Jonah and Opposites (Jonah 1:1-3)

“Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before me.”

We all know the story of Jonah. He was sent to Nineveh but ran in the opposite direction. Sure, pull out a map. See? He went in the opposite direction! But actually, all you need to know is here in this masterful bit of writing.

God’s call to Jonah starts with the command to “arise!” Literally, He says, “Up!” And what does Jonah do? He goes DOWN to Joppa. He goes DOWN into a boat. And later we are told he has gone even further down into the hold of the ship. But don’t stop there! He will be tossed down into the sea, and will descend into the deep and then be swallowed down the gullet of a great fish. His prayer in chapter two will talk about how he cries out from the very depths of Sheol.

Jonah didn’t run west when God said go east. He ran away from God’s command to go up, straight down into hell. The book holds back on telling us why Jonah rejected God’s call. (In a masterful case of dramatic tension.) We might assume it is fear.  (Spoiler: it isn’t!)  But the story tells us that even when we are afraid to go where God sends us the alternative is much scarier, much worse.