3.
Jonah paid the fare. Jonah 1:3 Did he ever. What ever he paid in shekels or the money used by him, he had no conception of the most unique experience which was ahead of him. Had he any notion of what was to happen to him, he would never have boarded a boat of any kind. To obey is better than sacrifice and to hearken than the fat of rams. 1 Sam. 15:22 It is not possible to run from the will of the Lord and not have to pay the price for such actions. Jonah made his second turn down when he went down into the ship. Foolish steps made by a man who was running from the will of the Lord. There is but one direction of travel for those who find themselves outside of the will of the Lord, and that is down. While most cry out for the presence of the Lord and find it a very desirable state of affairs. Every individual who runs from the Lord will be most miserable.
The resistance of Jehovah against such actions was to use a great and extremely strong wind (Hebrew. Ruach, breath, wind or spirit). Jonah 1:4 That wind presence of the Spirit may be damaging or beneficial. On the day of Pentecost, it was a mighty rushing wind that was present when they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:2 The presence of the Lord is depicted as walking upon the wings of the wind. Ps. 104:3 The word tempest has as its root word a whirlwind, a hurricane. It is questionable that the captain and the crew had ever been in such frightening seas. The creaking, the groaning of the boat would elicit great consternation. The wind and the waves were so strong that the ship was about to be broken up by the great tempest. This was a storm such as only the Lord could create. Be certain that it was unusually strong.
The sailors recognized the uniqueness of the storm. Even though they were most likely seasoned sailors, great consternation and fear gripped them. Like most people, in the storms of life, they prayed to their gods. They must have represented a multiplicity of gods, yet there was no answer from any of them. And, reasonably so, for this was a mighty gale sent by the Lord God. There is no god which can be victorious over His power and will. Such great fear took hold of them that they threw the cargo overboard. This would create financial loss for them. Face to face with fear and death, nothing in this world has any value but the will to live.
But Jonah. Totally unaware of the storm which he had caused. Was somewhere, below the deck, DOWN in the ship, soundly asleep. Actually, the Hebrew word indicates one who is stunned, stupefied or deadly asleep. Jonah was completely out of touch with reality. Foolishly, he was of the opinion that he had thwarted the purpose and call of the Lord and was well on his way to a complete escape. He was acting under a disillusion which was about to end. Jonah. 1:5 He was in deep trouble.