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. (Jonah 1:11)
As the sailors thought about the risk of losing their lives on account of a disobedient prophet, they continued to explore their options for survival. Since they knew that the storm was Jonah’s fault, they asked him for a solution. Surely, Jonah’s answer surprised them:
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. (1:12)
Likely, the sailors thought Jonah would pray to his God for forgiveness and safe passage to dry land. Maybe, they expected Jonah to make a bargain with God since it’s likely they did that with their false gods, promising to offer sacrifices in exchange for deliverance from a problem.
Perhaps they thought that Jonah would suggest they lock him up or whip him for what he had done. It is likely they would have thought that Jonah’s God would only be appeased by some form of brutal punishment because that’s what they had been taught would appease their gods.
However, it’s obvious that they did not want to comply with Jonah’s wishes based on what the next verse says:
Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring it to the land; but they could not: for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous against them. (1:13)
Imagine how hard it would have been to try to row this large ship during such a terrible storm. These sailors made an extreme effort to avoid meeting Jonah’s request. However, the storm was just too great; the sailors could not row to land.
They began to think that the only way they were going to survive this tempest was to do as Jonah said. Yet, these men were honorable; they did not want to be responsible for Jonah’s death. Now we see an interesting turn of events:
Wherefore they cried unto the LORD, and said, We beseech thee, O LORD, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, O LORD, hast done as it pleased thee. (1:14)
The sailors, who previously did not know the Lord, began to pray to Him! Notice that LORD is all capitalized. When the Bible uses this name for the Lord, it means Jehovah God. They acknowledged God’s great power, and they showed reverence to Him. They didn’t ask their gods to spare them or to not hold them accountable for Jonah’s life. They prayed to the One True God of Heaven, acknowledging that He had the power to do as He pleased.
We see this very fact stated beautifully in Psalm 115:
Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is now their God? But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. (v. 2-3)
Then the sailors decided to follow through with Jonah’s suggestion:
So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging. (1:15)
Having offered a prayer to the Lord, the sailors picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea. Immediately, the sea became calm; the storm ended. The calm showed the sailors once again the power of the Lord. It also confirmed that the storm was the result of Jonah’s disobedience.
The turbulence ceased once the sailors faithfully carried out Jonah’s instructions. The Lord answered their prayers.
The sailors now saw that the Lord truly did have power over the wind and sea just as Jonah had told them. Their response to God’s ending the storm is truly amazing:
Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the LORD, and made vows. (1:16)
These men were worshipers of false gods; they had never before had a prayer even heard let alone answered! Now, the Lord had not only heard them, but He also cared enough to respond.
When the sailors realized that God had heard and answered them, they began to see the Lord in a new light. Now, they reverenced and feared Him as they should. They offered a sacrifice to the Lord because of this new respect for Him.
The only reason they would have had animals on this ship would have been because they were going to sell them when they arrived in Tarshish. Once again, we see the sailors willingly forfeiting revenue. Only this time, they did it to honor the Lord, not to save themselves.
It would not be a great stretch to say that it is likely these men became believers in the Lord from this day forward. They had come face to face with the truth of God’s power and responded with a worshipful attitude.
Jonah had been disobedient and had tried to run from God; he would face more consequences for his actions. However, God still used this situation to accomplish His will in the lives of these sailors, and perhaps we will meet them in Heaven someday.