Jonah 1.10-The Crew Now Realizes That God's Disciplining Jonah Since Previously He Admitted To Fleeing From His Commission From The Lord

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Jonah: Jonah 1:10-The Crew Now Realizes That God’s Disciplining Jonah Since Previously He Admitted To Fleeing From His Commission From The Lord-Lesson # 16

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Wenstrom Bible Ministries

Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom

Tuesday September 28, 2010

www.wenstrom.org

Jonah: Jonah 1:10-The Crew Now Realizes That God’s Disciplining Jonah Since Previously He Admitted To Fleeing From His Commission From The Lord

Lesson # 16

Please turn in your Bibles to Jonah 1:1.

This evening we will study Jonah 1:10, which records the crew rebuking Jonah after coming to the realization that he was being disciplined by God.

Jonah’s description of himself in verse 9 coupled with the fact that before the storm he admitted to fleeing from his commission from the Lord indicated to the crew that the disaster that presently engulfed the ship was the result of his disobedience to the Creator of the sea and dry land.

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. 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?’ 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.’ 10 Then the men became extremely frightened and they said to him, ‘How could you do this?’ For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them.” (NASU)

“Then the men became extremely frightened” is a result clause indicating that the crew became even more afraid “as a result of” Jonah’s response to their questions and the fact that prior to the storm hitting the ship he had admitted to them that he was fleeing his commission from the Lord.

“The men” is the articular masculine plural form of the noun ʾĕnôš (אֱנוֹשׁ) (en-oshe), which refers to the crew and emphasizes their weakness, mortality and impotence as human beings reminding the reader of man’s transience and his dependence upon the omnipotent, transcendent God.

“Became extremely frightened” is composed of the third person masculine plural qal active imperfect form of the verb yā∙rē(ʾ) (יָרֵא) (yaw-ray) and the feminine singular form of the noun yir∙ʾā(h)(יִרְאָה) (yir-aw), which is modified by the feminine singular form of the adjective gā∙ḏôl (גָּדֹול) (ga-dol).

The verb yā∙rē(ʾ)means “to be terrified” as a result of a threat to one’s life.

The noun yir∙ʾā(h) is derived from the verb yā∙rē(ʾ) (יָרֵא) (yaw-ray) and means “fear” referring to being in a state of great distress and anxiety and deep concern of losing one’s life due to an adverse circumstance.

Here it refers to the terror in the hearts of the crew as a result of Jonah identifying himself and recalling that prior to the storm he admitted to fleeing from his commission from the Lord.

The word functions as a cognate accusative meaning that it has the same root as the verb yā∙rē(ʾ) and means that it is amplifying or emphasizing the verb yā∙rē(ʾ).

The adjective gā∙ḏôl is modifying this noun yir∙ʾā(h) and denotes the intensity of this fear of the crew or in other words it indicates that as a result of hearing Jonah’s identification of himself and recalling that he admitted to fleeing his commission from the Lord, the crew’s fear “intensified.”

So the crew of this ship has finally put two and two together.

The storm is discipline from Jonah’s God who the prophet declares is the God of heaven and Creator of the sea and dry land.

Jonah’s God is punishing him for his disobedience.

In verse 9, he identifies himself as a Hebrew worshiper of the God of heaven, the creator of the sea and dry land, which implies that Jonah’s God is superior to the gods of the crew and transcendent and sovereign over creation.

Later on in verse 10, as we will note, prior to the storm Jonah admitted to the crew that he was fleeing from his commission from the Lord.

Therefore, they have put it altogether and now realize that Jonah is being judged by his God.

They don’t know that it is discipline that is derived from God’s love for him since the crew does not have this conception of God.

They believe that Jonah’s God is going to kill him and them if Jonah or they don’t do something to appease from their perspective this God of Jonah’s.

The crew finds themselves caught in the middle of a dispute between Jonah and God and so no wonder they became even more terrified.

From this heathen crew’s perspective, Jonah was not only foolish and stupid to disobey and run away from a god who created heaven and earth but they also thought that this was suicidal.

John Hannah writes, “Perhaps too they sensed, superstitiously, that Jonah’s God was holding them responsible as accomplices in Jonah’s ‘crime.’” (The Bible Knowledge Commentary, volume 1, page 1466)

Jonah 1:10, “Then the men became extremely frightened and they said to him, ‘How could you do this?’ For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them.” (NASU)

“How could you do this?” is a rhetorical question expressing the crew’s extreme horror that Jonah would disobey the sovereign creator.

The purpose of this question was not to gain information from Jonah but rather to tell him something with passion, namely the extreme terror they all felt that he would disobey the sovereign creator for any reason.

They are not asking him why he would do such a thing since it would never enter into their minds to disobey for any reason a god who is the sovereign, transcendent creator.

The crew posed this rhetorical question to Jonah to express how astonished and terrified they were that he would disobey a god who is the sovereign creator.

“For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them” is an explanatory clause presenting the explanation as to why the crew asked this rhetorical question to express their horror.

“He was fleeing from the presence of the Lord” refers to Jonah fleeing from his commission from the Lord to go immediately to Nineveh and announce judgment against its inhabitants.

This phrase does not mean that Jonah was hiding from the Lord since Jonah knew full-well that God is omnipresent meaning that He is everywhere present but rather it means Jonah fled from his service-commission as a prophet which he received from the Lord Himself.

To flee from His presence means that Jonah refused to serve the Lord in his office as prophet.

“Because he had told them” gives the reason why they knew Jonah was fleeing from his commission from the Lord and refers to Jonah’s act in conveying to the crew that he was fleeing from his commission from the Lord.

The question arises as to why he would tell the crew since he was not obligated to tell them.

Purchasing the services of the crew for the trip to Tarshish would not involve being told the motivation to do so but rather, all the captain and the crew would care about is that they got paid.

Therefore, it appears that Jonah was burdened with a great sense of guilt.

He is festering guilt and it became an emotional burden for him, which left him severely depressed.

This is why he fell into a deep sleep.

He had failed to confess the sin and obey the Lord and this prompted a guilt reaction.

This produced great anguish in Jonah’s soul.

So Jonah tells the crew he is fleeing from his commission from the Lord because he has a guilty conscience.

The conscience is that aspect of the soul and psychological faculty that approves when we do right and accuses when we do wrong.

Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary defines conscience, “A person’s inner awareness of conforming to the will of God or departing from it, resulting in either a sense of approval or condemnation.”

John A. Witmer writes, “Conscience is an important part of human nature, but it is not an absolutely trustworthy indicator of what is right. One’s conscience can be ‘good’ (Acts 23:1; 1 Timothy 1:5, 19) and ‘clear’ (Acts 24:16; 1 Timothy 3:9; 2 Timothy 1:3; Hebrews 13:18), but it can also be ‘guilty’ (Hebrews 10:22), ‘corrupted’ (Titus 1:15), ‘weak’ (1 Corinthians 8:7, 10, 12) and ‘seared’ (1 Timothy 4:2). All people need to trust the Lord Jesus Christ so that the ‘blood of Christ’ might ‘cleanse [their] consciences’ (Hebrews 9:14).” (Bible Knowledge Commentary, New Testament Edition, page 446).

Billy Graham wrote concerning the importance of a clear conscience, “To have a guilty conscience is a feeling. Psychologists may define it as a guilt complex, and may seek to rationalize away the sense of guilt, but once it has been awakened through the application of the law of God, no explanation will quiet the insistent voice of conscience.”

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