Jon 1:13-14 | JFB | STEP | 13. they could not — ( ). Wind and tide—God's displeasure and God's counsel

Jonah 1:13-14

13. they could not— (Pr 21:30). Wind and tide—God's displeasure and God's counsel—were against them.

14. for this man's life—that is, for taking this man's life.

innocent blood—Do not punish us as Thou wouldst punish the shedders of innocent blood (compare De 21:8). In the case of the Antitype, Pontius Pilate washed his hands and confessed Christ's innocence, "I am innocent of the blood of this just person." But whereas Jonah the victim was guilty and the sailors innocent, Christ our sacrificial victim was innocent and Pontius Pilate and nil of us men were guilty. But by imputation of our guilt to Him and His righteousness to us, the spotless Antitype exactly corresponds to the guilty type.

thou . . . Lord, hast done as it pleased thee—That Jonah has embarked in this ship, that a tempest has arisen, that he has been detected by casting of lots, that he has passed sentence on himself, is all Thy doing. We reluctantly put him to death, but it is Thy pleasure it should be so.