Jonah 1 Commentary
Jonah is strangely accommodated within the belly of a huge fish for three days. The LORD Jesus Christ cites it as a reference to His own temporal residence in a human grave. But that’s where the similarity ends.
Unlike the prophet Jonah, the man Jesus Christ is a willing messenger. Jonah’s assignment was to deliver the message of repentance to the ‘nations’. Jesus’ assignment is more than just the proclamation of repentance that leads to salvation. He is both the message and the messenger.
Jonah was in the belly of the fish to be saved from death; Jesus was in the belly of the earth as punishment. He was guilty of disobedience but unlike Jonah, it wasn’t his disobedience: it was the disobedience of mankind.
But the stories would meet again as the three days for both Jonah and Jesus result in salvation. Nineveh repents and experiences ‘salvation’. An individual can find the forgiveness of sin as a consequence of the three days of Jesus.
The immediate context of the story has more. It fits perfectly in the storyline of prophecy. Jonah brings to the fore the message behind the message. It is still the prophecy against Assyria, or judgment against Assyria as in the other prophetic volumes of scripture, but without prophetic codes and the usual woes. The LORD God says it in plain language: repent.
Obadiah is a ‘prophecy’ against Edom while Jonah is a ‘prophecy’ against Assyria. By Jonah, we now understand the purpose of these prophecies. The LORD uses them to draw nations to Himself in true worship.
Israel is called to ‘bless’ the nations. It comes down to one man – Jonah. The reality of this story is that it all comes down to one man, the man Jesus Christ. Isaiah’s Servant must spend three days in the belly of the earth. Isaiah 53.
The sailors have no idea who Jonah is. His mission is equally confusing. But the miracle of a calm ocean after Jonah is thrown overboard brings the fear of the LORD. It is an expectation that as we reflect on the miracle of the cross, we can once again fear the LORD of salvation.
Jonah’s events won’t see fulfillment until several centuries later. For now, we can wait for chapter two and see what happens to Jonah, the fish, and the LORD’s assignment.
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