The Book of Jonah
Encountering God Series
“Jonah’s Coerced Confession”
Jonah 1.1-12
Introduction
The past two Sunday’s we have considered the first three verses of the book of
Jonah and discovered the character of God and Jonah’s defiance toward God.
The word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh the
great city and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me.” But Jonah
rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. So he went down to Joppa,
found a ship which was going to Tarshish, paid the fare and went down into it to go
with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. (Jonah 1.1-3)
As I shared last week, Joppa was a port city not far from modern day Tel Aviv.
So, with his pocket full of cash Jonah’s frantically searches for an unsuspecting
captain who would allow him to be a passenger on board of a ship to take him as far
away as possible.
And wouldn’t you know it, sitting right there at the dock in the port of Joppa was a
ship bound for Tarshish, Spain. Tarshish was the exact opposite direction of
Nineveh, and the furthest possible designation in the known world at that time.
Jonah’s willingness to board a ship is surprising enough but to board a ship whose
designation is twenty-five hundred miles away showed his desperation to flee from
the presence of God.
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You see Israelites had virtually no or little experience upon the sea. They were
mostly landlocked lumberjacks. They found the sea or deep waters to be a source of
anxiety. The sea symbolized chaos and disorder. We see this imagery in the second
verse of the Bible when we are told that God’s Spirit is hovering over the deep
waters before He creates order in the world. My point is that for Jonah a landlocked
Israelite who feared the sea to go on board a ship traveling twenty-five hundred
miles over open waters showed Jonah’s defiance towards God. Also, Jonah directly
contradicts himself by showing his complete unwillingness to obey God’s call to go
to preach grace to the heathen Ninevites but is completely willing to get on a ship
full of pagan sailors to travel to the Gentile nation of Spain. All of this shows the
great lengths a person will go when they are in rebellion against God’s Word.
Maritime Merchants
As Jonah climbed on board, he immediately went below deck. Jonah had paid the
fare as a passenger, so he had nothing more on his mind than to find the most
comfortable place for his Mediterranean voyage. In this period of history, the
Phoenicians were by and large responsible for most of the sea traffic in the
Mediterranean. If any nation could claim to be the masters of the seas, it was the
Phoenicians. It is therefore altogether likely that Jonah found himself on board of a
Phoenician vessel.
These maritime merchants were pioneers in the development of a strong
commercial fleet and were soon found everywhere in the Mediterranean,
establishing trading colonies along the coast of Greece, Italy, France, Spain, and
northern Africa. These were experienced sailors who knew the sea and had the
reputation as the greatest seafarers in the ancient world.
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Their hunger for profit drove them to develop the Galley Ship. A Galley Ship was a
man-powered sailing vessel that combined the power of the wind and currents
together with the strength of man. And because of several references in our text, it is
most likely this was the type of vessel Jonah boarded in Joppa.
As Jonah came on board and made his way down into the galley, he passed one
pagan sailor after another. These men were salty sailors who came from different
backgrounds and religions who had nothing more in common than to earn a wage
rowing this huge vessel from port to port.
Let’s continue reading God’s Word this morning, picking up the story starting with
the second part of verse three of chapter one and reading through verse twelve.
So he went down to Joppa, found a ship which was going to Tarshish, paid the fare and
went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. 4 The
Lord hurled a great wind on the sea and there was a great storm on the sea so that the
ship was about to break up. 5 Then the sailors became afraid and every man cried to his
god, and they threw the cargo which was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them.
But Jonah had gone below into the hold of the ship, lain down and fallen sound asleep.
6 So the captain approached him and said, “How is it that you are sleeping? Get up, call
on your god. Perhaps your god will be concerned about us so that we will not perish.”
7 Each man said to his mate, “Come, let us cast lots so we may learn on whose account
this calamity has struck us.” So they cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. 8 Then they said
to him, “Tell us, now! On whose account has this calamity struck us? What is
your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? From what
people are you?” 9 He said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord God of heaven
who made the sea and the dry land.” 10 Then the men became extremely frightened and
they said to him, “How could you do this?” For the men knew that he was fleeing from
the presence of the Lord, because he had told them. 11 So they said to him, “What should
we do to you that the sea may become calm for us?”—for the sea was becoming
increasingly stormy. 12 He said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea. Then
the sea will become calm for you, for I know that on account of me this great storm has
come upon you.” (Jonah 1.4-12)
The Storm
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Once out in the middle of the Mediterranean, the ship encountered a storm. But this
was not just any storm. Seasoned sailors like these were not easily frightened by bad
weather. But this was no ordinary storm. Two times our text tells us the that these
seasoned sailors were afraid and extremely frightened. I’m not much of a seaman
but I’m smart enough to know that if the bait boys are getting sick things are bad.
Well, it’s clear, things are bad. The storm was so bad that the ship was about to break
up. The storm is no coincidence. Verse four tells us, “The Lord hurled a great wind on
the sea.” (1.4a) The Lord was the cause of this great storm.
Brothers and sisters, “most of the storms of life come upon us not as the
consequence of a particular sin but as the unavoidable consequence of living in a
fallen, troubled world.” (Rediscovering Jonah) But this was not the case with this
storm. The Lord hurled this great storm directly upon this seafaring vessel because
of Jonah.
