Why must Jonah ‘die’? (Jonah 1:10-16)

A Christian I know made a disastrous marriage that ended in divorce. Saddened by what had happened to her, she struggled with the thought that God did not warn her. Why did she have to go through all that misery before she could make a new start? Why did God not intervene and save her from making such a mistake in the first place? It is a question that might be asked of the father in the parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-24). Why did he not plead and hold back the son from the misery of wasting his inheritance and ending his career in a pigsty? Likewise, why could Jonah not be rowed onto shore and go to Nineveh from there?

Pagan piety

As we read on the story, the contrast of the sailors’ reaction creates a backdrop to Jonah’s attitude. When they hear that Jonah was fleeing from his god, they are terrified (Jonah 1:10). On any reckoning, even a pagan one, such behaviour towards a deity would surely evoke great wrath that needs to be appeased! However, they balk at the idea of consigning someone to certain death even though rowing him to shore imperils them (Jonah 1:13). Not knowing the ins and outs of how to relate to this god, even when they heave Jonah overboard, they wonder if it is wrong to kill him and pray to the LORD not to count it against them if they got it wrong (Jonah 1:14). When the sea quietens, they show reverence and the brief description of offering sacrifices and making vows echoes the Psalms where faithful Israelites do so after being saved by God (e.g. Ps 50:14; 66:13).[1]

What is Jonah feeling and thinking?

All this should make us wonder what Jonah felt and thought by contrast. Where is the reverent fear in this man for his awesome God? He is clearly awakened to what he had done and makes the connection to the storm as a result (Jonah 1:12). He also recognises the impact of his actions on others (the storm came on ‘you’ because of ‘me’, v.12) and is willing to shoulder the responsibility for it. Sin and disobedience eventually lead to a storm that affects others. The conclusion that he must die echoes another biblical principle best expressed in Romans 6:23, ‘the wages of sin is death’. Sin and disobedience are the path to death, not only in the sense that it is God’s punishment, but because those who cut themselves away from the source of Life and the way of Life dig their own grave and destroy their very self. It is inherent in the nature of sin. How much Jonah understands of this is hard to know. Is he repentant now and ready to listen to God? Does he think that he had blown his chances and can only accept his punishment of death? Or is he adamant that he would rather die in his resistance than go to Nineveh?

Why must Jonah ‘die’?

Perhaps the ambiguity in the narrative is deliberate. Human beings can be a mass of contradictions. They can recognise sin and feel remorse yet not come to full repentance or understand the character and purposes of God.[2] Whether Jonah is self-sacrificial in wanting to save at least the sailors, or wants to die to escape God’s calling, or believes he only deserves the stern judgment of death, his path back to life and to God is not straightforward. It is not enough to erase his mistake and send him happily on his way to Nineveh. Likewise, who knows if we had listened to God’s warning in advance or learned from our mistakes without tasting the bitter fruit of consequences? We have to trust God’s wisdom of whether He intervenes or not and be accountable for our actions (it is all too easy to blame God). When we consider others who seem headed in the wrong direction, warning them is appropriate but rescuing someone prematurely can take away their responsibility and foreclose a learning opportunity. Sometimes, nothing short of ‘death’ can bring new life. We need God’s wisdom in our own decisions and in supporting others.

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[1] Note, however, that the interest is not in the sailors themselves. The narrative does not follow their career beyond this point. They simply present a contrast to Jonah. This cannot be seen as a ‘conversion’ experience with the sailors becoming exclusive worshippers of Yahweh, either. Rather, as polytheists (worshipping more than one god), they would have recognised the power of this god and offered sacrifices in Jerusalem or at one of the other shrines in Israel. They could not have done so aboard the ship as gods had to be worshipped at their designated shrines. Making vows probably refers to promising to sacrifice to Jonah’s God at other times, too, when they have the opportunity (in the Psalms paying one’s vows and sacrifices are often synonymous terms, so it is likely that this is the content of the sailors’ vow).

[2] Judas’ attitude when he acknowledged that he had betrayed an innocent Jesus shows remorse, but his self-inflicted death indicates that he can only see the necessary punishment but not the mercy of God (Matt 27:3-5).

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