Rerouted: 30 Days Through the Book of JonahSample

God’s Perfect Justice

Trisha Hawk

Jonah 1:15-16

Humans desire justice. We see this when children argue with grown-ups to make things fair, in court when a judge rules "innocent" or "guilty," and through protests and outreach work for good causes. Yet because humans are fallible, our justice is too.

Only God’s justice is perfect. And in today’s verses, Jonah experienced God’s justice when, as a consequence for his sin, he was hurled into the raging sea. Despite Jonah’s attempt to escape God, the Lord sought him through a storm of judgment. But when Jonah and the sailors on his ship obeyed God, throwing Jonah overboard, they satisfied the Lord's justice, and then “the sea ceased from its raging” (Jonah 1:15).

Justice is receiving appropriate consequences for our actions. But like Jonah, we are in a predicament: We have all sinned, and God’s Word teaches us that the consequence of sin is death (Romans 3:23; Romans 6:23). God’s holiness cannot accept sin or let it go unaddressed; justice is part of His unchanging character (Deuteronomy 32:4).

Throughout Scripture, God sometimes used storms as a means of His righteous judgment against sin (Genesis 19:23-29; Exodus 9:13-35). So in Jonah’s case, we'd expect death. Yet God calmed the sea — and the sailors, seeing God’s power, feared the Lord and made vows to Him (Jonah 1:16). Though Jonah and the sailors deserved death, God granted them mercy.

The most beautiful picture of God’s mercy is Jesus. Because He took the punishment for our sins, we do not have to experience eternal death. More than hurling Himself into the sea, Jesus hung on the cross for us, and through His sacrifice, God’s justice is satisfied. If we trust in Jesus, we no longer have to fear judgment but live confidently in relationship with Him (Romans 3:24-26).

Our choice is simple: Will we accept God’s mercy and place our faith in Jesus? When we do, we can live praising Him for His incredible mercy, for though we deserve His perfect justice, He gives us perfect forgiveness.