And he said unto them, I [am] an Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry [land].
Ver. 9. And he said unto them, I am an Hebrew] i.e. A true believer, as was Eber the patriarch, Genesis 10:21, and, after him, Abram the Hebrew, as he is called, Genesis 14:13. This name of Hebrews, as it was the first title given to Abraham and his seed, so it endureth one of the last, 2Co 11:22 Philippians 3:5; Epistle to the Hebrews, title.
And I fear the Lord God of heaven] That is mine occupation; "I serve God with my spirit in the gospel of his Son," as Paul hath it, Romans 1:9. Every faithful minister is servant to the King of heaven, Acts 27:23 (this the devil could not deny, Act 16:16-17); neither is he of his meaner or inferior servants, of his underlings, but of the noblest employment; ministers are his stewards, ambassadors, paranymphs, or spokesmen, &c., and this is their occupation, or their work; far beyond that of Solomon's servants.
Which hath made the sea and the dry land] This troublesome sea that now so threateneth you, and that dry land which you would so fain recover. These, with all their contents, are his creatures; neither did he make them, and then leave them to fate or fortune, as a carpenter leaves the house he hath built to others, or a shipwright the ship; but he ordereth and ruleth them at his pleasure, and will unmake all again rather than have his people lack help in one season, Psalms 124:8; Psalms 134:3. This was part of Jonah's confession, and but part of it; for he told them (no doubt) how ill he had dealt with this great and good God, running away by stealth from his Master's service, and detracting his yoke, and that, therefore, he was justly apprehended and adjudged to death. To this purpose was Jonah's confession, quae ei salutis fuit exordium, saith Mercer, which was the beginning of his safety and salvation. Now his hard heart is broken, and his dumb mouth opened, not only to confess his offence, but to aggravate it; in that being not only a Hebrew of the Hebrews, a member of the true Church, but a prophet, a doctor in Israel, he should deal so perversely and perfidiously. It is a sweet happiness when sin swells as a toad in a man's eyes, and he can freely confess it in the particulars, and with utmost aggravation; laying open "all his transgressions in all his sins," as Moses phraseth it, Leviticus 16:21. Affliction sanctified will bring a soul to this, as here it did the prophet; like herein to that helve Elisha cast into the water, that fetched up the iron that was in the bottom.