Jonah 1:13-14 “Instead, the sailors rowed even harder to get the ship to the land. But the stormy sea was too violent for them, and they couldn’t make it. Then they cried out to the Lord, Jonah’s God. “O Lord,” they pleaded, “don’t make us die for this man’s sin. And don’t hold us accountable for his death. O Lord, you have sent this storm upon him for your own good reasons.”
Jonah, by his own admission, had angered God and brought a storm upon the boat in which he was traveling. The others in the boat were innocent, but very much in danger of drowning. When Jonah told them that they should throw him overboard to calm the storm, they did not want to. Even after what Jonah had done, they did not want to take his life. They even asked Jonah’s God – who was not their God – to tell them what to do. They were willing to save Jonah, after all that. They wanted to protect his life. The life of someone who willingly brought certain death upon them, due to his own selfish actions. Their prayer to me was honored. I saved them, and Jonah did not die.
Amanuensis 