Jonah 1:12

Mission of Jonah to Nineveh His Flight and Punishment - Jonah 1 Jonah tries to avoid fulfilling the command of God, to preach repentance to the great city Nineveh, by a rapid flight to the sea, for the purpose of sailing to Tarshish (Jon 1:1-3); but a terrible storm, which threatens to destroy the ship, brings his sin to light (Jon 1:4-10); and when the lot singles him out as the culprit, he confesses that he is guilty; and in accordance with the sentence which he pronounces upon himself, is cast into the sea (Jon 1:11-16).

In this chapter we have, I. A command given to Jonah to preach at Nineveh (Jon 1:1, Jon 1:2). II. Jonah's disobedience to that command (Jon 1:3). III. The pursuit and arrest of him for that disobedience by a storm, in which he was asleep (Jon 1:4-6). IV. The discovery of him, and his disobedience, to be the cause of the storm (Jon 1:7-10). V. The casting of him into the sea, for the stilling of the storm (Jon 1:11-16). VI. The miraculous preservation of his life there in the belly of a fish (Jon 1:17), which was his reservation for further services.

1:12 Throw me: Jonah’s calmness in giving this direction is surprising. But he was willing to face death with equanimity rather than give the hated Assyrians a chance to repent.