In the northern part of the kingdom of Israel, not far from the Mediterranean Sea, lies the territory of the tribe of Zebulun. In the southern part of Zebulun, three or four miles from the city of Nazareth, lay the town of Gath-hepher.
About 850 years before the Lord Jesus was “brought up” (Luke 4:16) in Nazareth, there lived in Gath-hepher a man named Jonah. The Bible does not tell us whether he was born in Gath-hepher, but merely says of him, “which was of Gath-hepher.” 2 Kings 14:25.
We are not told just when he lived, but Jeroboam, the son of Joash, king of Israel, fulfilled Jonah’s gracious prophecy by restoring “the coast of Israel from the entering of Hamath unto the sea of the plain.” 2 Kings 14:25.
The prophet Elisha had died during the reign of Joash the father of Jeroboam (2 Kings 13:14), so it is possible that they were contemporaries and knew each other. It is, perhaps, still more probable that Jonah and Hosea lived and labored at the same time.
It is not without a purpose that the Spirit of God tells us that Jonah was of Gath-hepher. We have noted that this was a town of Zebulun. If we turn back to Deut. 33:18, to the blessing of “Moses the man of God,” we will see that he said, “Rejoice, Zebulun, in thy going out; and, Issachar, in thy tents.” It would appear that Zebulun’s special portion from the Lord was to “go out.” How truly did the “Prophet” (Deut. 18:15) whom the Lord raised up, our own Lord and Master, brought up in Nazareth in the country of Zebulun, fulfill this character of Zebulun—to “go out.” Out from the palace of His glory down to this world of woe, His path was ever one of “going out” till we read of that last terrible day when “He bearing His cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull.” John 19:17.
Had Jonah realized the portion and the privilege that God had given him in belonging to the tribe of Zebulun, he would, according to the terms of the blessing, have rejoiced in his going out, but, sad to say, Jonah is famous for his reluctance rather than his joy in going out.
It is true that Issachar, the tribe that was called to “rejoice” in association with Zebulun, had their portion in their tents rather than in going out. It is not every one to whom there is given the privilege of going forth to heathen lands with a message from the Lord, as was given to Jonah; and, alas, it is not every one to whom this privilege is given who rejoices in it!
Let us now with these considerations as a background seek by the Lord’s help to examine the book of Jonah. Of the absolute truth of this wonderful little book no true Christian should have the slightest doubt. It is endorsed by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. He says, “As Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.” Matt. 12:40-41. In these verses the Lord gives His own authority to the truth of the two most wonderful incidents in this remarkable book. It would be easy to show from well authenticated facts that nothing is related in this book but what is perfectly possible and has since been experienced in some degree by others; but the true Christian does not turn to such external evidences when he has the Word of his Lord and Master on which to rest. We will, however, take the liberty of quoting the following remarkable paragraphs from Mr. Gook’s book, Can a Young Man Trust?
“At least two accounts have been given of the event, agreeing in every particular, and the whole subject has been sifted carefully by M. de Parville, editor of the famous Journal des Debats, whose name and reputation as a scientist are a sufficient answer to those who call the story of Jonah into question from a scientific standpoint. The detailed report is as follows: ‘Last February the whaling ship, Star of the East, was in the vicinity of the Falkland Islands searching for whales, which were very scarce. One morning the lookout sighted a whale about three miles away on the starboard quarter. Two boats were manned. In a short time one of the boats was near enough to enable the harpooner to send a spear into the whale, which proved to be an exceedingly large one. With the shaft in his side the animal sounded and then sped away, dragging the boat after him with terrible speed. He swam straight away about five miles when he turned and came back almost directly toward the spot where he had been harpooned.
The second boat waited for him, and when but a short distance away from it he rose to the surface. As soon as his back showed above the surface of the water the harpooner in the second boat drove another spear into him. The pain apparently crazed the whale for it thrashed about fearfully and it was feared that the boats would be swamped and the crews drowned. Finally the whale swam away, dragging the two boats after him. He went about three miles and sounded or sank, and his whereabouts could not be exactly told. The lines attached to the harpoons were slack and the harpooners began slowly to draw them in and coil them in the tubs. As soon as they were tautened, the whale arose to the surface and beat about with its tail in the maddest fashion. The boats attempted to get beyond the reach of the animal, which was apparently in its death agonies, and one of them succeeded, but the other was less fortunate. The whale struck it with his nose and upset it.
The men were thrown into the water, and before the crew of the other boat could pick them up one man was drowned, and James Bartley had disappeared. When the whale became quiet from exhaustion the waters were searched for Bartley, but he could not be found, and, under the impression that he had been struck by the whale’s tail and sunk to the bottom, the survivors rowed back to the ship.
The whale was dead and in a few hours the great body was lying by the ship’s side, and the men were busy with axes and spades cutting through the flesh to secure the fat. They worked all day and part of the night. They resumed operations the next forenoon and were soon down to the stomach which was to be hoisted to the deck. The workmen were startled while laboring to clear it and to fasten the chain about it to discover something doubled up in it that gave spasmodic signs of life. The vast pouch was hoisted to the deck and cut open, and inside was found the missing sailor, doubled up and unconscious. He was laid out on deck and treated to a bath of sea water which soon revived him, but his mind was not clear and he was placed in the captain’s quarters where he remained two weeks a raving lunatic. He was carefully treated by the captain and officers of the ship and he finally began to get possession of his senses.
