Why didn’t Jonah just jump off the boat?

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Dec 18, 2023
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#61
Jonah 1:14​
Therefore they cried out to the LORD and said,
"We pray, O LORD, please do not let us perish for this man's life, and do not charge us with innocent blood; for You, O LORD, have done as it pleased You."
your not saying it was the sailors will are you 😂
 
Dec 24, 2023
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#64
There is the element though, that they were at first terrified learning that Jonah had sinned against the God of the Hebrews, and did not want to throw him overboard, but first tried rowing again, and when this failed, they then prayed to the LORD before they did it, that He would not hold them guilty of the blood of an innocent man.

they don't seem willing or accustomed to human sacrifice.

they are initially more like Peter, who said to Christ, no, that He should not be crucified - for which he was harshly rebuked.. and then they were doing what they understood the LORD to be requiring of them, to obey what the prophet said they must do.
Which is deliciously ironic, at a literary level, because everyone in the story was obeying God except the prophet of God.
 
Dec 24, 2023
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#65
Lots of "christians" these days think one can self murder and still be saved.

Euthanasia is another trick of the devil to get people in to hell
The huge, huge majority of suicides are the result of illness, not a murderous decision. It's people who would not want to die if they were not ill; or do not want to die but cannot stop themselves because they are ill. Jesus came to heal all our illnesses and even raised people who had died of illnesses.
 

Underwhosewings

Well-known member
Jan 19, 2023
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#66
if jonah just jumped off the ship, there would be no testimony for the others on the ship.
And they would not have seen who the true God is.
Certainly not the gods that they worshiped.

Jonah 1:5-6,9-10,12,16 KJV
Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep.
[6] So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not.
[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.
[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.
[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.
[16] Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the LORD, and made vows.
 

posthuman

Senior Member
Jul 31, 2013
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#67
if jonah just jumped off the ship, there would be no testimony for the others on the ship.
And they would not have seen who the true God is.
Certainly not the gods that they worshiped.
why wouldn't there be a testimony for the others if, at verse 12, instead of telling them they had to throw him into the sea, he just told them that he had to jump into the sea?

they would have seen the same thing, Jonah going into the water, the storm ceasing - and they would have heard the same thing, Jonah telling them He had tried to run from God's call and the storm was a result of it.

but evidently something is very important to God about them throwing him into the sea, rather than him jumping on his own. their hands have to touch him. they have to be the ones who do it, and they have to have their own concerns about the guilt of his life being on their hands.
 

posthuman

Senior Member
Jul 31, 2013
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#68
but evidently something is very important to God about them throwing him into the sea, rather than him jumping on his own. their hands have to touch him. they have to be the ones who do it, and they have to have their own concerns about the guilt of his life being on their hands.
can His blood cover us without our acknowledging it on our hands?

Leviticus 16:20-21​
And when he has made an end of atoning for the Holy [Place,] the tabernacle of meeting, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat.
Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, confess over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, concerning all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and shall send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a suitable man.
 

posthuman

Senior Member
Jul 31, 2013
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#69
Yes, research it. Anyway, Jonah was dead and in hell, while his body was in the tomb of the whale.
dead, anyway. i don't think there's any question Jonah died and was resurrected after 3 days
 
Dec 29, 2023
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#70
dead, anyway. i don't think there's any question Jonah died and was resurrected after 3 days
Scriptures does not say he died, it just says he spent 3 days in the belly of the whale.
 
Dec 29, 2023
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#71
The huge, huge majority of suicides are the result of illness, not a murderous decision. It's people who would not want to die if they were not ill; or do not want to die but cannot stop themselves because they are ill. Jesus came to heal all our illnesses and even raised people who had died of illnesses.
Those that self murder (commit suicide) are in violation of these biblical truths:

1 Corinthians 3:16,17
Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
If any man destroys the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

Romans 12:1,2
I declare to you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your body a living sacrifice, Holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service....and be not conformed to this world (see James 4:4): but be transformed by the renewing of your mind (understanding, vision), that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

1 Corinthians 6:19, 20
Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which you have of God, and you are not your own....for you are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

Matthew 24:13

But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.


*Those that self murder failed to abide In Christ until
the end of their lives, therefore they will not be saved.

John 15:1-6
I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

Romans 11:22
Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, IF thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.

1 Corinthians 15:2
By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.

Colossians 1:23
IF ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven

Hebrews 3:6
But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, IF we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.

Hebrews 3:14
For we are made partakers of Christ, IF we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;

Hebrews 12:25
See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, IF we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven:

1 John 5:4

For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.


*Those committing suicide... sadly, did not overcome the darkness and evil of this world.

Matthew 10:28
Fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
 

PaulThomson

Well-known member
Oct 29, 2023
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#72
If Jonah knew he was the cause of the storm, then why not just jump off the ship, instead of requiring the sailors to throw him over?
Jonah had put all those on the ship in peril of imminent death. There may be something of the idea of a court, God being the Judge, imposing a death sentence on Israelite Jonah for intentionally sacrificing the lives of these despised gentiles in using them to attempt an escape from God's commandment to him. Hence, God commanded Jonah be executed for his crime.

