After offering
a prayer to the LORD which begged Him not to “lay upon them
innocent blood”, the “mariners” “took up Jonah,
and cast him forth into the sea”. The sea immediately “ceased
from her raging”, and in chapter one and verse sixteen of this
prophesy we see how this caused the “mariners” to “fear”,
offer “a sacrifice unto the LORD, and made vows”. We read:
The
verse begins, “Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly,...”
The writer began with the words, “Then the men” which
refers to the “mariners” “feared” or “were
afraid, revered, were in awe, reverence, honor and respect toward”
“the LORD” or “Yehovah or Jehovah, the existing One and
the proper name for the one true God” “exceedingly” or
“largely, intensely and loudly”. When the “sea calmed down”,
the “mariners” on the ship were extremely afraid.
The
verse continues, “...and offered a sacrifice unto the LORD, and
made vows.” The writer added, “and offered” or
“slaughtered, killed and slayed” “a sacrifice” which
means “the flesh of an animal” “unto the LORD” or
“Yehovah or Jehovah, the existing One and the proper name for the
one true God”, “and made vows” which means “declared
determined and purposed promises and votive offerings”. The
“exceeding fear” stricken within the “mariners”
made them respond to the sea calming with “sacrifices” to
God and making promises to Him as well.
When we meditate upon
the words in this verse, we can imagine how this dramatic change in
climate caused the men aboard the ship to be afraid. We understand
how they began to offer animals as sacrifices unto God and made
promises to Him as well. When people encounter the power of the
living God, they are bound to be “fearful”, and they are inclined
to bring “sacrifices”
and “vows”
to Him. Concerning Jesus Christ, Paul the apostle wrote, “As
I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue
shall confess to God”,
and whether that occurs in this life or after death, everyone will
participate. If we are wise, we will turn to the LORD now before the
time of “exceeding fear”
occurs, and may the LORD Jesus Christ, like what happened to these
“mariners”,
bring us to the true knowledge of His Almighty power.
Next
time we see how “the LORD had prepared a great fish to
swallow up Jonah”, so read
ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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