Jonah 1:10 Then the men were exceedingly afraid, and said to him, “Why have you done this?” For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them.
Jonah 1:11 Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you that the sea may be calm for us?”—for the sea was growing more tempestuous.
Jonah 1:12 And he said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will become calm for you. For I know that this great tempest is because of me.”
Jonah 1:13 Nevertheless the men rowed hard to return to land, but they could not, for the sea continued to grow more tempestuous against them.
Jonah 1:14 Therefore they cried out to the LORD and said, “We pray, O LORD, please do not let us perish for this man’s life, and do not charge us with innocent blood; for You, O LORD, have done as it pleased You.”
Jonah 1:15 So they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging.
Jonah 1:16 Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice to the LORD and took vows.
Jonah and the big fishy. A disobedient prophet, a ship, a storm, a fish, a revival and the only preacher that I can think of that wasn’t thrilled that his preaching brought revival. We pretty much know the story well. Jonah receives word from God that he is to go to Nineveh. He is to go and cry out against it for all the wickedness of its people. He doesn’t like this assignment. He decides to go the opposite direction. As he runs from God he takes to the sea. This is a big mistake as God sends a storm. It is a big enough storm to “freak out” even the sailors. Jonah goes/throws overboard. He becomes fish food. He has a “lovely” underwater hotel (terrible view) for a few nights. He goes to Nineveh, preaches, the people repent and everyone is “happy” except, of course, Jonah who sulks and pouts about his dead weed lean-to.
That can be, of course, our attitude as we read it. This is the story. We know it so well. Can you believe this guy? Of course, there is a lot in there. This is God’s word after all. It is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword. It’s dangerous to play with knives. However, they can be most useful as well.
Often as we read this story we focus on Jonah. After all that is who the story is about. Ok. Jonah runs. Now he is in the ship asleep. Now the captain finds him in the deepest part of the ship. Jonah, your lucky today... the lot falls to you (oops). Jonah what do we do with you now. Jonah, “throw me into the sea!” And, in our rush to follow Jonah overboard we miss something. At least, I missed it a long time. I just never thought about it. I was focused on Jonah. However, the author leaves the floundering Jonah just a second to give us an insight into sailors. The sailors dilemma. The sailors struggle. The sailors compassion. The sailors fear. The sailors prayer.
What’s that? Prayer! From pagan sailors?
As we read these few lines we still can get a pretty good picture of these sailors. They are in the middle of a storm. They are afraid for their lives. They realize that the cause of the storm is supernatural. They have determined that Jonah is the cause and Jonah is good enough to confirm this. When they ask him what to do so that the sea will be calm he tells them. And as we look at them I think most of us would be quick to say, “ok, off you go”. These men, on the other hand, try in the middle of all this to row back to land. They get to the oars and put their backs and efforts into trying to save Jonah. It is only when the sea and the tempest become even worse that they give up on that.
Then, before they are willing to throw Jonah into the sea, they still pray. They pray to God, who they don’t know. They pray asking for grace at what they are about to do. It is an act that they know and feel is wrong to the depths of their souls.
Jonah was a terrible witness of God’s greatness to these men. He was running. He was the cause of their suffering and danger. Any loss they incurred was his fault. It affected their livelihood and their ability to provide for their families. Basically, he was unconcerned what effect his actions would have on them. Yet, we see them showing concern for Jonah. We see them praying for forgiveness for “his innocent blood”. We see a compassion and a concern for Jonah’s life that he has shown to neither the people of Nineveh nor these sailors. He is caught up in himself.
The prayer of the sailors is simple. Please don’t take us down with him. Don’t let his sin affect us. They realize something that Jonah, at least, hasn’t shown any concern about. The fact that our actions affect others. Our sins have consequences that go beyond ourselves. So, they pray for mercy not to get caught in his wake.
Then they also ask not to be charged with killing Jonah. They have an understanding that we sometimes have lost. The importance of a life. Many times our attitude toward life is “kill it if it isn’t convenient”. If it gets in my ways and in the way of my plans then it is okay to terminate. They know that this is not the case and so they pray that they not be held accountable for Jonah’s life.
Finally, they pray acknowledging God’s will. God, it is undeniable that this is what you wanted to be done. We have tried everything else we know and it hasn’t helped. So they were in the end submitting to God’s will. This was something that Jonah had not yet done. Here they were submitting to God’s will and Jonah is still in defiance.
Jonah goes overboard. The sea becomes calm. It is a supernatural storm and has a supernatural ending. The sea goes calm! God suspends His judgment. He answers the prayer of the sailors. God has heard and answered them. He is ready and willing to save. He has shown Himself glorious to these men. And we see an amazing reaction. They fear the Lord. They are convinced of His power and justice. They are amazed by His righteousness. They offer a sacrifice to God. They make promises to Him. They bind themselves to Him.
It is amazing that the prayer of the unbeliever can be so powerful and effective. It is amazing that it can be so Godly and true and that their reaction can be so sincere when they see God’s actions and answers. They didn’t just pray and forget. It has moved them into a new relationship with God. God has used the situation to show His greatness and grace to His beloved creations and brought them to Himself. Jonah could have learned a thing or two from these men about prayer and about promises. He could have learned a thing or two about knowing and fearing God and care and concern for others. We can too.
Prayer Request
* Please pray that God would continue to work in Maribor to prepare hearts and minds for the gospel. Pray that the hard rocky ground would be made ready and prepared. Pray for God to remove the strongholds that keep people apathetic to and skeptical to God and a true relationship with Him Pray that God would build His church here.
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