Thrown Overboard

“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. 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.” Jonah 1:11-12

Why was Jonah thrown overboard? The shipmen determined that Jonah was the cause of the great storm that was about to sink their ship. Their superstition led them to cast lots to find out whose fault it was. Normally, we would say that this kind of decision making is mere chance and would leave us open to making serious mistakes. But in this case, we know that it really was Jonah’s fault that the storm came upon them. Once they were convinced that the storm was Jonah’s fault, they asked him what they should do to cause the storm to stop. Why did Jonah tell them to throw him overboard? Did God tell him to give this answer? Was he having compassion on the sailors? What did Jonah think was going to happen to him if they threw him overboard? Did Jonah know about the great fish that was swimming around just waiting to swallow him whole? Jonah was continuing to refuse to go to Nineveh. If Jonah had been willing to repent and obey the Lord, he would have told them to turn the ship around and take him to the nearest port to Nineveh; but he remained defiant. Jonah’s life is an object lesson on obedience. Doing God’s will is really the only option that makes sense, so we may as well do it with a smile.