The Sailors
Then the sailors became afraid and every man cried to his god. (1.5a) These sailors
were polytheist, which is the belief in multiple deities. Of course, each sailor would
have his favorite god that he would call upon in times of desperate trouble. These
would include the god of the sea, solar deities, gods of the wind, and god of trade,
just to name a few. This type of religious roulette was very common among these
maritime merchants.
But when polytheist prayers went unanswered the sailors took matters into their
own hands and began throwing cargo off the ship to lighten the load. (1.5b)
Frustrated that nothing was working the captain went down below to beseech Jonah
to call on his god only to find Jonah sleeping. (1.5c) The original language of the text
indicates a particular deep sleep. Some theologians think that the way the captain
found him was that he could hear Jonah snoring. I believe this tells us a lot about
Jonah’s heart. If you are like me, when I am anxious or troubled about something I
usually cannot sleep. Those long sleepless nights when you just can’t get rid of
worry. But not so with Jonah. He is fast asleep without a worry in the world. He most
certainly had thought his exodus had worked.
The Captain
But the captain approached him and said, “How is it that you are sleeping? Get up, call
on your god. Perhaps your god will be concerned about us so that we will not perish.”
(1.6) “The words with which Jonah was awakened are full of significance. In the
Hebrew text they echo the words of God with which the book opens, ‘The word of the
Lord came . . . Arise . . . call out . . .’ (1.1-2) ‘The captain came and said . . . Arise, call
out.’ (1.6a) These words must have seemed to Jonah like a haunting echo from the
past, exposing once more the guilt of his flight from God.” (Man Overboard!)
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Casting Lots
Since their polytheist prayers didn’t work. Since throwing the cargo overboard
didn’t work. The sailors resorted to casting lots to determine on whose account this
calamity had struck them. (1.7) Casting lots was a common practice and is
frequently mentioned in the Old Testament. It was considered an objective means
by which to make a difficult decision. It could be done by throwing dice or by placing
dice or balls in a bag all of the same color except one. The one who pull out the one
was the guilty party. By this time the captain had dragged the slumbering passenger
to the upper deck and the lot fell on Jonah.
The Interrogation
Then they said to him, “Tell us, now! On whose account has this calamity struck us?
What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? From
what people are you?” (1.8)
This was no ordinary courtroom or police station interrogation. This interrogation
was conducted by a group of terrified sailors clinging for their lives on the upper
deck of a ship that was being broken up by a raging storm and howling winds. I
believe that the information that comes out of this interrogation is the core of the
story. First, notice the main purpose for the interrogation was mentioned in verse
seven, “So we may learn on whose account this calamity has struck us” and again in
verse eight, “Then they said to him, “Tell us, now! On whose account has this calamity
struck us?” The lot had fallen on Jonah this the sailors knew this full well, but what
they didn’t know was whose fault was it for this calamity. Was it Jonah’s fault or was
it Jonah’s God fault? If it was Jonah’s God, then they would seek to discover how to
appease Him. If it was Jonah’s fault, then they would have to find out what to do with
Jonah.
They needed more information. So, they ask a series of questions. What is
your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? From what
people are you?” He said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord God of heaven
who made the sea and the dry land.” (1.8b-9) Notice that Jonah’s response answered
all their questions but one, “What is your occupation?” He was no longer able to say,
“I am the Lord’s prophet.” Brothers and sisters, disobedience to the Lord strips our
confidence in the Lord’s calling upon our lives. Disobedience steals our witness and
our words.
The sailors remembered that Jonah had told them that he was fleeing from the
presence of the Lord, and they couldn’t understand how Jonah could do such a thing.
(1.10) All of this was Jonah’s fault. Now the sea was becoming increasing stormy so
they asked Jonah, “What should we do to you that the sea may become calm for us?”
He said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea. Then the sea will become
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calm for you, for I know that on account of me this great storm has come upon you.”
(1.11-12)
Jonah’s Coerced Confession
Notice that Jonah’s coerced confession was admittance not repentance. Please
understand that there is a tremendous difference between admittance and
repentance. Admittance is just a recognition that you acted in error, but repentance
includes an earnestness, a longing, and a zeal to turn away from error to God with
full purpose to endeavor after new obedience. (2Cor.7.10-11; WSC#87) Jonah
admits that it was on account of him this great storm has come upon them” but he
doesn’t repentant of his actions.
Jonah’s heart is far from repentance. Instead of saying, “Forgive me Father for I have
sinned,” Jonah suggests throwing him overboard would be the best remedy. Here
again we see Jonah’s heart. Jonah thought lightly of the riches of God’s kindness,
forbearance, and patience. He didn’t understand that the kindness of God should
lead us to repentance. (Rom.2.4) Jonah had casted away the truth that God is not
wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. (2Pt.3.9) But we see that
Jonah was willing to perish instead of repenting. He was willing to be casted into the
depths of the sea instead of diving deep into the depths of his heart towards God.
Brothers and sisters, God help us when we fall into Jonah’s condition. The Lord tells
us that “In repentance and rest you will be saved.” (Is.30.15) But Jonah was not
willing, but are you?
Transition to the Table