Establishes the historical reality and divine inspiration of the Book of Jonah, refuting modern critical skepticism by citing Jesus Christ's own references to Jonah as a historical figure and event. It addresses the question of Jonah's disobedience, explaining his flight from God not as cowardice but as a patriotic desire to prevent God's mercy from sparing the Assyrian empire, which threatened Israel. The message highlights that while Jonah's disobedience led to a storm and his being cast into the sea, his willingness to sacrifice himself for the sake of his people and the sailors' eventual acknowledgment of God demonstrate the overarching power and mercy of God. Ultimately, the sermon contrasts Jonah's experience with the presence of Christ in a storm, urging listeners to ensure Christ is their pilot through life's tempests.
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The Book of Jonah, is it a true story or is it just fiction? Is they often be asked, is the Book of Jonah history or is it an allegory and fiction? Was Jonah a real person? Was he the first living person who experienced a submarine ride in earthly history? In the great chapters of Jonah, we may ask, is the great fish a reality that Jonah was supposedly in for three days and three nights, as the book declares?
And did he really preach the great message of repentance which averted divine judgment upon Nineveh? Modern theologians, who are the true Sadducees of today, they would discredit the book of Jonah. because it relates to the miraculous. Yet their ridiculous explanation so often contradicts each other that we are very glad to turn back to the Scriptures and read the story in the Word of God, preferring even the miraculous to what is the ridiculous. Yet the question of the story of Jonah, being true, involves both the integrity of the Scriptures, as a whole, as well as the words of the Son of God himself, even our Lord Jesus Christ.
So let us read the introduction of this book of Jonah from chapter one, verses one through three. Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah, the Son of Amitei, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it. for their wickedness has come up before me. But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord, and went down to Jopper. And he found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.
It might be well to introduce our study with a question or two. First, was Jonah a genuine and real person in life? The opening of the book calls him Jonah, the son of Amittai, and declares, now the word of the Lord came to Jonah, as we have read. This certainly would indicate that he was a prophet. But is there any other scripture that can identify Jonah as a prophet? Thank God there is. We turn to the second book of Kings, and in chapter fourteen in verse twenty-five we have these words recorded. First of all, concerning King Jeroboam of Israel.
It declares he, King Jeroboam of Israel, restored the coast of Israel from the entering of Amos under the sea of the plain, according to to the word of the Lord God of Israel, which he spake by the hand or by the word of his servant Jonah, the son of Amittiah, the prophet, which was of Japheth. Now King Jeroboam was a genuine life person in history, reigning over the northern kingdom of Israel. If this Jeroboam who fulfilled Jonah's prophecy was a real enough person, then certainly this Jonah one who foretold the prophecy.
We can never doubt that this prophet Jonah was a real person. Also, he is identical with the prophet named Jonah in the second book of Kings from which we are friends. For in both cases Jonah is named the son of Amitei, and uniquely, there is no other place in the Old Testament where we find these names. The reference in Second Kings, incidentally, fixes the time of Jonah's ministry. It was during the later years of King Joash and the early years of Jeroboam.
Jonah would possibly be in the schools of the prophets, when Elisha the great prophet was nearing the end of his ministry. But we most definitely conclude, Jonah was a real person. But a second question would be interesting to ask. Is the story in the book of Jonah a true one? Is it an historical fact? Now if we believe that Jonah was a real person, Surely we ought to believe the story about him that is written in the book, for there is nothing in the book to suggest otherwise, except to our modern critics, of course.
What are those critics of today and past days? To them any narrative which contained the miraculous seem to be too incredible for them to believe. Then may I ask the question, what would the word have gone amount to if we were to take the supernatural out of it? Any unprejudiced person will be satisfied that the Book of Jonah is to be accepted as the record of an actual fact. Then then also, we can find even in tradition outside the Bible. strong confirmation regarding the historical truth of the Book of Jonah.
We find in other writings that about the fourth century before Christ, in one of the apocryphal books, as they are called, the Book of Tobit, there is included the dying words of Tobit to his son Tobias. And he said to his son, Go into media, my child, for I surely believe all the things with Jonah the prophet's faith of Nineveh that it shall be overthrown. Then also we have the Jewish writings of Josephus in the first century of Christianity, the well-known Jewish historian.
