Jonah 1:1-17 | The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the LORD. Then the LORD sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship. But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. The captain went to him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.” Then the sailors said to each other, “Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity.” They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. So they asked him, “Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What kind of work do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?” He answered, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” This terrified them and they asked, “What have you done?” (They knew he was running away from the LORD, because he had already told them so.) The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, “What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?” “Pick me up and throw me into the sea,” he replied, “and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.” Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before. Then they cried out to the LORD, “Please, LORD, do not let us die for taking this man’s life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, LORD, have done as you pleased.” Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. At this the men greatly feared the LORD, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows to him. Now the LORD provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
My friends in my Bible discussion group chuckled when I shared how I was trying to avoid God. I smiled, but it was no joke. His promptings to overlook my demands for justice and extend grace filled me with resentment. I felt like shaking my fist (as the prophet Jonah might have done) and screaming, “You want me to go where, and do what?!”
Assyria was Israel’s bitter enemy—a wicked nation that delighted in unspeakable acts of cruelty. No one was more deserving of judgment. When God sent Jonah to preach in the Assyrian city of Nineveh, he took off for Tarshish instead—away from the presence of the Lord (Jonah 1:3). The prophet would have benefited from my friends’ counsel. “You can’t run away from God,” they told me. “He knows how to find you.”
They were right.
God pursued Jonah with a raging tempest—subsiding only when he was thrown into the sea. Then God provided a fish’s belly in which the prophet would cool his fleeing heels (v.17). Finally, Jonah did obey God’s voice. But the indignation he had felt at the call bubbled over when the Ninevites actually repented (3:6-10). Filled with rage, Jonah declared that he’d “rather be dead” than see his enemies saved (4:1-3). But God didn’t see vile, wicked people. He saw lost souls in need of salvation (v.11).
Like Jonah, I found myself pursued by God’s grace and mercy. Everywhere I turned, images and messages of the cross were waiting to confront me. My demands for justice paled when compared to those of God’s holiness in light of my sin. His grace compelled me to humbly face the accusations flung at me, for Jesus made the ultimate exchange—His righteousness for my lack thereof. Rejoicing in that truth, I heard Him whisper, “Go and do the same” (Luke 10:37). —Remi Oyedele
MORE: Read Luke 15:25-32 and think about how the prodigal son’s older brother reacted to his return.
NEXT: Is there a person or situation in your life that has caused you great pain? What does the reality of God’s grace contribute to your response or reaction?