So far in the story, Jonah has fled in disobedience from God, and is now caught in a devastating storm on a ship at sea with sailors and a sea captain who are calling out to gods who have no power over this storm of the Lord. The sailors have already hurled the cargo into the sea and now continue on trying to figure out how to stop this storm.
And the sailors said to one another, "Come, let us cast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us." So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. Then they said to him, "Tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us. What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?" And Jonah replied to them, "I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and dry land." Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, "What is this that you have done!" For they knew that Jonah was running from the Lord because he had told them. Then the men asked, "What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?" The sea was growing rougher and rougher against them. Jonah said to them, "Pick me up and hurl me into the sea, then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know it is because of me that this great storm has come upon you." However, the men rowed hard to get back to dry land, but they could not because the sea grew stronger than before. Then they cried out to the Lord, "O Lord, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not on us innocent blood, for you, O Lord have done as it please you." Then they picked Jonah up and hurled him into the sea and the storm stopped. Then the men feared the Lord greatly and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows. Then the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah, and he was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
One of the first things we see in this part of the story is the Lord bringing Jonah's hidden sin to light. God didn't have to allow the lot fall on Jonah, but since Jonah had sinned and that sin needed to be dealt with, it was brought to the attention of the others on board the ship. Do you think the Lord uses tough circumstances, or others around us to either bring our sin to light? Or at least force us to face the sin ourselves?
As the sailors questioned Jonah, he responded by saying, "I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and dry land." Now while that may not be especially impactful to someone who knows God, it carried a significant amount of weight when he said that to the Baal (who was a sky god) worshippers. This part shows us that we don't have to be perfect to know who God is, and that even when we do know the Lord, we will still make mistakes.
As the storm continued and the sailors asked Jonah what to do with him, Jonah said that they should throw him into the sea to stop the storm. In saying this, Jonah admits that he has sinned, and even seems willing to make it right. But he has not repented to the one who matters, God. What do we see here? I noticed two things. One, our sin can jeopardize the lives of those around us. And simply acknowledging that our sin exists will not stop the storm around us, it takes the Lord to stop the storm.
Once the mariners had thrown Jonah into the sea, they cried out to the Lord for forgiveness and mercy. Then as the storm stopped, they feared the Lord and made vows to him. God had used a miracle, and even a potential disaster, to bring salvation to the lost. Based on an earlier verse (because he had old them), and on the sailors' reaction to this miracle of God, we are left to draw the conclusion that Jonah has had more conversation with these men regarding the Lord than is written in the story here. Clearly, Jonah had set a godly example for these man which ended up leading them to the Lord. Is the example that we're setting in our lives leading people toward God's love? Or pushing them away?
This concludes part 2 of the story of Jonah running which is found in Jonah 1:7-17.
And the sailors said to one another, "Come, let us cast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us." So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. Then they said to him, "Tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us. What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?" And Jonah replied to them, "I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and dry land." Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, "What is this that you have done!" For they knew that Jonah was running from the Lord because he had told them. Then the men asked, "What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?" The sea was growing rougher and rougher against them. Jonah said to them, "Pick me up and hurl me into the sea, then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know it is because of me that this great storm has come upon you." However, the men rowed hard to get back to dry land, but they could not because the sea grew stronger than before. Then they cried out to the Lord, "O Lord, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not on us innocent blood, for you, O Lord have done as it please you." Then they picked Jonah up and hurled him into the sea and the storm stopped. Then the men feared the Lord greatly and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows. Then the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah, and he was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
One of the first things we see in this part of the story is the Lord bringing Jonah's hidden sin to light. God didn't have to allow the lot fall on Jonah, but since Jonah had sinned and that sin needed to be dealt with, it was brought to the attention of the others on board the ship. Do you think the Lord uses tough circumstances, or others around us to either bring our sin to light? Or at least force us to face the sin ourselves?
As the sailors questioned Jonah, he responded by saying, "I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and dry land." Now while that may not be especially impactful to someone who knows God, it carried a significant amount of weight when he said that to the Baal (who was a sky god) worshippers. This part shows us that we don't have to be perfect to know who God is, and that even when we do know the Lord, we will still make mistakes.
As the storm continued and the sailors asked Jonah what to do with him, Jonah said that they should throw him into the sea to stop the storm. In saying this, Jonah admits that he has sinned, and even seems willing to make it right. But he has not repented to the one who matters, God. What do we see here? I noticed two things. One, our sin can jeopardize the lives of those around us. And simply acknowledging that our sin exists will not stop the storm around us, it takes the Lord to stop the storm.
Once the mariners had thrown Jonah into the sea, they cried out to the Lord for forgiveness and mercy. Then as the storm stopped, they feared the Lord and made vows to him. God had used a miracle, and even a potential disaster, to bring salvation to the lost. Based on an earlier verse (because he had old them), and on the sailors' reaction to this miracle of God, we are left to draw the conclusion that Jonah has had more conversation with these men regarding the Lord than is written in the story here. Clearly, Jonah had set a godly example for these man which ended up leading them to the Lord. Is the example that we're setting in our lives leading people toward God's love? Or pushing them away?
This concludes part 2 of the story of Jonah running which is found in Jonah 1:7-17.
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