At the end of the third week he had entirely recovered from the shock and resumed his duties. During the brief sojourn in the whale’s belly Bartley’s skin, where it was exposed to the action of the gastric juices, underwent a striking change. His face and hands were bleached to a deathly whiteness and the skin was wrinkled, giving the man the appearance of having been parboiled. Bartley affirms that he would probably have lived inside his house of flesh until he starved, for he lost his senses through fright and not from lack of air. He says that he remembers the sensation of being lifted into the air by the nose of the whale and of dropping into the water. Then there was a frightful rushing sound, which he believed to be the beating of water by the whale’s tail, then he was encompassed by a fearful darkness and he felt himself slipping along a smooth passage of some sort that seemed to move and carry him forward. This sensation lasted but an instant, then he felt that he had more room. He felt about him and his hands came in contact with a yielding slimy substance that seemed to shrink from his touch.
It finally dawned upon him that he had been swallowed by the whale and he was overcome by horror at the situation. He could breathe easily, but the heat was terrible. It was not of a scorching, stifling nature, but it seemed to open the pores of his skin and to draw out his vitality. He became very weak and grew sick at the stomach. He knew that there was no hope of escape from his strange prison. Death stared him in the face and he tried to look at it bravely, but the awful quiet, the fearful darkness, the horrible knowledge of his environments, and the terrible heat finally overcame him and he must have fainted, for the next he remembered was being in the captain’s cabin.
Bartley is not a man of a timid nature, but he says that it was many weeks before he could pass a night without having his sleep disturbed with harrowing dreams of angry whales and the horrors of his fearful prison. The skin on the face and hands of Bartley has never recovered its natural appearance. It is yellow and wrinkled and looks like old parchment.
The health of the man does not seem to have been affected by his terrible experience. He is in splendid spirits and apparently fully enjoys all the blessings of life that come his way. The whaling captains say that they never remember a parallel case to this before. They say that it frequently happens that men are swallowed by whales who become infuriated by the pain of the harpoon and attack the boats, but they have never known a man to go through the ordeal that Bartley did and come out alive.”
This story has received the support of one of the most careful and painstaking scientists in Europe, M. de Parville, editor of the Journal des Debats, who remarks that the accounts given by the captain and the crew of the English whaler are worthy of belief. He says: “There are many cases reported where whales in the fury of their dying agony have swallowed human beings, but this is the first modern case where the victim has come forth safe and sound. After this modern illustration I end by believing that Jonah really did come out from the whale alive as the Bible records.”
Let us now turn to the first verse of the first chapter: “And the word of Jehovah came unto Jonah the son of Amittai.” It is worthy of note that in the little book before us Jonah is never called a prophet. The Holy Spirit uses the writer of 2 Kings to give him this title. We might pause for a moment to ask what meaning the word prophet has in Scripture. The Chinese characters which are generally used to translate prophet give us to understand that a prophet is one who tells us what will happen in the future. Truly this is very often so, but if we read the books of the prophets in the Bible we will find that this is only a small part of God’s work for these men. Perhaps we will find God’s own definition of this word by comparing Ex. 4:16 and 7:1. In the first scripture God says of Aaron, “He shall be thy spokesman unto the people;” and in the latter scripture God says, “Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet.” Perhaps this gives us the clearest definition of a prophet according to the Word of God: he is God’s “spokesman unto the people.” Very often God speaks of judgment or blessing to come, and then the spokesman speaks of what will happen in the future. But his first duty is to be God’s spokesman, which very often includes rebuke or exhortation. Let us always remember that the most important thing for a prophet is that he speaks for God, not for himself or of himself. The Greek word prophetes, from which we get the English word prophet, has exactly this meaning. Liddell and Scott’s Greek Lexicon says of it, “Properly one who speaks for another, especially one who speaks for a God, and interprets His will to man, a prophet.” From this we may see that the characters generally used in the Chinese Bible to translate prophet are misleading and do not tell out the true meaning of the original Scriptures.
If Jonah himself wrote this little book that bears his name, we may easily understand and appreciate the absence of the title prophet in this book. We can also understand and appreciate the fact that God takes care that another writer puts upon him that honorable title that his own hand would not take. The Lord Jesus Himself delights to honor Jonah with this title. (See Matt. 12:39, etc.)
It is said that the name Jonah means a dove. A dove is the symbol of peace and the book is in reality an offer of peace from the Lord Himself. It is not, as we shall see, an offer of peace to the people of Nineveh only, but to others as well. It is said that the name Amittai (the father of Jonah) means truth. May it not be that in these two names we have told out the same precious message of John 1:17, “grace and truth came by Jesus Christ”? Truth is the light that shows our sins. Grace provides the means to cover our sins. How clearly we see these two sides of God’s character shown out in the little book we are considering! God is a God of truth, and He must have all our paths brought into the light of His truth; but where can we find a brighter example of the grace of God that is ever ready to pardon and forgive? As we read this little book we must ever remember that Jonah is truly a type of our Lord Jesus Christ, and how beautifully do these two names illustrate this!
In connection with this first verse, we must notice that there was no manner of doubt as to the source of the command that came to Jonah: “And the word of Jehovah came unto Jonah.” Jonah’s trouble did not lie in a lack of authority to act. As we consider the book further, we will see that the trouble with Jonah was very different: no lack of authority, but lack of will to obey that authority. Beloved friends, are we not sometimes very much like Jonah? We know perfectly well that the blessed Book in our hands, the Bible, is the very Word of God. It can be truthfully said that the Word of the Lord has come unto us. The Lord Jesus Christ in that Word has made absolutely clear what His commands are. On the one hand, we have, “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden.” Matt. 11:28. I suppose that most of our readers have heard this call and have taken it as a personal call to themselves and have obeyed it. On the other hand the same lips that said, “Come unto Me,” also said, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” Mark 16:15. We have been glad to obey the call, “Come,” we have been glad to obtain the rest that He promised, but when it comes to the command, “Go ye,” we are too often like Jonah, not so eager to obey. It is amazing the ingenious excuses we can find for avoiding, or refusing, or postponing obedience to that call. Most of us, as a matter of fact, are not in any position to criticize Jonah because he tried to avoid obedience to the command, “Go.” Most of us are just as clear as to the divine source of the command as Jonah was when “the word of Jehovah came unto Jonah.” Most of us are just as clear as to the authority behind the command. The real trouble does not lie in any doubt as to the divine source or the divine authority: the real trouble lies in our own wretched wills.
