Jonah Chapter 1 (Part Three)

Verse 14: The people seem to have turned to God and believe in Him. They ask for God to not hold it against them for throwing an innocent man into the sea. How quickly this people put their trust in a God they do not know, and they ask for forgiveness. How much trust do we have in God? How often do we ask for His forgiveness? Do we repent of our ways? Do we take time to pray to God and ask for Him to forgive us any wrongs we may have committed against others? We often are very quick to ask for favors from God, but how often do we ask for forgiveness? And, if we do ask for forgiveness, do the stormy waters around us calm down? Perhaps the next time we are in the middle of chaos, we can take a moment to ask God to forgive us any wrongs we may have committed. It only takes a moment and may provide a way for us to find peace in the midst of a storm.

Verse 15-16: The people on the ship became afraid of God when the storm ceased. They made sacrifices to God and made vows. It is amazing how a miracle in our lives can lead us to God. I have no doubt, these people would tell of this amazing story to their family and friends. Perhaps, this would lead more people to God.

This passage also mirrors Psalm 107:
23Those who go down to the sea in ships,
Who do business on great waters;
24They have seen the works of the LORD,
And His wonders in the deep.
25For He spoke and raised a stormy wind,
Which lifted the waves of the sea.
26They rose up to the heavens, they went down to the depths;
Their soul melted away in their misery.
27They reeled and staggered like a drunken person,
And were at their wits’ end.
28Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,
And He brought them out of their distresses.
29He caused the storm to be still,
So that the waves of the sea were hushed.
30Then they were glad because they were quiet,
So He guided them to their desired harbor.
31They shall give thanks to the LORD for His mercy,
And for His wonders to the sons of mankind!
32They shall also exalt Him in the congregation of the people,
And praise Him at the seat of the elders. (Psalm 107:23-32)

Jesus and His disciples encounter a storm on the Sea of Galilee. Jesus is asleep on a cushion. The disciples are scared the boat is going to sink. Please remember, many of Jesus’ disciples were experienced fishermen. They were used to waves and rough waters. This was no ordinary storm if they were afraid. They wake up Jesus and are left dumb-founded when Jesus rebukes the waves and the storm ceases.

35On that day, when evening came, He *said to them, “Let’s go over to the other side.” 36After dismissing the crowd, they *took Him along with them in the boat, just as He was; and other boats were with Him. 37And a fierce gale of wind *developed, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling with water. 38And yet Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they *woke Him and *said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” 39And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Hush, be still.” And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm. 40And He said to them, “Why are you [m]afraid? Do you still have no faith?” 41They became very much afraid and said to one another, “Who, then, is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?” (Mark 4:35-41)

In Mark 4:41, verses 28-30 of Psalm 107 must have ran through the disciples’ heads when Jesus spoke and the storm was stilled and the waves calmed down.
28Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,
And He brought them out of their distresses.
29He caused the storm to be still,
So that the waves of the sea were hushed.
30Then they were glad because they were quiet,
So He guided them to their desired harbor. (Psalm 107:28-30)



Sudden storms on Lake Galilee are common. High hills surround the lake; the cool winds from the heights can easily clash with the warm air on the lake, displacing it and stirring the wind and waves into a violent tempest.

The crests of the waves began to wash over the sides of the open, low-sided fishing boat. “They began to be swamped and to be in danger” (Luke 8:23), but as the boat pitched and rolled on the waves and filled with water, the Teacher slept soundly on a cushion in the stern.

The well-known gospel story makes several allusions to the story of Jonah. In both stories the principal character sleeps peacefully while a deadly storm tosses the boat around. In both stories the terrified sailors awaken the sleeper and rebuke him. In both stories the principal character has the solution to the danger. Both storms are miraculously calmed. The miraculous calming of the sea terrifies both sets of sailors. Even Mark’s word choices echo the story of Jonah.

The panicked disciples fought to keep the boat aright and afloat. They shook the Master awake, saying, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” (Mark 4:38). As the boat plunged into the trough of a great wave, they cried out, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” (Luke 8:24).

The Master rebuked the wind and the sea as if He was rebuking an evil spirit: “Hush, be still!” The same language accompanies the Master’s exorcisms. Rebuking a weather phenomenon makes no more sense than rebuking a fever. Jesus addressed the hidden spiritual reality behind the revealed physical world. A fever is not just a fever. A storm is not just a storm. In Jewish cosmology, the spiritual world animates the physical world. The story suggests that spiritual forces were at work, resisting the Master’s attempt to cross out of Jewish territory and enter their territory.

