The Mariners and Jonah Jonah 1:5

God Almighty gave Jonah the prophet a commission to “go to Nineveh” and “cry against it” because their “wickedness” had “come up before” the LORD. However, rather than obey the LORD, Jonah decided to catch a ship going to “Joppa” which was a great distance from Nineveh. As the ship sailed, “the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken”, and in chapter one and verse five of this prophesy, we discover the response of “the mariners” and “Jonah” to this storm where we read:

Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep.

The verse began, “Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea,to lighten it of them.” The writer began with the words, “Then the mariners” which refers to “sailors and seamen” “were afraid” or “in awe, fear, reverence, honor and respect”, “and cried” which means “called, summoned, proclaimed and shrieked” “every man” or “male and person” “unto his god” which refers to “rulers, judges, divine ones and angels”, “and cast forth” or “hurl, throw, carry and hurl” “the wares” which means “articles, vessels, implements, utensils and objects” “that were in the ship” which means “in the merchant ship” “into the sea” or “the great basin of water wherein the ship sailed”, “to lighten it” or “make swift, of little account, trifling, insignificant and lightly esteemed” “of them” which refers to “the items on the ship”. The “seamen” of the merchant ship were terrified and “shrieked” unto their “gods” and threw the contents of the ship overboard in order to make the ship “lighter”.

The verse goes on to say, “But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep.” The writer added the word, “But” which is a disassociation conjunction that means what is about to be written takes precedence over what was just stated, “Jonah” or “dove” “was gone down” or “descended, declined, marched and sunk down” “into the sides” which means “the flank, extreme parts and recesses” “of the ship” which refers to the “mariner ship Jonah boarded”; “and he lay” or “lie down, rested and stayed”, “and was fast asleep” which means “in a heavy, fast and deep sleep like being stunned or stupefied”. Instead of being concerned or aware of the storm that surrounded the ship, Jonah went down into it and fell fast into a deep sleep.

When we think through these words, we might be amazed at Jonah's indifference and non-concern about the conditions surrounding him. There is a state of mind that goes against the ways of God to the degree that a person is oblivious to God's “storm” or trial. Jesus Christ never forces anyone to have a relationship with Him, however He may allow conditions to become a “storm” or a trial in their lives. The question is whether they will observe the storm like these “mariners” or fall fast asleep like Jonah. If there are “storms” in our lives, let us throw off any “wares” that will “lighten” our “ships”, and let us never be asleep to God's direction in our lives.

Next time we see what the “shipmaster” does to Jonah, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

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