Oh, Jonah, Jonah, how shall I condemn thee?
Thy condemnation, it were but mine own!
“And the word of Jehovah came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, the great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before Me.” chap. 1:1-2.
“Arise.” That is where a lot of the trouble is. It takes energy to arise. We are so comfortably settled down! It is very hard to shake off the weights of home and business and comfort, and arise.
“Arise, go.” Not only was Jonah to arise, but he had the very same orders that we have, “Go!” You remember the Roman centurion who came to the Lord and said to Him, “I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth.” Luke 7:8. This centurion thoroughly understood authority. If he said “Go!” there was no question about it: the soldier went. But when the Lord said “Go!” to Jonah, Jonah decided he would not go. The soldier did not dream of complaining that the way was too long, or too rough, or too dangerous, or the time was not convenient; he did not suggest that he did not want to go or that he was too busy with other work. No, the soldier understood authority and went. When the captain says “Go!” he goeth.
You will recall that the same word is used of the prodigal in Luke 15. “I will arise and go to my father.” Luke 15:18. It may be that many a time he had said, “I ought to go to my father,” or, “I must go to my father,” but it was not until he did finally arise that he ever reached his father. It took the energy of faith to arise. Most of our readers understand experimentally what it meant for them to arise and go to their Father. May God help us to understand experimentally what it means for us to arise and go to them that sit in darkness!
How many there are of us to whom the Lord has said “Go!” and we have been like Jonah and refused. It may be that we have been so busy with our own affairs that we have hardly heard Him say, “Go,” or it may be that we know so little of authority that we decide that there is no need to obey but think we may choose our own will instead. May the Lord give us each one to hear His voice speaking with divine authority, authority we dare not question, saying to us, “ARISE! GO!” “ARISE, GO TO NINEVEH.”
Not only did the Lord tell Jonah to “arise, go,” but He told him just where he was to go. He did not say, “Arise, go anywhere you like”; but He told him just where to go. The Lord will tell us where to go. It may be that the Lord will send us to someone in our own family, or to our neighbors, or it may be to those of a different nation, speech and language at the other end of the earth. Do you remember at the Passover, if the roast lamb proved to be more than one household needed they were to share it with “his neighbor next unto his house”? Ex. 12:4. Have we taken time to feed on the roast Lamb, as well as to take shelter behind His precious blood? Have we found the roast Lamb to be an inexhaustible feast, enough for me and my household with unlimited supplies for my neighbor next to my house? That is a good place to begin. Let us each one share the roast Lamb with our neighbor in the house next unto us and we may find in time, as our Lord pointed out to the lawyer (Luke 10:25-37), that “my neighbor” may be one of another nation, one who for years has been despised and scorned and neglected; then let me go and share the roast Lamb with him also. Let us be clear, the Lord may send us where He will, be it near or far. Because He is God the Lord, our Lord, He has the right and the authority to send us anywhere He pleases.
What of Nineveh—“Nineveh, the great city”? Three times in this little book we read these words, “Nineveh, the great” (chap. 1:2; 3:2; 4:11); and once we read, “Nineveh was an exceeding great city.” chap. 3:3. We first read of Nineveh in Gen. 10 “The sons of Ham: Cush... And Cush begot Nimrod:... And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel.... From that land went out Asshur, and built Nineveh,” or, “He [Nimrod] went to Assyria and built Nineveh... this is the great city.” Gen. 10:6-12 JND Trans. It was founded by the descendants of a man under a curse and God Himself must say of it, “Their wickedness is come up before Me.” chap. 1:2.
Babylon was built on the Euphrates and was the capital of Babylonia. Nineveh was built on the river Tigris (or Hiddekel of Gen. 2:14) and was the capital of Assyria.
Through the goodness and wisdom of God we may have a good knowledge of Nineveh, even though at the present day there is nothing to be seen of it but a few mounds of rubbish. In the year 1840 Mr. Layard passed “the great mound of Nimrod” while he was floating down the river Tigris. In 1845 he began to dig in the mound. Mr. Layard published an account of these excavations with most interesting pictures, which gives us a marvelous account of this wonderful city of old.
We have tried to reproduce a few of Mr. Layard’s pictures including one of what he believed the palace was like. These pictures may give us some very slight idea of the greatness and magnificence of this “exceeding great city.” The winged bull shown (see page 50) is taken directly from Mr. Layard’s picture of this huge creature which now, with many others, is in the British Museum.
As we read the story of Jonah, bearing in mind the greatness and magnificence of which these old stone relics tell us, it needs no great stretch of the imagination to see the prophet Jonah standing on those palace steps or beside the great winged bull, preaching his short sermon: “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” chap. 3:4.
How striking is the difference between Jonah’s message and ours! Jonah’s message was altogether one of judgment without a word of mercy. Yet both preacher and hearers read in this message, and read correctly, an offer of mercy. Otherwise, why send the warning of judgment? It is well for us to remember that in every message of judgment there is hidden an offer of mercy, if the guilty ones will but take warning and repent.
Our message, what is it? True it contains a message of judgment and coming wrath; but our message is not characterized by judgment but by mercy. Never has any messenger had such a glorious message to deliver: “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16. The message of judgment aroused a fervent desire to find a way of escape that they should not perish; but that way of escape is the theme of our message: “I am the way.” John 14:6. Our message is to tell of a living, loving Person, a Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ. O beloved friends, what a contrast is our message to Jonah’s! What an unspeakable privilege is ours! May we value it far more highly!
