Continued…Jonah had been found out, that he was the reason their ship was being tossed about.
9 And he said unto them, I am an Hebrew; and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land.
Jonah, in the midst of the trouble he had caused gave a testimony for God, to all these men, terrified for their lives. They were in this trouble because he had sinned against his God..
10 Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him. Why hast thou done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them.
The men in the boat were afraid and wondered why he would have put them in danger for something he had done. The fear of the Lord is an amazing thing.
Not everyone experiences that, but here, these men,
who served other gods had the fear of God in them as God showed His power and strength to them.
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.
They did not know what they were supposed to do. They knew Jonah was the cause of their distress, but they were already afraid for their lives and were close to death, they didn’t want to kill Jonah by tossing him off the ship and make God even more angry.
12 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 knew it was because of him and his disobedience. He told them to toss him off and they were afraid of doing the wrong thing.
13 Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring it to the land; but they could not: for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous against them.
To no avail, they tried to save themselves, but that wasn’t working.
14 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.
15 So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging.
Jonah was the sacrifice. They were afraid of God already and they were unsure what to do, but they were afraid for their own lives.
We know this was God’s plan all along.
16 Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the Lord, and made vows.
God’s awesomeness and power was even apparent to those who served other gods. They met the Living God and were impressed by His power and authority. They worshiped Him and sacrificed unto Him and made commitments to Him.
17 Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
This is referenced by Jesus and is a metaphor of Jesus’ experience after He was crucified.
For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly;
so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Matthew 12:40
Most scholars get caught up in the amount of time Jonah was in the whale’s belly and the amount of time Christ was in the heart of the earth. I think the reasoning is more interesting. Jonah was sinning, running from God, while Jesus was obeying God, being courageous and He became sin for us.
For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin;
that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Corinthians 5:21