To get the full effect of the opening comic device of
an "opposite
reaction," we must recall the geography of the story. Nineveh
was to
the northeast of Israel, whereas Tarshish (probably present-day Spain)
was commonly believed to be the farthest point west. When the
divine
command comes to preach to the Ninevites, Jonah's immediate response
is to proceed as rapidly as possible in the opposite direction:
"Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.
He
went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish" (1:3) Note
also what Jonah did not do. He did not respond as a prophet should
respond: "Here am I LORD, send me." No, when the Word of the
Lord came, Jonah got out of there as fast as his little legs would
carry
him!
His reaction is even more extreme if one considers that the initial
charge was not to convert the city or to seek some compromise or
reconciliation but simply to "cry out" against it; "for the wickedness
has come up before me: (1:2). Who in Israel could have objected
to
such a message, for it was surely what everyone in Israel had cried
out
against Nineveh? Jonah, of course, later explains that, as much
as he
might have enjoyed denouncing Nineveh and seeing the city destroyed,
he had been afraid that they might repent of their sins and then God
might have had mercy on them. Presumably Jonah would have proceeded
directly to Nineveh, without question or complaint, if he could
have been guaranteed that the city would be destroyed. But he
has
misgivings about God's peculiar sense of justice and reputation for
changeablitity. Similar to the complaint of the people in Malachi 3:14,15.
14 "You have said, 'It is vain
to serve God. What is the good of
keeping his charge or walk-
ing as in mourning before the
LORD of hosts? 15 Henceforth we
deem the arrogant blessed; evil-
doers not only prosper but when
they put God to the test they
escape.'"
Jonah is also depicted from the first as involved in two
related self-
contradictions that are part of the movement and the message of the
story. Jonah reflects the tensions in Israel between a tribal
and a cosmic
view of God, and correspondingly between a parochial and a universal
vision of humanity. Three times it is said in the first chapter
that Jonah
was fleeing from "the presence of the LORD" (1:22,33,10). Now,
in
one sense, this is standard terminology for the cultic presence of
God in
Israel, especially in the temple in Jerusalem. Yet it is precisely
that
strong sense of the special presence and work of God in Israel that
could become the denial of the possibility of God's special presence
and work anywhere else. God's compassion and grace bestowed upon
the Hebrews could easily be seen as exclusive of compassion and grace
for anyone else, least of all for the wicked Ninevites.
Even the pagan sailors in the story, who in several ways
are shown
to be much more exemplary than Jonah, pray to God as one specially
present in the storm and immediately available to their supplication.
When Jonah finally resorts t prayer from the belly of the fish, he
prays
as one who imagines God to be far away, residing in the temple at
Jerusalem (2:7). Presumably, in Jonah's mind, God's presence
hovered
primarily over Israel and was accessible only through the temple.
Thus if
Jonah could make a fast enough getaway and escape some distance into
the Mediterranean (certainly if he could get to Tarshish), God could
no
longer reach him. He could pass the rest of his days well out
of range
of divine commands and without fear of extradition, along the Spanish
Riviera!
When God sends a storm after Jonah's escape vessel and
the sailors
begin cryong out "each... to his god," even throwing the cargo over-
board to keep the ship from sinking, where is Jonah? He is down
in the
hold of the ship, fast asleep. Jonah is supremely confident that
he has
made his getaway from the presence of God, clear of conscience in his
refusal to obey the Word of the Lord and comfortable in his belief
that
God has no business being exercised over the Ninevites! While
the ship
is being dashed about and everyone is frantically rushing to lighten
the ship of its cargo, Jonah is sleeping as peacefully as a baby rocked
in
its cradle!
On the other hand, when lots are cast to determine on
whose account
the evil had come upon the voyagers and the lot falls on Jonah,
he begins his explanation by claiming to believe in "the God of
heaven, who made the sea and the dry land" (1:9). If so, how
could
Jonah have imagined he was going to flee from such a God by leaving
the dry land and going off into the sea? Had Jonah forgotten
the words
of Psalm 139?
Jonah's rather pious "I fear the LORD" (1:9) seems a bit
over-
blown, considering his disobedience and his attempt to get as far away
as possible from Nineveh. Again his behavior is the opposite
of what
we might expect from one who claims to be such a God-fearing Hebrew.
The only thing he fears is that the Ninevites might repent and that
God
might have mercy on them.
When the sailors ask Jonah what they might do to appease
his God,
we are given a further surprise. Jonah responds: "Take me up
and
throw me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you: (1:12).
Of
course, Jonah could have offered to reconsider and go to Nineveh.
But,
no, Jonah would rather drown in the middle of the Mediterranean than
preach to the Ninevites or see the Ninevites live and prosper.
Jonah's response is, in turn, in striking contrast to
the pagan
sailor's attitude toward Jonah. Jonah has now admitted that -
all
because of him - their cargo has been lost, their ship is about to
be
destroyed, and they may as well lose their lives. Instead of
being angry with
Jonah and gladly throwing him in the sea, "the men rowed hard to bring
the ship back to land" (1:13). In other words, the pious Hebrew
Jonah,
worshiper of the one God and Father of all, has no sense whatever
of compassion for the pagan Ninevites; he simply wants them destroyed
without warning. These pagan sailors, on the other hand, though
they are about to lose everything because of the sins of Jonah,
have compassion on Jonah and are willing to risk their lives to save
him. "But they could not, for the sea grew more and more tempestuous
against them" (1:13). Only after praying that God will not hold
them
accountable for acceding to Jonah's suggestion do they reluctantly
throw him into the sea.
Immediately the storm subsides. And no sooner has
Jonah sunk to
the bottom than a great fish swims down and swallows Jonah. Worse,
the fish swims right back toward the shore from which Jonah embarked.
After three days and nights, and no doubt a severe case of indigestion,
the fish "vomited out Jonah upon the dry land." Thus God
does not allow Jonah to flee fromhis presence or escape from his
mission by committing suicide. Instead God provides a vehicle
that
transports Jonah directly, and despite the lack of a round-trip ticket,
toward Nineveh. He brought, kicking and screaming, back to his
point of departure.
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