At the Master’s rebuke, the waters fled; at the sound of His voice, they hurried back; thus He rebuked the sea; He rebuked the sea and made it quiet (Psalm 104:7, 106:9; Nahum 1:4). As the waves flattened out into quiet ripples, the Master turned to the disciples and asked, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” (Mark 4:40).

The disciples did have faith, but their Teacher from Galilee significantly stretched it. In the Jonah story, the calming of the sea strikes fear into the hearts of the sailors: “The men feared the LORD greatly” (Jonah 1:16). In the gospel story, the disciples have a similar reaction to the calming of the sea. “They became very much afraid and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?’” (Mark 4:41).

We see in the story of Jonah, a similar concept is at play. Jonah is “leaving the presence of the LORD”. God lets Jonah know, he will not be escaping. The storm is an impossible hurdle to clear. The only way the boat will continue on the Tarshish is by throwing Jonah overboard. Jonah needs to go to Nineveh. God is going to make Jonah go to Nineveh whether he wants to or not.

Verse 17 We are told a great fish swallows up Jonah. Some translations state it is a whale which swallows Jonah. This is not correct. The Hebrew words are gadol and dag. Gadol means mighty or great. Dag means fish. It was a might, big fish which swallows Jonah.

There are four species of whales which inhabit the Mediterranean Sea. So, it is possible it was a whale which swallowed up Jonah, but it is more likely to be a large fish.

Jonah Chapter 1 (Part Two)

Verse 4: God hurls a great wind and causes a storm to arise. This reminds me of the fierce storm Paul encounters as his ship is trying to sail to Rome. The storm was vicious, but in the end, no one died. The ship found its way to an island and the people were able to seek shelter there (Acts 27). God used the storm for His glory. The storm gave Paul a platform to share God with the people on the ship. The same situation arises with Jonah. The storm causes people to call on their gods. And soon, Jonah is asked about his God.

Verse 5 seems reminiscent of the storm Paul encountered in Acts 27. The people do everything they can to endure the storm. They hurl the cargo into the sea in an attempt to lighten the ship and prevent it from sinking. People call on their gods, but nothing happens. Relief only comes when Paul and Jonah talk about their God and tell the people what they must do to endure the storm. (Paul tells the people they must eat food and wait for morning. Jonah tells the crowd he must be thrown into the sea.)


Verse 5 It seems to imply from later in the text that Jonah has already disclosed to the men he was fleeing from his God. This probably did not disturb them because they were sailing into international waters where the territorial gods had no power. As the storm hits, each man cries out to his own god in a vain hope. And perhaps there was a thought that the various deities summoned might get together and mount and international rescue effort. When that fails, they seek out Jonah.

Verse 5 also states Jonah had fallen fast asleep. The word used here is the Hebrew word radam. It means deep sleep, deaf to sound, sleep of death. In other words, Jonah was unconscious and was not going to be waking up on his own. He needed the captain to personally wake him up from sleep.

This makes me think about our own lives. How many times are people crying out all around us for help, for prayer or for someone to listen, and we are deaf to their pleas? Although our eyes are fully open, our hearts and minds are closed and cannot be easily aroused from our stupor.

Verse 7 states lots were cast. Ancient cultures were very superstitious. Lots were drawn and cast for many reasons. We see the soldiers cast lots to divide up Jesus’ clothes when Jesus was being executed

35And when they had crucified Him, they divided His garments among themselves by casting lots. (Matthew 27:35)

23Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His outer garments and made four parts: a part to each soldier, and the tunic also; but the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece. 24So they said to one another, “Let’s not tear it, but cast lots for it, to decide whose it shall be.” This happened so that the Scripture would be fulfilled: “THEY DIVIDED MY GARMENTS AMONG THEMSELVES, AND THEY CAST LOTS FOR MY CLOTHING.” Therefore the soldiers did these things. (John 19:23-24)

***Note: John 19:24 is quoting Psalm 22:18:
18They divide my garments among them, And they cast lots for my clothing.


Another place were lots are cast is in the Book of Esther. Haman, the enemy of the Jews, casts lots to determine the date when the Jews should be slaughtered.