He confirmed that the true story of Jonah was certainly accepted by all Jews and in their writings, and from earlier times. The story of Jonah has been the unbroken belief of all the Jews. But also, even the Christian church in its early days of history emphatically endorsed this Jewish belief in the story of Jonah. And all through Christian history, it has been believed as a true record of divine inspiration. with the exception of cause, has not been believed by the higher critics of modernism.
They have attempted to ridicule this story, but the outstanding ignominious efforts that they have made to discredit the story of Jonah certainly have proved to be in vain. They cannot discredit the record that is found within the Word of God. But there is a very much stronger proof, which is conclusive, telling that the story of Jonah is actually a true one. And may I point it out? This evidence comes from the lips of the Lord Jesus Christ the Son of God himself.
And when Christ the Son of God spoke concerning Jonah and Nineveh, he conclusively proves to every believer that The truthfulness of the great event recorded by the prophet. Listen to the words the Lord Jesus spoke. We quote first of all from the Gospel of Matthew chapter twelve, verses thirty-nine and forty. The Lord Jesus said, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign, and there shall no other sign be given to it. but the sign of the prophet Jonah.
For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Quoted by the Lord Jesus and recorded in Matthew twelve, thirty-nine and forty. Now these very words to a straight-thinking Christian the testimony of our Lord himself will settle once and for all the matter of the historical record concerning Jonah. But still we find there are critics who argue that our Lord was only using this story of Jonah as a preacher would use a well-known incident by way of illustration, and so as did John Bunyan in the story of Pilgrim's Progress.
or that it might be only an illustration from some writing, like as would be taken from Shakespeare, as an allegory, without implying its actual historical truth. But now, wait a minute. Before we accept such criticism from these critics, listen further to the words of the Lord Jesus Christ concerning Jonah again. In Matthew twelve, and this time, verse forty-one, Here are the words of the Savior, referring to the men of Nineveh. The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it, because they repented not at the preaching of Jonah, or they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, a greater than Jonah is here.
The Lord Jesus makes reference. to the preaching of Jonah and the repentance of the Ninevites. At the preaching of Jonah, in contrast to the fact, he who was a greater than a Jonah, they would not listen to. Now would any person dare to say that the Son of God did not refer to actual men in Nineveh from the Scripture as he compared them with the men in his own time? It was the absolute colossal folly to deny that he is referring to actual men.
And so he refers actually to the poppy Jonah. He refers also actually to the men of Nineveh. Another question that the critics often raise is in regard to the great fish. What about the whale, they say? And this old question may yet be brought up. regarding the whale-swallowing Jonah. Did it happen? Could it happen? Of course it could. God created all fish, and he could, if he so desired, and he may have done so, he could barely, easily have created a special one for his servant Jonah.
For it is stated, as you may know, in the reading of chapter two, that God had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. There has been given even by mankind, documentary evidence, that such a thing as a man being swallowed by a great fish and even by whales has happened. Men have even walked into the mouths of dead whales. knowing that their throats were large enough to serve as a door. So that we would indeed say, in regard to the question, did it actually happen that Jonah was swallowed by a whale?
The words of our Lord Jesus Christ are plenty sufficient to tell every Christian in conviction that as far as we are concerned, it happened. and the corroboration of Christ the Son of God settles the matter once and for all for every believer. But we trust that we have satisfied our listeners in regard to the genuineness of the story of Jonah. But let us commence the study of the book and learn some significant truths that are contained in it for our blessings. In our English Bibles, Every chapter forms a separate part of the whole story, making it all for a section.
We would like to enumerate each chapter with its division, and give it a title. In chapter one, we find the revelation of a disobedient prophet, and Jonah caught in a great storm when he is fleeing from the Lord. In chapter two we shall also see a chastened prophet, very much humiliated and chastened, and Jonah being in the bowels of the great fish, and praying to God. In chapter three we shall find a successful prophet, faithful to the command that God gave him.
