John Calvin Commentary Jonah 1:8-10

"Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us; what is thine occupation? and whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of what people art thou? And he said unto them, I am a Hebrew; and I fear Jehovah, the God of heaven, who hath made the sea and the dry land. Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, What is this that thou hast done? For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of Jehovah, because he had told them." — Jonah 1:8-10 (ASV)

After the lot fell on Jonah, they did not doubt that he was the guilty person, any more than if he had been proven to be so a hundred times: for why did they cast lots, except that they were persuaded that all doubt could thus be removed, and that what was hidden could thus be brought to the light?

Since this persuasion was fixed in their minds—that the truth was elicited and, in a manner, drawn out of darkness by the lot—they now inquired of Jonah what he had done. For they took it as given that they had to endure the tempest on his account, and also that he, by some detestable crime, had merited such vengeance at God's hand.

We therefore see that they cast lots because they fully believed that they could not otherwise discover the crime for which they suffered, and also that lots were directed by the hidden purpose of God. For how could a reliable judgment be found by lot, unless God directed it according to His own purpose and overruled what seemed to be especially fortuitous? These principles, then, were held as certain, in a way, by men who were heathens: that God can draw out the truth and bring it to light, and also that He presides over lots, however fortuitous they may be thought to be.

This was the reason why they now asked what Jonah had done. Tell us, then, why has this evil happened to us? What is your work? And so on. By "work" here, I do not mean wrongdoing, but a kind of life, or, as they say, a manner of living. They then asked how Jonah had until now employed himself, and what sort of life he followed. For it afterwards follows, Tell us, from where do you come? What is your country? And from what people are you? They made inquiries, no doubt, on each particular in proper order, but Jonah here briefly records the questions.

I now come to his answer: He said to them, I am a Hebrew; and I fear Jehovah the God of heaven, Who has created the sea and the dry land. Here Jonah seemed still to evade, indeed, to disown his crime, for he professed himself to be a worshipper of the true God.

Who would not have said that he wished here to escape by a subterfuge, as he presented his own piety to cover the previously mentioned crime? But not all things are related here at the outset; for shortly after, it follows that the sailors knew of Jonah’s flight, and that he himself had told them that he had disobeyed God’s call and command.

There is then no doubt that Jonah honestly confessed his own sin, though he does not say so immediately. But we know that it is a way of speaking common among the Hebrews to add at the end what had been said first; and grammarians say that it is ὕστερον πρότερον (last first), when anything is omitted in its proper place and then added as an explanation.

When therefore Jonah says that he was a Hebrew and a worshipper of the true God—this tended to aggravate his fault or crime rather than to excuse it. For if he had only said that he was conscious of having done wrong in disobeying God, his crime would not have appeared so atrocious. But when he begins by saying that the true God was known to him—the framer of heaven and earth, the God of Israel, who had made Himself known by a law given and published—when Jonah made this introduction, he thereby removed from himself all pretexts of ignorance or misconception.

He had been educated in the law and had, from childhood, been taught who the true God was. He could not then have fallen through ignorance; and furthermore, he did not, like the others, worship fictitious gods; he was an Israelite. Since he had been brought up in true religion, his sin was the more atrocious, inasmuch as he had fallen away from God, having despised His command and, as it were, shaken off the yoke, and become a fugitive.

We now, then, perceive the reason why Jonah called himself here a Hebrew and testified that he was a worshipper of the true God.

First, by saying that he was a Hebrew, he distinguished the God of Abraham from the idols of the Gentiles. For the religion of the chosen people was well known everywhere, though disapproved by universal consent. At the same time, the Cilicians and other Asiatics, and also the Grecians, and the Syrians in another quarter—all these knew what the Israelites gloried in: that the true God had appeared to their father Abraham, then made with him a gratuitous covenant, and also had given the law by Moses. All this was sufficiently known by report.

Hence Jonah now says that he was a Hebrew, as though he were saying that he had no concern with any fictitious god, but with the God of Abraham, who had formerly appeared to the holy Fathers, and who had also given a perpetual testimony of His will by Moses.

We see then how emphatically he declared that he was a Hebrew. Secondly, he adds, I fear Jehovah the God of heaven. By the word "fear" is meant worship; for it is not to be taken here, as it often is in other places, in its strict meaning, but "fear" is to be understood as worship.

