Jonah 1:7-10

Jonah 1:7-10 And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah. Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us; What is thine occupation? and whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of what people art thou? 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. 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 sailors were scared. They knew that they were in big trouble. The storm was just about to destroy the ship. They were superstitious and thought that this terrible storm had come upon them because of the wickedness of one of them. So they cast lots to see who it was. Casting lots is like rolling dice. And when they cast lots, the lot fell upon Jonah. Everyone confronted Jonah and demanded what evil he had done. So Jonah confessed that he was the servant of the Most High God, Who had made heaven and earth and Who had made the storm. And he, Jonah, was running from this Almighty God. NOW they were all really scared. These sailors had never came face to face with God’s power and judgement. What could they do? What should they do? They looked to Jonah for answers. And even though Jonah was running from God, he knew the right thing to do. And that is the way with us today. Often we run from the will of God. But even when we do, we still know the right thing to do. We may not be doing the right thing, but we still know what the right thing is to do. Let’s not be like Jonah. Let’s do God’s will before God has to spank us!