As we gaze on these awe-inspiring relics of the past greatness of a mighty city, one wonders less that Jonah should shrink and run away from such an undertaking as to go alone, single-handed and preach against one of the oldest, greatest and mightiest cities of the earth. And such a sermon: “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” chap. 3:4. Humanly speaking Jonah’s life would certainly be forfeited if this message should reach the ears of the king; and one has very keen sympathy for Jonah in not liking the task given to him. Many a man in our day has shrunk and turned aside from a very much easier mission than that to which Jonah was called. We need not wonder at all if Jonah felt that he could not face the risk of losing his head, for well he knew the fame of Nineveh, the reports of its greatness and the power of its king.
It does not seem to have been fear for his personal safety that made Jonah turn aside from the clear command given him by God. In reading the book of Jonah one is impressed with Jonah’s courage, not with his cowardice. In the second verse of the fourth chapter, we hear Jonah saying (after God had spared Nineveh): “Ah, Jehovah, was not this my saying when I was yet in my country? Therefore I was minded to flee at first unto Tarshish; for I knew that Thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great loving-kindness, and repentest Thee of the evil.” Jonah well knew God’s character for mercy—it would be hard to find a more glorious description of it than here. Did Jonah think that he could presume on God’s mercy and loving-kindness to dare to disobey Him? Is it not possible that we, who glory in the knowledge of the love and grace of God as revealed in His Son our Lord Jesus Christ, sometimes presume on that grace and love to treat His commands with lightness? May God in His mercy preserve us from such a sin and open our eyes if we have already been guilty of it.
Jonah’s reluctance to obey appears to have been fear that God would turn from His wrath and spare Nineveh. Was this the pride of heart that could not bear to “lose face,” as we would say in China? Or, was it the bitter prejudice of an Israelite towards a Gentile nation? Or, did Jonah’s eye look forward some fifty years and see the king of Nineveh coming against his own native land? (2 Kings 15:19.)
Do you remember how Elisha wept as he told Hazael the terrible things that he would do to Israel when he became king? (2 Kings 8:12.) Jonah may, with equal clearness, have looked down the years and have seen the terrible judgment that Assyria would yet bring on Israel, a judgment that lasts to the present day.
Perhaps we cannot clearly read all the motives that moved in Jonah’s heart to cause him to venture to disobey God deliberately. Indeed which of us would dare to say that we can read our own motives clearly in much that we do? We have often far less reason than Jonah for refusing or neglecting to “arise and go” at the call of God, and were we to judge our own motives honestly in the sight of God we might be greatly shocked.
“But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of Jehovah.” chap. 1:3.
Foolish man! He, prophet of Jehovah, ought to have known better! “Who hath hardened himself against Him, and had peace [or, hath prospered]?” Job 9:4 JND Trans. Job well knew there was neither peace nor prosperity in seeking to refuse obedience to God. Jonah (and you and I) should know this same great truth, and yet how slow we are to learn it!
Foolish man! for he had probably often read and sung the psalm of David in which we get the question, “Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit? and whither flee from Thy presence? If I ascend up into the heavens Thou art there; or if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, Thou art there; if I take the wings of the dawn and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall Thy hand lead me, and Thy right hand shall hold me. And if I say, Surely darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night; even darkness hideth not from Thee, and the night shineth as the day: the darkness is as the light.” Psa. 139:7-12 JND Trans. Yet, “Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of Jehovah.” Where was Tarshish? Some have thought that it was in Spain; but the exports of Tarshish, gold, silver, ivory, apes and peacocks (2 Chron. 9:21), are not the exports of Spain, as The Bible League Quarterly (Oct.-Dec., 1940) points out in a most interesting article. This writer brings very strong proof to show that Tarshish was in South India. Among other reasons he quotes an account given by Herodotus of a voyage to Tarshish. About 600 B.C. Pharoah-Necho of Egypt sent Phoenicians with ships to go through the Straits of Gibraltar around Africa to Tarshish and to return the same way. When autumn came, they would put to shore, sow the land wherever they might happen to be and then wait for the harvest. In this way they kept up their supplies; he tells us it took three years to make the return voyage.
So Jonah started on this, the longest known journey in his day, to try to escape from his God. It would be years before he could return. Truly Jonah was trying to “dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea!”
“And he went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish.” v.3. It is always going down when we seek to leave the Lord. This was his first outward step down, but it was by no means his last. The outward step is generally preceded by an inward or spiritual step down. It is easier to go down than to go up, whether it be for body or soul. Beware, dear fellow-Christian, when the path begins to go downward, when the travel is easy and there is no hill to climb! We can be reasonably sure then that we have gotten on the wrong road.
Notice, too, that apparently with no difficulty or delay he “found a ship going to Tarshish.” Perhaps he thought, “This is quite providential! ‘This is surely a sign that I am being prospered in my way.” It is wonderful how easy the devil makes our downward pathway. He is always ready to provide all we need to get away from the Lord. Do not let us think for a moment that because the downward road is an easy one, therefore it must be right. The ship already “going to Tarshish” was absolutely no proof that God had “prepared” it. (See chap. 1:17; 4:6; 4:7; 4:8.) Quite the reverse was the truth, and we ever need to bear in mind that things made ready to our hand to help us to do our own will are by no means prepared for us by God, but very possibly prepared for us by the devil.
“So he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish, from the presence of Jehovah.” v.3.
