Jonah 1:13-17

Jonah 1:13 (KJV)

Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring it to the land; but they could not: for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous against them.

 

Even though Jonah gave them the answer to the halting of the storm, the mariners were unwilling to take his life instead they continued to row and hopefully bring the ship safely to land.  Unfortunately, the storm was so intense that it was futile for the sailors to try and bring it safely to port because the storm was gaining in intensity making the sea ever more dangerous with its high waves which continued to beat against the ship.  This is another proof lesson that our disobedience can and will affect others.  Those mariners tried their best to save Jonah’s life but were unable to do so.

 

Jonah 1:14 (KJV)

Wherefore they cried unto the LORD, and said, We beseech thee, O LORD, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, O LORD, hast done as it pleased thee.

 

The men had now called upon the name of the Lord instead of calling upon their false gods. Here is an amazing thing.  Jonah was the only one on board who was a prophet of God and yet it was the unbelievers who were calling on the name of the Lord for deliverance.   Jonah didn’t pray because he was still in a rebellious state against God.  The mariners pleaded with God that He would not allow them to perish for Jonah’s disobedience.  Here is a very grave lesson for us.  Our disobedience could actually cause others to lose their life in certain situations.  They also had besought the Lord that He would not hold them guilty for the life of Jonah since they had tried to save his life but were unable to.  They now knew that the Lord was going to do what pleased Him which was to have Jonah hurled into the sea.  The word “pleased” carries with it the meaning of “You have desired.”  So the Lord was now going to fulfill His will for Jonah.

 

Jonah 1:15 (KJV)

So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging.

 

So the mariners finally did what Jonah told them to do and that was to cast him into the raging sea and once they did that the storm had ceased.  So now the ship was sailing on calm seas minus all the cargo.  Owing to Jonah’s disobedience probably many businesses lost money on the cargo that was jettisoned but the worst part was that the sailors could have lost their lives too.

 

Jonah 1:16 (KJV)

Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the LORD, and made vows.

 

Once Jonah was cast over the side of the boat and the storm was abated, the sailors knew that God was a great God above all.  They had all prayed to their false gods and nothing happened to the storm.  It was only when Jonah told them to cast him overboard is when the men saw the power of God in stopping the storm.  At this time they had now feared the Lord with great fear because of what they had just experienced.  They now knew the God of Jonah was stronger than their false gods.  They then offered a sacrifice unto the Lord but the type of sacrifice is not known because all the goods were tossed overboard and we don’t know what type of sacrifice they offered.  It could have been the sacrifice of praise and prayer.  The vows they made were probably to remember the goodness of God that saved them from a watery grave.  They may have also been converted to the true God and would now leave the worship of their false gods since they saw that their false gods could do nothing to halt the storm.  It was the God of Jonah who stopped the storm and maybe their vow was to worship God in truth since they saw His power over the elements, something their gods were unable to produce.

 

Jonah 1:17 (KJV)

Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

 

The word “prepared” in the Hebrew is in the Piel Stem which carries with it the meaning of “appoint or ordain.”  Now there have been many debates over the type of fish whether this was a whale or a huge shark or some other kind of fish.  Some have claimed that whales do not exist in the Mediterranean Sea but the verse tells us that God ordained or appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah.  If it was a whale, and there is no reason to think it wasn’t, the whale was a specially ordained whale and God would have guided that whale to the spot to swallow up Jonah.  Matthew 12:40 (KJV)   For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.  The word “whale’s” in Matthew 12:40 is the Greek word “kâtos” which can be translated “Sea Monster, huge fish, or whale.”  The appointing of this whale shows the sovereign God as not only Lord over the sea but also over the creatures in the sea.  It does not matter what kind of fish it was, it was ordained of God to swallow Jonah and keep him alive for the next three days and nights which is a representation of the sacrifice of Christ as we read in Matthew 12:40 above.

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