7In the first month, which is the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, Pur, that is the lot, was cast before Haman from day to day and from month to month, until the twelfth month, that is the month Adar. 8Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom; their laws are different from those of all other people and they do not comply with the king’s laws, so it is not in the king’s interest to let them remain. 9If it is pleasing to the king, let it be decreed that they be eliminated, and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver into the hands of those who carry out the king’s business, to put into the king’s treasuries.” 10Then the king took his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews. 11And the king said to Haman, “The silver is yours, and the people also, to do with them as you please.” (Esther 3:7-11)

Ultimately, every one of these instances shows us that although we may cast lots, it is God who determines the outcome. 33The lot is cast into the lap,
But its every decision is from the LORD. (Proverbs 16:33)

Verse 10: The men of the ship were fearful after Jonah told them he was fleeing from the presence of God. This is interesting. We were told in verse 5 they were all crying out to their gods, which was not the God of Israel. The people on the ship must have known about the God of Israel or may have heard stories about the God of Israel. We are told people from all around Canaan heard what God had done to the Egyptians and the splitting of the Red Sea. Perhaps, God’s reputation and His abundant miracles still were told to the nations surrounding Israel.

When Joshua sends the two spies into Jericho, they come to the harlot Rehab’s house. Rehab tells the two Israelite spies about God’s miracles.

8Now before the spies lay down, she came up to them on the roof, 9and said to the men, “I know that the LORD has given you the land, and that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land have despaired because of you. 10For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. 11When we heard these reports, our hearts melted and no courage remained in anyone any longer because of you; for the LORD your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth below. (Joshua 2:8-11)


Verse 11-13 tell us about the sea-farers asking Jonah what they should do to appease God. Jonah says to throw him into the sea. The people do not want to do this. Instead, they disregard God’s word and try to do things their own way. They use their own strength to row the ship back to shore. When everything they do fails, only then do they listen to Jonah and throw him into the sea. When the people obey God, the sea stops raging.

This passage is extremely apropos for us. We are often told in God’s word what we have to do to have peace in our lives. Many times, though, we do not want to follow God. We do not want to do things God’s ways. We will do everything we can think of to get our selves out of a bad situation, but when that fails, only then, do we turn to God. Often, it is like turning on a light; everything becomes clear what we should do. And soon we are able to navigate our way out of the storm. It would have been much easier if we would turn to God and listen to Him first, but we, like the people on the ship. We want to do everything in our own power to correct the situation. Only when all other hope is lost do we do what God tells us to do.

Jonah Chapter 1 (Part One)

Background
Jonah prophesied in the 8th Century during the reign on Jeroboam II. During this time in history, Israel had already split into the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. The northern kingdom of Israel was deep into idolatry and worshipped golden calves set up in Dan (in the north) and Bethel (in the south). The northern kingdom is on the cusp of being invaded and defeated by the massive empire called Assyria.

During the time of Jonah, the Assyrian Empire controlled most of present-day Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran. (Later in history, Assyria conquered Lebanon, Israel and Egypt.) The city of Nineveh was Assyria’s capital. It was located on the Tigris River and is located near the present-day city of Mosul in Iraq.

During Jonah’s prophecy, Assyria was already threatening the northern kingdom of Israel. Assyria was seen as a huge threat to Israel. Assyria was Israel’s enemy. Jonah being called to go to Nineveh would be similar as a Christian being called to go to Iran’s capitol of Tehran and preach the gospel of Jesus in the middle of the city. It would be a certain death sentence. Jonah probably felt that this was an extremely dangerous mission. Moreover, Jonah knew if the people of Nineveh repented, that meant God would not destroy Israel’s chief enemy. If God spared Assyria, this would mean Israel would continue to be battered ad threatened by Assyria. If Jonah did not go to Nineveh, the Ninevites would not repent, and the the Ninevites would suffer the punishment set forth by God.

Jonah
Jonah’s name means dove. If we think back to other places in which a dove is mentioned, the first place I think of is Noah and the flood.

In Genesis chapter 6, God is sad He made man because the thoughts and intents of man’s heart were only evil continually. God decides He will destroy man and all living things which inhabit the earth in an effort to restore the earth back to a more holy state.

5Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of mankind was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually. 6So the LORD was sorry that He had made mankind on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. 7Then the LORD said, “I will wipe out mankind whom I have created from the face of the land; mankind, and animals as well, and crawling things, and the birds of the sky. For I am sorry that I have made them.” 8But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. (Genesis 6:5-8)

The only people which would be saved are Noah, his wife, his three sons and his three sons’ wives.

Noah builds an ark and preserves his family and a small portion of the animals. When the flood waters are receding, Noah is trying to figure out how much of the earth still has water on it. He sends out a dove. It returns back to the boat. Noah waits more days. He sends out the dove. It returns with an olive leaf. Noah sends out the dove again, and this time it does not return.

6Then it came about at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made; 7and he sent out a raven, and it flew here and there until the water was dried up from the earth. 8Then he sent out a dove, to see if the water was low on the surface of the land; 9but the dove found no resting place for the sole of its foot, so it returned to him in the ark, for the water was on the surface of all the earth. Then he put out his hand and took it, and brought it into the ark to himself. 10So he waited another seven days longer; and again he sent out the dove from the ark. 11And the dove came to him in the evening, and behold, in its beak was a fresh olive leaf. So Noah knew that the water was low on the earth. 12Then he waited another seven days longer, and sent out the dove; but it did not return to him again. (Genesis 8:5-12)

From Noah’s story, we can see the dove is a symbol of peace. The dove was sent out of the ark after the wickedness of the earth was destroyed. When the waters receded (and God’s wrath had abated), the dove was sent out and found new life beginning again. Peace was restored to the earth.

Jonah is also a dove who proclaims peace. This time, though, God is sending out the dove BEFORE He destroys the people. Jonah is sent to proclaim God’s wrath against the people, BUT Jonah has a special plea for the people. If they repent and turn back to God, then God will turn away His wrath. The people will be spared.



Other Notes about Jonah
Jonah lived in a city called Gath-hepher. This was located just north of Nazareth in the region known as the Galilee. There is another prophet about 100 years after Jonah who is called Nahum. Nahum also prophesies about Nineveh. Nahum was from the Galilee.

Jonah prophesies around the same time as Hosea and Amos.


Jonah 1 (READ JONAH 1)
God calls Jonah to arise and go to Nineveh. Jonah is partially obedient. He arise, but he goes to Joppa to find a ship going to Tarshish.

There is much discussion about where Tarshish is located. Tarshish is often thought to be in Spain. However, some scholars argue it is Great Britain or an island in the Mediterranean Sea. Wherever it was, Tarshish was a VERY long ways from Israel and was in the OPPOSITE direction from Nineveh.

Verse 3 states Jonah was going away from the presence of the LORD. There was a tradition in the ancient times that the god of a nation only was in control of the land of that nation. For example, the gods of Egypt only could exert their powers in Egypt. Once a person came to Israel or Midian or any surrounding region, the gods of Egypt no longer had power.

This is at the heart of the plagues God sent on the Egyptians. The Egyptians thought their gods were all mighty and powerful. The Egyptians gods ruled the land. Each of the plagues God sent on the land was a challenge to one (or several) of the Egyptian gods. When each of the plagues came to the land, the Egyptian god was defeated, and the God of Israel showed His power over all the world.

Let’s briefly explore the topic of the Ten Plagues. Looking ar the first plague, we see how the God of Israel defeated the Egyptian gods who protected and looked over the Nile River.

The First Plague
The first plague was directed against the Nile River, the life and heart of Egypt. Egypt was a desert country, and its economy and livelihood depended on the Nile. Its crops were irrigated by the Nile, and its fields depended on fertile soil washed in by the river. The Nile was also the primary“highway” for the country—much of its trade and commerce depended on it.

So what happened to this lifeblood of the nation?
Let’s read about it in Exodus 7:19-20: “Then the Lord spoke to Moses, ‘Say to Aaron [Moses’ brother who accompanied him], “Take your rod and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their streams, over their rivers, over their ponds, and over all their pools of water, that they may become blood. And there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in buckets of wood and pitchers of stone.”’

“And Moses and Aaron did so, just as the Lord commanded. So he lifted up the rod and struck the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants. And all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood.”.

While this plague was primarily directed against the Nile River, it went beyond that. All other water sources were affected, including irrigation streams and pools and even water stored in pitchers and buckets in people’s houses.