“So he paid the fare thereof.” Of course he did! A terribly high fare it must have been for that long journey. The Lord asks, “Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges?” 1 Cor. 9:7. If we are going in the service of the Lord, we may be quite sure that He will see about “the fare;” but if we are going to please ourselves, or in the service of the devil, “the fare” must be paid! Friends, how very costly is that fare at times! There is many a man who has refused the call of God and turned to his own way; and “the fare” has been his peace of mind, the rest of heart that the Lord alone can give as we bear His yoke, and perhaps the loss, the eternal loss, of his children. A comfortable home down here, a nice motor car, a big bank balance—all these cannot begin to make up for the price we have had to pay for “the fare.” It is a costly thing to disobey God. Note that although Jonah had paid the fare to Tarshish (a long, long journey and we may be sure a very high fare), yet we never hear that he got a refund because he did not get to his destination. The devil takes but he does not give, and the only wages he pays is death. (Rom. 6:23.) His service is bad, his “fares” are the highest, and his wages are the worst: yet strange to say, he always has a mighty following. Thou, most blessed Master, Thou, whose yoke is easy and whose burden is light; Thou, whose service is the best, joy and peace and rest; Thou, who hast received us when hopeless bankrupts, hast paid our every debt, and who now gavest all our charges, and whose “wages” (John 4:36) are the very highest—how few are Thy laborers! Strange, most passing strange! Even those whom Thou hast redeemed prefer, too often, the service of self or of this world. Too often, in our eyes, ease and luxury and riches of this world are more attractive than the cross that Thou dost offer to those who follow Thee. Help us, most gracious Lord, to take up our cross daily and to follow Thee, to present our bodies a living sacrifice, which is indeed our only reasonable service! (Rom. 12:1.)
“So he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it.” Here we get Jonah’s second downward step—first down to Joppa, then down into the boat. But Jonah was to go further down yet, as we shall see.
“He paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish, from the presence of Jehovah.”
“To go... from the presence of Jehovah.” That was the object of going down into the boat. A terrible confession it is, and how futile! The very next verse tells us: “But Jehovah sent out a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest upon the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken.” v.4.
Instead of succeeding in fleeing from the presence of the Lord by going down into that ship, the ship bore him into the midst of that tempest where amidst the storm and the waves, alone on the vast deep, Jonah was to meet the Lord and find himself in the very presence of the One from whom he was seeking to escape.
Notice those words, “Jehovah sent out a great wind.” We will have occasion to notice the various things that God “prepared” for Jonah’s sake. There was the “great fish,” “a gourd,” “a worm” and “a sultry east wind.” It does not, however, say that God prepared the “great wind” spoken of in the fourth verse of our chapter. Psa. 135:7 tells us that God “bringeth the wind out of His treasuries.” So instead of saying He prepared the wind, it says, “Jehovah sent out a great wind upon the sea.” Surely that word “sent” is not used here by accident. What a sad and solemn contrast to Jonah does that “great wind” present! Both were sent by the same Lord. The stormy wind goes when and where it is sent, “fulfilling His word.” Psa. 148:8. Man, the highest work of His creation, deliberately chooses his own will and refuses to go when his Lord and Master sends him!
“And the mariners were afraid, and cried every one unto his god; and they cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to be lightened of them.” v.5.
Alas, these heathen mariners did not know Jehovah, the true God, the God who made the sea and the dry land, the God whom Jonah knew; and in their trouble they turned to the false gods of the heathen. In Psa. 107:23-32 we get a wonderful description of a storm at sea, commanded and sent by Jehovah, and the result is, “Then they cry unto Jehovah in their trouble, and He bringeth them out of their distresses; He maketh the storm a calm, and the waves thereof are still.” Psa. 107:28-29 JND Trans. These mariners did not know Jehovah, and could not call upon Him. The scripture well asks, “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?” Rom. 10:14. These men had not heard, so could not believe on the true God; therefore, instead of calling on Him, they called every man on his god. Since such gods could neither save nor help them, they turned to their own expedients—throwing the cargo overboard. However, their prayers and their wisdom and their works were all unavailing. They were dealing now with Jehovah, the true God, and they were to learn something of Him and His power.
=============================
Where was Jonah all this time? Was he crying to his God? No, far from it. Listen: “But Jonah had gone down into the lower part of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep.” v.5. Still a third step down for Jonah: down to Joppa, down into the ship, down into the lower part of the ship. Alas, for Jonah, he was to go still further down. In a downward pathway we cannot, as we suppose, stop when and where we will. What a strange position to find the heathen mariners in their terrible danger calling on their gods to save them, while the one and only man on board that ship who knew the true and living God did not trouble to call upon Him but lay and was fast asleep. How like us! In a day when trouble seems about to overwhelm all about us, men’s hearts failing them for fear, how often do we find the people of the Lord asleep, content to go on in their own immediate circle, without a care for the sorrows and troubles of those about them, without a thought of those on every hand who do not know the true and living God whom we know, and yet we are content to sleep on through it all!
Notice the contrast between Jonah, down in the sides of the ship fast asleep while the ship was likely to be broken, and Jonah’s Lord, “in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow.” Mark 4:38. The one wearied of the service of Him who sent him, wearied in his vain efforts to flee from His presence; the Other, wearied in the service of Him who sent Him was snatching a few moments of well-earned rest even amidst the storm. The one was careless and callous to the danger to himself and those with him in the ship; the Other, even while He slept, “upholding all things by the word of His power” (Heb. 1:3), by His very presence was preserving all with Him on board from every danger, so that after stilling the storm, He could turn to them and ask, “Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?” Mark 4:37-41.
“And the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, sleeper? arise, call upon thy God; perhaps God will think upon us, that we perish not.” v.6.
