Into the Sea
Spirit Lake Baptist Church
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Series: God’s Reluctant Messenger
Into the Sea #4
Jonah 1:10-17
“But the LORD sent out a great wind on the sea,” (1:4)
In the last chapter we saw that God will bring storms into our lives. The purpose of the storms is to get our attention. We handle the storms in a variety of ways. The best way however is to do some introspection and discover why we are in a storm in the first place.
As we come to our text before us we are going to discover that God will often allow His wayward servants to be tossed into the sea; into the midst of the storm (1:10-16). It may take something as shocking as being tossed overboard into a raging sea to wake up his saints who have gone AWALL.
What would it be like to be tossed into the sea? Perhaps it would be your worst nightmare. Not a very pleasant thought. I personally like water, but if I have any fears it is being surrounded by large bodies of water. I just don’t feel comfortable surrounded by lots of water – water, water everywhere!!! I like my feet on solid ground.
Jonah is going to be tossed overboard. Let’s see how this is played out in his life?
1. Our disobedience will affect others – v. 10
10 Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, Why hast thou done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them.
Jonah had just told these Mariners that he was a Hebrew, and that he feared the LORD (v. 9). Now we read that these men of the sea became exceedingly afraid. This means that they were “fear struck”. Remember from our last study that I mentioned the difference between:
- “afraid” – v. 5
- “exceedingly afraid” – v. 10
In verse 5, they made noise, and fear was written in their faces. In verse 10, they made a lot of noise, and fear was written over their entire being.
These men asked Jonah, “Why hast thou done this?” They knew that he had disobeyed his God. Jonah had come clean. He had told them his story. He probably provided them the Reader’s Digest Condensed version. Jonah had shared with them God’s calling and commissioning him to go to Nineveh, and how he decided to go in the opposite direction – to get away from God’s presence. It wouldn’t take long to give the mariners the message of verses 1-3.
History Lesson - Sin in the Camp
Did Jonah recognize that his disobedience would affect others? I can only assume that as a prophet he knew the history of Israel, and that he was acquainted with the biblical narrative of Achan. For those of you who may not be familiar with this account it is found in Joshua 7. After the fall of Jericho a man by the name of Achan took some items that God had expressly forbid, and he hid them in his tent. When Israel went to battle with the city of Ai they were defeated. Joshua went to prayer, and while in prayer God revealed to him that there was sin in the camp. One man’s sin affected all of Israel. Joshua called Israel together and it was determined that Achan was the guilty individual to have brought defeat upon Israel. Achan and all that he had were put to death and destroyed. Afterwards God turned from the fierceness of His anger.
Present Day Example – Sin in the Camp
New Life Church in Denver, Colorado has been in the new again. You have probably heard that it’s founding Pastor, Ted Haggard was fired after it was discovered that he had hired a male prostitute. Ted Haggard started New Life in his home, and it grew to a church of 10,000. He also served as President of the National Evangelical Association. Well, New Life is in the news again because evidently a young man stepped forward saying that he had sexual relations with Ted Haggard when he served as an intern in the church. When this was brought to the attention of the new pastor and elders they said they didn’t want to bring additional pain upon the congregation, nor have to expose all the details Ted Haggard’s sin. It was decided that the best way to handle the situation was to pay for the young man to receive some counseling, and to pay his college tuition. All parties agreed not to talk about the issue to the media. Needless to say you can’t hide this sort of thing, and it has recently come to light, and the young intern was going to go on local radio programs to expose Ted Haggard. His words was, “Ted Haggard is appearing on national programs making it appear that he is a victim, and I’m not going to let him do that.”
Sin doesn’t just affect our own personal life, but it affects those nearest to us. Jonah wasn’t the only one affected by his sinful decision of disobedience. It affected everyone he came in contact with. In this case the mariners.
One man wrote, “If we are guilty of bringing others into trouble by our lack of faithfulness to God, don’t let us add sin to sin by denying it.[1]
Charles Spurgeon said that God never allows His children to sin successfully – Jonah is proof of that truth.
And the Bible tells us in Hebrew 12:6,
“For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.”
The storm is proof of God’s love for us. Will we see it in that light? I hope that we will. It will make all the difference.
2. Others will come to us to make things right – v. 11
11 Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous.
Since Jonah was the reason for the mess they were in, then perhaps he would also have the answer to make things right. These “exceedingly fearful” mariners asked Jonah what they needed to do to him in order to have the sea calm down for them (v. 11). That is a legitimate question. Hey, Jonah, you brought the storm into our lives, what do we need to do to you in order to get rid of it?
The KJV tells us the following about the storm, “for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous.” The storm was growing worse by the minute.
These mariners want immediate answers. They see the churning of the waves. There is no time to diddle-dattle around. No moss was going to grow under their feet. Action was required immediately. There was no time to waste.
3. What we tell people isn’t always the results we really want – v. 12
12 And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.
Let us remember that Jonah is a prophet. Jonah tells the mariners to pick him up (hope he’s a light weight), and to toss him into the sea. Jonah was willing to become the sacrifice. He tells these men of the sea that when they throw him into the sea, that the sea will become calm for them. You can almost hear Jonah under his breath saying,
“For I know that this great tempest is because of me.” (v. 12)
I don’t really believe that Jonah wanted to be tossed into the sea. Had he wanted to be in the sea he could have swam to Tarshish, but we read that he paid a fare and boarded a ship. Jonah wanted to float above the water. However, Jonah was aware that he was the guilty individual that had brought this storm upon everyone, and that to end the storm meant to get him off the ship. Remove the troubler, and the trouble will stop. So, Jonah tells them to toss him into the sea.
