Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship. But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. The captain went to him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.”

--Parallel verses:
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭12‬:‭5‬-‭9‬
And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says, “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.” Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live!

As I look back over my life, there was some training I took to very readily. In high school I took instruction well from my football coaches and my workout partner, Eric. They guided me to success on the football field and in the gym. Other times, like when I tried to install a new garage door, or learning how to allow others to own the project themselves, I was a poor learner. The good thing is God loved me enough to keep teaching me the same lessons over and over again until I finally decided to listen and learn. 

I have read this story a few times, and it seems pretty straightforward: Jonah flees from God’s call and God judges him by bringing a big storm. But there is so much more to it than that.

God’s judgement was on Nineveh, not Jonah. He disciplined Jonah. Jonah followed God in life, but sinned by running from him. The Ninevites rejected God and served their evil desires.  

So why did God discipline Jonah? He could have just called another prophet, right? I think God’s discipline came for a few very good reasons: 1) He loved Jonah and wanted him to repent and turn back to God. 2) He cared about the people on the boat. He wanted them to see that he was the only true God. 3) He had a reason to send Jonah to Nineveh. We don’t know what it was, but I will throw out a few ideas. Maybe Jonah had been mocked and made fun of for his faith by Ninevites? Maybe someone close to him had been killed in one of their raids? Maybe Jonah was a bit too proud in his religious customs to want to even go near them? God wanted to show Jonah his grace and mercy so Jonah could learn these godly attributes too!  And 4) He wanted the story of Jonah to teach the world lessons for thousands of years about how God loves and disciplines his children.

I find it interesting that God caused Jonah to enter into a deep sleep, in the middle of a violent storm. This was clearly a supernatural sleep, as anyone in their right mind would wake up in this storm. Could it be that he wanted to “stress-test” the sailors, and have them exhaust all of their solutions and prayers to their gods, before he calmed the storm? Maybe God also allows me to be in hard situations to “stress-test” me and help me to learn to obey him without resistance and to rely on him for all I need.

The captain appealed to this stranger, Jonah, who likely did not have a lot of open sea sailing experience — as a last ditch effort. He had come to his end and saw his life flash before him.  

Who do I relate to most? Jonah? The Captain? The other sailors? At times, I suppose it might be all of them. One thing I know: God has never given up disciplining me and he never gave up on Jonah either. Jonah made a pretty boneheaded move, trying to out-run God. I have made some of these moves too.  But God still shows up and loves and disciplines me. He is a good Father!

Lord, you are so good. You are so faithful. And you are true to your children. Thank you for disciplining me in your ways. Help me to listen and obey your call on my life today!