Good, sensible shipmaster! He well knew what Jonah ought to be doing, surely not sleeping at such a time! “Arise, call upon thy God!” It is a message from the heathen about us that we all would do well to hear. We cannot all go out to the heathen, but we all can arise and call upon our God. Was not this just the point? Jonah could not arise and call upon his God nor do we hear that he even tried to do as the shipmaster commanded him. How could Jonah call on the name of the very One from whose presence he was even then fleeing? No, dear fellow-Christian, you and I know very well that sin and prayer do not go together: we must give up one or the other. Sad to say, Jonah had chosen sin and he could not pray. As we noted before, he did not even try to pray. He knew perfectly well what was the cause of that storm and he knew equally well the remedy. This was not a time for prayer, but a time for confession and bowing to the just punishment that he so rightly merited for his sin against his God; though, indeed, confession and prayer might, and should, have been found together in the same breath.
Jonah had not yet come to the point, however, where he was willing to confess his sin. We all know about this. We all have sinned, and we all have come to the point where we knew that we ought to confess our sin to those whom we had wronged—not the public confession to those with whom the sin had nothing to do, making the confession into a deed of merit: not that sort of confession was needed from Jonah, but to tell humbly that he, and he only, was the cause of this storm—because of his sin against his God. Jonah had not yet come to the point where lie was willing to humble himself to do this. Therefore, God allowed these heathen sailors to force him to do what he would not do of his own will.
Note also those words from the heathen shipmaster: “Perhaps God will think upon us, that we perish not.” v.6. I love those words. True, he did not know God as Jonah knew Him, for who could give a truer and more glorious character to God than Jonah: “I knew that Thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great loving-kindness, and repentest Thee of the evil.” chap. 4:2. Jonah could truly say he “knew” God, but the shipmaster did not know a God of such a character. The heathen knew nothing of a God like this, but he does venture to hope: “Arise, call upon thy God; perhaps God will think upon us, that we perish not.” Later we hear them pray, not every man to his god, but this time to Jehovah Himself, and they say, “Ah, Jehovah, we beseech Thee, let us not perish for this man’s life.” v.14. Later again, we hear the king of Nineveh, another heathen, exhorting his people to turn from their sins: “Who knoweth but that God will turn... that we perish not.” chap. 3:9. There may have been but the feeblest and most ignorant turning to the true God, the object before them being only that they should not perish, but how richly did God meet them in each case.
Can we read those words “perish not,” repeated three times, without thinking of that most glorious of verses, “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life”? John 3:16. Truly God has found a way so that the vilest of sinners should not perish. How can we, who have tasted of such grace and love, ever cease to praise Him? How can we refuse or neglect to tell out such glorious news to those who have never heard? How can we let them go on and perish in their sins?
“And they said each one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. And they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.” v.7. Now Jonah is left without any other choice. Surely it was God Himself who directed that lot, and Jonah knew it. He can cover his sin no longer, but God Himself has forced that confession that he would not make of his own free will.
It is good when God acts similarly with us, as indeed He often does. “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper” (Prov. 28:13); and if we will not voluntarily confess our sin, it is good that God should use His own means to force that sin into the open; for only then can He bring blessing to us. “When I kept silence, my bones waxed old, through my groaning all the day long. For day and night Thy hand was heavy upon me; my moisture was turned into the drought of summer. Selah. I acknowledged my sin unto Thee, and mine iniquity I covered not; I said, I will confess my transgressions unto Jehovah, and Thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.” Psa. 32:3-5 JND Trans.
Notice how many questions they asked Jonah, now that the lot had fallen upon him. “Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us: what is thine occupation? and whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of what people art thou?” v.8.
These questions may well search our own hearts. Let us face that first question. “Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us.” The presence of a Christian, a saint of God (for every true Christian is truly “a saint”)—the presence of such a one should be a blessing to any company of people. He should be like a light shining in a dark place, a little candle to give light to those about him; but Jonah was very different. Rather than being a blessing to the company of men on that ship, he brought a curse with him. It was he who brought that storm, or at least God sent it for his sake. How very solemn a thing it is if God in dealing with us for our unfaithfulness and sin must bring trouble and distress to those about us! The Bible says truly, “None of us liveth to himself.” Rom. 14:7. We cannot say, “This is my own business and makes no difference to anybody else.” Jonah’s disobedience made a great difference to those mariners. They got into a terrible storm, they lost their cargo by throwing it overboard in order to try to save the ship, and all because of the sin of a saint of God. It is a very searching question to ask ourselves, “Am I a blessing or a curse in the circle where I move?” For certain it is, you have an influence one way or the other. True it is that God brought blessing out of all this sin and trouble, and those sailors learned to know the true God through the disobedient prophet. That does not at all excuse him, however, and the sad, sad answer to the mariners’ question was Just this, if Jonah spoke the truth: “It is entirely for my cause. It is my fault and only my fault that you have had all this danger and loss.” May God deliver us from ever putting our friends and companions to sorrow and loss through our sin and unfaithfulness!
The second question is a searching one also. Let us face it honestly, “What is thine occupation?” You may have heard of the man about whom it was said, “Yes, that man is a Christian, but he is not working at it.” How many of us are Christians, but not working at it! It would be hard for the world to know of some of us that our first occupation is to be down here to “the praise of His glory.” Eph. 1:14.
“And whence comest thou?” Very often we forget that we are “coming” from “the city of destruction,” and that the world from which we have come is already condemned, that we no longer are of it, but that now our citizenship is in heaven. Too often nobody could guess that we are pilgrims and strangers down here (1 Peter 2:11), on our way to the Father’s house.
“What is thy country?” This is a common question in China. How often foreigners are asked, “What is your honorable country?” Can we truthfully reply, “My honorable country is heaven”? Does our manner of life show this forth? Dear fellow-Christian, you and I are not of the world, even as the Lord Jesus Christ was not of the world. (John 17:16.) Our citizenship is in heaven. (Phil. 3:20 JND Trans.) Oh, may that question of the heathen sailors, on Jonah’s ship, sink down deeply into our hearts so that we may truthfully and joyfully sing:
“Called from above, and heavenly men by birth
(Who once were but the citizens of earth),
As pilgrims here, we seek a heavenly home,
Our portion in the ages yet to come.”
