The Storm at Sea
June 23, 2021
Commentary
The sailors were afraid as the sea was raging and asked Jonah what they should do (vv. 10-11) Notice that Jonah was willing to give his life to save the sailors even though he had refused to do the same for the people of Nineveh (v. 12). In fact, he would rather die than repent and go to Nineveh. Whether through kindness to the prophet or out of fear of His God, the sailors tried to avoid throwing Jonah overboard (vv. 13-14). However, regardless of their thinking or motives, their efforts failed (v. 15).
The sailors complied with Jonah’s instruction (v. 12) and cast him into the sea (v. 15). When rebellious Jonah was thrown into the water, the sea became calm and ceased its raging. We have no record of what the sailors did after this except that they feared the Lord and offered a sacrifice (v. 16). We do not know if they accepted Jonah’s God or not, but, they did vow to serve Him.
God’s sovereignty is evidenced in His providing a big fish to swallow Jonah (v. 17). By means of this large sea monster, God preserved Jonah alive and later deposited him upon dry land. The word “prepare” includes the idea of creation. Many speculations have been made as to the exact kind of creature it was. The thing is that God prepared such a creature for this special task and all the scientific research in the world will not prove fruitful or beneficial. The fact that God did it and that it was a miracle is all that is important.
Application
God is able to use even my mistakes to help others come to know Him. It may be painful, but admitting my sins can be a powerful example to those who don’t know God. I should be ashamed when unbelievers show more concern and compassion for hurting people than I do.
Jonah 1:10– 17 (NET)
10 Hearing this, the men became even more afraid and said to him, “What have you done?” (The men said this because they knew that he was trying to escape from the Lord, because he had previously told them.) 11 Because the storm was growing worse and worse, they said to him, “What should we do to you so that the sea will calm down for us?” 12 He said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea so that the sea will calm down for you, because I know it’s my fault you are in this severe storm.” 13 Instead, they tried to row back to land, but they were not able to do so because the storm kept growing worse and worse. 14 So they cried out to the Lord, “Oh, please, Lord, don’t let us die on account of this man! Don’t hold us guilty of shedding innocent blood. After all, you, Lord, have done just as you pleased.” 15 So they picked Jonah up and threw him into the sea, and the sea stopped raging. 16 The men feared the Lord greatly and earnestly vowed to offer lavish sacrifices to the Lord.
17 (2:1) The Lord sent a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights.