Contemplative Bible Reading

Jonah 1:15-16 (New Living Translation)

15 Then the sailors picked Jonah up and threw him into the raging sea, and the storm stopped at once! 16 The sailors were awestruck by the Lord’s great power, and they offered him a sacrifice and vowed to serve him.

Jonah, allowing the Lord to work through him, was one of the great evangelists of all time. All alone (physically), he converted one of the greatest cities in the history of mankind.

Before that, we see above that Jonah leads a bunch of sailors to the Lord. Admitting he was wrong and the cause of a great storm, Jonah convinces the sailors to toss him into the raging sea. The sailors, with a strong sense of right and wrong, do so.

God stopped the storm.

The sailors were awestruck. They immediately sacrificed to God and changed their lives. What was Jonah’s sermon? Uh, well, we don’t seem to have one. Simply, “Toss me into the sea.”