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Jonah:
This story is well known:
Jonah and the Whale (Jonah 1-2): Jonah was appointed by God to tell the people of Ninevah of their destruction because of their wickedness. Jonah was afraid and hid from God on a ship. When a storm occurred, the seamen threw Jonah overboard to please God, and the seas calmed. Jonah was then swallowed by a "great fish" (whale) for three days and then was "vomited" up onto dry land.
Jonah then delivered the message to the people of Ninevah, they prayed to be saved, and they were saved from destruction (i.e., God changed His mind about destroying them). Jonah was angry about these people being saved, and God illustrated to Jonah that Gentiles (non-Jews, like the people of Ninevah) can be important to God.
{above note from: biblenotes.net}
READ
Jonah 1
Jonah Flees the Presence of the LORD
<sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22533">1</sup>Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22534">2</sup>"Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me." <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22535">3</sup>But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went on board, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD. <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22536">4</sup>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. <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22537">5</sup>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. <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22538">6</sup>So the captain came and said to him, "What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call out to your god! Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish."
Jonah Is Thrown into the Sea
<sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22539">7</sup>And they said to one another, "Come, let us cast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us." So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22540">8</sup>Then they said to him, "Tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us. What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?" <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22541">9</sup>And he said to them, "I am a Hebrew, and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land." <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22542">10</sup>Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, "What is this that you have done!" For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them. <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22543">11</sup>Then they said to him, "What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?" For the sea grew more and more tempestuous. <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22544">12</sup>He said to them, "Pick me up and hurl me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you." <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22545">13</sup>Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to get back to dry land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them. <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22546">14</sup>Therefore they called out to the LORD, "O LORD, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not on us innocent blood, for you, O LORD, have done as it pleased you." <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22547">15</sup>So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22548">16</sup>Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows.
A Great Fish Swallows Jonah
<sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22549">17</sup> And the LORD appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Jonah 2
Jonah’s Prayer
<sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22550">1</sup>Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the belly of the fish, <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22551">2</sup>saying,
"I called out to the LORD, out of my distress,
and he answered me;
out of the belly of Sheol I cried,
and you heard my voice.
<sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22552">3</sup> For you cast me into the deep,
into the heart of the seas,
and the flood surrounded me;
all your waves and your billows
passed over me.
<sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22553">4</sup> Then I said, 'I am driven away
from your sight;
yet I shall again look
upon your holy temple.'
<sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22554">5</sup> The waters closed in over me to take my life;
the deep surrounded me;
weeds were wrapped about my head
<sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22555">6</sup>at the roots of the mountains.
I went down to the land
whose bars closed upon me forever;
yet you brought up my life from the pit,
O LORD my God.
<sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22556">7</sup>When my life was fainting away,
I remembered the LORD,
and my prayer came to you,
into your holy temple.
<sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22557">8</sup> Those who pay regard to vain idols
forsake their hope of steadfast love.
<sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22558">9</sup> But I with the voice of thanksgiving
will sacrifice to you;
what I have vowed I will pay.
Salvation belongs to the LORD!" <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22559">10</sup>And the LORD spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land.
Jonah 3
Jonah Goes to Nineveh
<sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22560">1</sup>Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah the second time, saying, <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22561">2</sup>"Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you." <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22562">3</sup>So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, three days’ journey in breadth. <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22563">4</sup>Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s journey. And he called out, "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!" <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22564">5</sup> And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.
The People of Nineveh Repent
<sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22565">6</sup>The word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22566">7</sup>And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh, "By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water, <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22567">8</sup>but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God. Let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22568">9</sup> Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish." <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22569">10</sup>When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.
Jonah 4
Jonah’s Anger and the LORD’s Compassion
<sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22570">1</sup>But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22571">2</sup>And he prayed to the LORD and said, "O LORD, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22572">3</sup> Therefore now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live." <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22573">4</sup>And the LORD said, "Do you do well to be angry?" <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22574">5</sup>Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, till he should see what would become of the city. <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22575">6</sup>Now the LORD God appointed a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant. <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22576">7</sup>But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered.
<sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22577">8</sup>When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint. And he asked that he might die and said, "It is better for me to die than to live." <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22578">9</sup>But God said to Jonah, "Do you do well to be angry for the plant?" And he said, "Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die." <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22579">10</sup>And the LORD said, "You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night. <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22580">11</sup>And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?"
Commentary
Jonah, sent to Nineveh, flees to Tarshish.
It is sad to think how much sin is committed in great cities. Their wickedness, as that of Nineveh, is a bold and open affront to God. Jonah must go at once to Nineveh, and there, on the spot, cry against the wickedness of it. Jonah would not go. Probably there are few among us who would not have tried to decline such a mission.
Providence seemed to give him an opportunity to escape; we may be out of the way of duty, and yet may meet with a favourable gale. The ready way is not always the right way. See what the best of men are, when God leaves them to themselves; and what need we have, when the word of the Lord comes to us, to have the Spirit of the Lord to bring every thought within us into obedience. (Jon 1:4-7)
He is stayed by a tempest.
God sent a pursuer after Jonah, even a mighty tempest. Sin brings storms and tempests into the soul, into the family, into churches and nations; it is a disquieting, disturbing thing. Having called upon their gods for help, the sailors did what they could to help themselves. Oh that men would be thus wise for their souls, and would be willing to part with that wealth, pleasure, and honour, which they cannot keep without making shipwreck of faith and a good conscience, and ruining
their souls for ever! Jonah was fast asleep. Sin is stupifying, and we are to take heed lest at any time our hearts are hardened by the deceitfulness of it. What do men mean by sleeping on in sin, when the word of God and the convictions of their own consciences, warn them to arise and call on the Lord, if they would escape everlasting misery?
Should not we warn each other to awake, to arise, to call upon our God, if so be he will deliver us? The sailors concluded the storm was a messenger of Divine justice sent to some one in that ship. Whatever evil is upon us at any time, there is a cause for it; and each must pray, Lord, show me wherefore thou contendest with me. The lot fell upon Jonah. God has many ways of bringing to light hidden sins and sinners, and making manifest that folly which was thought to be hid from the eyes of all living. (Jon 1:8-12)
His discourse with the mariners.
Jonah gave an account of his religion, for that was his business. We may hope that he told with sorrow and shame, justifying God, condemning himself, and explaining to the mariners what a great God Jehovah is. They said to him, Why hast thou done this? If thou fearest the God that made the sea and the dry land, why wast thou such a fool as to think thou couldst flee from his presence? If the professors of religion do wrong, they will hear it from those who make no such profession.
When sin has raised a storm, and laid us under the tokens of God's displeasure, we must consider what is to be done to the sin that raised the storm. Jonah uses the language of true penitents, who desire that none but themselves may fare the worse for their sins and follies. Jonah sees this to be the punishment of his iniquity, he accepts it, and justifies God in it. When conscience is awakened, and a storm raised, nothing will turn it into a calm but parting with the sin that caused the disturbance. Parting with our money will not pacify the conscience, the Jonah must be thrown overboard. (Jon 1:13-17)
He is cast into the sea, and miraculously preserved.
The mariners rowed against wind and tide, the wind of God's displeasure, the tide of his counsel; but it is in vain to think of saving ourselves any other way than by destroying our sins. Even natural conscience cannot but dread blood-guiltiness. And when we are led by Providence God does what he pleases, and we ought to be satisfied, though it may not please us. Throwing Jonah into the sea put an end to the storm. God will not afflict for ever, He will only contend till we submit and turn from our sins. Surely these heathen mariners will rise up in judgment against many called Christians, who neither offer prayers when in distress, nor thanksgiving for signal deliverances.
The Lord commands all creatures, and can make any of them serve his designs of mercy to his people. Let us see this salvation of the Lord, and admire his power, that he could thus save a drowning man, and his pity, that he would thus save one who was running from him, and had offended him. It was of the Lord's mercies that Jonah was not consumed. Jonah was alive in the fish three days and nights: to nature this was impossible, but to the God of nature all things are possible. Jonah, by this miraculous preservation, was made a type of Christ; as our blessed Lord himself declared, Mt 12:40.
