But
Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of Yahweh. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid its fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of Yahweh.
Jonah 1:3
Jonah 1 [1.] Now Yahweh’s word came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach against it, for their wickedness has come up before me.”
Jonah 1 [3.] But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of Yahweh. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid its fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of Yahweh. But Yahweh sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty storm on the sea, so that the ship was likely to break up. Then the mariners were afraid, and every man cried to his god. They threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten the ship. But Jonah had gone down into the innermost parts of the ship, and he was laying down, and was fast asleep. So the ship master came to him, and said to him, “What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, call on your God! Maybe your God will notice us, so that we won’t perish.”
Jonah 1 [7.] They all said to each other, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know who is responsible for this evil that is on us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. Then they asked him, “Tell us, please, for whose cause this evil is on us. What is your occupation? Where do you come from? What is your country? Of what people are you?”
Meaning:
God had told Jonah, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach against it” (Jonah 1:2). Nineveh was a great city of Assyria, the empire that threatened Israel. Jonah did rise up, but not to obey. This verse describes his flight.
- “Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish”
Nineveh lay far to the east, beyond the Tigris. Tarshish was in the opposite direction, a distant port in the west, often identified with a place in Spain. Jonah set out to go as far from his mission as he could.
Later in the book he explains why: “I knew that you are a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness” (Jonah 4:2). Jonah feared that God would forgive Israel’s enemies. His flight was not fear of the Ninevites but reluctance to see God’s mercy reach them.
- “From the presence of Yahweh”
The phrase appears twice in this verse. Jonah knew that God is everywhere; he later calls him “the God of heaven, who has made the sea and the dry land” (Jonah 1:9). Yet he tried to leave the place of God’s calling. The psalmist asks, “Where could I go from your Spirit? Or where could I flee from your presence?” (Psalm 139:7). Jonah would learn that no ship can carry a person beyond God’s reach.
- “He went down to Joppa”
Joppa was the main port on Israel’s coast. Jonah “went down” to Joppa, then “went down” into the ship, and soon “had gone down into the innermost parts of the ship” and fallen asleep (Jonah 1:5). Running from God is a downward road.
He also “paid its fare.” Disobedience has a cost, and Jonah was willing to pay it to avoid what God had asked.
- Joppa and the Gentiles
Centuries later, the same port became the setting of a very different story. Simon Peter, whom Jesus called “Simon Bar Jonah” (Matthew 16:17), was staying in Joppa when God showed him a vision and sent him to the Gentile household of Cornelius (Acts 10:15-20). Jonah fled from Joppa to avoid preaching to Gentiles; Peter went from Joppa to preach to them.
God’s concern for the nations runs through both stories. When Jonah finally preached, “The people of Nineveh believed God” (Jonah 3:5). Jesus said, “The men of Nineveh will stand up in the judgment with this generation, and will condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, someone greater than Jonah is here” (Matthew 12:41).
The Significance of Jonah 1:3
- We cannot outrun God
Jonah’s flight shows how far a servant of God can go in the wrong direction, and how God pursues him. God also gave him a second chance.
- God’s mercy is wider than our preferences
Jonah did not want mercy for his enemies. God’s grace reaches people we might prefer to exclude, and he calls his servants to carry his message to them.
Cross-References:
Psalm 139:7: “Where could I go from your Spirit? Or where could I flee from your presence?” No escape from God.
Jonah 3:5: “The people of Nineveh believed God.” Mercy for the Gentile city.
Matthew 12:41: “for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, someone greater than Jonah is here.” Jesus and Jonah.
Conclusion: Commanded to preach to Nineveh, Jonah went down to Joppa and paid for a ship to Tarshish, trying to flee from the presence of Yahweh. He ran because he did not want God’s mercy to reach his enemies. God pursued him, and centuries later another “son of Jonah” in the same port obeyed God’s call to the Gentiles.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible