6.
With Jonah cast out of the ship and into the sea, there was an immediate calm. What a shocking turn of events that must have been for the crew. They had been in the midst of a tremendous tempest with great seas and then, absolute calm the minute Jonah hit the water. When they threw him from the deck to the sea, it was another step DOWN for Jonah. Jonah 1:15
The reaction of the crew was one of great, exceeding fear. They were awe stricken at the manifestation of the great power of the Lord. At the same time, all that they had been through demonstrated to them that there was a true God and they had great reverence for Him. So much so, that they made a sacrifice of thanksgiving unto the LORD. They also made vows or promises unto the LORD. If they had not been convinced that the LORD was the true God, they were now. They were Jonah’s first converts on his missionary trip. He really did not have mush to do with there decisions, he was just the cause. Jonah 1:16.
In lieu of catching the fish, Jonah was caught of the great fish. All argument as to the species is laid aside in view of the fact that the LORD prepared a fish. Jonah 1:17 Matthew quoted Jesus as having called it the belly of a whale, a huge fish. Mt. 12:40 It would have been a simple matter for the Lord to have prepared a large fish with a stomach large enough for Jonah. Then too, Jonah may not have been a large man.
The prophets of old were used of the Lord to introduce certain Messianic statements and events. Jonah was to be in his coffin, the fishes stomach, for three days and three nights. This is not a Jewish idiom but a statement of fact. Jonah spent a full seventy two hours incarcerated in the cavity of this great fish. The statement, three days and three nights, embraces the total period of time, or seventy two hours. Jonah 1:17b.
Jesus gave extreme importance to this particular three days and three nights by stating that it was to be the only sign to be given to His generation of Israelites. For as Jonah spent a full three days and nights In the belly of the fish, so, the Son of man, the Lord Jesus would spend three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The language is very plain, For as Jonah, so the Son of man. The Lord Jesus was to spend an identical period of time in the tomb. There is no indication, whatsoever, of this period of time being shortened from a total of seventy two hours. To make it to be anything less is to put a lie in the mouth of our Lord. It is time to be set free from traditions and untruths and believe the word of the Lord, for it alone is truth. Buy the truth. Prov. 23:23 To embrace the truth of the Word may cost much more than silver or gold but there is great joy in knowing the truth and embracing it.