Photo by Keith Paschal on Unsplash
The Prophet’s Flight from God
Jonah, the son of Amittai, was a prophet in Israel. One afternoon, the word of the Lord came to him with a direct command: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”
Nineveh was the capital of the brutal Assyrian Empire, a fierce enemy of Israel. The Ninevites were notorious for their cruelty and violence. Jonah did not want to see them forgiven or saved. Instead of obeying God, he decided to run away in the opposite direction.
Jonah traveled down to the Mediterranean port city of Joppa. There, he found a Phoenician merchant ship sailing for Tarshish, located on the far edge of the known western world. Jonah paid his fare, went down below deck, and boarded the ship, hoping to escape the presence of the Lord.
The Great Storm at Sea
Once the ship was out in the open sea, the Lord sent a powerful, violent wind. The storm was so intense that the heavy wooden ship threatened to break apart.
Terrified by the roaring waves, the sailors began crying out to their own gods for help. To lighten the ship and keep it from sinking, they started throwing their valuable cargo overboard.
Meanwhile, Jonah had crawled deep into the hold of the ship, laid down, and fallen into a heavy sleep. The captain found him there and shook him awake. “How can you sleep?” the captain shouted above the wind. “Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.”
Realizing this was no ordinary storm, the crew said to each other, “Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for making this disaster happen to us.”
They cast lots, and the lot selected Jonah.
The sailors immediately surrounded him with questions: “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?”
Jonah answered them calmly, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”
When the sailors heard this, they grew even more terrified. Jonah explained that he was running away from his God. As the sea grew wilder and the waves crashed over the deck, they yelled, “What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?”
“Pick me up and throw me into the sea,” Jonah replied, “and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.”
The sailors did not want to drown Jonah. They fought the storm with all their might, rowing hard to try and get back to land. But the tempest was too fierce, and the waves grew even higher. Finally, they cried out to Jonah’s God: “Please, Lord, do not let us die for taking this man’s life. Do not hold us guilty of killing an innocent man, for you, Lord, have done as you pleased.”
With those words, the sailors picked up Jonah and threw him over the side into the raging waters. The moment Jonah hit the sea, the wind stopped, and the water became completely calm. Witnessing this instant miracle, the sailors fell to their knees, worshipped the Lord with great fear, offered a sacrifice, and made vows to Him.
Three Days Inside the Great Fish
As Jonah sank down into the deep, dark water, weeds wrapped around his head, and he prepared to drown. But the Lord had not abandoned him. God provided a massive fish to swallow Jonah whole.
Jonah survived the plunge. He found himself alive inside the dark, damp belly of the great fish, where he remained for three days and three nights.
From inside the belly of the fish, Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. He acknowledged his rebellion, thanked God for saving him from drowning in the deep waters, and promised to fulfill his vows. He ended his prayer with a declaration: “Salvation comes from the Lord.”
At the end of the third day, the Lord commanded the fish, and it swam to the shore and vomited Jonah out onto dry land.
The Warning to Nineveh
The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.”
This time, Jonah obeyed. He traveled across the desert to Nineveh, a city so large it took three days just to walk through it. Jonah walked into the busy streets and began to shout his warning: “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown!”
He offered no elaborate explanation and no message of hope—just a stark warning of coming destruction.
The Repentance of the City
The people of Nineveh took the warning seriously. They believed the message from God. The citizens declared a total fast, and everyone, from the most important leaders to the poorest citizens, put on rough burlap clothes to show their deep sorrow and humility.
When the news reached the King of Nineveh, he stepped down from his royal throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with burlap, and sat down in the ashes. He issued a royal decree throughout the city:
“Do not let any person or animal taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish.”
God saw what the Ninevites did and how they turned from their evil ways. Moved by their complete repentance, He showed mercy and chose not to destroy the city.
Jonah’s Anger and the Lesson of the Plant
Instead of rejoicing that a massive city had been saved, Jonah became furious. He prayed to the Lord in anger, “Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to prevent by running away to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. Now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.”
The Lord replied simply, “Is it right for you to be angry?”
Jonah refused to answer. He stormed out of the city gates, walked up a nearby hill to the east, and built a small shelter out of branches. He sat down in its shade, waiting to see what would happen to Nineveh, still hoping God might destroy it.
The Lord provided a leafy vine plant that grew quickly over Jonah’s shelter. The broad leaves provided excellent shade for his head, easing his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy with the plant.
But at dawn the next morning, God provided a worm that chewed through the roots of the vine, causing the plant to wither and die. When the sun rose, God sent a scorching, hot east wind. The sun beat down so hard on Jonah’s head that he grew faint and wished he was dead. “It is better for me to die than to live,” he complained.
God spoke to Jonah once more: “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?”
“It is,” Jonah snapped back. “I am angry enough to die.”
The Lord delivered His final lesson: “You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and also many animals?”
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