Jonah preaching in the city of Nineveh, there he is speaking. for God. In chapter four, we shall note an instructed prophet being taught by God, a great lesson that he needed to know. Jonah and the Lord together, and Jonah being instructed, where he is found learning of God. Let me repeat the outline. An obedient prophet in chapter one, and yet in the storm upon the sea, fleeing from God. A chastened prophet in chapter two, in the bowels of the great fish, where he is seen praying to God.
Chapter three, a successful prophet in obedience to the command of God, preaching in the city of Nineveh, and speaking for God. In chapter four, we find him an instructed prophet, needing to learn a most important lesson which unquestionably all of us should know to. Jonah and the Lord together, where he is learning of God. Now we begin in chapter one concerning the disobedient prophet, fleeing from the Lord and caught him a great storm. We have read verses one and two, which tell us of the divine commission that God gave to Jonah, the golden universe.
and gave him the message to cry against it, because of the wickedness that had come up before God of that great city. And yet, as we have noted in the reading of verse three, Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord, and went down to Jopper, and he found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it to go with them unto Tarshish, from the presence of the Lord. Now let us consider the fleeing prophet. Why did he flee from the presence of the Lord when he was commanded to go and preach in the city of Nineveh?
There have been varied answers given to this question. Some of them have been very and extremely harsh in their criticism of Jonah. Some have said he was nothing but a bigoted man, and so on. But the Scripture gives the answer in chapter four, by Jonah's own words. In verse two of chapter four, where Jonah himself tells the Lord why he fled from his presence and refused to go to Nineveh. Listen to the words. Jonah saying to God, Therefore, I fled to Tarshish, for I know that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness or compassion, and repenteth thee of the evil.
Now this is a very frank statement that Jonah revealed, telling the thoughts of his mind regarding the whole matter of going to Nineveh. Jonah did not want God to spare Nineveh. May I repeat that? Take it in. Jonah did not want God to spare Nineveh. That was his reason for running away from God. He was rather willing to forsake and even give up his prophetic office than to see Nineveh spared if God would spare it. Why should Jonah display such feelings like this? Did he really have some motive to persuade him to make such a drastic step of his obedience to his God, to flee rather than deliver his appointed message?
Now let us search carefully into the background of Nineveh. It was the wicked capital of the great Assyrian empire in the days of Jonah. But what did Jonah know about it that would affect his conduct and cause him to be disobedient to God's command? There were two facts, very awesome and terrible, regarding the Assyrian power. And Jonah knew it. And this gave him a fearful dread if God would spare the wicked city of Nineveh in his compassion. Jonah frankly said to God, I know that thou art a gracious God and merciful and slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth thee of evil.
And yet why did he dread the possibility of God sparing Nineveh? There are two reasons that every man in Israel knew about in the days of Jonah. And Jonah knew it too, first. Assyria was the rising world power that was destined to destroy the nation of Israel. Jonah knew this. From prophecy, he knew that Assyria was the nation which God predicted would destroy Israel, his own beloved land and people. For Isaiah the prophet, before it foretold in chapter eight of his great prophecy, how Assyria would destroy Israel, read the eighth chapter of Isaiah.
Even Ozea, the prophet, coming very soon after Jonah, tells the same fact in chapters nine and ten and eleven of his prophecy. The prophet Amos, whose ministry probably overlapped the time of Jonah, and his ministry, she tells the same, judgment of God that would soon be sent not only upon Israel, but even upon nearby nations. Amos declared, remarkable words in chapter three and verse seven of his book to say this. The Lord God will do nothing but he revealeth his secrets unto his servants, the prophets. Now God revealed to his servants what he was going to do to Israel, even before Jonah's day.
And Jonah knew the bitter part that Assyria had been assigned by Jehovah to play in destroying Israel. Then also a second fact that Jonah knew was this. He knew the terrible brutality of the Assyrians. He knew that they were the German Nazis, if we could put it in that expression. They were the German Nazis of those days. And it would be absolutely nauseous to us if we were to consider the terrible details of Assyrian brutality in the past. Nahum the Prophet tells of it very vividly when he describes Nineveh. Listen to these words that he writes concerning Nineveh.
