Jonah 1.7-The Crew Casts Lots To Determine Who Brought Disaster Upon The Ship And Discover That Jonah Is At Fault
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Tuesday September 21, 2010
Jonah: Jonah 1:7-The Crew Casts Lots To Determine Who Brought The Disaster Upon The Ship And Discover That Jonah Is At Fault
Lesson # 12
Please turn in your Bibles to Jonah 1:1.
This evening we will note Jonah 1:7 and in this verse the crew casts lots to determine which individual on the ship was responsible for bringing this disastrous, life-threatening storm upon the ship and they discover that Jonah is fault.
Jonah 1:1, “The word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai saying, 2 ‘Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me.’ 3 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. 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.” (NASU)
Jonah 1:7 presents the next sequential event that took place on board this ship heading for Tarshish, namely the crew decided to draw lots to determine who was responsible for bringing the great storm upon the ship.
“Every man” is the distributive masculine singular form of the noun ʾîš (אִישׁ) (eesh), which refers to each individual member of the crew of this ship whose services Jonah purchased to take him to Tarshish.
This word is used to emphasize that the entire crew was in agreement with this course of action and were thus unified.
“Come” is the first person plural hiphil active imperative form of the verb halak (הָלַך) (haw-lak), which indicates that the crew had decided on a particular course of action and is ready to implement it.
“Let us cast lots” refers to the procedure of choosing a particular inscribed shard of pottery with one’s name on it to determine who is responsible for bringing this life threatening storm upon this ship bound for Tarshish.
Lessing commenting on the practice of casting lots in the ancient world writes, “The casting of lots—the throwing of some inanimate object in order to learn the divine will—is well-known in ancient Israelite and Near Eastern cultures. Among the many uses of lot casting in the OT, the technique is used to discover a wrongdoer (Josh 7:10–21; 1 Sam 14:36–43), choose a king (1 Sam 10:20–21), assign a tribe its inheritance (Josh 14:2), distribute booty (Nah 3:10), and settle disputes (Prov 18:18). The theological basis is this: The lot is cast into the lap, but from Yahweh is its every verdict. (Prov 16:33) The practice continued into the NT. The Roman soldiers cast lots for the clothing of the crucified Christ in fulfillment of Scripture (Jn 19:23–24, citing Ps 22:19 [ET 22:18]). The Eleven prayed and cast lots to select an apostle to succeed Judas Iscariot (Acts 1:26). In Jonah 1:7 the sailors may have inscribed shards of pottery with the names of those on board the ship; then from among the shards they grabbed the one with Jonah’s name. That the sailors had to resort to this activity shows that Jonah’s desire to remain unknown and escape responsibility was greater than his willingness to alleviate the suffering and even prevent the deaths of others.” (Concordia Commentary: Jonah; page 125)
Lessing’s view seems the more likely because of the time factor involved.
Sasson explains, “The sailors, rather, probably plucked the one shard that bore Jonah’s name from among the others similarly inscribed. This was definitely the quicker measure and in time of stress, no doubt the most appealing.” (Jonah; The Anchor Yale Bible, volume 24b; page 111)
Jonah 1:7, “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.” (NASB)
“So we may learn on whose account this calamity has struck us” is a purpose clause indicating the purpose for which the crew is drawing lots.
“We may learn” is the first person plural qal active cohortative form of the verb yā∙ḏǎʿ (יָדַע) (yaw-dah), which refers to the crew possessing information as to the identity of the individual who is the reason why the ship faced destruction.
“On whose account” is composed of the preposition be (בְּ־) (be), which is followed by the relative particle šǎ- (שַׁ־) (shel) and the preposition le (לְ) (le) and the interrogative pronoun mî (mî) (מִי) (may).
This expression beshellemi (בְּשֶׁלְּמִ֛י) means “on whose account, against whom” indicating that the crew drew lots to determine the individual who not only was the cause or reason for the calamity brought upon the entire crew and its passengers but also the one whom this storm was brought against.
“This calamity” is the articular feminine singular form of the noun rā∙ʿā(h) (רָעָה), which means “disaster” in the sense of a hardship in some adverse circumstance.
It is used of a disaster, which happens to a person, often as the harmful consequences of wrong actions.
Since God is sovereign over all persons and events, these adverse circumstances may be described as coming from God.
“So they cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah” denotes that the shard with Jonah’s name was chosen.
Jonah has learned the principle taught in Numbers 32:23 that his sin of disobeying the Lord has found him out.
He thought he could hide it from the crew that he disobeyed the Lord and was the reason the storm came upon the ship.
Numbers 32:20, “Then Moses replied, ‘If you will do this thing, and if you will arm yourselves for battle before the Lord, and if all your armed men cross the Jordan before the Lord until he drives out his enemies from his presence and the land is subdued before the Lord, then afterward you may return and be free of your obligation to the Lord and to Israel. This land will then be your possession in the Lord’s sight. 23 But if you do not do this, then look, you will have sinned against the Lord. And know that your sin will find you out.’” (NET Bible)
Like Jonah 1:4, this verse emphasizes the Lord’s sovereignty over Jonah’s life, i.e. his circumstances.
It stresses with the reader that the Lord will exercise that sovereignty and omnipotence to change the prophet’s mind about obeying His command to go to the great city of Nineveh and announce judgment against its inhabitants.
Jonah 1:7 also emphasizes the providence of God, which expresses the fact that the world and our lives are not ruled by chance or fate but by God.
It emphasizes that God is in control of Jonah’s life and the life of the heathen crew.
It stresses with the reader that the Lord controls the circumstances of our lives, right down to the lot that fell to Jonah.
It emphasizes that it was no accident that Jonah’s shard with his name on it was chosen.