Almost everyone knows the name Jonah. Most know that he tried to run from God and was swallowed by a large fish. After three days, God had the fish throw Jonah up. Jonah, then, went to the great city of Nineveh and preached to them. All of those in Nineveh, including the King, were converted by Jonah’s message.
The account of Jonah is primarily to show that the Lord cares about all men. He wants all men to be saved. Even as bad as the Assyrians were, God wanted them to be saved. There are others in the Book of Jonah who were saved as well. Not much is ever said about them.
Jonah hired a ship to take him to Tarshish. He thought going that far from Israel would get him away from the Lord. The Lord sent a mighty storm. The sailors all called to their gods. Of course, there was no answer. They cast lots to see who had caused the storm. The Lord gave the answer. The sailors wanted to know who he was. It seems from that question that Jonah may have been wearing a disguise. They could not recognize he was a Hebrew.
When he told them that he was a Hebrew and served the Lord, the sailors were afraid. Jonah told them to throw him overboard if they wanted to be saved. They did not want to do that, but no matter how hard they tried, they could not bring the boat to land. It is interesting that at this point the sailors address the Lord. Non-Jews are never recorded as addressing God as the Lord. That title was reserved for those in the Mosaic covenant. So, it is very possible that these sailors were Jews who had fallen away from God.
Eventually, the sailors decided to do what Jonah had suggested. They threw Jonah into the sea. As soon as that was done, the storm stopped. Then, we are told that the sailors feared the Lord exceedingly. More importantly, they offered sacrifice to the Lord and made vows. This would indicate that they were brought back to the Mosaic covenant. Even if they were not really Jews, it is a fact that through Jonah’s actions, these sailors were converted and had a relationship with the Lord. Sometimes bad actions can have unexpected consequences. God cared about these sailors as much as he cared about the Assyrians.
Study your Bible. Learn about the Lord. Obey Him, and if any of this is hard to understand, ask an adult to help you.
