Apr 2 - Inside the Fish

Read Jonah 1:12-17, Jonah 2:10

Context: Jonah was told to go to Nineveh, but instead he boarded a ship heading for Tarshish, the opposite direction. A terrible storm is raging and threatens to sink the ship. The sailors have realized that God is causing the storm as a result of Jonah's sin.

Text:
Jonah 1:12-17 12 "Pick me up and throw me into the sea," he replied, "and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you."
13 Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before. 14 Then they cried to the LORD, "O LORD, please do not let us die for taking this man's life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, O LORD, have done as you pleased." 15 Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. 16 At this the men greatly feared the LORD, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows to him.
17 But the LORD provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights.

Jonah 2:10 And the LORD commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land. (NIV)

taken from www.biblegateway.com

I always wondered what happened to the sailors who were left on the ship after Jonah was swallowed by the fish. It says that the men greatly feared the Lord, offering a sacrifice and making vows to him. Did they see the fish swallow Jonah, or was he already underwater when the fish found him? They knew that the calming of the seas was an act of God, but did they ever realize that an even greater miracle occurred? Did they know that Jonah survived his deep water experience? We never hear of them again...I wonder if they kept those vows?