“And of what people art thou?” May God help us never to be ashamed to say, “I am of the people of God. By God’s grace, I am a follower of the despised and rejected One, whom this world cast out and crucified.” It is an old saying, “A man is known by the company he keeps.” Let it be so in our case: may our friends, our associates and our companions ever be God’s people. True, there are times when we are compelled to mingle with the people of the world, but when this is so, may we be like those saints of old, of whom it is recorded, “Being let go, they went to their own company.” Acts 4:23.
If a saint of God is walking in obedience, walking with his Lord, it should not be needful to ask such questions as these—they should be apparent to all men. May the breathing of our hearts be:
“Oh, that it might be said of me,
Surely thy speech betrayeth thee,
As a friend of Christ of Galilee.”
Now, notice Jonah’s answer. He ignored all the questions but the last, and to this he replied: “I am a Hebrew.” v.9. The name “Hebrew” seems to have been one of contempt. Compare 1 Sam. 14:11. The name of dignity was “Israelite.” “Israel,” you will recall, means “a prince with God.” In Jonah’s downward pathway, away from God, he had lost the sense of the dignity of his position and citizenship, and used the name that the enemies of Israel used of them in scorn. It is easy for us, also, to lose a sense of the dignity of the position in which the Lord has so graciously placed us, and sink down to acknowledge the names which the world in contempt and ignorance uses of us. We have the name of Christian given to us in the New Testament. (Acts 11:26.) May the Lord help us to utterly refuse any name except this given us by God, and never acknowledge the names which have been given and taken by men in this world!
Now notice Jonah’s next words-not an answer to their questions but better than that. He began to get his eyes off himself, and what a difference it made. “And I fear Jehovah, the God of the heavens, who hath made the sea and the dry land.” v.9. The sailors had been crying every man to his god, but they did not know Jehovah, the God of the heavens. They prayed that the sea might be still from its raging, but they did not know the God who had made the sea. This was a fine answer that Jonah gave to these heathen sailors. He may have lost the sense of the dignity of the place into which God had put him, but he had not lost the sense of the God whom he feared. There, beloved friends, is the remedy for all our troubles. Turning our eyes away from self, away from the world, away from the raging seas around us, let us look off unto Jesus, and then He will enable us to give a true and ringing testimony of the One whom we fear: “Whose I am, and whom I serve.” Acts 27:23.
The result was grand. “Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, What is this thou hast done? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of Jehovah: for he had told them.” v.10. How often do the men of this world seem to have a truer conception of what is suitable in a Christian than the Christian himself. How was it that Jonah was not “exceedingly afraid”? He had far more knowledge of the greatness and glory and holiness of the true and living God who had made the sea and the dry land than these poor ignorant, heathen sailors; and yet they took a far truer view of Jonah’s action than he took of it himself. It was an awful thing for a mere man to try and flee from the presence of such a God! One would think it would have been Jonah, not the sailors, who would have been exceedingly afraid. Such is the heart, even of a saint and a prophet of God! Note that Jonah had at last confessed his sin with his good confession of his God.
“And they said unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? for the sea grew more and more tempestuous.” v.11. The matter is being pressed close home to Jonah now. “What shall we do unto thee?” Well Jonah knew that the awful storm about them, every moment getting worse and worse, was all his fault. Though Jonah had not “feared exceedingly” when he ought to have done so, now he began to find out that God is not mocked, and that it is no light thing to try and trifle with Him. I suppose that most of us are not in any position to say very many words of blame to Jonah. Have not most of us had to learn the same bitter lesson? How natural to the heart of man is the thought, and how eager the enemy is to tell us, that we may sin with impunity and “get away with it.” No, beloved fellow-Christian, whether it was Jonah, or whether it is you or me, “God is not mocked.” Gal. 6:7. “Be sure your sin will find you out.” Num. 32:23. Sin will surely bring bitter, bitter fruit.
“And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that because of me this great tempest is upon you.” v.12. Brave Jonah! One cannot help but admire and love this man, in spite of all his failure. How many of us would have dared to pronounce so clearly our own death sentence, and so fully and frankly acknowledge our own guilt and its consequence, without a single word of excuse or self-justification? He now plainly answered their question, “For whose cause is the evil upon us?” When one considers that it must almost surely have been Jonah himself who wrote this book which bears his name (under the direct inspiration of the Spirit of God, of course), a book which has not a syllable to his own credit, one cannot help but honor this brave and honest man. What a death sentence! for humanly speaking, it could be nothing else. Cast forth out of that little ship; far, far from land, to sink down into those mountainous waves—what hope could there be of life in such a position? The mariners knew well the hopelessness of the condemned prophet, were his sentence carried out, so they rowed hard to regain the land. We learn to love and admire those kindly sailors as we follow them through this voyage. How easy it would have been to throw Jonah overboard and get a calm sea once more! But, no, they would not do this without one more hard try. So “the men rowed hard to regain the land; but they could not; for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them.” v.13. It was hopeless. God Himself was sending that storm, not against them, it is true, but against His disobedient servant, and it is useless to fight against God. There was nothing left but to submit to His decree, as pronounced by His own prophet. Notice how this work of judgment is carried out. It is done with prayer. There is not a word of vindictiveness or blame against the man who had brought such trouble upon them; instead we find the men, who shortly before had been crying every one unto his god, now crying to Jehovah. What a glorious change! “And they cried unto Jehovah and said, Ah, Jehovah, we beseech Thee, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for Thou, Jehovah, hast done as it pleased Thee.” v.14. What a wonderful growth in the knowledge of Jehovah, the true God, do we find in this short prayer! They have “turned to God from idols” (1 Thess. 1:9), and that last sentence, “Thou, Jehovah, hast done as it pleased Thee,” seems to reveal a knowledge of the greatness and power of God, combined with a sweet submission to His will, that might well be the envy of us all. We have already noted that this is the second time these men used the word “perish,” and truly God heard their cry and they perished not.