Woe to the bloody city. It is full of lies and robbery. The prey departeth not. There is a multitude of slain, and a great number of corpses, because of the multitude of the hordons, of the well-paved harlot, the mistress of witchcraft. Words that were written by Nahum the Prophet. in chapter three from verses one through four. And Nahum even continued to declare that further description of Nineveh's cruelty and wickedness, and in his prophecy concerning Nineveh, Nahum shows no pity for Nineveh.
But think the delight over the coming destruction of Nineveh and the foul butchery of Assyria. He felt just the same as Jonah did about it all. Now let me state very clearly, though God did spare Nineveh after the preaching of Jonah, one hundred years later, and according to the prophecy of Nahum, the city and the empire was destroyed under the judgment of God. But now let's realize, please let us not criticize Jonah. Let us not be too harsh. Jonah was a patriotic Jew. It is no question, in spite of the conditions that prevailed in Israel, he loved his land, he loved his people, he desired them not to be destroyed.
He also knew the cruelty of the Assyrians and the Ninevites. And may I say very frankly, if we were to be able to read them publicly, We were blushed with shame and indignation at the torture that the men of Nineveh perpetrated upon their victims. Now Jonah knew these facts. It may seem confusing to us. Then why did Jonah change its path when God gained Nineveh but forty days and its destruction? God set a time limit unless Nineveh repents. It will be destroyed in forty days. Could not Jonah have taken the message, believing that the destruction of the wicked Assyrians would soon be accomplished?
He could have done that, but from the context of the book and the confession that Jonah made to God in chapter four and verse two, there was one thing that Jonah realized. And it was that Jehovah, his God, was a merciful and a compassionate God. And Jonah knew that if Nineveh repented, and cried to God even at the eleventh hour, Assyria would be spared. And Israel would yet perish. The prophet may possibly have thought, there was a way To save his people from destruction at the hands of the Ninevites or the Assyrians.
And that would be by not taking the divine message. So Nineveh would not be spared but judged immediately. And thus he could, if he wished, fail to give Nineveh the warning message that God demanded and leave it to its judgment. thinking himself it would be far better for him to sacrifice himself in his office in order that Israel might be saved. That is why Jonah fled from the presence of the Lord. My beloved fellow believer, again let me say, don't criticize Jonah.
There was another servant of God in the New Testament, one of the greatest. Dear beloved Apostle Paul, by name, As you may read in the book of Romans, oh, how he cried so earnestly in the Roman epistle that he was willing himself to be a curse, banished eternally from God if it would only bring salvation to his earthly people, Israel. His devotion and love for his earthly people was so great, and thus even Paul the Apostles. was willing to sacrifice himself, even eternally, if it would bring its earthly people to God.
He was, as well as Jonah, a patriotic Jew in the full sense of the meaning. And so Jonah fled from the presence of the Lord. But the meaning of this was not that he could go where God could not find him, though. Jonah, though he fled, failed to realize that God would find him. Jonah knew better. But anyway, his flight was possibly the renunciation of his office, refusing to be a prophet of God any longer and be obedient to the word of the Lord. He properly was willing to suffer whatever it would be, God's vengeance upon himself if only Israel might be saved.
But what Jonah needed, and what we all need, in order to be true servants and messengers of God, is to enter into the great compassion of God's heart, which he seeks to show to sinning and suffering and sorrowing men and women even today. His great heart of love that even gave his only begotten son to save us from an eternal hell, by the Son of God dying upon Calvary trees. Beloved, there is no question of doubt the message speaks to one's heart and conscience very vividly. We're living in a day when the sword of divine judgment is hanging, hovering over this present world of ours, and the nation.
As the psalmist is well written in Psalm nine, verse seventeen, the wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God. How true this is. And even today it is very advisable to warn the wicked of the wrath that is to come, and the nearness of the judgment of God upon the whole earth. And yet, in spite of this fact, like Jonah too, do not even we need to learn that our God is not only just and righteous and holy, but compassionate and merciful, and willing to say, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance and live.
