Many people have looked back on their life and have said I wonder if I did it different how would my life been. If I had just listen to the weather report I would have know know to dress. One other what if is, only if I had listen to my gut instinct I wouldn’t been in this traffic jam.
There are so many what if in the world today. It could be from actors to sports people. It could be from the street corner preacher to the person in the White House. The what if factor was real back than and still real today.
Jonah had a what if factor in his live. We many not see it at times but the key is this if he had just gone to Nineveh all that mess wouldn’t have happened. Let see what took place.
A storm came up that we knew of. God caused it to happened.
People was afraid for their life
Captain saw Jonah asleep doing this crisis. He said call on your God to save us.
Jonah 1:7-10 NIV
Then the sailors said to each other, “Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity.” They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. So they asked him, “Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What kind of work do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?” He answered, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord , the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” This terrified them and they asked, “What have you done?” (They knew he was running away from the Lord , because he had already told them so.)
Jonah knew the storm was because of him. He was running away from God. Only if he had obey God in the first place all of the events that happened on the boat wouldn’t accord. Even when they had cast lots and it fell on Jonah told them just throw me overboard and it all be over, yet they still tried to row back to land.
The events went like this.
Jonah 1:13-16 NIV
Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before. Then they cried out to the Lord , “Please, Lord , do not let us die for taking this man’s life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, Lord , have done as you pleased.” Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. At this the men greatly feared the Lord , and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows to him.
What if factor can be conclude in two ways. We might have forgotten the way all went down but God got their attention. Jonah was in a place he didn’t belong. One if factor was if we could row back to land it might be for out advantage. That wasn’t the case the sea grew wilder and wilder. What you do in that case. They had no other choice to do as Jonah told them to do. The other what if was about Jonah’s life. What if we throw him overboard and he dies. We don’t want to be guilty of killing an innocent man. The last what if factor was those people was touched by seeing the hand of God move. From a wild and raging storm to calm and peaceful storm. The what if Jonah didn’t show up they may not had to go through all of that but yet they saw God in action. Three things that happened because of Jonah not being in right place at the right time. Yet God still provided them to see the soveriegnty of his hand. First they prayed, second they recognize the hand of God and they feared him, third they offer a sacrifice into the Lord, fourth and finally thing was they made a vow to the Lord.
If Jonah wasn’t there those people wouldn’t believed as they did. So even when Jonah was out of place God did work. People can to know the Lord.
To think about all of this we must set and wonder. They became believers in the Lord. How do we know this because of their actions. They feared God, a form of reverence. They offer up to God a sacrifice. Meaning blood was shed inorder for the Lord can have a better encounter with the Lord. Remember Christ blood was shed for the world today. We also confess and ask Christ to be the savour over our life. In other words we are making a vow to God because of Jesus asking for salvation. Setting us free from penalty of sin and death in our spiritual life. What we saw with the people on the boat was they made a vow. An agreement between to party. I do think it was between them and the Lord since they now seen the hand of God at work.
Finally we must take the event of Jonah as a foretelling of things to come in the life of Jesus. What if the story of Jonah was the forerunner of how things Jesus will encounter on day. It’s all there just have to dig deep and see the hand of God within his word.
Tomorrow we will have a special presentation by our African ministry. We be back to continue the what if factor of Jonah. Looking at was Jonah a preview of what was yet to come in the life of Jesus. Stay with us as we share God message.
This has been GivinHope Evangelistic Ministry Team with Evangelist John Corum
©️ Copyright 2019 by GivinHope Evangelistic Ministry.
Givin H.O.P.E. Ministry of Evangelism 