Jonah part 2
Notes
Transcript
Handout
“The Son of God suffered unto the death, not that men might not suffer, but that their sufferings might be like His.” - George Macdonald
Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the stomach of the fish,
Jonah is one of the craziest stories in Scripture. We read this verse and have to pause. How did Jonah find himself in this situation? Nobody has every been in the belly of a fish and lived to tell the story. If you remember from a few weeks ago or you might just know the story. God called Jonah to go into the heart of the empire that most hated Israel. Go into the very heart of darkness and preach repentance to the people in Nineveh. God had seen the wickedness of the Assyrians and was sending a prophet to them. Jonah out of fear out of anger refused to go where the Lord was calling him. In fact Jonah ran as far as he could in the opposite direction. He boarded a ship and sailed west to Tarshish. While he was out at see the Lord sent a storm that began to sink the boat he was on. When Jonah realized the situation he had the sailors throw him overboard to stop the storm. Jonah 1 ends with the Lord appointing a great fish to eat Jonah, and it says he was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights.
A Prophet on the Run
A Prophet on the Run
There is something profound about the way God calls and is committed to Jonah. We don’t get to see many prophets behave in the way Jonah does. Jonah’s response to God’s call is overwhelmingly human. When we think of prophets and callings we tend to think of Isaiah 6 when Isaiah is brought before the throne of God and he sees the angels worshipping. We think of that moment when Isaiah is broken over his sin and shouts “Here I am send me!”. We don’t think of an angry, bitter, and disobedient prophet like what we get here with Jonah. We see Jeremiah weep for people. Be broken to pieces over the sins of the people he is called to serve. Jonah could honestly care less about the salvation of the people he is called to serve and in fact hopes for their destruction.
If we are honest with ourselves Jonah’s response feels personal. Think about the people in your life who need Jesus. Does your heart break for the people around you or are you generally indifferent to them? Are you passionate and obedient about God’s calling in your life or does your relationship with Jesus take second place to your other passions and hobbies? Are you running away from obedience? Are you sinking deeper and deeper into sin? Have you found yourself miles away from where you know God is calling you to be drowning under the weight of guild and shame? As we begin to look deeper into Jonah 2 we are going to see Jonah’s aha moment. When the light bulb connects and Jonah concedes to the Lord’s call on his life. He isn’t perfect, in fact we will see him carry out this call in later chapters with great reluctance. But Jonah realizes the conflict in his heart about being a prophet on the run.
Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the stomach of the fish, and he said, “I called out of my distress to the Lord, And He answered me. I cried for help from the depth of Sheol; You heard my voice. “For You had cast me into the deep, Into the heart of the seas, And the current engulfed me. All Your breakers and billows passed over me. “So I said, ‘I have been expelled from Your sight. Nevertheless I will look again toward Your holy temple.’
A Broken Spirit
A Broken Spirit
Jonah finds himself in the belly of a fish, in a place of brokenness. There is no more running. There is something beautiful about brokenness. Something beautiful about when we get to a place where we can no longer run. When we have come to the end of ourselves and we have no more fight. When our circumstances have beaten us down and all we can do is call out to God. Most of the time it is caused by our own behaviors sometimes it is a situation that was out of our control. When life overwhelms us and we can no longer do things in our own strength, that is where faith begins to take action.
Our God is never far off. We tend to forget that. He is near to us in all circumstances. He doesn’t wander off or disappear. He is always near.
O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. You scrutinize my path and my lying down, And are intimately acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O Lord, You know it all. You have enclosed me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is too high, I cannot attain to it. Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, Even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will lay hold of me. If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, And the light around me will be night,” Even the darkness is not dark to You, And the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You. For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.
There is nowhere we can go to escape God’s presence. Jonah was brought down to the depth of Sheol, cast into the deep, into the heart of the sea. Physically he was drowning, collapsing under the pressure of the sea, frantic for a breath, and surrounded by darkness when the fish ate him. Spiritually he was in the same place. Surrounded by the darkness of sin, buried by the guilt and shame of his rebellion, drowning in fear and anger. It was here that Jonah remembered God’s promises. Maybe he even thought of this Psalm. He called out to the Lord and God answered his prayer.
We serve a God who hears prayers even from the depths of Sheol. The word Sheol is used throughout the Psalms or in different poetic prayers to describe the depths, the pit, the underworld. It is seen as the place where you might think God’s presence is absent. It is the grave where the dead and men with no hope live. Yet even while Jonah was there, God heard his prayer.
