John Calvin Commentary Jonah 1:11-12

"Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? for the sea grew more and more tempestuous. And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you." — Jonah 1:11-12 (ASV)

The sailors asked counsel of Jonah, and from this it appears that they were so overcome with fear that they did not dare to do anything to him. From this we see how much they had improved almost instantly, since they spared an Israelite because they acknowledged that the true God, the supreme King of heaven and earth, was worshipped among that people.

Indeed, it was undoubtedly this fear that restrained them from throwing Jonah immediately into the sea. For since it was certain that God was displeased with all of them because of his fault, why did they not save themselves by such an expiation? Their delay in such great danger, and their not daring to seize Jonah instantly, was clear proof that they were restrained, as I have said, by the fear of God.

They therefore inquired what should be done: What shall we do to thee, that the sea may be still to us? For the sea was going, etc. By 'going,' Jonah means that the sea was turbulent, for the sea is said to rest when it is calm; but when it is turbulent, then it is 'going,' and has various movements and tossings. The sea, then, was going and very tempestuous.

From this we see that God was not satisfied with Jonah's disgrace, but He intended to punish his offense still more. It was necessary for Jonah to be brought to the punishment he deserved, although, as we shall see in its proper place, he was later miraculously delivered from death.

Jonah then answers, Take me, and throw me into the sea, and it will be still to you. It may be asked whether Jonah should have offered himself to die of his own accord, for it seemed to be a sign of desperation. He might, indeed, have surrendered himself to their will; but here he, as it were, spurred them on. “Throw me into the sea,” he says, “for you cannot otherwise pacify God than by punishing me.” He seemed like a man in despair when he thus advanced to death of his own accord.

But Jonah undoubtedly knew that he was doomed to punishment by God. It is uncertain whether he then held any hope of deliverance, that is, whether he confidently relied at this time on the grace of God. However it may have been, we may still conclude that he surrendered himself to death because he knew and was fully persuaded that he was, in a way, summoned by the clear voice of God. And so there is no doubt that he patiently submitted to the judgment which the Lord had assigned to him. Take me, then, and throw me into the sea.

Then he adds, The sea will be to you still. Here Jonah not only declares that God would be pacified by his death because the lot had fallen on him, but he also acknowledges that his death would be a sufficient expiation for the tempest to subside. And then the reason follows—I know, he says, that on my account is this great tempest come upon you.

When he says that he knew this, he could not be referring to the lot, for that knowledge was common to them all. But Jonah speaks here by the prophetic spirit, and he undoubtedly confirms what I have referred to before—that the God of Israel was the supreme and only King of heaven and earth. This certainty of knowledge, then, of which Jonah speaks, must be attributed to his own conscience and to the teaching of the religion in which he had been instructed.

And now we may learn a most useful lesson from these words: Jonah does not here expostulate with God, nor arrogantly complain that God punished him too severely, but he willingly bears his declared guilt and his punishment, as he did before when he said, I am the worshipper of the true God. How could he confess the true God, whose great displeasure he was then experiencing?

But Jonah, we see, was so subdued that he did not fail to ascribe to God His just honor. Though death was before his eyes and God’s wrath was burning, we still see that he gave God, as we have said, the honor due to Him. So the same thing is repeated in this place: Behold, he says, I know that on my account has this great tempest happened. He who takes all the blame on himself certainly does not murmur against God.

It is, then, a true confession of repentance when we acknowledge God and willingly testify before men that He is just, even though, according to the judgment of our flesh, He may deal harshly with us. However, when we give Him the praise due to His justice, we then truly show our penitence.

For unless God’s wrath brings us down to this humble state of mind, we will always be full of bitterness; and, however silent we may be for a time, our heart will still be perverse and rebellious. This humility, then, always follows repentance: the sinner prostrates himself before God, willingly admits his own sin, and does not try to escape by excuses.

And it was no wonder that Jonah humbled himself in this way, for we see that the sailors did the same. When they said that lots were to be cast, they added at the same time, Come ye and let us cast lots, that we may know why this evil has happened to us. They did not accuse God, but made Him the Judge, and thus they acknowledged that He inflicted a just punishment.

And yet everyone thought himself to be innocent; for however their consciences might have troubled them, still no one considered himself guilty of such great wickedness as to subject him to God’s vengeance. Though the sailors, then, thought themselves exempt from any great sin, they still did not contend with God but allowed Him to be their Judge.

Since then they, who were so uncultured, confined themselves within these bounds of modesty, it was no wonder that Jonah—especially when he was roused, began to feel his guilt, and was also powerfully restrained by God’s hand—now confessed that he was guilty before God and that he justly suffered such a heavy and severe punishment.

We ought, then, to take special notice of this: that he knew that the storm happened on his account, or that the sea was so tempestuous against all of them because of him. We will defer the rest until tomorrow.

Prayer:

Grant, Almighty God, that as You urge us daily to repentance and each of us is also stung by the consciousness of his own sins—grant that we may not grow dull in our vices, nor deceive ourselves with empty flatteries, but that each of us may, on the contrary, carefully examine his own life and then with one voice and heart confess that we are all guilty, not only of light offenses, but of such as deserve eternal death, and that no other relief remains for us but Your infinite mercy, and that we may so seek to become partakers of that grace which was once offered to us by Your Son and is daily offered to us by His Gospel, that, relying on Him as our Mediator, we may not cease to entertain hope even in the midst of a thousand deaths, until we are gathered into that blessed life which has been procured for us by the blood of Your only Son. Amen.