This was a terrible disaster for the Egyptians. The whole lifeblood of the country was poisoned and undrinkable. And if that weren’t bad enough, “the fish that were in the river died, the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink the water of the river. So there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt” (Exodus 7:21).

This was a complete catastrophe. The Egyptians’ supply of water for drinking, bathing and washing was now a toxic mess. The fish, one of their major food sources, were wiped out. This was utterly devastating to the country.

So how was this a judgment against the Egyptian gods? Because the Nile was so important to the Egyptians, they worshipped several gods who were responsible for watching over it. The great god Khnum, usually represented as a human male with a ram’s head, was viewed as the giver and guardian of the Nile River.

Another god, Hapi, spirit of the Nile, was credited with the annual Nile flood that brought in thousands of tons of fresh topsoil to refertilize the land every year. He was also honored as god of fishes, birds and marshes, which is why he was often depicted with marsh plants on his head. Also linked to the Nile floodwaters were the gods Sodpet and Satet.

One of Egypt’s trinity of greatest gods was Osiris, god of the underworld. The Egyptians viewed the Nile River as his bloodstream—and now it was literally like blood! You can imagine the horror and feelings of abandonment of the Egyptians as they looked on the formerly beautiful, powerful and life-sustaining river that was now a giant stinking cesspool with tons of dead and rotting fish lining the shores. This struck also at Hatmehit, guardian goddess of fish and fishermen.

These great gods of Egypt proved powerless to prevent this great plague on the Nile. They were shown to be nothing compared to the God of Israel!
       
Although God is the God of the whole earth, it was a common misconception that God was only the God of Israel and one could flee God by leaving the land of Israel. It seems this is what Jonah believed. He thought if he left Israel and went in the opposite direction, he could flee from God.

Don't Be a Hypocrite

Don’t be a hypocrite
Jesus does not talk directly about saying “oh my god” or “oh my gosh”, but he does give us examples of other things in which we walk a fine line of defining what is sin.

27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’; 28 but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. (Matthew 5:27-28)

The concept during this time was that as long as a person did not directly violate the written word, he did not sin. Jesus tells us if we even think about committing a sin, it is a sin. If we take upon ourselves the teachings of Jesus and allow our mouths to profess words and phrases which mimic worldly or pagan ways—saying gosh, heck, jeepers, etc.— it is as if we are still uttering the words. If we want to free ourselves from the evils of speech, we should let our words be pure. We should avoid minced oaths such as oh my goodness, oh heavens, oh jeez, etc., and we should speak to glorify God in all that we say and do.

Do Not Judge
Another one of Jesus’ teachings is the rebuke to not judge others. It can be easy when we hear someone say something which we do not approve of to shake our heads and assume the person will receive condemnation for their words. However, we need to be careful. The way we judge another person is the same measuring stick which will be used to measure us.

“Do not judge, so that you will not be judged. 2 For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and look, the log is in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye! (Matthew 7:1-5)

Do we have perfect speech? Do you never say anything which harms another person? If we have less than perfect speech, we need to refrain from judging others about their speech.

If we hear others around us saying words we do not approve of, we should remain calm. We are not to be judges of others. Perhaps the other person does not believe uttering minced oaths or words which invoke God’s, Jesus’ or the Lord’s name mean anything. As we see from research, the letters “omg” to generation z and generation alpha have lost their meaning.

If another person’s speech bothers us, we have a few choices. We can ask the person if he/she would mind not using phrases which offend us. We can ask the person if he/she realizes what words are pouring forth from his/her mouth. We can pray for the person. Or, we can interject and turn the words into ones of praise and gratitude. If someone says, “Oh Jesus!” We can silently or say out loud, “Yes, thank You Jesus for making this a glorious day!” We can turn words which may be considered of no value into ones which bestow great blessing on the Creator of the universe.

Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father. (Colossians 3:17)


How do the Jews observe the 3rd Commandment?
The classic interpretation of the third commandment is that the third commandment is referencing taking God’s name in an oath. We see this interpretation in Leviticus 24 where the Israelite blasphemed and cursed God. We also see a smilier occasion occur with Peter and His denial of Jesus. However, many Jewish scholars have taken the third commandment farther.