May God help us to realize what a God he is. And may we be faithful to the very end of proclaiming and extending to the world of the lovefuls of men, women, boys and girls, The compassionate mercy and love of God revealed in the gift of His infinite sum the Lord Jesus upon the cross to save us. So when we think of Jonah running from the presence of the Lord, may we understand the motive behind it. Father, we pray in the name of the Lord Jesus, help us to study this book of Jonah profitably and learn lessons that Jonah has to learn and that we need to learn.
even from thyself today. We ask it in the name of our Savior for his honor and for his glory. Amen. The prophecy of Jonah. We come now to Jonah in the midst of the storm. which is related in verses four to the end of the chapter in Jonah chapter one. This is the story and its record that brings the words of the poet Calpher to our mind when long ago that servant of God said, God moves in a mysterious way, his wonders to perform.
He plants his footsteps in the sea. and rides upon the storm. How true it is in the case of Jonah. For we read in the fourth verse of chapter one, but the Lord sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was light to be broken. Here we have the beginning of the storm. where our prophet Jonah finds a ship going to Tarshish from the port of Joppa, he pays his fare, and he goes on board, yet instead of a smooth journey upon the ocean, we read that there was a tempestuous storm.
T'was the Lord that sent out this great wind into the sea, according to the scripture. T'was the Lord that sent this mighty tempest in the sea, so that it seemed as though the ship would be broken to pieces. We can and we must and we do confess that the storm came because of Jonah. The reason? Because he was fleeing away from the presence of the Lord. One thing is very certain. The prophet may run away. that God was still able to control the elements of the sea by its sovereign power, as well as the elements of the air.
The winds are his servant, and God was after his runaway servant, without question of doubt. One can recognize Jonah was running away from God. It makes us think, have we ever done the same? how the words of Psalm one hundred and thirty-nine must have come to Jonah's memory when he found himself in this stormy experience, for which he himself was to blame. Remember the words of the psalmist in Psalm one thirty-nine, verses nine and ten. If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
Certainly Jonah, our prophet, must have realized that there was no possibility of out-sailing the reach of God's power and his omnipotence. But yet how many there are, and have been, and even today, who are under the false impression they can run away from God and get out of his reach. We certainly can take the sound advice from the experience of Jonah. It does not pay. We should not try it. God will catch up with us, no matter where we run away from him, and we will regret ever trying to flee from God.
Oh, that we may recognize, as ultimately Jonah did, the folly of running away from God. But then we find in the storm the fear of the pagan sailors, as we have the fifth verse declaring. Then the mariners were afraid. They cried every man unto his God. They cast forth the wares or the merchandise. that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them, if it were possible. Now we should realize that these sea men were not inexperienced, but they were accustomed to storms, and yet they must have known that this was no ordinary tempest, and they were filled with fear.
Probably most of them were sailors who were Phoenicians, from different places, but well acquainted with the sea. And they call upon the different gods that they worship, as even, and in addition, they began throwing much of the cargo overboard from the ship into the sea to prevent the ship capsizing. One can recognize, and we should properly realize, the fear of these seamen who were not inexperienced, but knew the ways of the sea, but now recognized an unexpected, as well as a storm that was not an ordinary one.
But then we raised the question, what about Jonah? Where was he? What was he doing? And we have the verse that follows the sixth verse telling us, or the same fifth verse at the end of it. that Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship, and he lay and was sat asleep. What was he doing all the time the storm was raging? How solemn to realize the declaration that he could sleep in the midst of such a storm? How could this ever be? How could he sleep in such a tempest? He may have been extremely tired, we cannot tell, But there is a lesson to take home to our hearts, as well as to our consciences.
And let us realize this solemn truth. Sin and disobedience, when it is persisted in, can often bring with it insensibility to the evil. And Jonah, for a servant of God, was unfortunately traveling in the wrong direction, and that was down. It is very noticeable, and you may have noted it in the reading of this scripture, the repetition of this word down. That Jonah was going. In verse three, Jonah went down to chopper.
In verse two, the same verse, he went down into the ship and was soon fast asleep. Third, ultimately, the sailors cast Jonah down into the sea in verse fifteen. For he found himself down in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights. And while there in chapter two, when Jonah prayed, he confessed, I went down to the bottoms of the mountain. Did he not hit the bottom? He most certainly did. Then we realized that any person Whether a child of God or not, who dares to run away from God, the only direction they travel must be and will be but one, and that is down.
