Jonah More Part 4

OT leading to Jesus

Themes of OT literature

Tarshish - anti Eden

Jonah isn’t the only prophet to resist God’s call

Moses

Jeremiah

Ship Scene

Jonah 1:4–16 NIV

4 Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. 5 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. 6 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.” 7 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. 8 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?” 9 He answered, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” 10 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.) 11 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?” 12 “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.” 13 Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before. 14 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.” 15 Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. 16 At this the men greatly feared the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows to him.

Frantic activity. Storm, ship, sailors

Everyone but Jonah

There is a map of the way that this written

It’s designed to mirror itself

And the reason it’s written this way to invite the reader to participate in the story

So a few things we see here.

Something is hurled, the sailors ask, Jonah responds, and vs 9 serves as the centerpiece of this chapter

Several questions begin to arise I think but the main one the author kind of uses to keep pulling you into the story is

What are Jonah’s motives?

Does he really fear the Lord or is that just rehearsed lip service?

Does he really have a noble moment in vs 12 or not

Is it a Moses moment where he comes to grip with the sovereignty of God

Or does he have an Elijah moment and think, this may be my only way of getting out of what God has called me to

Psalm 139 NIV

For the director of music. Of David. A psalm. 1 You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. 2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. 3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. 4 Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely. 5 You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. 7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? 8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. 9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, 10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” 12 even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. 13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. 17 How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! 18 Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand— when I awake, I am still with you. 19 If only you, God, would slay the wicked! Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty! 20 They speak of you with evil intent; your adversaries misuse your name. 21 Do I not hate those who hate you, Lord, and abhor those who are in rebellion against you? 22 I have nothing but hatred for them; I count them my enemies. 23 Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

So David states that there’s nowhere you can go to flee from God

And yet Jonah tries

And so, I believe the author of Jonah is trying to show us that the story of Jonah and even the character of Jonah is an upside-down character

We talked about the false or upside down connection to Eden

The upside down connection to moses

And now here the upside down connection to David

what’s wrong with this picture

What’s normal and what’s abnormal

Or what’s typical patterns

And so it’s actually a pretty useful skill to be able to take what you know to be usual and use that information to spot what is unusual

And a similar exercise is useful in the story of Jonah

In the book of Jonah, everything is upside down. Everybody does the opposite of their stereotypes including the pagans and including Jonah. The only person who seems to be true to form is God.

So, we already registered Jonah’s descent down when God calls Him up

The connection down into Tarshish to pursue an upside down Eden

And so, I think this is the point of it all, God calls Jonah up to offer life, Jonah goes down instead and runs toward death instead of life

So Jonah is upside down and we see in his opposition to Yahweh the results of all those who choose the opposite of Yahweh

God calls us up, He calls to life, when we choose opposite it is a descent into death.

Jonah 1:9 and 14 to Psalm 95:3-5.

Sea and dry land - Exodus story

Upside down, Israel fleeing with Yahweh from slavery and death

Jonah fleeing from Yahweh to death

So, is this the admission of guilt?

Is this a moment of heighten ignorance and unawareness?

It’s building us to the chapter 4 the conclusion

Psalm 115:2-3. Psalm 135:5-6. Ties to the Sailors in Jonah 1:14.