"I am not given," he says, "to various superstitions, but I have been taught in true religion; God has made Himself known to me from my childhood. I therefore do not worship any idol, as almost all other people do, who invent gods for themselves; but I worship God, the Creator of heaven and earth."

He calls Him the God of heaven, that is, He who dwells alone as God in heaven.

While the others thought heaven was filled with a great number of gods, Jonah here sets in opposition to them the one true God, as though he said, "Invent according to your own imagination innumerable gods, there is still only One who possesses the highest authority in heaven; for it is He who made the sea and the dry land."

So now we understand what Jonah meant by these words: he shows here that it was no wonder that God pursued him with so much severity, for he had not committed a slight offense, but a fatal sin.

We now see how much Jonah had benefited since the Lord had begun to deal severely with him: for since he was asleep, indeed, and insensible in his sin, he would never have repented had it not been for this violent remedy.

But when the Lord roused him by His severity, he then not only confessed that he was guilty, or acknowledged his guilt in a perfunctory manner (defunctorie—as in ridding oneself of a task carelessly), but also willingly testified, as we see, before men who were heathens, that he was the guilty man, who had forsaken the true God, in Whose worship he had been well instructed.

This was the fruit of true penitence, and it was also the fruit of the chastisement which God had inflicted on him. If then we wish God to approve of our repentance, let us not seek evasions, as is generally the case; nor let us extenuate our sins, but by a free confession testify before the whole world what we have deserved.

It then follows that the men feared with great fear and said, Why have you done this? For they knew that he had fled from the presence of Jehovah, because he had told them. And this is not unimportant—that the sailors feared with great fear. For Jonah means that they were not only moved by what he said but also terrified, so that they gave the true God His glory.

We indeed know that superstitious men almost trifle with their own idols. They often entertain, it is true, strange fears, but afterwards they flatter themselves and, in a way, cajole their own hearts, so that they can pleasantly and sweetly smile at their own imaginings. But Jonah, by saying here that they feared with great fear, means that they were so struck that they really perceived that the God of Israel was a righteous judge, and that He was not such as other nations imagined Him to be, but that He was capable of providing dreadful examples whenever He intended to execute His vengeance.

Thus we see what Jonah means when he speaks of great fear. At the same time, two things should be noted: that they feared, because it was easy for them to conclude from the Prophet’s words that the God of Israel was the only Creator of heaven and earth; and then, that it was a great fear, which, as I have said, must be considered as serious dread, since the fear that the unbelieving have soon vanishes.

But with regard to the reproof that the sailors and other passengers gave to Jonah, the Lord returned this to him as the reward he had deserved. He had fled from the presence of God; he had thus, as we have said, taken away from God His supreme power. For what becomes of God’s authority when any one of us rejects His commands and flees from His presence?

Since Jonah, then, sought to shun God, he was now placed before men. Heathens were present, and even barbarians, who rebuked him for his sin and who were his censors and judges. And we often see the same thing happening. For those who do not willingly obey God and His word afterwards abandon themselves to many flagrant sins, and their baseness becomes evident to all.

Since, then, they cannot bear God to be their Master and Teacher, they are constrained to bear innumerable censors; for they are branded by the reproaches of the common people, they are pointed at everywhere, at last they are conducted to the gallows, and the executioner becomes their chief teacher.

The case was similar, as we see, with Jonah: the pilot had previously reproved his torpor, when he said, You also call on your God! What do you mean, O sleeper? You lie down here like a log, and yet you see us perplexed and in extreme danger.

Since, then, the pilot first so sharply inveighed against Jonah, and then all reproved him with one voice, we certainly find that he was made subject to the condemnation of all because he tried to deprive God of His supreme power.

If at any time the same thing should happen to us—if God should subject us to the reproaches of men when we seek to avoid His judgment—let us not wonder.

But as Jonah here calmly answers, raises no clamor, and shows no bitterness, so let every one of us, in the true spirit of meekness, acknowledge our own sins. When charged with them, even if children were our condemners, or even if the most contemptible of people were to rise up against us, let us patiently bear all this; and let us know that these kinds of censors befall us through the providence of God.