Jonah had nothing to offer to the Lord but a broken heart. He wasn’t in a place for bargaining. He couldn’t make a deal to get out of this. He was completely dependent on the Lord for salvation. Thankfully our God is a merciful God who hears our pleas and loves to heal broken hearts.
After King David was confronted with sleeping with Bathsheba and murdering her husband David writes Psalm 51. His sin has brought him to this same point of brokenness. Here is what he says.
For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; You are not pleased with burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.
It took Jonah being swallowed by a fish for him to realize how lost he had become. Sometimes in life the only way God can get our attention is by allowing the consequences of our actions to slap us across the face.
Jonah had been tossed by the waves. He had been pulled under the waters and had to live for three days inside a fish. It was uncomfortable. It was painful. It was necessary. In Matthew 21 Jesus is talking about who He is and how the Pharisees had been too stubborn and arrogant to understand Him. He says that this stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. The Pharisees hated Jesus, they rejected Jesus, but He was the centerpiece and main character of all the Scriptures. He is the central focus of all the universe and it was offensive to them. We are not the most important person in our universe Jesus is and that is offensive to our pride, its offensive to our plans and interests because it means our lives exist to be focused on him. Christ is not a planet in our solar system. He is the sun. All things revolve and are sustained by Him. The gravity of His glory, the warmth of His lovingkindness, the power of His love. All things exist because of and for Jesus.
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.
To a heart far from God this truth is offensive. We want to be the rulers of our own universe. We want to be the cornerstone. But Jesus says in Matthew 21, it is better to fall on the cornerstone and be broken to pieces than for the cornerstone to fall on you and crush you. It is better to have our pride and egos thrown against a merciful savior and be broken in our sin because God is good to the poor in spirit. He is a good savior but He only saves those who recognize they need saving. Jesus is calling, saying, come broken hearted come you whose lives are torn to pieces, who are lost and desperate and I will give you rest. Fall on me, be broken to pieces and I will build you back up into something greater. The alternative is be crushed by the cornerstone. Say I have no need for a savior, I do not want to relinquish the throne of my heart. I am my own master, I am my own savior. The outcome of this foolishness is destruction.
There is a purpose in pain. This year our fall retreat will be looking at this idea. Out of death comes life. When a seed falls to the earth it dies and a tree grows in its place. It ceases to be what it was before and becomes something new. Every winter the leaves fall. It must kill the old so it can be adorned with beauty come spring time. God uses pain in our life to produce something beautiful in us. It matures us and strengthens us. With every year that goes by, every change in the seasons a tree produces a new ring. Tree rings show how old a tree is but also adds strength to the tree. The more winters a tree survives the stronger and more durable it is. Christ is perfecting our faith through pain so that we can glorify Him and serve others who experience that same pain. Two passages and a quote that have helped me understand this.
Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
“I have learned to kiss the wave that throws me into the Rock of Ages.” - Charles H. Spurgeon
Nevertheless I will look again toward your holy temple
Nevertheless I will look again toward your holy temple
Last time we talked about east and west. East represents evil and west represents holiness. Jonah is called to go east with a message of holiness but runs west because is putting himself holier than what God has called him to. In an act of rebellion Jonah runs west geographically but spiritually is going east. Today we see that Jonah’s gaze has been shifted.
He isn’t looking east in judgement towards Nineveh’s sins
He isn’t looking west to his own self righteousness
His gaze is fixed toward God’s holy temple, towards God’s presence.
Everything in our life begins to take focus when we fix our eyes on the Lord and His presence.
‘You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your body And refreshment to your bones.
“Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ “For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
“As God is exalted to the right place in our lives, a thousand problems are solved all at once” - A.W. Tozer
“You have made us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless, until they can find rest in You.” -Augustine
“Water encompassed me to the point of death. The great deep engulfed me, Weeds were wrapped around my head. “I descended to the roots of the mountains. The earth with its bars was around me forever, But You have brought up my life from the pit, O Lord my God. “While I was fainting away, I remembered the Lord, And my prayer came to You, Into Your holy temple.
Jonah continues this prayer of repentance. He started at sea level talking about being battered by the waves but now he is at the roots of the mountains. Sea weed wrapped around his head. He feels trapped, locked behind the bars of the earth. Our sin is suffocating. Without Christ in our life we are slaves to sin, trapped in darkness. Jonah isn’t just realizing that his circumstances are dire, he is understanding that there is no hope for spiritual life without the Lord.
