And they said everyone to his fellow
That Jonah awoke and rose up, upon the shipmaster's calling to
him, is certain; but whether or no he called upon his God is not;
perhaps he did: and when his prayer was over, and the storm still
continuing, the sailors said one to another, come, and let
us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this
evil
[is] upon us;
for, Observing something very uncommon and extraordinary in the
tempest, and all means, both natural and religious, failing to
help them; and though they might know that they were each one of
them sinners, yet they supposed there must be some one notorious
sinner among them, that had committed some very enormous crime,
which had drawn the divine resentment upon them to such a degree;
and therefore they proposed to cast a lot, which was an appeal to
the divine Being, in order to find out the guilty person. That
the Heathens used the lot upon occasion is not only manifest from
profane writers, but from the sacred Scriptures; as Haman, and
other enemies of God's people; and the soldiers that attended the
cross of Christ, ( Esther 9:24 ) (
Joel 3:3 ) (
Obadiah
1:11 ) ( Nahum 3:10 ) ( Matthew
27:35 ) . Drusius reports, from Xavierus, of some Heathens
sailing to Japan, and other places in the East Indies, that they
used to carry an idol with them, and by lots inquire of it
whither they should go; and whether they should have prosperous
winds so they cast lots, and the lot fell upon
Jonah;
through the overruling providence and disposing hand of God,
which attended this affair; for, not to inquire whether the use
of the lot was lawful or not, or whether performed in that
serious and solemn manner as it should be, if used at all; it
pleased God to interfere in this matter, to direct it to fall on
Jonah, with whom he had a particular concern, being a prophet of
his, and having disobeyed his will; see ( Proverbs
16:33 ) . The Syriac version renders it, "the lot of Jonah
came up"; that is, the piece of paper, or whatever it was, on
which his name was written, was taken up first out of the vessel
in which the lots were put.