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Commentary used-Christ centered by eric redmond

Jonah 1:4–16 ESV

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. 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. 6 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.” 7 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. 8 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?” 9 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.” 10 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. 11 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. 12 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.” 13 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. 14 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.” 15 So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. 16 Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.

Sermon Big Idea - Your disobedience to God effects others

Jonah 1:4 ESV

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.

So simply because Jonah is being disobedient, this ship is about to wreck, break up, and crash. There is a possibility that the men could die by drowning or eaten by something. All because of Jonahs sin.

There are kids in our youth, people in our churches, that their sin is directly causing suffering and pain to those around them.

There are also youth that are currently suffering because of the sin of others.

Jonah 1:5–6 ESV

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. 6 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.”

Stuff hits the fan and they start reaching for their hope. Reconfirmation that everyone worships something.

They begin to lighten the load. Did a little bit of research. They did this to sit higher in the water so as not to run aground as easy and they thought it would help them ride the waves. Modern ships actually make it through storms when they are loaded heavy. They dont get thrown around as much.

Wheres Jonah? Asleep. And apparently he was still asleep as the storm started rocking because the captain has to go get him in verse 6. Hes still asleep at that point.

Main thing here: Just because you can sleep at night, doesnt mean your decisions and actions in life are good with God. We have this idea that a christian living in sin is probably just so miserable, and sometimes they are. But if you have convinced yourself that you arent doing what God has asked you to do, or even further have convinced yourself that what ever you are doing or not doing isnt sin, then you may not feel anything.

But as we see in this story and others, God disciplines his children and He gets their attention.

Jonah lives in a very pluralistic world as you do. And notice that he got on the ship and didnt have a problem with all these idolators on the ship. So apparently he doesnt have a problem being around sinners, he just doesnt want them to be good with “his God.”

I thought of this while reading the Redmond commentary, that these men were not innocent. They were idolaters, so if they died in this storm and received God’s judgement, it wouldnt have been unjust of God. (much like Israel taking the promise land from canaan.)

Sometimes we distort facts or divert to try to save our own skin, and these men were actually receiving the grace of God. we’ll see how that plays out later.

The captain isnt really concerned with the one true God, he just wants whatever god that is causing this mess, to stop doing it so he can carry on his business.

Jonah 1:7 ESV

7 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.

Was it coincidence that the lot fell on Jonah? I doubt it, but the text doesn't really show how it happened.

Redmond says that it was the sovereign control of God for the lot rocks to fall on Jonah. Every inch of this story and yours is within the control of God.

Jonah 1:8–10 ESV

8 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?” 9 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.” 10 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.

They start questioning him just to find out what in the world is going on, now that they know who the culprit is.

Jonah almost seems self-righteous here in his answer of who he is. Not sure his angle, if he was trying to make sure they feared him so they wouldnt hurt him for bringing all this suffering on them or what he was trying to do. Im sure he would raise his nose and say, “God deserves to made known to these people.” Irony!!!

Its interesting that they can see whats going on so fast (v10). Its almost like they realize how dangerous it is to flee God more than Jonah does.