Jonah

The casting of lots in the book of Jonah was used by God to reveal to the sailors that Jonah was the reason for their problem. What type of system of casting lots is not mentioned here. It may have been by the throwing of stones (dice), or by placing names in a receptacle, or by some other method. Whatever the system they used, the lot fell upon the guilty person with his resultant confession.

The Old Testament contains many examples of the use of the "lot" to determine the will of the Lord. I want to give you seven references.

(1) - Leviticus 16:7-10. Aaron was to cast lots upon the two goats to determine which one was to be slain and which one was to be sent away into the desert bearing the sins of Israel.

(2) - Joshua 7:14. Achan, the man who stole the spoils of the Battle of Jericho and brought defeat upon the Israelites in their attack upon the city of Ai, was found to be the guilty one by the casting of lots. The NASB is the only translation that brings in the word "lot." The word "lot" is not found in the Hebrew text, but it is implied and properly inserted.

(3) - Joshua 18:10. Joshua divided the land of Canaan among the twelve tribes of Israel by lot.

(4) - I Chronicles 6:54. The sons of Aaron received their cities by the casting of lots.

(5) - I Chronicles 23:5. The duties of the individual Levitical priests were decided by the casting of lots.

(6) - I Chronicles 26:13 and Nehemiah 10:34. The porters (servants) for the house of the Lord (the Tabernacle) were chosen by lot.

(7) - I Chronicles 28:8-31. The singers among Israel to be used in the Tabernacle worship were chosen by lot.

The method of casting lots appears to have been by the use of stones or "dice" of different colors. One of these stones or "dice" was taken blindly from a pouch, or was cast in the lap, and the color or the figure on the stone which turned up would give the answer to the problem sought.

The word for "lot" in the Old Testament is the Hebrew word GOWAL (go-rawl), which means "a small stone or a pebble."

The word for "lot" in the New Testament is the Greek word KLEROS meaning "a small pebble made of wood or bone or a stone." Today we have the word "die" which in the plural is "dice." Most of us know that dice are square pieces of ivory or plastic with different numbers of spots on the six sides and used as gambling devices. From all this, we may deduce that "lots," or "dice" was one way of seeking an answer to a problem.

The principles of casting lots or dice is also brought out in Revelation 2:17. In the letter to the Church in Pergamos, the Lord says, "I will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no one knows except the one who receives it."

I have read in some books that there are those who claim that the Urim and Thummin stones carried at all times in the pocket of the breastplate of the Levitical high priest were a system of lots God used in conveying His will to Israel. They say that one was white and one was black. It should also be noted that there is no way to be dogmatic about this since the Bible is silent on this issue, and history is very unclear.

It should also be noted that the casting of lots only applied to the nation of Israel. Today we have the perfect will of God revealed to us in written form in the Bible. Also, Paul said in Romans 8:14, "That those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God." Not, "those who follow the results of casting lots or dice."

Therefore, in our study of Jonah, God used the casting of lots (dice) to reveal to the sailors that Jonah was the guilty party.

VS 8 - Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us; What is thine occupation? and whence comest thou? What is thy country? and of what people art thou?

Now all the attention is focused on Jonah. Because one man sinned, a whole boatload of sailors was under the sentence of death. Because Jonah the prophet was trying to shirk his duty, the lives of the men on board the ship on which he fled were in jeopardy.

All of this becomes a picture of the world and the human race. Because one man sinned the world lies under the judgment and the curse of sin. Because Adam, our first father, disobeyed God, the Lord cursed all of his offspring as well as the rest of creation.

When the sailors discovered that it was Jonah who was the reason for their dilemma, they immediately bombarded him with questions. "What is your occupation?" "Where do you come from?" "What country are you from?" "Of what nationality are you?" I can picture all the sailors standing around Jonah, all asking their questions at the same time. But when it comes time to answer them, Jonah only gives a bare minimum response. He is very tight-lipped.

With this statement, everything now comes into focus for the sailors. Jonah was a Hebrew prophet who is attempting to run away from his God. It is Jonah who is responsible for their predicament. Jonah's sin had endangered the entire ship and crew.

VS 11 - 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. It appeared that the sea became even more tempestuous. Time was running out. The sailors could only ask Jonah what they could do to appease the wrath of his God. After all, he was a prophet. So they asked him, "What should we do to you so that the sea may become calm for us?"

VS 12 - And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so that the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.

In this verse, the typology of Jonah changes suddenly. Up to this point Jonah is a type of and represents the guilty rebellious sinner. But now the picture changes dramatically. From verse 12 through most of the rest of the book, Jonah and his experiences become a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. If the storm is to be stilled, sin must be dealt with, and since the wages of sin is death, the sinner must die. Therefore, Jonah's death is the only thing which can save the sailors from their doom.

The guilty one must die, sin must be judged. This is true of the human race. We are all sinners and totally depraved. God's judgment rests upon the human race. The sinner must die, but instead, God wants to save sinners, not destroy them. So He sent His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, into the world to take the sinner's place. And by His substitutionary death and resurrection, He brought peace to the sinner for whom He died. Therefore, Jonah is a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. Through his death the sailors would live.

So here is a very clear lesson of the prophet Jonah. One must die, so that many others might live. This is the great doctrine of substitutionary atonement in the Bible.

The story of Jonah was a shadow or illustration of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus said in Matthew 12:40, "For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." The only way the storm which threatened the sailors could be calmed, was for Jonah to be cast overboard and to die. There was no other way, there was no alternative. Just as there is no salvation apart from the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. But proud and stubborn humanity is very slow to believe God's Word. Instead, men seek to save themselves through their own efforts and their own toil and their own works. We see this attempt at self deliverance in verse 13.

