JONAH 1:10-13 - INTERROGATION OF JONAH

JONAH 1:10-13

INTERROGATION OF JONAH

Jonah 1:10 Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him. Why hast thou done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them.

Susan: As the sailors interrogated Jonah, he told them he was running from the Lord.

Susie: They were terrified and asked Jonah why he would bring this punishment not only on himself but them as well.

Jonah 1:11 Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous.

Susan: The sea was disturbed, God’s anger displayed in the violent storm. Since Jonah was the guilty culprit, the sailors asked what they needed to do to punish him in order to appease Jonah’s God.

Susie: The sailors made the connection that if they pleased Jonah’s God, He would calm the sea.

Jonah 1:12 And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.

Susie: I see three perspectives on Jonah’s response. First, since he was a prophet, He knew they must get him off the ship if they desired smooth sailing. Second, Jonah did not want the crew to die because of his sin and was willing to sacrifice himself for them. Third, Jonah would rather die than go to Nineveh and warn them of God’s wrath, giving them a chance to repent.

Susan: I believe it is a combo platter of these three ideas. Since Jonah was a prophet, he knew that if he remained on board, he would have even more to answer for then just his disobedience of fleeing God. He did not want the blood of the sailors on His hands. Even though he knew, as one of God’s prophets, that obedience was better than sacrifice, in this instance he thought sacrificing himself for the good of the crew was the answer. Jonah was still unwilling to obey God’s command to prophesy in Nineveh. Jonah was a true osmium-head (denser than lead) since he still was not responding correctly to God’s attention getter.

Susie: Jonah’s response was, “Toss me overboard and let me die. The pagan sailors were shocked by this idea.

Jonah 1:13 Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring it to the land; but they could not: for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous against them.

Susan: The sailors were reluctant to kill God’s prophet. Think about it: pagan sailors knew better than be party to what they saw as a miscarriage of justice.

Susie: They did not want to be guilty of deliberately causing another’s death. These Gentile pagans showed more concern for Jonah, a Jew, than Jonah had for the Ninevites. Therefore, they rowed for all they were worth to try to bring the ship to land before the storm sank it.

QUESTIONS

1.        The sailors had determined that Jonah was to blame for the tempest. What two questions did they ask him?

2.        How did Jonah respond to the sailors?

3.        Why do you think Jonah responded in that way? Explain your answer.

4.        What did the sailors do next? Do you think you would have done what the sailors did? Why or why not?