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. THEN SAID THEY UNTO HIM, WHAT SHALL WE DO UNTO THEE? They ask this, as Jonah himself must best know how his God is to be appeased. 'We would gladly save thee, if we can do so, and yet be saved ourselves' (Jonah 1:13). Herein appears their humanity, though they were pagan, as contrasted with Jonah's inhumanity, who, lest the pagan Nineveh should repent and be saved from destruction, would not at God's command go to give it warning. THE SEA WROUGHT, AND WAS TEMPESTUOUS - literally, 'was going and whirling.' As though it were a conscious agent, it seemed to demand the surrender to it of its fellow-servant, who had been a rebel against his and its God....

The sailors asked counsel of Jonah; and hence it appears that they were touched with so much fear as not to dare to do any thing to him. We hence see how much they had improved almost in an instant, since they spared an Israelite, because they acknowledged that among that people the true God was worshipped, the supreme King of heaven and earth: for, without a doubt, it was this fear that restrained them from throwing Jonah immediately into the sea. For since it was certain that through his fault God was displeased with them all, why was it that they did not save themselves by such an expiation? That they then delayed in so great a danger, and dared not to lay hold instantly on Jonah, was an evident proof that they were restrained, as I have said, by the fear of God. They therefore inquire what was to be done, _What shall we do to thee, that the sea may be still to us? _(27) _for the sea...

8-12 Jonah gave an account of his religion, for that was his business. We may hope that he told with sorrow and shame, justifying God, condemning himself, and explaining to the mariners what a great God Jehovah is. They said to him, Why hast thou done this? If thou fearest the God that made the sea and the dry land, why wast thou such a fool as to think thou couldst flee from his presence? If the professors of religion do wrong, they will hear it from those who make no such profession. When sin has raised a storm, and laid us under the tokens of God's displeasure, we must consider what is to be done to the sin that raised the storm. Jonah uses the language of true penitents, who desire that none but themselves may fare the worse for their sins and follies. Jonah sees this to be the punishment of his iniquity, he accepts it, and justifies God in it. When conscience is awakened, and a sto...

Verse Jonah 1:11. _WHAT SHALL WE DO UNTO THEE_] In these poor men there was an uncommon degree of _humanity_ and _tender feeling_....

WHAT SHALL WE DO UNTO THEE? - They knew him to be a prophet; they ask him the mind of his God. The lots had marked out Jonah as the cause of the storm; Jonah had himself admitted it, and that the storm was for “his” cause, and came from “his” God . “Great was he who fled, greater He who required him. They dare not give him up; they cannot conceal him. They blame the fault; they confess their fear; they ask “him” the remedy, who was the author of the sin. If it was faulty to receive thee, what can we do, that God should not be angered? It is thine to direct; ours, to obey.” THE SEA WROUGHT AND WAS TEMPESTUOUS - , literally “was going and whirling.” It was not only increasingly tempestuous, but, like a thing alive and obeying its Master’s will, it was holding on its course, its wild waves tossing themselves, and marching on like battalions, marshalled, arrayed for the end for which they we...

EXPOSITION JONAH 1:1 Part I. THE MISSION OF JONAH. HIS DISOBEDIENCE AND PUNISHMENT. JONAH 1:1 § 1. _Jonah is sent to Nineveh to cry against it; but he tries to avoid the mission, and to this end takes ship to Tarshish._ JONAH 1:1 NOW; or, _and_. Some have argued from this commencement that the Book of Jonah is a fragment, the continuation of a larger work; but it is a common formulary, linking together revelations and histories, and is continually used in the Old Testament at the b

THEN SAID THEY UNTO HIM, WHAT SHALL WE DO UNTO THEE,.... Though, both by the lot and his own confession, they knew he was the guilty person; for whose sake this storm was; yet were unwilling to do anything to him without his will and consent, his counsel and advice; perceiving that he was a prophet of the God of the Hebrews, whom he had offended, and knew the mind and will of his God, and the nature of his offence against him, and what only would appease him they desire him to tell what they ought to do; fearing that, though they had found out the man, they should make a mistake in their manner of dealing with him, and so continue the distress they were in, or increase it; their great concern being to be rid of the storm: THAT THE SEA MAY BE CALM UNTO US? or "silent" h? for the waves thereof made a hideous roaring, and lifted up themselves so high, as was terrible to behold; and dashed...

Jonah 1:1. _Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD._ Observe the misconduct of the prophet Jonah. He had a plain command from the Lord, and he knew it to be a command; but he felt that the commission given to him would not be pleasant and honouring to himself, and therefore he declined to comply with it. We see, from his action, how some, who really know God, may act as if they knew him not. Jonah knew that God was everywhere, yet he «rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.» What strange inconsi

ANALYSIS AND ANNOTATIONS CHAPTER 1 The Commission of the Prophet ,His Disobedience, and the Consequences _ 1. The commission (John 1:1) _ 2. The disobedience (John 1:3) 3. The consequences (John 1:4) John 1:1. The record begins with the same word with which all historical books in the Bible begin, like Joshua, judges, Ruth, Samuel, etc. The commission given to Jonah was to go to Nineveh, that great city, and to cry against it on account of its wickedness. Nineveh was the great capital of the Assyrian nation; it is mentioned for the first time in...

JONAH 1:1 TO JONAH 2:1; JONAH 2:10. JONAH VAINLY SEEKS TO EVADE THE MISSION TO WHICH GOD APPOINTS HIM. Jonah is bidden by Yahweh to proclaim judgment on Nineveh for its sin, but he hurries in the opposite direction, to Tarshish (p. 381). Why he refused to proclaim such congenial tidings appears only in the sequel (Jonah 4:2). In a very striking way the author indicates the intellectual limitation of Jonah's conception of Yahweh. He rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. Three times the phrase occurs, and where every word is meant to tell, the repetition is significant. It is true that Jonah believes that Yahweh can destroy or save Nineveh, and h