Studying the Book of Jonah: part 2

In part 1 of this study, we left off at verse 3 having learned why Jonah disliked, maybe hated would be a better word, the Ninevites badly enough to willingly disobey God.

In today's entry, we're going to look closely at verses 4, 5 and 6 of chapter 1 ...

Jonah is now in the boat and thinks he's successfully running away from God and what He wants him to do ...

Verse 4: But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up.

The Lord responded to Jonah’s disobedience in a BIG way!  All the forces of nature are under the command of God and once the ship was out over waters, God hurled a great wind upon the sea!  The conditions were so bad that the ship was in danger of breaking up and coming apart, it was being threatened with complete destruction.

Evidently it was not the time of year when such storms were expected, else the ship wouldn’t have been bound for Tarshish at all, this is yet another showing of God’s great governing of the world.

 

Verse 5:  Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his god.  And they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them.  But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep.

The sailors were seized with fear, prayed to their gods and made every effort to lighten the load of the ship.  They were literally fighting for their lives, and they knew it!

While the sailors were doing all they could to save their lives and the ship, Jonah was fast asleep on a lower deck.  Could Jonah have been so mentally and physically exhausted from running from God that he was able to sleep through this horrendous storm?

 

Verse 6:  So, the captain came and said to him, “What do you mean, you sleeper?  Arise, call out to your god!  Perhaps your god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish.”

The men noticed that conditions were not getting better and that their gods were not answering them or giving them any help.  The captain came to Jonah and realizing that he was asleep gave him a stern reprimand.  He wanted Jonah to call out to his God, but Jonah was running from his God, he didn’t want to do that!

Jonah’s disobedience was not only affecting him, but it also put everyone else on the ship in jeopardy too!

We'll stop there for this entry.  I hope you're taking the time to think about and absorb the lessons that are applicable in our lives from this study.  I'd love for you to share what you're gleaning from each day's entry.

patsy @ From This Heart Of Mine

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