Jonah Runs Away

All too often, I have heard questions and comments about the Jonah story, the Biblical text, and even the character, most of them simply missing the entire point. If we determine to focus our attention on the Biblical text in a manner that presses for a literal interpretation, we are likely to completely miss out on the message God has for us in this short prophetic text.

We could get into all sorts of calisthenics regarding how Jonah got from being thrown overboard in the ocean back to the shore. That would be an adventure in missing the point. If we assume he was taken to the shore near Nineveh, we are looking at circumnavigating the African continent, as there is no other water route from the Mediterranean to Nineveh. If we worry over what kind of creature could have swallowed him, we would do better to concern ourselves with how he managed to breathe under water for three days.

Those were not the concerns of the writer of the text. He did not really care about how Jonah got to Nineveh. He was just telling us that Jonah fled the call of Yahweh. More than that, he tells us that Jonah ran away from Yahweh toward what the people considered God's opposition, the sea.

The Hebrews looked at the ocean as being in constant opposition to Yahweh's creation. God had made the dry land appear out of the midst of the water, and they understood the waves to signify that the sea was still attempting to encroach back upon the land. The Mediterranean and even Lake Galilee were understood as the embodiment of evil in opposition to the creator. Life depended on breathing, and one is unable to breathe underwater. Hence for them, the sea was the enemy of life, Yahweh, and the created order. That is the direction Jonah took.

Jonah hoped to get away from Yahweh and the mission set before him, so he took a ship, attempting to get away from Yahweh's reach. Meanwhile, he still understands that even the sea lies in subjection to Yahweh, for so he tells the sailors when questioned that he serves Yahweh who created the sea and the land. Regardless of the ocean symbolizing opposition to Yahweh and the created order, Jonah still claims that Yahweh's authority rules even over the ocean where he has sought to flee from the presence of Yahweh.

So Jonah heard Yahweh's call to go to Nineveh, and he was not having any part of it. Nineveh was the capital city of his nation's enemies. He did not want Nineveh to be spared Yahweh's wrath via repentance. He did not want anything to do with offering them a chance to continue living. Instead of cooperating with Yahweh's call on his life, he determined to do everything in his power to circumvent Yahweh's compassion toward the Assyrians and thereby punish them.

Jonah got on board a ship and fell asleep in his quarters. When a storm brewed around them, he continued to sleep. He was called out of his bunk by the captain to pray to his god for rescue from the storm. He seemingly did not comply. The sailors cast lots to determine who was the cause of the storm, and Jonah was selected. He had told them he was fleeing Yahweh's presence. He finally told them they needed to throw him overboard to spare their lived.

It seems Jonah was ready to drown in order to keep Yahweh from pardoning the Ninevites for their crimes against humanity. The sailors were not ready to comply, but they eventually determined there was no other path forward. They picked Jonah up and threw him into the sea.

Jonah had told them Yahweh was the God of heaven and creator of both the land and the sea. What he did not expect was that Yahweh determined to rescue him from the waves once he hit the waters. Yahweh, however, provided safety for Jonah, even while he continued to attempt to flee from the mission set before him. A large fish swallowed him, securing him for three days and nights.

If Jonah indeed knew Yahweh as Lord of heaven, land, and sea, why would he believe he could run away from Yahweh's presence?

Perhaps that is the heart of the issue at hand. The author wants us to engage on that very issue. If we indeed know Yahweh as the creator of land and sea, if we know Yahweh as merciful toward those who repent of their wrongs, what is the point of attempting to get around Yahweh's purposes of grace and redemption? Would a prophet of Yahweh really attempt to circumvent Yahweh's directions in order to press for a different outcome, one in opposition to the character and will of Yahweh?

We can ask those questions, but at the end of the day, we need to look a little closer to home. Do we not find ourselves working in opposition to Yahweh's purposes? If so, what do we expect to get out of it? We are not going to change God's mind and direction. We are unable to circumvent God's plans for our lives. If God does love and deal in mercy, what purpose can we have in fighting against God?

We might as well jump off a ship on the high seas for all the good it will do us.

—©Copyright 2017, Christopher B. Harbin

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