Rise Up!

Scripture: Jonah 1:1-17

¹Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai, saying, ² “Go at once to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it, for their wickedness has come up before me.” ³ But Jonah set out 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 his fare and went on board, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord.

⁴ But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and such a mighty storm came upon the sea that the ship threatened to break up. ⁵ Then the sailors were afraid, and each cried to his god. They threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten it for them. Jonah, meanwhile, had gone down into the hold of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep. ⁶ The captain came and said to him, “What are you doing sound asleep? Get up; call on your god! Perhaps the god will spare us a thought so that we do not perish.”

⁷ The sailorssaid to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, so that we may know on whose account this calamity has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. ⁸ Then they said to him, “Tell us why this calamity has come upon us. What is your occupation? Where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?” ⁹ “I am a Hebrew,” he replied. “I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” ¹⁰ Then the men were even more afraid and said to him, “What is this that you have done!” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them so.

¹¹ Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?” For the sea was growing more and more tempestuous. ¹² He said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know it is because of me that this great storm has come upon you.” ¹³ Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to bring the shipback to land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more stormy against them. ¹⁴ Then they cried out to the Lord, “Please, O Lord, we pray, do not let us perish on account of this man’s life. Do not make us guilty of innocent blood, for you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you.” ¹⁵ So they picked Jonah up and threw him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. ¹⁶ Then the men feared the Lord even more, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.

¹⁷But the Lord provided a large fish to swallow up Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

Questions

1. What kind of book are you expecting as you read Jonah?  Do you expect history, humor, prophecy, something else?
2. Jonah gives a wonderful confession of faith that rings hollow because it has never caused a crisis in his life, what in your faith has caused you to stop and think recently?

Background

Related Scriptures: The Book of Psalms (especially 42 & 120), Mark 4:35-41, Acts 27

Chapter 1 is about Jonah’s descent as he tries to escape God he is constantly going down, stylistically showing he is moving away from God.

Throughout the story the non-Israelite characters show a more God-like character than the prophet.

Reflection

There are times when “God said it, I believe it, that settles it” can be a great motto. Like when Jesus says “love your neighbor”, “pray for those who persecute you”, “love your enemy”, At times like this we can say God’s moral directives overrule my inclination in the moment. However, in places like the Book of Jonah that same sentiment can stop us from asking questions and cause us to miss the entire point of the story. So many seem to simply say “well it happened that way” and then rush through the book without taking the time to see what’s going on and ask how that might apply to us today. But the entire story is expertly crafted to help us to slow down and consider “who does God care about?” and “What does it truly mean to be among God’s people?’. What I am trying to say is we are supposed to slow down with this book and ask the question, “Am I understanding this right?” or “why is that detail here?”.

Slowing down I notice that Jonah is literally told to “Go up” yet he spends the rest of the chapter “going down”. I notice that he claims, ““I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” But has refused to do what God has asked him to do. How can someone say they are worshipping God when everything they are doing is the exact opposite of what God asked of them? It’s because Jonah is not simply making a confession of faith. The sailors are asking him why he is the cause of the storm, and he is forced to admit he has abandoned the God he claims to worship. And when the sailors throw him overboard, they are grieved. They are the ones who are concerned with killing the innocent (not Jonah). Jonah wants to die and escape God; the sailors are hesitant to go through with his plan. Throughout this exchange and after the sailors seem to implicitly understand who God is while the man who is supposed to be God’s prophet would rather die than live out his claim to worship God.

This whole exchange, indeed, the whole book demonstrates people who do not know God who are yet close to knowing God. They have good opinions and ideas about God and goodness; all they seem to lack is the prophet who truly worships God to show them God more fully. And throughout the story Jonah does his best to avoid this duty. He does not want “those people” to repent. He does not want God to show mercy to Nineveh; in fact, he would rather die than see this happen.

Jonah seems very content in his status as marked with God’s people. He seems to take pleasure in being part of this exclusive club that is endowed with God’s blessing. Jonah wants this clear division between himself and the people outside God’s covenant. He does not want to act like God and is later disappointed that God shows mercy to others. The irony is that Jonah prays for God’s mercy comes to himself in the belly of the fish but does not want others to gain this mercy. Further, when Jonah hears God’s word he runs away from it instead of embracing it. While Nineveh, that loathsome city only hears they have don wrong and fully embraces the message in repentance. Jonah does not even tell them what their sin is or who God is and yet the people fall over themselves to turn from wickedness. This is a humorous way of presenting a deep truth that we easily demonize others who disagree with us when they can be genuine people.

We are meant to place ourselves into Jonah’s shoes. This is why the book ends with a question. The whole of the book we are supposed to look at Jonah and see him as a failed representative of God. We are supposed to look at the sailors and the people of Nineveh as good people waiting for God to come to them and Jonah refusing to bring that message. And at the end of the book, we are left with God asking us the question, “what am I to do”. We are supposed to look in the mirror and ask ourselves if we are as merciful and compassionate as God. Do I reject people or only accept them when they meet my terms of repentance? Do I allow my hatred of others push me away from God and God’s message? Am I such a poor representative of God’s character that others miss God because of me? Read this way Jonah becomes a mirror to reflect who I truly am.