Jonah 1:10-17

Sometimes when we read Bible stories, we tend to forget that these were real, flesh and blood people, just like us. They were living out all these events just like we live our own lives—in the moment—with no fore-knowledge of what was going to happen next.

The fact that Jonah was a prophet did not mean that he could see into the future about every event in his own life. So, it’s worth reminding ourselves here that when Jonah told the sailors to pick him up and throw him into the sea, everyone involved probably assumed he was going to die. They had no idea it was lunch time and Moby Dick was looking for an all you can eat buffet. All they knew was that it was a bad storm and they were out in the middle of the sea. Not a prime survival situation.

The sailors, clearly, did not want to throw Jonah overboard. Matthew Henry (Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible, v. 4, p.1010-1011) thinks this is largely because Jonah demonstrated a great deal of remorse over both his sin and the consequences the sailors were suffering due to his sin, and the sailors felt sorry for him. Certainly, this could indeed be the case. We don’t know their motives for sure because the Bible doesn’t tell us what was going on in their hearts and minds in that moment.

Maybe I’m more cynical than Brother Matthew, but, in trying to put myself in the shoes of the captain and crew, I’m looking particularly at verses 10 and 14, and I’m leaning more towards thinking these guys were less concerned about Jonah’s personal fate—after all, he’s the one that got them all into this calamity in the first place—and more concerned about making sure God didn’t zap them for making His prophet walk the plank. (Sorry, I know these guys were merchant seamen, not criminals, but I can’t help imagining them dressed as pirates and saying “Arrrgh” a lot.) Maybe it was a mix of both motives. It’s hard to know. Emotions were certainly running high.

But whether it was an honorable motive or a less honorable motive that drove the sailors, the result was the same. They—initially—disobeyed God’s command (through Jonah’s mouth) to throw Jonah into the sea. And what happened? The storm got worse and worse.

And not only did they disobey God’s specific instructions, they tried to fix things in their own way and in their own strength. “They rowed desperately” (a translation note in my Bible says this could be translated as “they dug their oars into the water”—a great word picture) to try to get to dry land until they were exhausted. And, again, what happened? The storm seemed to take on a will of its own. Verse 13 says the sea was becoming even stormier against them. Even though Jonah clearly told the sailors (12) what to do and what the result of their obedience would be, they disobeyed and tried to do things their own way.

“Oh, those foolish sailors,” we say, shaking our heads. “Why didn’t they just obey right off the bat? They were even told what the outcome would be.”

Because these were real, flesh and blood people, just like us, remember? They were living out all these events just like we live our own lives. How often do we disobey God’s clear instructions to us in His word? Sometimes he clearly tells us the consequences of our obedience (Ephesians 6:1-3) or disobedience. Sometimes he shows us the possible consequences through the life of a Biblical character (II Samuel 12:9-14). And yet, we still disobey. We don’t like what God has told us to do, so we try things our own way. And what happens? The storm of consequences, even if it’s not immediately evident, gets worse and worse until we finally bow the knee in obedience. Whether in this life, or the next.

Man overboard. Cue the whale.

Journal Time:

Can you think of a time when you disobeyed, or delayed obedience to, God’s clear instructions to you? What were the consequences? What did God teach you about obeying Him? How might Isaiah 55:8-9 have applied to this situation?

Ephesians 6:1-3 was cited as an example of a command with a clearly stated outcome of obeying that command. I Corinthians 6:9-10 is an example of a clearly stated outcome of disobedience to certain commands. Can you think of other commands or principles in Scripture, whose consequences for obedience or disobedience are clearly stated?

Prayer Points: