Jonah 1:7-10 (NIV)

Then the sailors said to each other, “Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity.” They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. So they asked him, “Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What kind of work do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?”

He answered, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”

This terrified them and they asked, “What have you done?” (They knew he was running away from the LORD, because he had already told them so.)

This is one of those passages that doesn’t come out right in an English Bible. In the original Hebrew, Jonah doesn’t say, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the LORD.” He says, “I am a Hebrew; and I worship Yahweh.”

Every god has a name—Zeus, Mercury, Ra, etc. The real God has a name too—Yahweh (YHVH in Hebrew). But because the third commandment explicitly prohibits taking this name in vain, Bible translators don’t print it. They just substitute “the LORD” out of respect.

But “Yahweh” was used by people like Jonah in conversation. Ruth used it conversationally too. In Exodus 3:16, God tells Moses to say to the elders of Israel, “Yahweh, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—appeared to me …” (NIV).

Leaving out the name is confusing. The sailors ask Jonah, “Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us?” If he had said, “The LORD,” they would have said, “Yeah, but which lord?”

Jonah’s answer is unambiguous, “Yahweh, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” He’s not one of those gods that lives on Mount Olympus; He’s the creator of everything.

Welcome to monotheism, boys.

The lesson for us in this passage comes from Jonah’s claim to worship Yahweh. Does he really?

Jonah is tight with Yahweh. He has the immense privilege of being a prophet. He has a direct communication channel. But when Yahweh tells him to prophesy to Nineveh, he refuses.

The idea that Yahweh is the LORD isn’t just some theoretical concept. He rules over everything, especially his “servant” Jonah. Refusing a command from the LORD is denying His lordship.

If your lord tells you to do something and you don’t do it, are you his servant?

Looks like Jonah could use some servant training.

All the weekly study guides, which include all five devotionals plus related questions for discussion or meditation, are available for download here:

https://www.ailbe.org/resources/itemlist/category/91-deep-studies

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https://www.amazon.com/Higher-Purposes-Lesson-God-Job/dp/1684719534