Jonah 1.7-9-Jonah Identifies Himself As A Result Of His Lot Being Chosen And The Crew Interrogating Him
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Sunday September 26, 2010
Jonah: Jonah 1:7-9-Jonah Identifies Himself As A Result Of His Lot Being Chosen And The Crew Interrogating Him
Lesson # 15
Please turn in your Bibles to Jonah 1:1.
This morning we will study Jonah 1:7-9, which records Jonah identifying himself as a result of his lot being chosen and the crew interrogating him.
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)
“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, “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)
“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.
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 and 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.
In Jonah 1:8, the crew interrogates Jonah.
Jonah 1:8, “Then they said to him, ‘Tell us, now! On whose account has this calamity struck us? What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?’” (NASU)
The crew already knew the answer to the first question (“on whose account has this calamity struck us?”) since the lot answered that for them.
Also, before the casting of the lots, they knew since Jonah admitted to fleeing from his commission according to Jonah 1:10.
Therefore, the sailors ask this first question in verse 8 for the purpose of soliciting confession meaning that they want Jonah to admit his guilt that he brought this terrible storm upon them.
Jonah does not answer the second question “what is your occupation?” because he has already told the crew that he was a prophet as implied by the fact that before the storm he admitted to the crew that he was fleeing from the commission of the Lord as recorded Jonah 1:10.
The last three questions are concerned with Jonah’s origin since by determining his nationality, they could figure out which god is responsible for the storm since nationality and religion went together in the ancient Near East.
The Lord is using the crew now to deal with Jonah’s disobedience.
First he used the storm and then, he used the captain followed by the drawing of lots and now he uses the questions of the crew to get Jonah to face up to his guilt and disobedience in refusing to go to Nineveh and announce judgment against its inhabitants.
So the Lord is closing in Jonah and is about to put him in a vice!
Jonah 1:9 is the first time in the narrative that we see Jonah speak to anyone whether to God or man.
Jonah 1:9, “He said to them, ‘I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord God of heaven who made the sea and the dry land.’” (NASU)
“I am a Hebrew” denotes Jonah’s nationality distinguishing the Israelites from the Gentiles and was a term commonly used by the Israelites to describe themselves to foreigners like these sailors on this ship to Tarshish.
“I fear the Lord God of heaven” expresses Jonah’s deep self-consciousness that he worshiped the Lord God of heaven, creator of the sea and dry land in contrast to those questioning him who were heathen idolaters and is expressing his national pride.
“Fear” is the verb yā∙rē(ʾ), which means, “to have reverence and respect for, to worship” the Lord God expressing the fact that Jonah had “reverence” and “respect” for the Lord, or in other words, he “worshipped” Him.
Since Jonah is not worshipping the Lord by disobeying Him, his description of himself as a worshipper of the Lord God of heaven, creator of the sea and dry land expresses his national pride.
This is an implicit acknowledgement of his personal responsibility for the disaster that has come upon this ship to Tarshish.
The expression “God of heaven” emphasizes that Jonah’s God is transcendent and superior to the gods of the crew.
“Who made the sea and the dry land” emphasizes with the crew that Jonah’s God is the Lord of all creation and thus in control of the weather and is the ultimate cause of this storm that has threatened those on board this ship bound for Tarshish.
So Jonah’s description of himself in verse 9 coupled with his admission recorded in verse 10 that he was fleeing his commission from the Lord indicated to the crew that the disaster that presently engulfed the ship and threatened the lives of every one on board is the result of his disobedience to the Creator of the sea and dry land.
Thus, Jonah has admitted his guilt.