In the Book of Deuteronomy, taking oaths is also associated with fearing God’s name.

You shall fear only the Lord your God; and you shall worship Him and swear by His name. 14 You shall not follow other gods, any of the gods of the peoples who surround you, 15 for the Lord your God who is in the midst of you is a jealous God; so follow Him, or else the anger of the Lord your God will be kindled against you, and He will wipe you off the face of the earth. (Deuteronomy 6:13-15)

You shall fear the Lord your God; you shall serve Him, and cling to Him, and you shall swear by His name. (Deuteronomy 10:20)

In Judaism, God’s personal name, the tetragrammaton is sacred. It is NEVER uttered. If a person is reading the text, the letter yud-hey-vav-hey are uttered as adonai. The word adonai is usually reserved only for Torah study and worship service. In general, the word adonai is not uttered in every day speech.

To reference God, many Jews will say the word “hashem”. This translates as the name. When writing, many Jews will not write God as G-o-d. Instead, they will write it as G-d. The word Lord is also spelled the same way L-rd.

Depending on the tradition, a Jew may or may not say the word God. A Jew may say the letters G-d to reference God or he may say the full name God.

God seems to be used more freely and loosely than the word hashem. Even among orthodox Jews, the word God seems to be widely accepted to use in every day language. Recently, I was listening to a n orthodox rabbi give a teaching. During the presentation, the rabbi said, “Oh my God!” as a speech exclamatory. The remark had nothing to do with his God, but everything to do with using the three words as a speech euphemism.

 “Again, you have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not make false vows, but shall fulfill your vows to the Lord.’ 34 But I say to you, take no oath at all, neither by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 35 nor by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet, nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 Nor shall you take an oath by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black. 37 But make sure your statement is, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is of evil origin. (Matthew 5:33-37)

Using God and other phrases as interjections

One of the most popular phrases in society are the three letters omg. Sometimes the letters are capitalized to emphasize drama or exclamation. Other times, the letters are lower case—perhaps this is to reflect the less than dramatic nature of letter usage; lower case letters are also used due to laziness. (I find on social media, many people no longer capitalize the first letter in a sentence, use a capital “I” or use punctuation, Laziness has taken hold of our written communication.)

A friend of mine told me how upset she becomes when people use the words “oh my god” and “omg”. She says they are profaning God’s name. Intrigued by her comments, I researched the phrase “oh my god” and the letters “omg”. I also explored the third commandment and how it has been interpreted throughout history.

Oh my god
Oh my god is an exclamation expressing disbelief, frustration, excitement, or anger. Its abbreviation, omg, is widely used in digital communication.

Related words include:
oh em gee
ay dios mio
oh my lord
oh my heavens
oh my gosh
oh my goodness

History of the phrase oh my god
The phrase oh my god has a long history, with record of the oath my god dated to at least 1340. It’s possible that oh my god is a variation on both my god and oh god, both of which have historically been used to express emotions like dismay, astonishment, and frustration. These early uses may have their roots in prayer, expressing gratitude, request for help, or pleading for forgiveness from a higher power.
The particular construction oh my god appears in print in 1880s in a religious context, showing up as a more general exclamation of extreme emotion by 1905. The relatively late appearance of the phrase may be due to long-running taboos against using God or any associated name in the English-speaking world. The phrase oh my god sees more and more recorded use as these attitudes began to soften.

In 1917, omg, first appeared in print—in a letter to Winston Churchill. The abbreviation was preceded by migod and ohmigod in the 19th century, meant to imitate the colloquial pronunciation of the exclamation.

The letters omg gained widespread usage with the rise of digital communication in the late 20th-century, likely propelled by character limits placed on early text- and instant-messaging. While originating as a shortening of oh my god, omg has become so common that speakers now widely use omg, in everyday speech. The letters omg are fast losing their association with the words oh my god. When asked what omg stands for, many under the age of 20 (generation z and alpha) did not know.

The phrase is widely used among religious and non-religious people in speech, print-based writing, and digital communication as a casual way to express a great range of emotions.

It can express joy (“Oh my god! I just got a job offer!”),
despair (“Oh my god! I just got fired,”),
relief (“Oh my god, I’m so glad that exam is over,”),
dread (“Oh my god, I don’t want to go to work today,”),
excitement (“Oh my god, it’s so good to see you!”),
fear (“Oh my god! There’s a spider!”),
astonishment (“Oh my god, I wasn’t expecting that,”),
disbelief (“Oh my god. Is that really how you pronounce that?”),
approval (“Oh my god, this is delicious,”),
frustration (“Oh my god, this is hard,”), and other emotions, both positive and negative.

