Meditation: Jonah 1:7-10

"And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. Then they said to him, “Tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us. What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?” And he said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, “What is this that you have done!” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them. Jonah 1:7-10

In C.S. Lewis’ The Silver Chair, Jill found herself dying of thirst but when she found a stream there was just one problem. Actually, it was one great big problem, or rather a great big lion that lay between her and the stream. But then she hears the giant lion speak:

“Are you not thirsty?" said the Lion. "I am dying of thirst," said Jill. "Then drink," said the

Lion. "May I — could I — would you mind going away while I do?" said Jill. The Lion answered this only by a look and a very low growl. And as Jill gazed at its motionless

bulk, she realized that she might as well have asked the whole mountain to move aside for her convenience.

The delicious rippling noise of the stream was driving her nearly frantic. "Will you promise not to — do anything to me, if I do come?" said Jill. "I make no promise," said the Lion. Jill was so thirsty now that, without noticing it, she had come a step nearer. "Do you eat girls?" she said. "I have swallowed up girls and boys, women and men, kings and emperors, cities and realms," said the Lion. It didn't say this as if it were boasting, nor as if it were sorry, nor as if it were angry. It just said it.

"I daren't come and drink," said Jill. "Then you will die of thirst," said the Lion. "Oh dear!" said Jill, coming another step nearer. "I suppose I must go and look for another stream then." "There is no other stream," said the Lion.”

The great question that the book of Jonah answers for us is, what is God like? We’re given an answer in chapter four verse two, “for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.” But this gracious and merciful God is also sovereign over all things and acts according to His will and His will is good. Os Guinness said,

“We cannot find God without God. We cannot reach God without God. We cannot satisfy God without God – which is another way of saying that all of our seeking will fall short unless God starts and finishes the search. The decisive part of our seeking is not our human ascent to God, but his descent to us. Without God’s descent there is no human ascent. The secret of the quest lies not in our brilliance but in his grace.”

It was the Lord that came to Jonah. It was the Lord who told Jonah to go to Nineveh and what to say when he got there. It was the Lord that allowed Jonah to run. It was the Lord that put Jonah on that ship with those sailors. It was the Lord that brought the mighty tempest. It was the Lord that controlled the lots cast.

It was the Lord that had Jonah thrown into the sea. It was Lord the appointed the great fish to swallow Jonah and spit him back out. It was the Lord that brought Jonah to Nineveh. It was the Lord that put it upon the Ninevites to repent. It was the Lord that brought the scorching east wind. It was the Lord that brought shade for Jonah and then took it away.

Yes, Jonah is responsible for his rebellion as is everyone else in the book of Jonah, including the sailors and the Ninevites, and the Israelites whose presence is always there in the background. But what Jonah meant for evil God meant for good. Yes, Jonah is fully responsible for fleeing from the presence of the Lord and he would pay a price for that.

But God in His mercy and grace would use Jonah’s unwillingness to go to pagan Nineveh to not only bring about the repentance of pagan Nineveh but also the repentance of all of these pagan sailors who were now coming into contact with the living God and were terrified. Uri Brito says,

“When the sailors hear Jonah’s confession in verse 9, they respond by becoming even more afraid. Jonah announces that he is a prophet of the one true Creator God. Suddenly, the sailors find something more terrifying than the storm. In verse four, they were afraid of the storm, but in verse ten, after hearing of Jonah’s God, they became ‘exceedingly, greatly’ afraid. They are now face-to-face with the Lord. They have now heard about God with a capital ‘G,’ and they now know that their idols are nothing.”

When the Lord threw a mighty tempest on the sea these sea-hardened sailors began crapping their pants – they had never seen anything like this before and they were truly terrified. However, Jonah is sleeping like a baby, completely ambivalent and dispassionate to their fear and loss of cargo.

The captain calls him out…and tells him to call out to his God. At this point, Jonah hasn’t called out to God, nor has he spilled the beans as to why he is on that ship. So they decide to cast lots in order to find out who is responsible for this evil that has come upon them. The casting of lots was like saying, “Let it be God’s will that decides”

The casting of lots would be somewhat equivalent to the rolling of dice…whoever gets double sixes would be the one on who the lot is cast type thing. Jonah finds himself amongst a crew of sailors…approximately forty of them. He decides to go last, perhaps thinking that he might dodge a bullet. The first guys rolls – nope, the second – nope, the third – nope….all the way down the line to Jonah.

Surprise, Surprise - The lot fell on Jonah.

“The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD.” Proverbs 16:33

Jonah then immediately got the stink eye from forty grown men at the same time as they asked, “Tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us. What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?”

Jonah answers, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” Now the sailors are exceedingly afraid, because apparently, Jonah also told them that he was running from His God. Jonah says he is a Hebrew, but he is not acting like it. Jonah says he fears the Lord, but he is not acting like. But you know who is? The pagan sailors.

Both Jonah and the sailors needs to get to the point where they realized there is no other stream. The mighty lion that that sits enthroned between you and the River of Life is Jesus, the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty He will give from the springs of the water of life without payment, but you must come through Him.

The real question isn’t whether or not Jonah or the sailors are at that point just yet, but whether or not you are. To the thirsty, He says come.