Jonah 1:14

1:13-17 The mariners rowed against wind and tide, the wind of God's displeasure, the tide of his counsel; but it is in vain to think of saving ourselves any other way than by destroying our sins. Even natural conscience cannot but dread blood-guiltiness. And when we are led by Providence God does what he pleases, and we ought to be satisfied, though it may not please us. Throwing Jonah into the sea put an end to the storm. God will not afflict for ever, He will only contend till we submit and turn from our sins. Surely these heathen mariners will rise up in judgment against many called Christians, who neither offer prayers when in distress, nor thanksgiving for signal deliverances. The Lord commands all creatures, and can make any of them serve his designs of mercy to his people. Let us see this salvation of the Lord, and admire his power, that he could thus save a drowning man, and his pity, that he would thus save one who was running from him, and had offended him. It was of the Lord's mercies that Jonah was not consumed. Jonah was alive in the fish three days and nights: to nature this was impossible, but to the God of nature all things are possible. Jonah, by this miraculous preservation, was made a type of Christ; as our blessed Lord himself declared, Mt 12:40.

Not unto their gods, but unto the true Jehovah, the God of Jonah, and of the Hebrews; whom they now, by this providence, and Jonah's discourse, had some convictions and knowledge of as the true God; and therefore direct their prayer to him, before they cast the prophet into the sea: and said, we beseech thee, O Lord, we beseech thee; which repetition shows the ardent, vehemence, and earnestness of their minds in prayer: let us not perish for this man's life; they were in the utmost perplexity of mind, not knowing well what to do; they saw they must perish by the storm, if they saved his life; and they were afraid their should perish, if they took it away; and which yet they were obliged to do; and therefore had no other way left but to pray to the Lord they might not perish for it; or it be reckoned as their crime, and imputed to them, as follows: and lay not upon us innocent blood; for so it was to them; he had done no hurt to them since he had been with them, except in being the cause of the storm, whereby they had suffered the loss of their goods; however, had not been guilty of anything worthy of death, as they could observe; and as for his offence against God, they were not sufficient judges of, and must leave it with him: the light of nature teaches men to be tender of the lives of fellow creatures, and to avoid shedding of innocent blood: for thou, O Lord, hast done as it pleased thee; it appeared to them to be the wilt of God that he should be cast into the sea; from

Wherefore they cried unto the LORD, and said, {k} We beseech thee, O LORD, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, O LORD, hast done as it pleased thee. (k) This declares that the very wicked in their time of need flee to God for help, and also that they are touched with a certain fear of shedding man's blood, whereas they know no manifest sign of wickedness.

(14) Wherefore they cried unto the Lord.— There is presented here, as throughout the book, a strong contrast between the readiness of the heathen to receive religious impressions, and the stubbornness and obstinacy of Israel. For this man’s life . . .—i.e., for taking it. The law of retaliation was as familiar to them as to the Hebrews (Deuteronomy 19:21). (Comp. 2Samuel 14:7.) For thou.—The original is more impressive: For Thou, Jehovah, as it hath phased Thee, Thou hast done. The storm, the lot, the request of the prophet himself, all showed that the sailors were but instruments in carrying out the Divine purpose.

Wherefore, since all their labour and skill to carry the ship to shore was successless, and they saw no remedy, but they must either follow Jonah’s advice against himself, or drown with him, they cried, with importunity of mind, and with loud voices too in prayer, unto the Lord; not now, as in the beginning of the tempest, every man to his god; but, better instructed now, they all cry to Jonah’s God, to Jehovah the true God. We; they all join in prayer. Beseech; sue to Mercy for mercy; they plead not innocency or merit, but pray for mercy, and that free. Thee; all sue to God, not to saints or intermediate demons. We beseech thee; it is repeated to note their vehemency in prayer. Let us not perish for this man’s life; though he is pointed out by lot, hath advised us hereunto, yet if possible let the tempest cease, and we all be safe; let not him perish, nor we for him: so their first prayer is for safety to Jonah and all in the ship. Lay not upon us innocent blood: this is the next suit, that if God, by the continued tempest, do peremptorily and irreversibly require Jonah’s life, a person innocent among them, and who had, since he came to them, so demeaned himself, that, should they throw him overboard before they had tried all kind of means for preserving him, they might not be justly accounted barbarous murderers, and God would certainly charge innocent blood upon them; this they deprecate with all earnestness and importunity.