You cannot turn away from God without going in that direction. The way up may be much more difficult, but the way down can be much easier. But when we turn away from God... We but go in the direction that is down. It may be pertinent if at this point in our story that each one of us may ask our hearts this question. Spiritually, in relation to God, which way is my soul traveling? Let the question search the hearts of all of us. But let me faithfully warn any of my friends who may be unsaved.
Please take care which direction you're going. Do not go down. Jonah reached the bottom of the sea, down into the depth of the sea. But you, unsaved one, can go down to hell. There is no escape from that place. For how shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation? wrote the apostle in Hebrews chapter two. in relation to the great salvation of the Lord. We can certainly realize it is wrong for a believer to go down in the direction away from God, and it can be eternally tragic for an unbeliever to persist in that downward path which leads to destruction.
Said the Lord Jesus, straight as the gate that leadeth unto life, narrow is the way, and straight is the gate that leadeth unto life, but few there be that find it. Broad is the road that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in their act. To look at the cross-section of humanity today, one can wonder as we see the faces and watch the person all around us, before us, behind us, whatever direction they may be. Wondering, now which way are they going? One has well said, there is a heaven to gain, and there is a hell to shun.
And oh, the joy, when a sinner, say by grace, realizes his and her feet have been placed upon that narrow path that leads to life eternal. May we plead with anyone, not knowing the Lord Jesus. Don't go down to hell. That will be the utmost depth of eternal suffering and judgment you will ever experience. But put your feet on the narrow path that leads unto life eternal by coming to the Savior and making him yours. We find the uncanny superstition of the sailors revealed.
Both the sailors and the master of the ship. They sensed that this storm was an unusual one. Extraordinary in character. They all prayed. They all prayed. Listen to the words in verse six. So the shipmaster came to Jonah and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? Arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not. They said, Everyone to his thumb will come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for what cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.
One may recognize that in the midst of this trial and storm, what a rebuke it must have been for God's servant to receive, from the heathen shipmaster, coming to him and saying unto him, What do you mean, O sleeper? Why don't you arise and call upon your God if your God will take upon us that we perish not? What a disgrace and a shame that the prophet of God has to be called to prayer by a heathen. Have you ever known that the Mohammedans, the followers of Mohammed, the prophet as they call him, their so-called prophet? They supposedly pray five times a day.
From their temple mosques in Jerusalem I'd heard the call to prayer, sounding out at four a.m. in the morning. The Mohammedan priest could be heard seeking to awaken the Muslims and call them to the camp of a prayer. Often they would say, Prayer is better than sleep. How many professing Christians there are? that we may wonder if they lift their hearts to God in prayer, even once in a day. We're not told that Jonah prayed when the shipmaster awakened him. He probably did.
But the storm continued in all of its fury. Notice we read on, as we find in verse eight, verse nine. of her fate as the shipmaster speaks to Jonah. And they say to him, Tell us we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us? What is thine occupation? Whence comest thou? What is thy country? And what people are thou? Now we can certainly recognize. These men concluded that somebody on board the ship was responsible, and guilty of some great crime, deciding to cash luck. to find who it was.
Now doing this, casting lots was not against the will of God in Old Testament history, nor is it against the will of God in some of the New Testament history. It was done in Joshua's day. It was done in the day of Saul and Jonathan. In chapter one of the book of Acts, when the apostles chose Matthias to take the place of Judas, it was done then. There is a text in Proverbs sixteen, verse thirty-three, where the wise man wrote, The lot is cast into the lap, but the whole disposing thereof is of Jehovah. But the lot in this case pointed out, guilty Jonah.
Just how they cast lots, we cannot be certain, but the divine result of it was to expose the real cause for the terrible storm. For the terrible storm was due to guilty Jonah. running away from his God. Now lest any believer may be misled and think this casting of the lots should be done today, let me point out that after the descent of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost we never read of any lot being used for the believers. The indwelling spirit of God is now to be the all-sufficient guide in life for every believer, and he will guide us according to the word of God.