This story is well known:
Jonah and the Whale (Jonah 1-2): Jonah was appointed by God to tell the people of Ninevah of their destruction because of their wickedness. Jonah was afraid and hid from God on a ship. When a storm occurred, the seamen threw Jonah overboard to please God, and the seas calmed. Jonah was then swallowed by a "great fish" (whale) for three days and then was "vomited" up onto dry land.
Jonah then delivered the message to the people of Ninevah, they prayed to be saved, and they were saved from destruction (i.e., God changed His mind about destroying them). Jonah was angry about these people being saved, and God illustrated to Jonah that Gentiles (non-Jews, like the people of Ninevah) can be important to God.
{above note from: biblenotes.net}
READ
Jonah 1
Jonah Flees the Presence of the LORD
<sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22533">1</sup>Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22534">2</sup>"Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me." <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22535">3</sup>But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went on board, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD. <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22536">4</sup>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. <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22537">5</sup>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. <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22538">6</sup>So the captain came and said to him, "What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call out to your god! Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish."
Jonah Is Thrown into the Sea
<sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22539">7</sup>And they said to one another, "Come, let us cast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us." So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22540">8</sup>Then they said to him, "Tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us. What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?" <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22541">9</sup>And he said to them, "I am a Hebrew, and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land." <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22542">10</sup>Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, "What is this that you have done!" For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them. <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22543">11</sup>Then they said to him, "What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?" For the sea grew more and more tempestuous. <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22544">12</sup>He said to them, "Pick me up and hurl me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you." <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22545">13</sup>Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to get back to dry land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them. <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22546">14</sup>Therefore they called out to the LORD, "O LORD, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not on us innocent blood, for you, O LORD, have done as it pleased you." <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22547">15</sup>So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22548">16</sup>Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows.
A Great Fish Swallows Jonah
<sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22549">17</sup> And the LORD appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Jonah 2
Jonah’s Prayer
<sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22550">1</sup>Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the belly of the fish, <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22551">2</sup>saying,
"I called out to the LORD, out of my distress,
and he answered me;
out of the belly of Sheol I cried,
and you heard my voice.
<sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22552">3</sup> For you cast me into the deep,
into the heart of the seas,
and the flood surrounded me;
all your waves and your billows
passed over me.
<sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22553">4</sup> Then I said, 'I am driven away
from your sight;
yet I shall again look
upon your holy temple.'
<sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22554">5</sup> The waters closed in over me to take my life;
the deep surrounded me;
weeds were wrapped about my head
<sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22555">6</sup>at the roots of the mountains.
I went down to the land
whose bars closed upon me forever;
yet you brought up my life from the pit,
O LORD my God.
<sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22556">7</sup>When my life was fainting away,
I remembered the LORD,
and my prayer came to you,
into your holy temple.
<sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22557">8</sup> Those who pay regard to vain idols
forsake their hope of steadfast love.
<sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22558">9</sup> But I with the voice of thanksgiving
will sacrifice to you;
what I have vowed I will pay.
Salvation belongs to the LORD!" <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22559">10</sup>And the LORD spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land.
Jonah 3
Jonah Goes to Nineveh
<sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22560">1</sup>Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah the second time, saying, <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22561">2</sup>"Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you." <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22562">3</sup>So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, three days’ journey in breadth. <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22563">4</sup>Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s journey. And he called out, "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!" <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22564">5</sup> And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.
The People of Nineveh Repent
<sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22565">6</sup>The word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22566">7</sup>And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh, "By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water, <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22567">8</sup>but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God. Let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22568">9</sup> Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish." <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22569">10</sup>When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.
Jonah 4
Jonah’s Anger and the LORD’s Compassion
<sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22570">1</sup>But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22571">2</sup>And he prayed to the LORD and said, "O LORD, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22572">3</sup> Therefore now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live." <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22573">4</sup>And the LORD said, "Do you do well to be angry?" <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22574">5</sup>Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, till he should see what would become of the city. <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22575">6</sup>Now the LORD God appointed a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant. <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22576">7</sup>But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered.
<sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22577">8</sup>When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint. And he asked that he might die and said, "It is better for me to die than to live." <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22578">9</sup>But God said to Jonah, "Do you do well to be angry for the plant?" And he said, "Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die." <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22579">10</sup>And the LORD said, "You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night. <sup class="versenum" id="en-ESV-22580">11</sup>And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?"
Commentary
Jonah, sent to Nineveh, flees to Tarshish.
It is sad to think how much sin is committed in great cities. Their wickedness, as that of Nineveh, is a bold and open affront to God. Jonah must go at once to Nineveh, and there, on the spot, cry against the wickedness of it. Jonah would not go. Probably there are few among us who would not have tried to decline such a mission.
Providence seemed to give him an opportunity to escape; we may be out of the way of duty, and yet may meet with a favourable gale. The ready way is not always the right way. See what the best of men are, when God leaves them to themselves; and what need we have, when the word of the Lord comes to us, to have the Spirit of the Lord to bring every thought within us into obedience. (Jon 1:4-7)
He is stayed by a tempest.
God sent a pursuer after Jonah, even a mighty tempest. Sin brings storms and tempests into the soul, into the family, into churches and nations; it is a disquieting, disturbing thing. Having called upon their gods for help, the sailors did what they could to help themselves. Oh that men would be thus wise for their souls, and would be willing to part with that wealth, pleasure, and honour, which they cannot keep without making shipwreck of faith and a good conscience, and ruining
their souls for ever! Jonah was fast asleep. Sin is stupifying, and we are to take heed lest at any time our hearts are hardened by the deceitfulness of it. What do men mean by sleeping on in sin, when the word of God and the convictions of their own consciences, warn them to arise and call on the Lord, if they would escape everlasting misery?
Should not we warn each other to awake, to arise, to call upon our God, if so be he will deliver us? The sailors concluded the storm was a messenger of Divine justice sent to some one in that ship. Whatever evil is upon us at any time, there is a cause for it; and each must pray, Lord, show me wherefore thou contendest with me. The lot fell upon Jonah. God has many ways of bringing to light hidden sins and sinners, and making manifest that folly which was thought to be hid from the eyes of all living. (Jon 1:8-12)
His discourse with the mariners.
Jonah gave an account of his religion, for that was his business. We may hope that he told with sorrow and shame, justifying God, condemning himself, and explaining to the mariners what a great God Jehovah is. They said to him, Why hast thou done this? If thou fearest the God that made the sea and the dry land, why wast thou such a fool as to think thou couldst flee from his presence? If the professors of religion do wrong, they will hear it from those who make no such profession.
When sin has raised a storm, and laid us under the tokens of God's displeasure, we must consider what is to be done to the sin that raised the storm. Jonah uses the language of true penitents, who desire that none but themselves may fare the worse for their sins and follies. Jonah sees this to be the punishment of his iniquity, he accepts it, and justifies God in it. When conscience is awakened, and a storm raised, nothing will turn it into a calm but parting with the sin that caused the disturbance. Parting with our money will not pacify the conscience, the Jonah must be thrown overboard. (Jon 1:13-17)
He is cast into the sea, and miraculously preserved.
The mariners rowed against wind and tide, the wind of God's displeasure, the tide of his counsel; but it is in vain to think of saving ourselves any other way than by destroying our sins. Even natural conscience cannot but dread blood-guiltiness. And when we are led by Providence God does what he pleases, and we ought to be satisfied, though it may not please us. Throwing Jonah into the sea put an end to the storm. God will not afflict for ever, He will only contend till we submit and turn from our sins. Surely these heathen mariners will rise up in judgment against many called Christians, who neither offer prayers when in distress, nor thanksgiving for signal deliverances.
The Lord commands all creatures, and can make any of them serve his designs of mercy to his people. Let us see this salvation of the Lord, and admire his power, that he could thus save a drowning man, and his pity, that he would thus save one who was running from him, and had offended him. It was of the Lord's mercies that Jonah was not consumed. Jonah was alive in the fish three days and nights: to nature this was impossible, but to the God of nature all things are possible. Jonah, by this miraculous preservation, was made a type of Christ; as our blessed Lord himself declared, Mt 12:40.
