Jonah 1:9 AMP
So he said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I [reverently] fear and worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”
It was common knowledge among sailors in Jonah’s day that turbulent moments on the waters were partly associated with disobedience to deities. As such, when the strong winds began to wreck the ship Jonah had boarded, the sailors said to one another in the heat of that dangerous moment, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this trouble has come upon us” (Jon 1:7 NKJV). The lots fell on Jonah, and, without a second thought, the sailors knew exactly that he was the cause of the trouble. Immediately, further interrogation into who Jonah was ensued (Jon 1:8), and his response was as follows:
“I am a Hebrew, and I [reverently] fear and worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land”, as in our reference text. The sailors’ response to Jonah is eye-opening: “‘Why have you done this?’ For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the LORD” (Jon 1:10 NKJV). The question that comes to mind is, Why would he, who is associated with the “God of heaven,” who reverently “fear[s] and worship[s] the LORD”, flee from the presence of that same LORD? In fact, by asking Jonah why he had done that, the pagan sailors (who worshiped man-made gods) never expected Jonah to be at loggerheads with his Almighty God of the Hebrews.
Beloved, “Why have you done this?”, is a profound, soul-searching question we should seriously strive to avoid hearing from our conscience, especially when it concerns our spiritual relationship with God. The joy, peace, and blessing of having a clear conscience before our heavenly Father is simply beyond description. The Word says, “…if our consciences are clear, we can come to the Lord with perfect assurance and trust, and get whatever we ask for because we are obeying him and doing the things that please him” (1 Joh 3:21-22 TLB). Hallelujah! Like Paul, let us all do our “…best and strive always to have a clear conscience before God and before men” (Act 24:16 AMP).
Pst. Emmanuel