“Then the men were exceedingly afraid, and said to him, ‘Why have you done this?’ For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them.”
Then the men were exceedingly afraid,
Apparently the sailors grasped the seriousness of Jonah’s rebellion against God more than Jonah did.
and said to him, “Why have you done this?”
What a “why” this is! Sailors who know not God rebuke a prophet for his rebellion: “What an astonishment this is! What spiritual stupidity!” It does not make sense to rebel against a God who made the sea and the dry land.
For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them
Jonah owned up to his rebellion against the LORD. The sailors caught the full implication of Jonah’s rebellion against God.
PRINCIPLE:
Non-Christians have more sense at times than carnal Christians.
APPLICATION:
At times, non-Christians have more sense than Christians. It is always a great rebuke for non-Christians to show Christians how to live. Non-Christians with common sense can have more sense at times than the carnal Christian with the entire Word of God at his disposal. God’s principle is that Christians should have a higher system of life than non-Christians should:
1 Pt. 4:17-19, 17 “For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?18 Now “If the righteous one is scarcely saved, Where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?” 19 Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.”