Hast done; sending the tempest, arresting the prophet by it, detecting him by lot, sentencing him by his own mouth, and confirming the condemning sentence by the continuance of the storm, and so leaving us to perish with this offender against thee, or to be thy executioners; this is thine own doing, and it is just because thou doest it. As it pleased thee; though it be secret to us, and strange in our opinion, yet it is very just and necessary we know, or it would not please thee it should be so.

Verse 14. - They cried unto the Lord. They prayed no longer to their gods, as before (ver. 5), but unto Jehovah, the God of Jonah. Let us not perish for this man's life. Let us not incur death for taking this man's life. They seem to know something of the Noachic law that punished murder ( Genesis 9:5, 6 ). Lay not upon us innocent blood. Charge us not with the guilt of shedding innocent blood ( Deuteronomy 21:8 ). For thou, O Lord, hast done as it pleased thee ( 1 Samuel 3:18 ). The whole affair has happened according to thy will. The tempest, the lot, the sentence, are all the working of thy providence. The prophet throughout brings into prominence the contrast between the behaviour of these heathen and his own, and would teach his nation a lesson thereby. Jonah 1:14

14. for this man's life—that is, for taking this man's life. innocent blood—Do not punish us as Thou wouldst punish the shedders of innocent blood (compare De 21:8). In the case of the Antitype, Pontius Pilate washed his hands and confessed Christ's innocence, "I am innocent of the blood of this just person." But whereas Jonah the victim was guilty and the sailors innocent, Christ our sacrificial victim was innocent and Pontius Pilate and nil of us men were guilty. But by imputation of our guilt to Him and His righteousness to us, the spotless Antitype exactly corresponds to the guilty type. thou … Lord, hast done as it pleased thee—That Jonah has embarked in this ship, that a tempest has arisen, that he has been detected by casting of lots, that he has passed sentence on himself, is all Thy doing. We reluctantly put him to death, but it is Thy pleasure it should be so.

14 . for this man’s life ] i. e. for having taken it away. Lit., in the life of this man, according to a well-known use of this Heb. preposition in the sense of ‘in the place of,’ ‘in exchange for.’ So Genesis 29:18 , “I will serve thee for (lit. ‘in,’ in exchange for) Rachel;” and Deuteronomy 19:21 , “life for (in) life,” &c. lay not upon us innocent blood ] i. e. the guilt of having shed innocent blood. Comp. Deuteronomy 21:8 . for thou, O Lord , &c.] The death of this man is no doing of ours. We are only carrying out Thy declared will. Hold us not, therefore, responsible for it. “That Jonah betook himself to this ship of ours, that the tempest was raised, that Jonah was taken by lot, that he passed this sentence upon himself, all this comes of Thy will.”—Rosenm. 14–16 . The openness of these heathens to religious impressions; the readiness with which they acknowledged Jehovah (hitherto to them an unknown God), and addressed no longer to their own gods ( Jonah 1:5 ), but to Him their most earnest and humble prayers; their submission to His will ( Jonah 1:14 ), and the worship which they subsequently paid and promised Him ( Jonah 1:15 ), are all brought out in bold relief, and in strong and (in pursuance of the object of this Book) intended contrast with the conduct of His own people Israel in turning from Him to idols.

These heathens, too, reverence and would fain save from death a prophet of Jehovah who has come to them unbidden, and has well-nigh compassed their destruction; Jerusalem “killed the prophets and stoned them that were sent unto her” for her salvation. They shew the utmost tenderness for a single life; Jonah, the prophet of the Lord, is worse than regardless of “more than sixscore thousand” human souls.