King James Version, with Nii Okai's journal notes · 9 notes
1Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,
2Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.
What is there about Nineveh?
3But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.
How is it possible to flee from the presence of the omnipresent God?
Unless to say he was fleeing from where he heard God from, the place of covenant, to a far-off place where he won't hear God.
We see also that in fleeing from the presence of God, he fled from doing God's will.
That is, he was disobedient to the word and will of God.
But Jonah was such a man 👨 of God, to actually be in so close a relationship with God, that he disobeys God and God comes looking for him and does all possible means to reach out to him and bring him back on course 🏇.
Including creating an entire storm just for Jonah.
And he was proven right, as we see later the repentance of Nineveh at the preaching of Jonah.
Jonah's rebellion reminds me of Cain, who again God came looking for in the matter of Abel.
Cain denies knowledge of such things, lying 🤥, as if possible, to the omniscient one...
For he too, God helps and provides some respite from the blood of Abel.
4But the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken.
Come on, why is God stressing himself over Jonah?
He should just send another person, a prophet, to get the job done. There were many prophets in the land in those days, I believe.
But yet God stuck to the job and went to the extreme to get Jonah to do the work.
God is not erratic; he follows order, systems and logic.
Judging from the kind of relationship Jonah had with God, he was God's buddy-buddy, and God could not suddenly abandon him. This is the God of love and relationships.
Hmm, what God does for his friends and those he has a relationship with. Going this extreme for his own prophet, however disobedient he was.
God knows his children and those who are his, and he loves them as his own. And like any father, he would do anything for his children (an attribute we as men picked up from our heavenly Father).
5Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep.
6So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not.
7And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.
Storms in the sea 🌊 were normal for these experienced sailors ⛵.
But there seems to be something about this storm; I doubt it was just the fierceness of the storm.
I suspect the storms showed signs of intelligence. It was preventing them from sailing in a particular direction — in the direction opposite Nineveh.
There was something about the storm that made them sense a divine hand 🖐️ behind it.
Why else would they ask for lots to be cast?
8Then said they unto 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?
9And he said unto them, I am an Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land.
I am an Hebrew — those people, the people for whom God divided the Red Sea and dealt with Pharaoh and all the gods of Egypt. Who led his own people like no other god does in the wilderness and brought them to the land of Canaan.
A land he had promised their fathers before them. Those strangely blessed people.
10Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, Why hast thou done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them.
They had heard enough stories of this God who divided the Red Sea 🌊 and led his people through the fierce desert 🏜.
11Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous.
12And 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 for my sake this great tempest is upon you.
Such a sense of awareness of the presence of God, to the extent that he was ready to be cast away into the sea 🌊.
But I ask, how did Jonah know he was the cause of the tempest, and how did he know what was to be done?
13Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring it to the land; but they could not: for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous against them.
14Wherefore they cried unto the LORD, and said, We beseech thee, O LORD, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, O LORD, hast done as it pleased thee.
15So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging.
16Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the LORD, and made vows.
Vows as to what they will do once God brings them to land.
Why do we vow and make sacrifices? Because we want to do something that will catch the attention of the supernatural.
The earth 🌎 is filled with men going about their activities; the man, therefore, who wants to catch the attention of the gods to himself must do something extra, and hence a sacrifice.
17Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.