God gave Jonah a clear command: go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it. Jonah rose up – and went the other way. He went down to Joppa, paid the fare for a ship bound for Tarshish, and went down into it.
What follows is one of the best-known stories in the Bible: a storm that nearly broke the ship, sailors who cried every man unto his god while Jonah slept, a man thrown overboard, and a great fish the LORD had prepared. It is a story about running from God, and about how far God will go to bring a runaway back.
The Story of Jonah Runs From God
The word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai: Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa, found a ship going to Tarshish, paid the fare thereof, and went down into it.
The LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest, so that the ship was like to be broken. The mariners were afraid and cried every man unto his god. They threw the cargo overboard to lighten the ship. All this time Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship, and he lay, and was fast asleep. The shipmaster came and woke him: What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not.
The sailors decided to cast lots to learn for whose cause this evil is upon us, and the lot fell upon Jonah. They asked him his occupation, his country and his people. He answered, I am an Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land. Then the men were exceedingly afraid, because he had told them he fled from the presence of the LORD. Why hast thou done this? they asked.
As the sea grew rougher, they asked what they should do to him so the sea would be calm. Jonah said, 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. The men did not want to do it. They rowed hard to bring the ship to land, but they could not. So they cried unto the LORD, asking him not to lay upon us innocent blood, and they took up Jonah and cast him forth into the sea – and the sea ceased from her raging. Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, offered a sacrifice unto the LORD, and made vows.
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. From inside it, Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God. He described the floods and the waves passing over him and the weeds wrapped about his head, and said, When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD. He ended his prayer with a promise and a confession: I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD.
And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land. The story does not end there: in the next chapter the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time, and this time he went to Nineveh.
Key Verses
“But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD” Jonah 1:3
“I am an Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land” Jonah 1:9
“Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah” Jonah 1:17
“Salvation is of the LORD” Jonah 2:9
“For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly” Matthew 12:40
Scripture quotations are from the King James Version (KJV), a public-domain translation.
What the Story of Jonah Runs From God Teaches Us
Jonah’s story shows that no one can get away from the presence of the LORD. Jonah went down to Joppa, down into the ship, and down into the sides of the ship, but the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea and found him there. The same God, as Jonah himself said, hath made the sea and the dry land.
The passage also shows that running from God affects other people. The sailors lost their cargo and nearly lost their lives because of a choice they had no part in. Yet by the end of the chapter, those same men feared the LORD exceedingly and offered a sacrifice unto him. Even through a disobedient prophet, God made himself known.
Above all, the story shows God’s mercy to the one who ran. The LORD had prepared a great fish, and from its belly Jonah prayed, yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O LORD my God. His prayer ends with the line that sums up the whole account: Salvation is of the LORD.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is the story of Jonah in the Bible?
It is in the book of Jonah. Chapter 1 tells how he fled on a ship and was swallowed by a great fish, and chapter 2 records his prayer from the fish’s belly and how the fish vomited him out upon the dry land (Jonah 1:1-2:10).
Why did Jonah run from God?
Jonah 1 does not give a reason; it only says he rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD (Jonah 1:3). Later, Jonah explains: I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil (Jonah 4:2).
Where was Jonah trying to go?
He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish, instead of going to Nineveh as God had told him (Jonah 1:2-3).
Was it a whale or a fish that swallowed Jonah?
Jonah 1:17 says the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. When Jesus spoke of it, the King James Version reads, For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly (Matthew 12:40).
How long was Jonah in the belly of the fish?
Three days and three nights (Jonah 1:17). During that time he prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish’s belly (Jonah 2:1).
How did Jonah get out of the fish?
The LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land (Jonah 2:10).