Today's reading is the beginning of Jonah, the prophet charged with going to Ninevah, the capital city of the Assyrians, with a prophecy of God. Jonah had no desire to go to Ninevah, though, and boarded a boat sailing in the opposite direction. This behavior seemed to anger God, who caused a great storm to rage around the boat Jonah was aboard. The sailors were unable to salvage the boat, and in a desperate act, drew lots to see if they could determine which person on the boat had angered one of the gods. This dual act of idolatry surprisingly identified the culprit -- Jonah. They asked Jonah to confess his guilt, but he refused. In essence, he skipped to a sentence and told the sailors to throw him overboard. Rather than drowning, though, the prophet was swallowed by a fish. (And the storm immediately ends, causing the sailors to offer a sacrifice to the true God.)
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Reading the Bible in Its Entirety
If you are planning to read the Bible in its entirety, you should read Jonah 1 today.
