Jonah 1
BBCJonah 1:1
I. THE DISOBEDIENCE OF THE PROPHET (Chap. 1) A. Jonah’s Missionary Call (1:1, 2)God sent Jonah to preach to Nineveh, the capital city of Israel’s prime enemy, Assyria. One can understand the prophet’s dread of going there from a strictly natural viewpoint (see Background and Theme above).
Jonah 1:3
B. Jonah’s Flight to Tarshish (1:3)In disobedience, Jonah took a ship for Tarshish (probably on the south coast of Spain). H. C. Woodring comments on the prophet’s rebellion against his assignment: God wanted him to go to Nineveh, 500 miles northeast of Palestine. Instead of going east, Jonah went 2000 miles to the west. God wished Jonah to take an overland trip via the Fertile Crescent. Instead he took a distasteful sea voyage (the Jews hated the sea). God sent him to the greatest metropolis of the day. Instead Jonah headed for a remote trading post on the fringes of civilization. The Lord wished to go with His prophet. Instead Jonah tried to flee from the presence and power of God.
Jonah 1:4
C. The Storm at Sea (1:4-10)The LORD sent out (lit. hurled) a great wind . . . and a mighty tempest that imperiled the ship and its occupants. The heathen mariners, probably Phoenicians, cast lots to see who was responsible for the trouble. Jonah the Hebrew was revealed as the culprit; he was fleeing from the presence of the LORD.
Jonah 1:11
D. Jonah Thrown Overboard and Swallowed by a Great Fish (1:11-17)1:11-16 The question, “What shall we do to you that the sea may be calm for us? shows a typical human attitude of caring for one’s own skin at all costs. However, for pagan old salts they displayed a real sense of fair play. Jonah advised them to throw him overboard. They were reluctant to do this and rowed hard to return to land instead. But finally they were driven to do it as a last resort because the sea continued to grow more tempestuous against them. 1:17 A great fish, prepared by the LORD, swallowed Jonah and kept him a captive for three days and three nights. (The miracle was not that a fish could swallow a man, but that the man was not digested.)