Jon 1:11-16 | KingComments | STEP | Despite the fact that they now know the cause of the storm, the sea is becoming increasingly stormy. The wind does not calm down, but increases even more. Something more needs to be done. It may be that sin is discovered which is the cause of our problems. But it must also be handled properly, otherwise it will get worse and worse. That is also the case here. Therefore, the sailors continue the examination. They do not want to choose a measure themselves, afraid as they are of the God from Whom Jonah is fleeing. They see in him a culprit, but also a penitent. He is the one who has to indicate what needs to be done.

‏ Jonah 1:11-16

What Should We Do?

Despite the fact that they now know the cause of the storm, the sea is becoming increasingly stormy. The wind does not calm down, but increases even more. Something more needs to be done. It may be that sin is discovered which is the cause of our problems. But it must also be handled properly, otherwise it will get worse and worse.

That is also the case here. Therefore, the sailors continue the examination. They do not want to choose a measure themselves, afraid as they are of the God from Whom Jonah is fleeing. They see in him a culprit, but also a penitent. He is the one who has to indicate what needs to be done.

Pick Me up and Throw Me Into the Sea

It is courageous of Jonah to make this proposal. It is the language of the penitent. Such a person wishes to bear the punishment himself, whatever it may cost him, and not others who are innocent of it. He seeks no apology or relief. Without reserve, he takes the blame and justifies God in His actions. He acknowledges the hand of God in what is happening.

Jonah speaks here as a believing Israelite, who knows the solemnity of the righteousness of the holy God from the law and from the history of His people. He bows down under the judgment of God. At the same time, his proposal expresses his confidence in God. With his proposal, he says as much as: ‘Just hand me over to God’. He entrusts himself to God when he is no longer in the ship, for he understands it is the wrong place for him.

Jonah is a weak, indeed a very weak picture of the Lord Jesus. Jonah’s humiliation is the result of his disobedience. The humiliation of the Lord is the result of His impeccable obedience. Christ offered Himself in perfect obedience to die for others, that they might live.

Something similar as in Jonah is seen in David’s attitude after his sin of counting the people (1Chr 21:17). The statements of Jonah and David in which they offer themselves to pay the penalty are beautiful, but they are the result of their own guilt. When the Lord Jesus says: “Behold, I have come … To do Your will, O God” (Heb 10:7), it is to carry out God’s will in complete voluntariness on behalf of utterly corrupt sinners.

Resistance

Jonah’s offer to throw him into the sea goes too far for the sailors. They do what they can, not to have to take this measure. Although the sailors see that God’s wrath rests on Jonah, they are frightened to be the executors of the Divine judgment. They may have been impressed by what Jonah told them. They still look too much at the man in front of them. He is for them the representative of the God about Whom he has spoken. Should they throw him into the sea? They make every effort to prevent that from happening.

The acknowledgment of God’s judgment and acting accordingly are two things. Only when a person is totally at the end of his possibilities he wille bow before God’s judgment. The sailors must also experience this. When they see that they are not dealing with Jonah, but with the God of Jonah, they turn to Him.

Acknowledgment

The actions of the sailors reveal a beautiful character trait, which is a disgrace to Jonah. For they care more about the one life of Jonah than Jonah cares about the life of the hundreds of thousands in a whole city (Jona 4:11). In their confession they state that they acknowledge God’s right to life. Although they are not in connection with God, they do not grant themselves the right to take Jonah’s life. They pray for forgiveness for what they are going to do.

They call to the LORD because they have heard from Jonah that this is the Name of the God of Jonah. In this way they acknowledge His supremacy. They confess that the LORD acts according to what pleases Him: He has sent the storm and selected the guilty one by the lot.

Therein lies resignation. God never acts at random. He always acts according to His good will, according to His pleasure. This is the expression of His sovereignty. Whoever trusts Him will find in it the strength to act according to His will and to accept His actions.

Obedience and the Result

The sailors throw Jonah out of the ship, out of their company, into the raging sea that, as it were, calls for the handing over of the transgressor, so that peace and rest may come. We do not read how Jonah felt at that moment. But we can assume that, while he flees from his Master, he is now going to meet that Master as Judge.

God spares the sailors based on their prayer and their act of obedience. Prophetically, when we see the picture of Israel in Jonah, we have here the picture of what is written in Romans 11, that “their [Israel’s] rejection is the reconciliation of the world” (Rom 11:15a). After Jonah has been thrown into the sea, the sea becomes calm. After the rejection of Israel, the message of salvation goes to the Gentiles.

Fear and Admiration

Suddenly the storm stops. After all that the sailors have already experienced, it makes their impression of the God of Jonah even greater. There is fear and admiration. They want to offer something to the LORD and therefore offer Him a sacrifice. They testify that He is worthy of their thanks and admiration.

Their gratitude is not only something of the moment, they also make vows with regard to the future. They will give Him even more when they have come ashore safely.

With this they rise above what Jacob once promised. Jacob set God’s conditions. If God proved Himself to be the God Who would bring him home safely, then Jacob would accept God as his God (Gen 28:20-21). These sailors make vows for Who God has been to them and not as a challenge to God to prove Himself by saving them.