In spite of Jonah's message of exactly what they had to do, they still tried to save themselves, and it says they "rowed hard," but all of it was of no avail. Their labors were entirely in vain and useless. What unnecessary toil and sweat and tears and pain are wasted in man's efforts to save himself by his own works when the remedy is so simple.

Jonah was probably sitting by and watching them try to save themselves, knowing that their only hope was to throw him into the sea. Jonah jumping overboard was not a solution, just as Jesus committing suicide would not have provided salvation. Those who would benefit from the death of Jonah must be the ones to throw him overboard. Just as the ones who would benefit from the death of Jesus Christ must be the ones to put Him to death.

Does this sound familiar? If you recall, Pilate washed his hands after sentencing Jesus to death and said in Matthew 27:24, "......I am innocent of the blood of this just person....." The only difference is that Jesus was just and righteous, but Jonah was not.

Until the storm threatened to destroy them and the ship the sailors counted Jonah as a man of no consequence. They paid no attention to him as he slept in the hold of the ship. He was of no particular importance to them. So also, when the Lord Jesus Christ came to earth and took on humanity, few recognized the significance of His presence among them, and they gave little attention to Him.

The sailors considered Jonah only another passenger, and mainly ignored him until the storm broke, and then they became aware of his importance, and that only by Jonah's death would they be saved. So also, when the Lord Jesus Christ came to earth and took on humanity, the people only considered Him another man, the son of a carpenter and the child of a woman named Mary. It made no great stir among them. But those of us who know and understand Biblical truth are very much aware of His importance, and that only through His death and resurrection do we have any hope.

What a wonderful mystery! The death of the victim becomes the means of salvation for the guilty ones who put the victim to death. God was able to permit wicked men to put the Savior to death, and then make that act of murder the means of saving those who were responsible for His death.

The death of Jonah meant life for the sailors in the ship. The story of the death and resurrection of Jonah is the story of the Gospel. Remember, Jesus Himself said in Matthew 12:40, "For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."

"As Jonah was..........so shall the Son of man be......" The picture of the plan of God's salvation has never changed. As long as man seeks to save himself, he remains lost. God will not accept any help from man in His work of redemption. He will not share the glory of salvation with any other creature, for "salvation is of the Lord." Jonah also discovered this in Jonah 2:9.

As the sailors watched Jonah sink beneath the waves, and they feel the winds cease and also watch the waves disappear; they immediately realized that what Jonah had said was all true. Jonah's God was the only God. He had brought the storm because of Jonah's rebellion. And just as Jonah has said, throwing him into the sea did calm the storm. These men now "feared the Lord greatly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows." These pagans became believers, while the prophet of the Lord is still in rebellion. In an attempt to avoid preaching to the Ninevites, Jonah has now preached to the sailors, and they have come to believe in his God.

PRINCIPLE - Jonah is a soul winner, and he never planned to be one. I want you notice how God used the rebellion and disobedience of a man of God to lead others to a saving knowledge and faith in the Lord. After being saved and serving in Baptist circles for a number of years and being being trained in Baptist seminary, I have never heard any Baptist preacher who preaches about soul winning ever use Jonah as an example. But he should. All of this tells us that many times God leads people to a saving knowledge of His salvation in spite of us, not because of us. As in the case of Jonah.

When a dog bites a man, that is not news; but when a man bites a dog, that is news. In the same way, when a man catches a fish, that is not news; but when a fish catches a man that is news.

The most amazing thing about Jonah's experience is that it is true. This record is told not by man, but by God, so that it would be absolute truth without any exaggeration. God cannot lie, and the Holy Spirit who inspired the writer of Jonah to write the account cannot lie. Plus, Jesus Himself adds His stamp of approval to the truthfulness and accuracy to the book of Johah in Matthew 12:40, "As Jonah was........so shall the Son of man be....."

The fish that swallowed Jonah was a specially prepared fish, which means that God made it just for this occasion, because there was no other existing fish which could serve the purpose. The Hebrew word found in Jonah 1:17 for fish is DAG (dawg), meaning "fish." The Septuagint, the Greek Old Testament uses the word KATOS, meaning "a sea monster, a sea creature." This same word is also used in Matthew 12:40.

In closing out lesson #2, I want to give you the list of miracles in the book of Jonah. This will give you a preview of coming attractions in our study.

(1) - The terrible storm which God sent upon the sea was a miracle. (Chapter one).

(2) - The fact that the storm was stilled the moment Jonah was thrown into the sea was a miracle. (Chapter one).

(3) - The fact that God prepared a great fish just for this occasion was miracle. (Chapter one).

(4) - The fact that the fish was right where Jonah fell in was also a miracle. (Chapter one).

(5) - The fact that the fish vomited up Jonah on dry land was a miracle. (Chapter two).

(6) - The fact that Jonah suffered no ill was a miracle. He may have smelled pretty bad, but he was not harmed. (Chapter two).

(7) - The growing of the gourd overnight was a miracle. (Chapter three).

(8) - The coming of the worm to destroy the gourd was a miracle. (Chapter three).

(9) - The east wind that followed the destruction of the gourd was a miracle. (Chapter three).

PRINCIPLE - Jonah could not get beyond the care of God. His life became very uncomfortable at times, and Jonah made things miserable for himself and others around him. He always seemed to need an attitude adjustment. But through it all God was always there, protecting and providing. THAT IS GRACE!!!

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