“And they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from its raging.” v.15. I am sure that Jonah, also, humbly submitted to the terrible punishment that God saw fit to inflict upon him, the death penalty, pronounced by his own lips, but chosen by God Himself. I have little doubt that it was a solemn moment on board that ship as the prophet prepared to die, and the sailors were compelled to carry out that sentence of death on the very man that had first told them of the true and living God and who had been the means of turning them to Him from their idols. It may well be that a strong bond of love had sprung up between the prophet and the seamen during their stormy passage together. They well knew that he was voluntarily going down into death in order to save their lives. They could truly say, “He gave himself for us; he died that we might live.”
The result—what was it? It was twofold; first, “The sea ceased from its raging;” then, “The men feared Jehovah exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto Jehovah, and made vows.” v.16. For these heathen men the result was a complete and entire turning to the true and living God. Jonah could say of himself, “I fear Jehovah.” v.9. The Spirit of God records of the sailors, “The men feared Jehovah exceedingly.” Then they offered a sacrifice. That tells us of approach to God in God’s own way—also, of thanksgiving and worship. How lovely to trace the work of the Spirit of God in the hearts of these men! First, they were “afraid” of the storm (v.5) and crying to their gods. Second, they were “exceedingly afraid” (v.10) as they heard for the first time of the God of the heavens who had made the sea and the dry land. Third, they cried to Jehovah instead of to their gods, acknowledged His greatness and power, and bowed in submission to His will. (v.14.) Fourth, they feared Jehovah exceedingly (v.16)-a very different thing from being “exceedingly afraid.” Fifth, they came into Jehovah’s presence with a sacrifice, God’s own appointed way, and bowed before Him in worship and thanksgiving. (v.16.) And sixth, finally, they made vows (v.16)-a public acknowledgment of the debt that they owed to the great God whom they had so lately learned to know.
The result for Jonah was far different from what any man could have expected: “And Jehovah prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.” v.17. Jehovah’s eye was on that parting scene on the deck of that little vessel amidst the storm. Jehovah’s eye (an eye and a heart of love and grace) was on His erring servant as he sank under those angry waves; and there where he least expected it he found a place of refuge—in the belly of the fish. If those dark and stormy waters spoke of death, surely the belly of the fish tells us of the grave. We know that this is so, for our Lord Jesus Christ tells us plainly that Jonah at this time was a type of Himself. “Even as Jonas was in the belly of the great fish three days and three nights, thus shall the Son of man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.” Matt. 12:40 JND Trans. Little did Jonah know the honor that was being put upon him at this moment, in that he was forever after to be a sign of how his Lord and Master would later on go down voluntarily into death and the grave in order to save others.
Notice, also, that the Word of God says that God “prepared a great fish.” It is true that in the King James Version of the Bible the word “whale” is used in Matt. 12:40 in this connection; yet it is worthy of note that in this passage the JND translation uses the same word “great fish” as that used in the book of Jonah. When we shut God out of His own universe we are immediately in difficulties, but when we accept what God says, just as He says it, there is no difficulty whatsoever. God is well able to prepare a great fish to preserve His servant’s life; He is able to have that special fish ready, waiting outside the boat, in exactly the right place and at just the right time. This is not one miracle only: this is a combination of many miracles, and to the one who knows God and His ways there is nothing impossible or even improbable in what happened here, but rather just what we might expect our gracious God to do for one of His own. This great fish is the first thing the book tells us that Jehovah prepared for His servant, but it was by no means the last. The gourd, the worm and the sultry east wind were each in turn specially prepared by God, and each one was just as truly a miracle of God as the great fish.
Before we turn from this first chapter of Jonah, we must notice with adoring wonder the amazing grace and wisdom of God (not to speak of His power) in turning the sin and the failure of His disobedient servant to the glory of His own name and the blessing of His poor creature, man. God had sent Jonah with a message of warning to a Gentile city in the far east, a message that was to prove a message of mercy; but His servant had refused to go and had started westward for a city of the far west. What does God do, but use this very act of disobedience to bring a message of mercy and peace to a ship’s company of ignorant heathen sailors? How it reminds us of the verse, “Surely the wrath of man shall praise Thee.” Psa. 76:10. Or again, “We do know that all things work together for good.” Rom. 8:28 JND Trans. Or yet again, “Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness.” Judg. 14:14.
As we meditate on this first chapter of Jonah, and follow the disobedient servant of Jehovah along his pathway from his home in Gath-hepher, down, down, down, till he reaches the belly of the fish, and thus saves the heathen sailors, we may realize that all this pathway is a picture of the perfect, obedient Servant of Jehovah, our Lord Jesus Christ, who went down, down, down—down from His home in the glory, down to the manger, and from thence down to the cross, and down into the grave, and so saves us poor sinners. How marvelously is that pathway traced for us in Phil. 2:5-8 JND Trans.: “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus; who, subsisting in the form of God, did not esteem it an object of rapine to be on an equality with God; but emptied Himself, taking a bondman’s form, taking His place in the likeness of men; and having been found in figure as a man, humbled Himself, becoming obedient even unto death, and that the death of the cross.” Little wonder that the Spirit of God should then burst forth: “Wherefore also God highly exalted Him, and granted Him a name, that which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of heavenly and earthly and infernal beings, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to God the Father’s glory.” Phil. 2:9-11 JND Trans.