1:1,2
As mentioned in the introduction, Jonah was a prophet who had previously prophesied expansion of Israel’s borders (2 Kings 14:25). This was no doubt a very pleasant task, and one that made him popular with the people and the rulers. Sometimes God may give us pleasing tasks to carry out, but we must always remember that we are His servants, here to do His will, and His will and concerns is far greater and broader than ours. Jonah was pleased that Israel’s borders were expanding. God now tells him to go to Nineveh and preach against it. This would be a far less pleasant task, and one that we might think would make him unpopular with the Ninevites. At this time Assyria was not the regional superpower that it was later to become.
1:3
Jonah did not want to do this task, so he ran away! The exact location of Tarshish is not known. It could be as far away as Spain, or somewhat nearer in the Mediterranean. The important point is that it is far away, so if Jonah got there he would not be able to fulfil God’s task, or so he thought. We will learn later that fear may not have been the motivating force, though it is hard to tell. The text says that Jonah paid the fare, though the text could actually mean that he hired the whole boat.
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