Jonah 1:3-16

God only lets us continue in our sin for so long.  He eventually stops us either by death or by discipline.  And our boy, Jonah, was about to get disciplined in a big way.

In God’s legal system, there’s a difference between discipline and punishment.  Punishment is the pouring out of God’s wrath and retribution against sin.  People who are genuinely converted Christians never have to experience punishment because Jesus took our punishment for us at Calvary.  (Can I get a “hallelujah!” and “to God be the glory!”?)  People who choose to reject that substitutionary atonement choose to take their own punishment in an eternity in hell. 

Discipline is the mercy of God putting up a brick wall for us to run into so we’ll turn around and get out of our sin.  Once you run into that brick wall enough times, you start noticing that our kind and compassionate God puts up a lot of warning signs along the path before you get there.  He gives us His Word.  The Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin in our spirits.  He may send us a “Nathan” (II Samuel 12:1-15) to come alongside us and point out our sin.  He might give us a small taste of the discipline that’s eventually to come.

God disciplines us for our own good, but sometimes He also does so for the sake of those around us.  Many times, my sin doesn’t just affect me, it affects my family, my friends, my church, or others.  It’s not fair that those people should have to suffer the consequences of my sin.

God sent the first part of Jonah’s “brick wall” in the form of a huge storm at sea.  At first, Jonah was the only one on the ship who was not affected by it.  He was below deck, snoozing obliviously, while the crew was frantically trying to save the ship.  It was due to Jonah’s sin that the crew suffered the loss of their cargo (which would have resulted in a loss of income), the struggle to save the ship, fear for their lives, and fear of God’s retribution for throwing Jonah overboard.  Once God meted out Jonah’s discipline by having him thrown into the sea, those harsh circumstances (except for the loss of the cargo—sometimes our sin can have long-reaching or even permanent consequences for others) ceased.

But in addition to discipline being for our own good and the good of those affected by our sin, discipline also brings God glory.  In Jonah’s case, this idol worshipping crew was ignorant of the one true God.  When God sent the storm, they quickly became aware of His all-encompassing power, His pre-eminence over their gods, His intolerance of sin, the consequences for sin, His sense of justice, His retribution against the enemies of His people (14), and His mercy upon them once the storm was over. 

In fact, in that moment, the crew of the ship seemed to have a better grasp of the nature of God, or at least a higher regard for it, than Jonah did.  The sailors, not Jonah, were the ones who called a prayer meeting and cried out to God (6, 14).  They, not Jonah, were the ones who sought to root out sin and make amends with God (7-8, 14-15).  They, not Jonah, were the ones who recognized God for who He was and worshipped Him (16).  Jonah’s bleary-eyed declaration, “I fear the Lord God of heaven…” may have rung a little hollow with the sailors as they clung to mast and main praying desperately to survive Jonah’s rocky relationship with this God of his. 

In the end, the storm seems to have served a multitude of God’s purposes: Jonah was disciplined, God was glorified, and the crew of the ship had their eyes opened to who God was.

Journal Time:

Compare the sailors’ experience of the consequences of Jonah’s sin with Joshua and Caleb’s experience of the consequences (Numbers 14:34) of the negative report about the Promised Land given by the other ten spies (they eventually got to enter the land, but still had to endure the 40 years of wilderness wandering) (Numbers 13-14).  How were these situations similar or different?  How might you have reacted had you been the sailors, Joshua, or Caleb?

Have you ever been oblivious to the effect your sin had on others?  Have you ever suffered as a direct result of someone else’s sin?  What did God teach you through this experience?

Prayer Points:

Repent: of any sin that has caused others to suffer.  Make amends with that person, if possible.

Request: that God will help you to forgive anyone who has caused you to suffer through his own sin.

Seek God: to open your eyes to any unknown sin in your life that may be causing hurt to others.