Jesus on the contrary, did not try to escape God's mission, but he was considered as being under God's condemnation as He bore everyone's disobedience against God. By one man's sin, many were sentenced to death. Through one man's obedience, many were delivered from death. Rom. 5:15-19.

Jesus told Judas in union with the Sanhedrin to throw Him overboard.
 

PennEd

Senior Member
Apr 22, 2013
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#74
Jonah 2:2​
Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and You heard my voice.
Agreed. I don’t know how you can read Chapter 2 and not see that Jonah died and was resurrected.
7585. sheol
Strong's Concordance
sheol: underworld (place to which people descend at death)​
Original Word: שְׁאוֹל
Part of Speech: Noun Feminine
Transliteration: sheol
Phonetic Spelling: (sheh-ole')
Definition: underworld (place to which people descend at death)​
 

John146

Senior Member
Jan 13, 2016
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#75
Scriptures does not say he died, it just says he spent 3 days in the belly of the whale.
What affliction was Jonah brought up from? Notice that he was brought up and where he was brought up from had bars, a prison.

Jonah 2:6 I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O Lord my God.
 

stilllearning

Well-known member
Oct 4, 2021
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#76
Why didn't Jonah jump instead of having them throw him over. May be that Jonah knew it would not suffice understanding the types of sacrifice's. In the sacrificial system God had touched on sinning unintentional or in ignorance/Numbers 15:22-31.

They clearly fell into this category of having no clue they were sinning against God by offering safe passage to open rebellion against God. So taking into account the different methods of sacrifice and having one for unintentional sin. In theory they taking hold of him and sending him from them, getting rid of him by casting him over.

Could theoretically also be like but not exactly the scape goat. Where you transfer your sin onto the goat and then send that goat from your presence carrying your sin.

So would not be an exact match but also could have like manners involved and ultimately they taking hold of him and casting him over would be a type of such and they doing so was appeasing to God since they had offered a sacrifice called for when one sins in ignorance or unintentionally.

Or could also be in theory when one sinned the remedy to stop God's judgement was to excommunicate the sinner from the congregation. So I would think that the situation carried such element's of the demanded justice for the sin involved in accordance with the laws and system God had set forth. Perhaps it could be one of the singular theories or a combination of all of them in keeping with the law and the sacrificial system.

More or less having the justice meted out for the infractions by all involved parties.
 

Webers.Home

Well-known member
May 28, 2018
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cfbac.org
#78
~
Jonah 1:17 . . The Lord provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and he
was inside the fish three days and three nights.


FAQ: Was Jonah alive in the fish?

REPLY: Yes. (Jonah 2:1)

FAQ: The whole time?

REPLY: No; at some point in his nautical adventure Jonah went to a place
called sheol (Jonah 2:2) which is located at the roots of the mountains.
(Jonah 2:6)


Well; the roots of the mountains aren't located in the tummies of fish, nor
are they located under the sea, rather: they're located underground deep in
the Earth. So, the only way that Jonah could possibly be at the roots of the
mountains while simultaneously in the belly of a fish was for the man and his
body to part company and go their separate ways. This is not impossible
because according to Matt 10:28 people can exist as disembodied souls.


Also, the language of Jonah's prayer strongly suggests that his corpse was
restored to life, i.e. resurrected.


Jonah 2:6 . . I descended to the roots of the mountains. The earth with its
bars was around me forever, But Thou hast brought up my life from the pit,
O Lord my God.


The Hebrew word for "pit" basically pertains to holes in the ground, but
sometimes speaks of putrefaction too, e.g. Ps 16:8-10 & Acts 2:25-31. In
other words; had Jonah's body been left inside that fish's tummy for much
longer, it would've been digested to oblivion.


Matt 12:40 . . For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of
a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the
heart of the earth.


Now when you think about it; Jesus' remains weren't laid to rest in the heart
of the Earth; and in point of fact they weren't even buried in the Earth's soil.
They were laid to rest up on the surface of the earth in a rock-hewn tomb.
So the only way that Jesus could be up on the surface of the Earth and down
its interior simultaneously was for he and his body to part company and go
their separate ways the same as Jonah's did.


Also: it was essential to get Jesus back up on his feet again before a fourth
day to prevent his body from being lost to rot. (John 11:39, Ps 16:8-10,
Acts 2:25-31)


NOTE: Jonah 2:5-7 strongly suggests that he was already deceased via
drowning prior to the fish; which makes sense seeing as Jesus was deceased
prior to the tomb, viz: neither man was buried alive.
_
 
Dec 29, 2023
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#80
Jonah 2:2Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and You heard my voice.
Yeah, that was the "belly" of the whale he was calling out if.

No place in scripture says Jonah actually died and was raised from the dead,

Spending 3 days in the belly of the whale was a type of death but never says he actually died and went to the same place the rich man went to in the account Jesus give of the rich man and Lazurus

The Bible does not explicitly state that Jonah died in the belly of the great fish. Those who theorize that he did die rely on inference and speculation.