One of the problems of translation is how to convey the brilliance of the text in its original language. Literary devices, word plays and double-entendres tend to get lost. The cadence and tone are altered The construction, the use of juxtaposition and other narrative and poetic structures may remain but mean little to the reader of another culture. Whilst we may miss it in the English, this little book of Jonah is a terrific work of literature, tightly written using many Jewish literary devices, puns and what we might call ‘loaded words’. Just a simple example might be the use of directions, both up and down, and East and West.
Historical background
In Luke, Jesus refers to the story of Jonah
as historical fact, and we would do well to take it as such. According to 2
Kings 14, Jonah was a prophet of the 8th Century BC in the Northern
kingdom of Israel. He fits in between Elisha and Amos, and ministered under
Jeroboam II (793 -753BC), one of Israel’s most powerful king. The nation’s great enemy
at the time was Assyria and Israel was to be conquered by them in 722 BC. Some
say that Nineveh may well have been the Assyrian capital at the time of Jonah.
It seems likely that Jonah the son of Amittai, like Amos, was given the task of
prophesying the overthrow of Israel at the hands of Assyria.
It’s All Very Well You Asking Me To Do That, But…
I don’t know
whether we should sympathise with Jonah for his human frailty or ‘tut-tut’ him
for being such a weed. The task he is called to do is to take a message of dire
judgement to the capital city of his nation’s enemies. God certainly gave him an
unenviable mission, but we might expect a designated prophet to have more
mettle. Instead, when the call comes, Jonah runs away in almost exactly the
opposite direction from Nineveh. He heads for Tarshish in Spain, the end of the known world. There are two elements to his desertion of duty;
fear and a kind of selfishness.
He is understandably afraid of having to go into a hostile gentile area. Furthermore, from later on in the story (4:2-3) we can see that Jonah begrudges God’s mercy on gentiles, and especially those who pose such a military threat to his own nation. Perhaps too, he is afraid of being called a traitor by his own people if the Ninevites repent. In some ways this command would be like God asking a Jew to go to Berlin with a similar message during the second world war. No wonder that Jonah preferred the idea of death.
The issue that we are faced with in these opening verses is disobedience, and specifically the refusal to deliver God’s message of impending judgement to the unrighteous, to unbelievers. Like Jonah, we too are commanded by God to call on sinners to repent in the face of God’s judgement and mercy. Do we do that or do we run away every time we’re given an opportunity to speak? We are always tempted to give in to fear and selfishness too. Anything for a quiet life! Imagine God asking you to go to Mecca and to openly proclaim the gospel there, a box of Bibles by your side. You might then look to Jonah and understand something of his attitude.
Challenge
But what about the people you and I meet daily - those who we just don't like, who don't like us, who are openly hostile to Christians, to our message and to Jesus? Are we going to write them off as being inextricably condemned and beyond the touch of God's grace? God’s plan will not be thwarted. He still wants the message delivered. The great commission to 'go and make disciples of all nations' (Matt 28:19) still stands. So, this story of Jonah is a reminder to us about the importance of obedience to the call of God - for us to be faithful ambassadors for Christ.
Troubled Waters
Jonah boards a ship for Tarshish and his
disobedience has the consequence of bringing the crew into danger. In
v5-6
we see the sailors respond to the situation by making every effort, spiritual
and physical, to extricate themselves from that danger. If we don’t evangelise
then we bring others into danger of eternal damnation.
Jonah by contrast
makes no effort, spiritual or physical to avert the danger. He’s asleep, and
perhaps we should note here a ‘pre-echo’ of the storm on the Lake of Galilee
where the issue is ‘Who is Jesus?’ These sailors want to know who Jonah is!
In v6 we should note that Jonah is asked to call on God, but he won't do so because he is not ready to face the Lord and shoulder his responsibilities. Because Jonah won’t act, God does. He ensures that the lot falls to Jonah when the sailors use this mechanism to find out the cause of their danger. Our reticent prophet now has no option but to face up to his situation. We cannot love God and run away from him at the same time. As John says, "We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands." (1 John 2:3-6)
Considering the conditions, the sailors' interrogation of Jonah in v8-10 is cool-headed. They are trying to understand their predicament, rather than thoughtlessly lynching Jonah. In fact, the moral rectitude of these men is remarkable throughout the storm passage. As Christians we cannot be arrogant about non-believers’ ethical standards. They may have much to teach us! Jonah’s reply is at least honest. He is finally admitting his guilt in the face of the circumstances. He vocalises this fact in v12. Admitting our sinfulness is a good start in putting ourselves right with God. Jonah does not now deny God or his own relationship with God. He witnesses to God’s power but he doesn’t call on God. Rather, he offers himself as a sacrifice (a selfish or selfless act?), rather than asking them to turn back to Joppa - he prefers death to doing God’s will. The sailors respond with decency despite their fear of Jonah's God, and they ask him for advice and try to move back to land to save Jonah.
Fear
The dominant word of chapter 1 has been 'fear'.
Prior to
v9 Jonah runs for fear of the task he’s called to perform, and the sailors are
afraid for their lives in v5. In
v9 when Jonah says ‘I worship’ he means
literally ‘I fear the Lord’. In verse 10 the sailors are 'terrified' and in
v14 they call on God because they’re afraid, both for Jonah and for
themselves.
This lead finally in v15-16 to a fear of, or faith in God
and they offer sacrifices and make vows to him instead of their pagan gods.
Looking at the whole passage, the sailors move from a position of idolatry to
belief in Yahweh. They progress from a fear of nature to fear of the Creator. Of
course in a way their greatest sacrifice is a man, Jonah, and through him they
are saved from God's wrath in the storm.
Despite his disobedience, Jonah is miraculously rescued by God through the means of a great fish. God's great plan for Jonah will proceed and whilst the picture of the fish is quite romantic, the means of rescue is not so important. The man who has sacrificed himself for the sake of others spends three days in this fishy tomb before returning to dry land.
The Sign of Jonah - in part
Here is part of the sign of Jonah that
Jesus speaks of that preludes the three days our Lord spent in his tomb. To
believers, the sacrifice of Jesus and the resurrection of Jesus represent salvation - grace,
forgiveness, righteousness and life. For those who do not believe, it is a
warning. Jesus is now alive to pursue the next stage of his ministry that we
read about in Revelation - the final judgement as the Lamb who is worthy (Rev
5). Other than obedience and fear our passage is concerned with these very
themes of judgment and salvation too.
Jesus speaks of the sign of Jonah in Matthew 12:36-41 & 16:1-4 and Luke
11:28-32. He is pointing to the salvation hope of the cross and his resurrection three days later, but the context into which Jesus puts this phrase (Luke 11:29-32 and Matt 12) is one of judgement. He is making an appeal for repentance from sin and an offering an opportunity for forgiveness. An interesting diversion is to jot down all the similarities between Jonah and Jesus which I will leave you to think about.
In closing we will look at some other lessons that we can draw from this
passage.
Lessons