May 20 Daily Devotional

Jonah 1–4

In the days of Jeroboam, king of Israel, lived Jonah the prophet. Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah, saying, “Go unto Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.” But Jonah rose up, and fled from the presence of the Lord. And he went down to Joppa and boarded a ship going to Tarshish. But the Lord sent out a strong wind into the sea, so that the ship was in great danger. The sailors were afraid, and cried every man to his god. But Jonah lay in the ship and was fast asleep. And the shipmaster came and said to him, “What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God … that we perish not.”

And the sailors cast lots, that they might know for whose cause the great tempest had come upon them, and the lot fell upon Jonah. And they asked him about his occupation, country and people. Jonah replied, “I am a Hebrew; and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land … Take me up, and cast me into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.” So they took up Jonah and cast him into the sea. And the sea ceased from its raging. And the Lord prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. Then Jonah prayed unto the Lord out of the belly of the fish. And it cast Jonah upon the dry land.

Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, saying, “Go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.” So he went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. He cried and said, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.” And the people of Nineveh believed God and repented. And when God saw that they had turned from their evil ways, he had mercy upon them and did not destroy the city.

And Jonah was angry. He did not wish to have the city spared, because it was the enemy of his land; perhaps he also feared to be called a false prophet when his word was not fulfilled. So he went out of the city and made himself a booth, till he might see what would become of the city. And a gourd grew over night and gave a shadow over his head. He was so glad to have it as a protection against the consuming rays of the sun. But soon the gourd withered, and Jonah fainted from the terrific heat. He was discouraged and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.” And God said to him, “Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for which thou hast not labored … and should not I have pity on Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than six score thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand: and also much cattle?”