But again we repeat, as far as the proper use of the lot in the days of Jonah, it pointed out, guilty Jonah. The questioning of the mariners, as they questioned Jonah, is very interesting. There is no question of doubt that these sailors had grave concern as to the reason that Jonah, a passenger on their ship, not a crew member, that he had been found to be the guilty person who was the cause for the terrific storm and the dangers of their life? The questions they asked of Jonah did not show that they doubted the lot, but it indicated that they wanted him to confess what he was guilty of.
Listen to their questions again, and the answer of Jonah as we read verses eight and nine. Then said they unto him, Tell us we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us? What is thine occupation? Whence comest thou? What is thy country? And of what people are thou? And he said unto them, I am an Hebrew, and I fear Jehovah, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and dry land. Jonah makes a very forthright confession. He declares himself to be a Hebrew. He declares himself to be of the people of the Israelites, and that he was a Hebrew among foreigners upon the ship.
It was the name that Joseph was called in Genesis thirty-nine when he lived in Egypt, which he himself also used to describe his nation and his nationality in Genesis forty. And he distinguished God's earthly people in the midst of all foreigners. Jonah went on to declare that he was a worshipper of Jehovah, who was the creator of the heaven, the sea, and the dry land. There is another fact not quoted in Jonah's words in verse nine, but indicated in verse ten. He had also told these men already, before, that he fled from the presence of the Lord.
when they heard his confession concerning the greatness of his God, they were in greater consternation and fear. Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, Why hast thou done this? For the men knew that he had fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them. Verse ten. There are two outstanding facts that we should realize. embedded deeply into the hearts of these heathens. Though they were heathen sailors, first they knew that Jonah was a disobedient prophet of God, and their great realization of this alarmed them more than even Jonah himself was alarmed.
His flagrant disobedience to his God, which indicated to them the reason for the violent storm struck them with fear. What a review. This should have been to Jonah. They were more afraid of his God than even was Jonah. But second, yet also from Jonah's confession in verse nine, they were not only in consternation because one of God's disobedient prophets was on board their ship, but they also realized the greatness of his God. They were thrown into a greater panic of fright, for the raging of the storm proclaimed to them the omnipotence of Jehovah better than even Jonah could declare it.
It was no ordinary storm in their maritime experience. Now they were fully aware that the wrath of Jehovah, the mighty God of heaven, the mighty God of the sea and the land, was being invented upon his servant, and they themselves were caught, unwilling victims, and even innocent partakers of his judgment. Their dilemma seemed more indicated by the words of verse eleven. When they speak and say, They said unto Jonah, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be made calm unto us? For the sea wrought and was tempestuous. There is no doubt the storm was increasing in its fury, when the mariners asked Jonah what course of action should be taken.
They were helpless and hopeless as to any plan to be executed, and appealed to Jonah for advice. They feared his God who had sent the storm. They feared also his prophet, though he was a disobedient one, and though he was the cause of the storm. To punish Jonah... themselves they were afraid to do. For they realized the power of his God, whom Jonah had offended, neither desired they to offend ye over themselves. But their problem was passed on to Jonah as they questioned his advice.
What shall we do with you, Jonah? The answer of Jonah reveals him in a better light. than before, yea, perhaps better than anywhere else in the whole book. It took great courage to advise them if he did. We know his answer as you read on. He said unto them, Take me up, cast me forth into the sea. So shall the sea become unto you, for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you. is very worthy of special notice here, that Jonah did not throw himself into the sea.
He was not about to commit suicide in despair. One would have thought, perhaps, this inclination might have come to him. But he did not offer to throw himself into the sea. May I emphasize there is a vast difference between an awakened conscience and a despairing conscience. Jonah was not showing despair, but it's very evident that his conscience was awaited. And though he himself would not cast himself into the sea, Jonah advised them to cast him into the sea. He was fully aware that he himself was the cause of all the horror that had been brought upon these innocent men.
and he willingly confesses that he is worthy of death, and willing to accept his punishment, willing to sacrifice himself to save these men, who were also facing death and about to die. These are really noble words from a true servant of God, and in them we can see, shall we not say, it may be a faint picture, but there is an illustration, a likeness, to our beloved and blessed Savior, who in a greater manner was willing to sacrifice himself to save you and to save me. He was not a disobedient servant as Jonah, but as we know from the Word of God, he was obedient unto death, yes, even to the death of the cross, according to Philippians chapter two and verse ten.
