Do you think you can escape the consequences of disobeying God? It appears that Jonah thought he could. After boarding a ship taking him to his own destination, rather than God’s destination for him, he went to the lower part of the ship and took a nap. He thought he was getting away with his refusal to comply with the will of God. He was wrong.
God put up a barrier to Jonah’s escape route by causing a storm to arise in the sea. What I want us to notice in this blog is the pain that Jonah’s action caused the others on the ship with him. They were fearful for their lives. I have never been caught in a storm in the middle of a sea before, but I imagine it is a most helpless feeling. When Paul was caught in a storm on a ship, the crew had pretty much the same reaction (Acts 27:20).
After crying out to their gods, the mariners on Jonah’s ship began to hurl the cargo into the sea (Jonah 1:5). When one’s life is at stake, physical possessions seem of little value. The truth is, however, the cargo they were casting into the sea was their livelihood. No matter what happens next, they would not be able to get that back.
Noticing that Jonah was not with the rest of the crew, the captain of the ship went down to find him. Finding Jonah asleep, he woke him up and said, “What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call out to your god! Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish” (Jonah 1:6). The captain wanted everybody on the ship doing something to help in this desperate situation. The least Jonah could do, he thought, was pray to his god for help, not realizing that it was Jonah’s God, the one true and living God, who was controlling the sea in the first place.
Why were these men in this life-threatening situation? It was all because of the sin of Jonah. Sin is never completely painless. Someone always suffers its consequences, and sadly, oftentimes, it is those who are not responsible for it. Be sure to understand that I am not talking about the transferring of guilt. Guilt is not transferable in any situation. One of the great flaws of Calvinism is that it teaches the transferring of guilt; thus, it advocates the impossible. It is true, however, that innocent bystanders can experience the consequences of sin.
The children of the alcoholic suffer because of his transgressions. The spouse of the adulterer suffers because of the sin of the unfaithful spouse. Of course, the greatest example of all is the suffering of our Savior. Jesus did not become a sinner as some suppose, but He did suffer because of our sins. He was pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities (Isaiah 53:5). Sin always hurts someone.
Never think you can sin in a bubble without it having an impact on others. Jonah probably never even considered that his disobedience to God would have such an effect on others. That might be why he volunteered to be thrown overboard, as we see in our next blog. Our sins can affect loved ones, strangers, co-workers, etc. And, even if no other person on earth is affected by our sins, God always is. Furthermore, as Christians, we should always be mindful of the fact that when we continue in sin, it is just like we are crucifying our Savior all over again (Hebrews 6:6).
As you wind down for the night, think about these things.