Jonah 1:4 But the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken.… There is a religious side to storms. Tempests have done what spiritual teachers could not do. 1. Disobedience ensures punishment. No man can sin with impunity. There is an absolute necessity for moral wrong to be judiciously dealt with. 2. The forces of nature are often the instruments of God's corrective or punitive purposes. There is a providence in all varieties of weather. 3. The sin of one involves others in its consequences.From verse 5, we gather — 1. That in seasons of extreme peril the religious instinct invariably reverts to a real or imaginary superior power for help. The religious sense is in imploration to God. 2. That possessions are valueless when life is at stake. 3. That remedial measures to alleviate the consequences of evil are futile while the cause slumbers undisturbed. Sin is the Jonah in every man which keeps him in jeopardy and restlessness every hour.From verse 6, we are taught — 1. That adverse circumstances often require to be supplemented by direct appeal to arouse men to a sense of their perilous situation. 2. The insufficiency of nature to correct the false and teach the true object of worship. 3. The parallel and divergent points in human history. The same ship, route, port, etc., but widely different motives, ends, etc.Verse 7 teaches — 1. That the casualties of life are not unfrequently associated with wrong-doing. No calamity without a cause, no sin without a calamity, sooner or later. 2. That necessity drives to expedients. 3. That detection will inevitably overtake the guilty, or the lot fall on the right man. 4. That the extremities of men are the opportunities of God. 5. That one rebellious act sends its ring down the vestibule of ages. (J. O. Keen, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: But the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken. |
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