The Pulpit Commentary — Jonah — Section 32

H. TRF. LOT FAJ,1,~ U'l'ON JONAH. l'ictnro his anxiety while the lot was being cMt- his despair wh~n it fell on him. '!'his seems to hnve brought him to a sense of his sin: i~ was God's voice, " T~ou ~rt the man ! " Jonah now broke ~own, prostrated by the little arrow from Gods quiver. In walking through a hospital arter a battle, two r,,mark~ are som~t.imes n1Rde-How easy to kill! and-How difficult to kill I Some h>dies almMt ent.ire, yet killed; some fo,'\rfully 8hattered, yet alive. So we say-How difficult it is to humble! and-H°'v easy it is to humble I difficult for man, easy for Goo; man may reason, expostulate, apply truth, yet the offender may not in any degree be touchNi. by it. A word, a look, a lot from God, makes one quite prostrate nnd help- less. What R power of rebuking and prostrating God may use at the last day I III. JONAH QUESTIONED. All eyes are fixed on Jonah with eager curiosity to ascer- tain "'hat be bad done. The running fire of questions indicates desire for light on the ~t.ranie transaction. They were chiefly anxious to know his crime, his occupation, nnd his rountry; either his personal guilt, or the guilt connected with his occupation if it was an unlawful one, or with his country, or with his people; for there might~ f•Jme horrible sin, perhaps committed of old by the people of his country, exposing them and him through them t.o the wrath of the gods. Why did they not act at once on the decision of the lot, and throw Jonah overboard? Probably they desired con- fim,ation of it; it must be a painful transaction, and they would like more authority for the step they were t.o take. It would· be satisfactory to get Jonah to confess. It might throw light on the origin of storms, and be a useful hint for the future. IV. JoNAB's ANSWER, The nobler aspect of Jonah's character now comes out-- perfect ingenuousness and honesty; he knows his fate-death stares him in the face-- yet there is no shrinking or fencing of any kind. Be tells them: 1. He is a Hebrew, a member of the race that had so much to do with the powers above. 2. The God whom he worships is the God that made the sea and the dry land, and has absolute power over both. 3. He ha.~ fled from his presence, has offended him, and now God is showing his displeasure. Humiliating position, yet not without a certain grandeur- ,Tonah under the rebuke of God, his own conscience, and the heathen mariners. In reference to the mariners, he who might have been expected to bring them blessing bas brought tbem trouble. His mouth is shut; he can say nothing for himself. There is something very striking in his undergoing the condemnation of the mariner,. Be had been afraid, apparently, of the bad opinion of the Ninevites, and had shunned his com- n1issiou; but now he encounters the bad opinion of the mariners-with nothing to faW back on-bis conscience and his God both against him. Yet there is a grandeur in his honest confession, in his attitude of thorough humility; there is a noble truthfulnesa. uow about him ; he conceals nothing, though he must be the victim. V. EFFECT ON TEE 1UJID.'EBS, They were exceedingly afraid. They felt a aense of the reality and nearness of a supernatural power-the power ·of the God who made the sea and now raises it in storm. The supernatural must be always very impressive- must have subduing effect whenever God is felt to be near, as in time of pestilence. 'l'he men now felt God nea.r, in character of the righteous, holy Judge, punishing au offender-not like heathen gods, jesting at sin, but in terrible earnl!!st against it. 'l'hey seemed to have been impressed, and converted to God, for the soul may move very rapidly; deep impressions may be made very suddenly in time of great excitement. A great lesson to Jonah ; if these rough heathen sailors were so deeply impressed by the fear of God, might not the Ninevites have been so too? They said to Jonah, " Why hast thou done this?" Strange aspect of sins of God's servants in eyes of world J God's servants have no cloak for their sins. The question must have cut Jonah to the quick. He could only echo it in blank amazemenf;-Why ha.ve I done this? Observe the hollowness of all apologies for sin in the hour of judgment; sin, however sweet in tbe mouth, is bitter in the belly; "lust, when it is finished, bringeth forth dea.tb." The horror and misery of the ship's compsny are a type of the effects of sin, of one sin, by a servant of Gou. " Who can understand his errors 7 Cleanse thou me from secret faults. Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins." 0 sin, wha.t a monster art thou ! what tragedies come out of thee I how dost thou involve others in ruin, as the drunkard's family I God give us a true sense of U, and teach us to hate it in every form, and guard against its minutest seeds, lest, like the dragon's teeth, they breed against us hosts of armed men I Let each one often put CII, I, 1-17.] THE BOOK OF JONAH. 20