The Ship Thought About It

Written By Andrew Forrest

Jonah 1:4-6

4 But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up. 5 Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his god. And they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep. 6 So the captain came and said to him, “What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call out to your god! Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish.”

 
 

English translators have a hard time with the second half of verse 4. In our translation it’s rendered as

“The ship threatened to break up.”

But in Hebrew what it literally says is something like

the ship thought about breaking up.

The author has personified the ship! Why?

Well, in chapter 1, it’s as if everything in creation is obedient to the Lord…except Jonah.

  • The wind

  • The sea

  • The sailors

  • The ship

  • The great fish

All of these things are obedient. Just not Jonah.

Don’t be like Jonah today.

 
Andrew Forrest
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