4. People will often try to save our neck by refusing to take the right steps – v. 13
13 Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring it to the land; but they could not: for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous against them.
They rowed hard to bring the ship back to land. The Hebrew words for “rowed hard” literally mean “dug their oars into the water.” As I read the narrative before us I tried to picture the size of ship we are looking at. Remember, it was big enough for Jonah to go down into the hull and fall fast asleep. Did these mariners do the rowing, or were there slaves aboard this ship doing the rowing? We are not told. Whatever the size of the ship we are told that they used oars to move it. However, it was no use. It was as if it were three oars forward, and five waves back. They were not making any headway.
Why did they put so much effort into rowing? The mariners did not want to throw Jonah overboard. That was the last thing they wanted to do. Life must have been important to them. Perhaps they saw throwing someone overboard as murder. As they sized up the situation they thought that there must be another way. For them rowing was the last ditch effort – reach land.
The “sea wrought, and was tempestuous against them.”
Note: You can’t fight against God’s storms. We could almost say that the sea was fighting against these Mariners. The sea took on life! Please remember that it was God who prepared this mighty wind that blew on the sea (v. 13). Consider the following translations:
“for the sea got rougher and rougher against them.” (BBE)
“for the sea grew more and more stormy against them.” (WEB)
“for the sea was going on and being stormy against them.” (MKJV)
What do we learn here? We learn that no one can fight against God and win. It’s not going to happen – ever.
5. Pagan people will often pray to the God of heaven – v. 14
“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.”
These men turn from praying to their various pagan gods (Sun, moon, and stars), to praying to the God of Jonah, “We pray, O LORD,” It only makes sense to me to pray to the God that brought the storm into their lives.
How do these men pray? First, I see a prayer of petition. They pray that God would spare their lives. They didn’t want to perish because of Jonah’s disobedience. That’s a good prayer – why should we have to suffer because of the sin of others. It makes sense to me considering their situation. Secondly, I see a prayer of penitence. The sailors prayed and asked God in advance to forgive them for what they were about to do. “If we confess our sins God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:8). The mariners didn’t want to be charged for Jonah’s impending death. They knew that if someone was to be tossed into the sea, especially in light of the storm, that it was a death sentence for that individual. They didn’t want to have Jonah’s blood on their hands. Thus, they ask God to forgive them for what they were about to do. Thirdly, I see a prayer of providence. They pray, “for You, O LORD, have done as it pleased You.” These sailors have accepted the storm and their condition as coming from His hand. I’m sure this made them feel better about the impending man-over-board scenario.
6. Without resolution people will seek to get rid of us – v. 15
15 So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging.
The sailors picked Jonah up. What must have been going through his mind? Perhaps he thought, “I didn’t think they would really do it. I shouldn’t have offered this as a possible solution. Swimming is not something I’m good at” and they threw him into the sea. Immediately as Jonah touched the water the sea ceased from raging. There was total quietness – tranquil stillness.
One of the spiritual lessons is that God will often allow us to be tossed into the storm in order to get our attention. Jonah wasn’t just in the storm, but he became a part of the storm if you understand what I mean. Surely God must have Jonah’s attention now. I can’t imagine being tossed overboard into a raging sea.
I picture in my mind all of the mariners looking over the side of the ship and they see Jonah in the water. He’s in a calm sea. There is total quietness around them. One could hear himself breathing. It’s possible that one of the mariners have an urge to throw him some type of life-preserver. Perhaps the ships life-guard (Michael Hasselback) wants to jump in and save him. The ship drifts further and further away, and Jonah becomes smaller and smaller, and soon he is out of their sight. But Jonah was never out of God’s sight.
7. People will learn and follow God from our mistakes – v. 16
16 Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the LORD, and made vows.
- They feared the LORD exceedingly
The men on board of the ship “feared the LORD exceedingly”. This is quite a statement. After all these men were not Hebrews; they were pagans. And only minutes ago they were calling out to all of their various gods. Now, everything changed. Why did it change so quickly for them? These sailors saw that the LORD controlled the wind and the storm upon the sea (Remember Mark 4:41).
John Wesley wrote,
“Feared the Lord-Perhaps as Jonah's casting over-board was a type of Christ's death, so the effect it had upon the mariners might be a type of the conversion of the Heathen from idols unto God. Made vows-Probably they vowed, they would ever worship him whom Jonah preached, the Creator of heaven and earth.”[2]
- They offered a sacrifice to the LORD
Take a moment and read the last half of verse 16 slowly. Here we have a very interesting statement. We read,
“and offered a sacrifice to the LORD and took vows.”
Adam Clarke in his commentary writes,
“The first perhaps ever offered on board a vessel since the ark floated on the waters of the great deluge; and it is most probable that these heathens, witnessing what was done, became sincere converts to the true God.”[3]
- They took vows
On a light note I think one of the greatest vows that these men took was NOT to be a runaway. They saw what just happened to Jonah, and they promised God that they would never do what they saw Jonah do. They probably took vows of dedication to the LORD.
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[1] James Smith, Robert Lee, Handfuls on Purpose, Series X, Eerdman’s Publishing Company, P. 43
[2] John Wesley Notes on the New Testament, The Power Bible CD
[3] Adam Clarkes Commentary, The Power Bible CD