Given the commonness and versatility of the phrase, oh my god is increasingly used as a kind of discourse marker, indicating less of the communication of an intense emotion and more to get someone’s attention, signal something important, show familiarity or attentiveness with another, or make an exaggeration.

Oh my gosh
Much like oh my god, or the shortened form omg, oh my gosh can also be condensed into omg, and thus people have no idea whether you say omg if you are talking about god or gosh. (For what it is worth, omg can also be used to abbreviate oh my goodness or oh my gracious. When I asked my mom what omg meant, without hesitation she said, “Oh my goodness.” When I asked her doesn’t it mean oh my god, she said yes, it can mean that, but when she sees omg, she believes it means oh my goodness.)

What is gosh?
Gosh is an invented word used in place of the word God. Gosh was invented for religious people to use instead of using God, fearing using the word God is invoking his name in vain.

A similar invention happened with the word heck. Heck was created by religious folks who feared using the word hell due to its crudeness and its offensiveness to some people. According to dictionaries online, heck is a synonym for hell and gosh and goodness are synonyms for God.

A minced oath
A minced oath is a euphemistic expression formed by deliberately misspelling, mispronouncing, or replacing a part of a profane, blasphemous, or taboo word or phrase to reduce the original term's objectionable characteristics. An example is using "gosh" for “God".
Many languages have such expressions. In the English language, nearly all profanities have minced variants.

The use of minced oaths in English dates back at least to the 14th century, when "gog" and "kokk", both euphemisms for God, were in use. Other early minced oaths include "Gis" or "Jis" for Jesus (1528). Common minced oaths include Geez Louise for Jesus or Jesus Christ, dang/darn for damn, golly for God, dagnabbit for God damn it, for crying out loud instead of for Christ’s sake, holy cow for Jesus or Holy God, cheese and crackers for Jesus Christ, etc.

Minced oaths for oh my god include: oh my goodness, oh my gosh, my gracious, my word, oh my word, oh my, etc.

The minced oath uses different words which have the same rhythm or sounds as the original phrase. As seen from the above list, most minced oaths are used in regards to God or Jesus. Although the person uttering the minced oath does not invoke God or Jesus’ name, the intent is the same. Muttering oh my gosh or oh my goodness has the same intent as saying the phrase oh my god.

Another common minced oath is mispronouncing a word. For example, saying gawd instead of God or lawd instead of Lord. People will say oh my gawd instead of oh my god or oh lawd instead of oh lord.

Oh my lord
Oh my lord is an exclamation widely used to express surprise or frustration. It is commonly abbreviated as oml. Oh my lord may also be expressed as oh may lawd or oh em el.

Oh my lord History
Oh my lord is part of a family of religious-derived interjections in the English language, notably including oh my god and oh my heavens. While they may have originated as prayerful invocations (Oh, my Lord!) in English, they have become widely used as an exclamation in secular society. In the written record, we can find evidence for lord as an interjection in the late 1300s, though almost certainly such expressions as oh my lord predated it in everyday speech.

Like its more common counterpart oh my god, oh my lord has widespread use in colloquial speech and writing to express surprise, shock, frustration, or exasperation. It usually begins an utterance or sentence (e.g., Oh my lord, did you see what he was wearing? or Oh my lord, not this again.). On the internet and social media, oh my lord is more commonly seen as the initialism oml.

Thank God
Thank God is used as an expression mostly of gratitude. The expression was originally used to give thanks to God in heaven, but today the words are used in a more casual way and may or may not reflect an actual praise to God. Similar phrases include: thank goodness or thank heaven.

Wow
Wow is an old Scottish term coined many centuries ago and brought to the USA in the 1700’s. Wow is a shortened form of I vow. When a person says wow, he is really saying I vow. For example: Wow! That is a massive ice cream sundae. The true translation would be: I vow! That is a huge ice cream sundae. Who the person is vowing by depends on the person’s affiliation. The phrase could easily be seen as a person taking an oath by God that the following words are true. I vow is a mined oath.