Jonah is in the deep dark. He is buried in sin and death. Engulfed in the great deep. But his prayer cuts through. He calls out to the Lord and it says while he was fainting away he remembered the Lord and his prayer was heard by God.
There is something interesting about Jonah’s prayer. It isn’t at all within earshot of Jerusalem, yet, Jonah is confident it is heard by God in His holy temple. While God’s presence resided in the Temple physically God was not restricted in answering prayers. When we pray, in Christ, we can have confidence that God hears us.
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Our God is a merciful God who hears our prayers and is quick to show grace. He has taken our shame and our guilt upon Himself. We can come to Him with confidence.
I think about the times I did something to upset my dad. I was deathly afraid of my dad and of doing something that would get me in trouble. There were quite a few times that I had to go to my dad and tell him something stupid I had done. It was nerve racking. I would get sweaty and a little nauseous. I was afraid of disappointing him and I was afraid of what he would do to me. I was afraid to face the consequences for my actions. For a long time that affected my relationship with my Heavenly Father also. I was afraid to confess my sin because I was afraid of the condemnation and of the consequences. I wanted to hide my face from God because I was afraid. Fearing God isn’t always a bad thing. There is a healthy fear or respect we should have for God because He is holy and almighty. But God tells us there is no fear in repentance, no fear in love, no fear in grace.
The consequence of sin is death. The two go hand in hand together. When sin entered the world it condemned the world to death and as a result of our dead hearts sin abounded. In 1 Corinthians 15 it says that the law was given to show us our sin and in doing so sin abounded. The sting of death is the sin that separates us from a holy God and the power of sin is the law that holds us accountable and buries us in guilt and shame. The hope in verse 57 is that Christ has won the victory over both sin and death and He has set us free from the curse of the law.
“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
In Christ sin, death, guilt and shame are all stripped of their power over us. We are free to rest in Christ’s grace and salvation.
“Those who regard vain idols Forsake their faithfulness, But I will sacrifice to You With the voice of thanksgiving. That which I have vowed I will pay. Salvation is from the Lord.”
Jonah is tired of running. He understands that to run from God in pursuit of any other thing is foolishness. Jonah’s heart is to sacrifice to the Lord with a heart of thanksgiving. Does he honor that sentiment? We will have to see. But in this moment Jonah’s heart is moved by the Lord’s mercy into action. He will be obedient in this thing that the Lord has called him and he will do so with thanksgiving.
Do you respond to God’s call on your life with thanksgiving? What are you thankful for? Are you thankful for the ways God is challenging you and guiding you in your walk with Him? Are you thankful for God’s call to repentance and the freedom he gives from sin?
The conclusion Jonah comes to is that salvation belongs to the Lord. It is not Jonah’s to control. He learned this by realizing even he himself a prophet of God and an Israelite needed salvation. Who was he to withhold that from someone else.
How do you view salvation? Do you see it as something you’re entitled to or something you have earned? Does it fill you with gratitude and thanksgiving?
In the Gospel of Matthew there were some religious leaders who were demanding a sign from Jesus. They wanted proof of who He said He was. Jesus responded with this.
But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet; for just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. “The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.
Salvation is from the Lord. Just as Jonah spent three days in the fish Jesus would spend three days in the tomb. It wasn’t Jesus’ disobedience that found Him there it was ours. You and me. Our sin is the reason Jesus died and was buried. With His death Jesus paid the penalty of our sin and in rising again on the third day Jesus assured His victory over sin, death, and the devil. He invites us to join Him in that death. Die to ourselves and our sin. Trust in Christ for salvation. And be born again into new life with Him.
Then the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah up onto the dry land.
The chapter ends with Jonah taking up the call and being obedient to take salvation into the heart of darkness. In many ways what lay before him was a scary task than being drowned in the bottom of the sea. It could have been a costly call, but he was accompanied by a powerful savior. There is hope for the nations. God is sending his prophet to preach repentance to people that had no claim to the continental promises of Abraham. Yet, God gives a snapshot here in this book of a greater eternal reality. The Gospel is for all people of all nations, and like Jonah, He is calling us to carry the torch into the heart of darkness in our communities, in our state, our country, and all over the world.
Who is one person that God is calling you to be a light to? How can you be obedient in that calling?