Jonah 1:1-16

1:1 | Jonah was an actual person (2 Kgs. 14:25; Matt. 12:38-40; Luke 11:29-32), not an allegorical figure as some have argued. If his story were a parable, it would be the only parable in the Bible where the key figure was given a historical name within a recorded time and place in history. The phrase the word of the LORD occurs nearly 300 times in the English text of the OT and always represents a divine communication.

1:2-3 | God spoke clear directions to Johan: go and preach (cry out) against Ninevah, Assyria’s capital city. In an act of deliberate disobedience, Jonah fled the presence of the LORD in the opposite direction of Ninevah – Tarshish.

1:3-2:6 | Jonah’s journey away from God’s sovereign will and presence was a downward one. Jonah went down to Joppa, down into the ship, down into the deep, down into the belly of the fish. Then the fish went down to the very depths of the sea. Still, Jonah was not able to escape the presence and grace of the sovereign God who pursued him.

1:4 | The LORD sent the windstorm because He loved Jonah (Heb. 12:5-6) and wanted the prophet to turn back from the destructive path he was on.

1:5 | The mariners were petrified, they panicked, and they prayed – in that order. Although as pagans, their prayers were not directed to the one true God (every man cried out to his god), their actions proved that when we humans reach the end of our resources, we innately understand that a Power outside of us exists to help us.

1:6 | The ship’s captain (a pagan) had to exhort Jonah (a prophet of the Lord) to call on his God. There is no record of Jonah praying, however, until he was in the belly of a fish. (2:1).

1:7 | Casting lots was the way that ancient peoples determined the will of their gods. It was also a way for the Israelites to discern God’s will (Josh. 7:12-18; 1 Sam. 14:40-42; Prov. 16:33). In this case, God orchestrated the outcome so the lot would fall on Jonah and reveal his sin.

1:9 | Jonah professed a fear of the LORD, but his actions indicated otherwise. Christians can know and accurately declare the truth about God and still be disobedient. In acknowledging that his God made the sea and the dry land, Jonah showed that Yahweh is superior to the Canaanite god of the sea, Yam (1 Kgs. 18:20-29; 2 Kgs. 21:3).

1:10-14 | Jonah admitted, This great tempest is because of me. Understanding that this is true, the mariners prayed to the one true God for their deliverance. If not for God’s intervention, they all would have died.

1:16 | The Hebrew uses the same word here for feared that was used earlier(1:9-10; fear, exceedingly afraid). The sailors’ dread of the sea changed to pious fear as they recognized God’s sovereign power. They acted on this newfound understanding by offering a sacrifice to the LORD – a stark contrast to Jonah’s disobedience. Jonah claimed to fear God, yet disobeyed Him. The sailors’ vows were probably formal promises to offer additional sacrifices to God when they arrived safely home, as expressions of their gratitude for His mercy in sparing them.