Essential Truths of the Christian Faith; p. 67.

2Boice: The Minor Prophets; Vol. 1; p. 222.

3Estelle: Salvation Through Judgment and Mercy; p. 50.

4The New Geneva Study Bible: Footnote on Jonah 1:9; p.

1418.

5Estelle: Ibid; p. 51.

6Boice: Ibid; p. 223.