'I WORSHIP THE LORD, THE GOD OF HEAVEN'

Passage: Jonah 1:1-16

Key verse: 9

NIV

Jonah Flees From the Lord

1 The word of the Lord came to Jonah(A) son of Amittai:(B) 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh(C) and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”

3 But Jonah ran(D) away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish(E). He went down to Joppa,(F) where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.(G)

4 Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up.(H) 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.(I)

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(J) on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.”(K)

7 Then the sailors said to each other, “Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity.”(L) They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah.(M) 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,(N) the God of heaven,(O) who made the sea(P) and the dry land.(Q)”

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.”(R)

13 Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before.(S) 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,(T) for you, Lord, have done as you pleased.”(U) 15 Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm.(V) 16 At this the men greatly feared(W) the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows(X) to him.

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Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

Jonah Flees the Presence of the Lord

1 Now the word of the Lord came to (A)Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Arise, go to (B)Nineveh, that (C)great city, and call out against it, (D)for their evil[a] has come up before me.” 3 But Jonah (E)rose to flee to (F)Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to (G)Joppa and found a ship going to (H)Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to (I)Tarshish, (J)away from the presence of the Lord.

4 But (K)the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened (L)to break up. 5 Then the mariners were afraid, and (M)each cried out to his god. And (N)they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep. 6 So the captain came and said to him, “What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, (O)call out to your god! (P)Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish.”

Jonah Is Thrown into the Sea

7 And they said to one another, “Come, let us (Q)cast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. 8 Then they said to him, “Tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us. What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?” 9 And he said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear (R)the Lord, the God of heaven, (S)who made the sea and the dry land.” 10 Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, “What is this that you have done!” For the men knew that (T)he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them.

11 Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?” For the sea grew more and more tempestuous. 12 He said to them, “Pick me up and hurl me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, (U)for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.” 13 Nevertheless, the men rowed hard[b] to get back to dry land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them. 14 Therefore they called out to the Lord, “O Lord, let us not perish for this man's life, and (V)lay not on us innocent blood, (W)for you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you.” 15 So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, (X)and the sea ceased from its raging. 16 Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, (Y)and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord (Z)and made vows.

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Footnotes
  1. Jonah 1:2 The same Hebrew word can mean evil or disaster, depending on the context; so throughout Jonah
  2. Jonah 1:13 Hebrew the men dug in [their oars]
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway
INTRODUCTION TO JONAH This is a story from the life of Jonah son of Amittai (1:1), a prophet through whom God spoke to Northern Israel during the time of Jeroboam II (2Ki 14:25). God commands Jonah to preach against the people of Nineveh (1:2), the capital city of Assyria. A world power on the rise at that time, the Assyrian empire was known as cruel and violent, gloating in victory with torture and humiliation over conquered foes. Yet God was concerned for these people enough to send his Word to them through Jonah. The book is divided into two halves with similar structure: the word of God to Jonah (1:1-2 and 3:1-2), Jonah's response (1:3 and 3:3), Gentile's better response (1:14,16 and 3:5,6), and God's grace to Jonah through a fish (1:17-2:1 ) and a plant (4:1-11). The dominant theme is the tension between a God of justice and a God of mercy - and how God's people should understand and respond to Him. Jonah could not reconcile with a God of mercy toward gentile 'sinners.' But Jonah's story is a sign that points to where God reconciles his justice and mercy for all sinners: in Jesus, who is greater than Jonah (Mt 12:41). God is concerned today with a world that 'cannot tell their right hand from their left'; will his people share his word of mercy in Jesus, or angrily seek justice and wrath, becoming bitter? 'I WORSHIP THE LORD, THE GOD OF HEAVEN' 1. "Go to...Nineveh and preach against it" (1-8) God's task for Jonah was unusual: go to Nineveh and preach against it. Prophets had declared judgment on other nations, but none had to deliver the message in person! Jonah didn't want to go and warn them of God's judgment. So he went the opposite way: on a ship bound for Tarshish. But no place is beyond God's reach (Ps 139:7-12). God sent a storm that endangered the ship! Running only put the crew at risk and exhausted Jonah. 2. "At this the men greatly feared the LORD" (9-16) The danger was real - they were all scared. But Jonah seems resigned. He testifies boldly: "I am a Hebrew and I worship the LORD!" He would rather drown than turn back to God or deny his identity. This crew all had their own idols, until that day in the storm, when Jonah the runaway prophet testified about God who made the sea and the land. They became true believers, in spite of Jonah.

Prayer: Father, your will is always done. Please melt my rebellious spirit to see what you are doing.

One Word: worship by obedience, not rebellion