SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 9/22/2025 11:21 AM
My Worship Time Focus: PT-2 “The Crew’s Dismay”
Bible Reading and Meditation Reference: Jonah 1:10-13
Message of the verse: “Then the men became greatly fearful, and they said to him, “What is this you have done?” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of Yahweh because he had told them. So they said to him, What should we do to you that the sea may become quiet for us?”—for the sea was becoming increasingly stormy. So he said to them, “lift me up and hurl me into the sea. Then the sea will become quiet for you for I know that on account of me this great storm has come upon you.” However, the men rowed desperately to return to dry land, but they could not, for the sea was becoming increasingly stormy against them. (1:10-13).
Now as I look at these verses again this morning I am thinking of how one man, (Jonah) could have been responsible for this great storm. I also think about how Jonah knew that the storm was his fault and how he knew that by throwing himself into the sea that the storm then would stop. I guess what I am saying that perhaps I have missed the point that Jonah was a prophet of the Lord, for reading this story over and over again now makes more sense to me realizing that Jonah’s job was to be a prophet of the Lord, and perhaps that truth needs to emphasized more as I study this short little Old Testament Book.
The men on the ship knew that Jonah was fleeing from the Lord, and I think that shows that they had become a believer in Yahweh. They began pleading with Jonah "What should we do to you that the sea may become calm for us?" John MacArthur then writes “Those who fear God and discern the seriousness of sin, sincerely inquire, ‘What should we do?’ (Acts 2:37; 16:30), and the sailors demonstrated such concern. They recognized that the sea would become quiet only after God’s wrath was appeased. Unlike Jonah, these men comprehended the gravity of sin and its consequences, so they were fully preoccupied with how they might placate Yahweh.
“The urgency of the sailors’ question reflected the dire nature of their circumstances, as the sea was becoming increasingly stormy. The storm had already overwhelmed the ship and its crew, and it was growing more dangerous and deadly.”
We see something a big strange here and that is Jonah remained arrogant, unrepentant, and resigned to divine judgment. I guess that throughout this whole ordeal that Jonah did not want the Gentiles to share in the salvation of the Lord, and I suppose that is why I am kind of hard on Jonah, but by God’s grace He worked with Jonah to get done what He desired to be accomplished, and first of all it was these sailors, and next the population of Nineveh. Now Jonah responds to the sailor’s question as he said "Pick me up and throw me into the sea. Then the sea will become calm for you, for I know that on account of me this great storm has come upon you." MacArthur adds “While Jonah’s answer may have appeared pious—giving a pretense of taking responsibility for his sin to save others—it was far from righteous. Stubbornly unwilling to repent of his sin and to agree to go to Nineveh, he preferred death by drowning over obedience to God. He said to the sailors, "Pick me up and throw me into the sea” in an attempt to coerce them to end his life. Only then, He insisted, ‘the sea will become quiet for you.’ The stiff-necked prophet knew his sin, acknowledging that on account of him this great storm had come upon the crew. But he made clear that he would rather perish in the sea under God’s judgment than submit and see the Ninevites repent.”
Spiritual Meaning for My Life today: I think that the best thing that I can learn from this section, perhaps two things, and one is to obey the Lord because He is God, and knows all things and has my best interest in mind. Never be opposed to share Christ with any person any time.
My Steps of Faith for Today: Continue to trust the Lord with the great trouble that has come upon my household as my wife continues to deal with cancer.
9/22/2025 11:55 AM
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