5 Startling Lessons from Jonah

The Book of Jonah A – Yahweh’s Saving Mercy for Jonah (1:1-2:10)

B – Jonah's Unexplained Disobedience (1:1-3)

C – Yahweh Saves the Sailors (1:4-16)

D - Yahweh Saves Jonah (1:17-2:10)

C’ – Yahweh Saves Nineveh (3:1-10)

B’ – Jonah's Disobedience Explained (4:1-11)

A’ – Yahweh’s Saving Mercy for Nineveh (3:1-4:11)

Jonah 1:3 But Jonah arose

to flee to Tarshish from the presence of Yahweh

and he went down to Joppa he found a ship going to Tarshish he paid its fare and he went down into it to sail to Tarshish from the presence of Yahweh

Jonah 1:4-16 Yahweh hurls a wind on the sea; the storm begins; the sailors fear the storm and cry to their gods (vv. 4-5a) Jonah sleeps; cry to your god, that we may not perish and perhaps he will care about us (vv. 5b-6) that we may know on whose account (v. 7) the sailors question Jonah (v. 8) Jonah’s fear (v. 9) sailors’ fear (v. 10) the sailors question Jonah (v. 11) I know that it is on my account (v. 12) sailors strive; the sailors cry to Yahweh; let us not perish for you have done as you pleased (vv. 13-14) the sailors hurl Jonah into the sea; the storm ends; the sailors fear Yahweh and sacrifice to him (vv. 15-16)

The book of Jonah is structured in a chiasm, named after the Greek letter chi (c). A

chiasm is a mirror image of symmetrical statements or ideas that focus into one central, key

thought. Chiasms were used as a poetic device to draw the listening audience into the

drama of a story and at the same time highlight, not only the central idea of the passage,

but key contrasting or complimenting ideas within the passage itself (whether it be the

entire story, or a segment within the story). With the predominance of oral tradition, the

ancient listening audience was well-attuned to identify and track with this ingenious

literary device.

Looking at the themes that emerge in the overall chiastic structure of Jonah, it is easy to see

the central thrust of the book – the irony of Yahweh’s saving mercies in the face of Jonah’s

alarming disobedience (contrasted with the gallantry of the pagan sailors) and Nineveh’s

great evil.

Jonah 1:3 The writer captures the spiritual reality behind Jonah’s attempt to flee from “the

presence of Yahweh” by leveraging the geographical necessity for him to go “down” in

order to get to the port city of Joppa and the physical necessity for him to go “down”

further in order to board the ship sailing for Tarshish. But Jonah’s downward direction has

only begun. When God breaks in to stop his fugitive prophet, Jonah has to “hit bottom”

before he starts to “look up” (both physically and spiritually).

Jonah 1:4-16 The contrast between Jonah’s

indifference and the pagan sailors’

compassion is both striking and convicting.

Jonah knows Yahweh, and his theology is

thoroughly orthodox, but he doesn’t have the

love of a decent pagan. The pagan sailors

have no real answers for coping with their

deadly crisis. Yet, they have the “spiritual”

sense to admonish Jonah to cry out to his

“god” and the human compassion and

heroism to try and spare Jonah’s life (though

lost in sin, they still bear God’s image).

The chiasm highlights “fear” as the key

theme of the passage. The prophet who

professes to fear the living God of all

creation tries to flee from his presence (!?). In

contrast to Jonah, the sailors who begin with

fear of the storm, each crying out to his own

god, end in a monotheistic fear (reverent

awe) of the one, true, living God.

A

B

C

D

C’

B’

A’

Chiasm

The Book of Jonah

A – Yahweh’s Saving Mercy for Jonah (1:1-2:10)

B – Jonah's Unexplained Disobedience (1:1-3)

C – Yahweh Saves the Sailors (1:4-16)

D – Yahweh Saves Jonah (1:17-2:10)

C’ – Yahweh Saves Nineveh (3:1-10)

B’ – Jonah's Disobedience Explained (4:1-11)

A’ – Yahweh's Saving Mercy for Nineveh (3:1-4:11)

Jonah 1:3

But Jonah arose

to flee to Tarshish from the presence of Yahweh

and he went down to Joppa

he found a ship

going to Tarshish

he paid its fare

and he went down into it

to sail to Tarshish from the presence of Yahweh

Verse 5 – Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and “was fast asleep” (word play)

Jonah 1:4-16

Yahweh hurls a wind on the sea; the storm begins; the sailors fear the storm and cry to their gods (vv. 4-5a)

Jonah sleeps; cry to your god, that we may not perish and perhaps he will care about us (vv. 5b-6)

that we may know on whose account (v. 7)

the sailors question Jonah (v. 8)

Jonah’s fear (v. 9)

sailors’ fear (v. 10)

the sailors question Jonah (v. 11)

I know that it is on my account (v. 12)

sailors strive; the sailors cry to Yahweh; let us not perish for you have done as you pleased (vv. 13-14)

the sailors hurl Jonah into the sea; the storm ends; the sailors fear Yahweh and sacrifice to him (vv. 15-16)

ISIS

• Assyria dominated the ancient world for over 250 years (883 to 612 B.C.)

• Known for their extreme brutality—the ultimate terrorists

• Conquered the 10 Northern Tribes of Israel in 722 B.C.

Nineveh• Located on the banks of the Tigris River

• By 745 B.C. – a “great city” with an urban perimeter of seven and a half miles

• By 701 B.C. – Assyria’s capital

• The city’s greatness lasted about 150 years before it fell to the Babylonians in 612 B.C.

Jonah• A prophet from Galilee—2 Kings 14:25—who

ministered during the time Jeroboam II reigned over the 10 Northern Tribes of Israel (786 to 746 B.C.)—the time when Nineveh emerged as a “great city”.

• Assyria’s reign of terror as a world power was a clear and present danger to both Israel and Judah.

• 40 years after the events in the book of Jonah, Israel was crushed by Assyria’s war machine.

• It was in this historical context that Jonah was called by God to proclaim divine judgment to the Assyrians: “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned.” Jonah 3:4

Jonah 1:1-16

Now the word of Yahweh came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, "Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me."But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of Yahweh. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of Yahweh.

But Yahweh hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up. Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his god. And they hurled the cargo

that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep. So the captain came and said to him, "What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call out to your god! Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish."

And they said to one another, "Come, let us cast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us." So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. Then they said to him, "Tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us. What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?" And he said to them, "I am a Hebrew, and I fear Yahweh, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the

dry land." Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, "What is this that you have done!" For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of Yahweh, because he had told them.

Then they said to him, "What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?" For the sea grew more and more tempestuous. He said to them, "Pick me up and hurl me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you." Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to get back to dry land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them. Therefore they called out to Yahweh, "O Yahweh, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not on us

innocent blood, for you, O Yahweh, have done as it pleased you." So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. Then the men feared Yahweh exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to Yahweh and made vows.

Five Startling Lessons from JonahJonah 1:1-16

Startling Lesson #1:

Jonah’s Response to God’s Revealed Word

Startling Lesson #2:

The Open Doors for Jonah’s Sin

Startling Lesson #3:

Jonah’s Inability to Empathize with Lost People, Dying in Sin

Startling Lesson #4:

The Superior Compassion of the Pagans for Jonah

Startling Lesson #5:

God’s Glory Despite Jonah’s Sin