The Chosen Key Word in this Chapter is “Wickedness” it comes from the Hebrew Word “ra’ah” which means “wickedness.”
Jonah runs from God’s call, and a great storm threatens the ship carrying him away. Welcome to Bible Life Basics Chapter Reviews, I am Chris and this is Jonah 1.
Jonah, son of Amittai, receives the word of the Lord, telling him to arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it, for their “wickedness,” “ra’ah” in Hebrew, has come up before Him, but Jonah rises up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord, going down to Joppa, finding a ship going to Tarshish, paying the fare, and going down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, from the presence of the Lord.
Jonah describes how the Lord sends out a great wind into the sea, and there is a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship is like to be broken, the mariners being afraid, and crying every man to his god, and casting the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them, but Jonah has gone down into the sides of the ship, and lies, and is fast asleep, the shipmaster coming to him, asking what he means, O sleeper, arising and calling upon his God.
Jonah describes the mariners casting lots, that they may know for whose cause this evil is upon them, the lot falling upon Jonah, who confesses he is a Hebrew, and fears the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land, the men being exceedingly afraid, asking what they shall do to him, that the sea may be calm to them, Jonah telling them to take him up, and cast him into the sea, so shall the sea be calm to them, the men rowing hard to bring the ship to land, but they could not, so they cry to the Lord, and cast Jonah into the sea, and the sea ceases from her raging, the men fearing the Lord exceedingly, offering a sacrifice to Him, and making vows, closing with the Lord preparing a great fish to swallow up Jonah, who is in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Jonah’s deliberate flight from God’s calling, running the opposite direction toward Tarshish rather than toward Nineveh, offers an honest, unflattering portrait of a genuine prophet actively resisting rather than eagerly embracing his mission. This chapter’s remarkable detail, pagan sailors ultimately fearing and sacrificing to the Lord after witnessing His power, reveals God’s redemptive purposes accomplishing genuine good even through a disobedient prophet’s failed attempt at escape.
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