Contemplative Bible Reading

Jonah 1:4-16 (New International Version 2011)

4 Then the LORD sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. ⁵ All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship.    But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep.⁶ The captain went to him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.”

⁷ Then the sailors said to each other, “Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity.” They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. ⁸ So they asked him, “Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What kind of work do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?”

⁹ He answered, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”

¹⁰ This terrified them and they asked, “What have you done?” (They knew he was running away from the LORD, because he had already told them so.)

¹¹ The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, “What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?”

¹² “Pick me up and throw me into the sea,” he replied, “and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.”

¹³ Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before. ¹⁴ Then they cried out to the LORD, “Please, LORD, do not let us die for taking this man’s life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, LORD, have done as you pleased.” ¹⁵ Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. ¹⁶ At this the men greatly feared the LORD, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows to him.

The is a relatively long passage in today’s contemplation. I like this passage because it is an unusual encounter. In many scriptures, a prophet or a King of God’s people met with generals or kings or priests from other peoples who worshiped other Gods. What sets this passage apart is that Jonah – a prophet – is talking with a bunch of sailors – just plain folks – who do not know the LORD – YAHWEH – the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Note what these other just plain folks do:

They each cried to their own gods. This was diverse group of people from different places where they worshiped different gods.

They did what they could – throw things overboard to save the ship.

They asked Jonah to pray to his god. Everyone believed in a god (or two). They knew that there was more than just the physical world.

They cast lots. God’s people also cast lots to make decisions. The practice was based on faith in a deity, not just luck.

The lot fell on Jonah, and the sailors believed that Jonah was responsible. Such was their faith in the lot.

Jonah identifies his god as the LORD – YAHWEH. The sailors had heard of the LORD and were frightened. This showed their respect, awe, and fear of the LORD.

Jonah told the sailors the solution – throw him in the sea.

The sailors refused to do so. That was part of their code of conduct – you don’t throw someone in the sea in a storm. They had a code of right and wrong.

With all alternatives exhausted, the sailors decided to throw Jonah to his certain death.

They prayed to the LORD for understanding and forgiveness.

They believed in the existence and power of the LORD.