Yet if Jonah's words were noble, May we say that the efforts of the sailors were also noble, for the men tried to spare Jonah's life. The men vowed, rode very hard to bring it to the land, the boat to the land, but they could not, for the sea wrought and was tempestuous against them. We read nevertheless the men rode hard to bring the ship to the land, but they could not. The sea and the tempest became even greater. The storm grew worse, and no deliverance seemed to be in sight.
And thus we can realize as we read on to the closing of the chapter, we find Jonas saying, take me up, cast me forth into the sea, so shall the sea be calm unto you. And for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you. Nevertheless the men rode on to bring you to the land, but they could not. For the sea wrought and was tempestuous against them. Now, no, wherefore they cried unto the Lord. And here they call on Jehovah himself and said, We beseech thee, O Lord, we beseech thee. Let us not perish for this man's life. Lay not upon us innocent blood, for thou, O Lord, hath done it.
Has it pleased thee? So they took up Jonah and cast him forth into the sea, and the sea ceased from her raging. Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the Lord, and they bowed. O beloved, as we come to the closing part of the chapter, let us realize, let us be reminded, that as Jonah was cast into the depths of the sea, it was Bringy brought these men to acknowledge the living and the true God. But if Jonah's words were noble, and the efforts of the sailors were noble too, for the men tried to spare his life as they rode harder, putting forth every effort toward the land, as we have read in the words of verse thirteen.
The tempest became worse, but let me say, let me remind you, let me be reminded, of another person, who in Mark chapter four in verse thirty-five, and in the context of that scripture, Mark four, verse thirty-five, he was asleep on a pillow in the midst of a fierce storm on the ship, when the waves filled the boat, but he was not the cause of the storm. May I contrast that storm with the one that we have here in the prophecy of Jonah? Read Mark four, verse thirty-five to the end of the chapter. The Lord Jesus Christ was in the midst of a storm.
But that wind and that storm, on that occasion, was undoubtedly sent by Satan. And the Lord Jesus Christ was asleep. The only time we ever read that he had a pillow, the pillow his head apart, in the midst of a storm, in the stern of the ship, though not the cause of it. But the terrified disciples rapidly awoke him, you may remember. They said, Master, Master, care is thou not that we perish? And he arose. He rebuked the wind. He spoke to the raging sea, saying, Peace be still. And there was a great calm.
May I close by mentioning the contrast of these two occasions? And raise the question, which boat would you prefer to be in? The one that Jonah was on? Or the one that was where Christ the Savior, the Son of God was? May I not say, would you not prefer to have Christ the Son of God in your boat through life, rather than be a disobedient prophet as Jonah and be in such a storm? And I'm sure that I can say with gratitude that Christ is in my little boat, having taken him as my Savior, and whatever storms may come, though the angry billows roll, and the tempest roar.
What a great joy it is to know. We can say with the poet that lovely hymn, Jesus, Savior, pilot me, over life, tempestuous sea. My beloved, may I say, many of us may not be disobedient and running away from the Lord. But we do go through storms. But with Christ on board our little ship. For may I remind you that when the Lord said to the disciples on that occasion in Marthmore, let us go over to the other side. He did not say let us go to the middle of the lake and be drowned. The other side was the destination. Beloved one, the joy it is to be in a boat under the direction, control, supervision, and power.
of our beloved and blessed Lord. May we ask the question, is Christ on your boat? Is Christ your Savior? Is he your pilot? For whatever storms you may go through, he can quiet them all, but better still, he will bring you to the other side safely. Let us indeed learn a lesson, not to be a disobedient prophet, running away from the Lord, and suffering in the midst of a storm, the judgment of the Lord and discipline of the Lord. But may we indeed rejoice to have Christ in our vessel, no matter what storms we may go through, he will bring us