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Jonah 1:15-16

15 So they took up [nasa] Jonah [Yonah], and cast him forth [tuwl] into the sea [yam]: and the sea [yam] ceased [amad] from her raging [za`aph].
16 Then the men [enowsh] feared [yare] the LORD [Yahovah] exceedingly [gadowl] [yir'ah], and offered [zabach] a sacrifice [zebach] unto the LORD [Yahovah], and made [nadar] vows [neder]. KJV-Interlinear

15 So they picked up Jonah, threw him into the sea, and the sea stopped its raging. 16 Then the men feared the LORD greatly, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows. NASB

Jonah was a servant of God and Jonah was the disobedient one. The ships crew were not initially servants of God, and yet they became the obedient ones serving His command. Jonah had indepth knowledge of God through the scriptures, and yet he was defiant toward the only God who created this universe and all that is in it.

The ships crew had no such indepth knowledge of God. They only had the hearsay knowledge of the gossip pipelines that they ran into from one port of call to the next.

Jonah was belligerent when God initially commanded that he go to Nineveh. He was defiant when he boarded the ship to leave Israel. Jonah was indifferent when he slept on the ship and the storm began to rage. He was silent, not wanting to get involved when the casting of lots began. He did nothing until the entire ships crew interrogated him as to what he had to do with this strange and raging storm. Not until this last moment did he finally confess his disobedience toward God.

Even then the sailors were reluctant to throw him overboard.

Finally the pressures of life (the storm) forced the sailors to do something drastic. They executed a man in order that they might be saved.

Out of ignorance came salvation for the sailors. Out of disobedience came judgment for Jonah.

Jonah is also representative of their sin, or their sinful life styles. They were unbelievers and as such led lives outside of salvation. They were sinners and destined for the Lake of Fire. In order to avoid dying because of sin, one has to rid himself of the sin in this life. People cannot do this on their own, so God prepares a means for this to happen. That is of course the Cross on which Christ paid the ultimate price for our sins.

The sailors threw Jonah overboard and the storm ceased to an instant calm. Normally a storm will diminish over the course of time, perhaps over a matter of hours, but when Jonah hit the water, as the sailors all watched him go into the sea, the storm quieted immediately. Jonah disappeared beneath the water and was seen no more by the sailors.

None of their gods could do what they had just witnessed. They were now in total awe and they immediately offered sacrifices to God. To the God of Jonah (Jesus Christ). Now the ships crew had earlier thrown the cargo overboard. They probably did not throw everything overboard. Only the heavy things. The sacrifice is not described here and it is not necessary. The item offered is not important, be it food or a surviving animal on board. Their action of faith is important, however.

They made vows. A vow is a solemn promise to be kept forever. Their vows would be related to the sacrifice offered to God - vows of faith and of continued faith. God was indeed the only God who answered their prayers and in exactly the manner described. Never had anyone exercised so much power over the ocean and the wind with such immediate control.

Their stories of this trip will be heard from seaport to seaport., and many people will hear of the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, and will be saved as a result.

And, the story will not end there. For three days and three nights later (these full three days and full three nights are an important time frame related to the burial of Christ) Jonah will again appear very much alive on the beaches of his intended destination. The destination which God intended for him.

Now is the time to post a prayer.

End Of Lesson

Study to show thyself approved (mature) unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing (studying/discerning), the Word of truth.

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