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| 1 ¶ Now the word of the
LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,
.2 Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. .3 But 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. |
2 -Their
wickedness Nahum agrees na0301.
2 - Come up The Lord said essentially the same thing before the destruction of sodom and Gomorrah ge1820, and before the flood ge0611. The tower of Babel, a demonstration of rebellion, was built to reach heaven ge0704. We may expect that Nineveh was in a similar state. God cares about how we behave jg2125, ec1213, mt1236; mt2545, he0514. 3 - Rose up to flee Unwilling to yield to God's call mt1921. Tarshish is considered to have been on the southern coast of what is now Spain. See ez2712. Joppa was not in the direction of Nineveh. See map showing Nineveh on the Tigris River and the map showing the Mediterranean Sea with Spain on the opposite end. 3 - From the presence Or "from the face" ps13907. |
| 4 ¶ But 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.
5 Then 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. 6 So 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. |
Jonah's attitude and experience
were like those of the Hebrew people who had been appointed to share truth
to the rest of the world. They tended to worship false gods, totally opposite
of what God had intended, yet their experience was an unintentional witness.
After their rescue from captivity, the Messiah was born in their territory
and many were converted while the Jewish leaders turned to curse the success
of the gospel.
4 - The Lord sent ... wind He was using nature to open the way of repentance and salvation for the people of Nineveh and to save Jonah. He would also use a fish v17, pain 2:10, a gourd, a worm, wind and sun 4:6-8. 5 - Wares Should be "vessels" or "equipment." 6 - Arise Wasn't this like what God had said? v2. |
| 7 And 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.
8 Then 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? 9 And 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. 10 Then 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. |
9 - Fear the Lord The word, "Lord" is from Yahweh and was not often used for other gods. The word Elohim generally translated "God" may also apply to a pagan god as in ex1811, for example. Both may be seen used for the true God in Genesis. See note on Gen. 2:4. |
| 11 ¶ Then 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.
12 And 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. 13 Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring it to the land; but they could not: for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous against them. |
Jonah was honest. |
It's doubtful that the Tigris would have this much water today. |
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| 14 Wherefore 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.
15 So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging. 16 Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the LORD, and made vows. .17 Now 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. |
16
- Feared the Lord God used Jonah's negative witness. The
sailors apparently understood the Hebrew's God to be the highest authority.
17 - The Lord knew that Jonah could make a change. I understand that some whales have a stomach where they swallow their young when danger comes. The Bible speaks only of a "fish" which could have included whales although we would not speak of them as fish, today. |
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