Jonah - The Hesitant Witness (4)

Last Week’s Focus: The Lord had prepared.

Jonah 1:17 NKJV

17 Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

1) God prepares a way out for the righteous!

2) God prepares a way back out of your trouble - even when it is self-made.

Tonight: Jonah Repents

Jonah 2 NKJV

1 Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the fish’s belly. 2 And he said: “I cried out to the Lord because of my affliction, And He answered me. “Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, And You heard my voice. 3 For You cast me into the deep, Into the heart of the seas, And the floods surrounded me; All Your billows and Your waves passed over me. 4 Then I said, ‘I have been cast out of Your sight; Yet I will look again toward Your holy temple.’ 5 The waters surrounded me, even to my soul; The deep closed around me; Weeds were wrapped around my head. 6 I went down to the moorings of the mountains; The earth with its bars closed behind me forever; Yet You have brought up my life from the pit, O Lord, my God. 7 “When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord; And my prayer went up to You, Into Your holy temple. 8 “Those who regard worthless idols Forsake their own Mercy. 9 But I will sacrifice to You With the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay what I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord.” 10 So the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.

1) God is Listening for Those Who Cry Out to Him

Jonah 1:1–2 NKJV

1 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.”

Psalm 34:1–6 (NKJV)

1 I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

2 My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; The humble shall hear of it and be glad.

3 Oh, magnify the Lord with me, And let us exalt His name together.

4 I sought the Lord, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears.

5 They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces were not ashamed.

6 This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him, And saved him out of all his troubles.

Psalm 34:17 (NKJV)

17 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles.

Psalm 145:18–19 (NKJV)

18 The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth.

19 He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He also will hear their cry and save them.

Isaiah 65:24 (NKJV)

24 “It shall come to pass That before they call, I will answer; And while they are still speaking, I will hear.

2) God is There Waiting and Reaching

Ezekiel 48:35 NKJV

35 All the way around shall be eighteen thousand cubits; and the name of the city from that day shall be: THE LORD IS THERE.

Jehovah-Shammah - The Lord is There

ISAIAH ī zā’ ĕ (יְשַֽׁעְיָ֣הוּ, Yahweh is salvation). The first of the major prophets in the Eng. Bible, the first of the latter prophets in the Heb. Bible, the largest and prob. the most universally cherished of the OT prophetical books.

The prophet Isaiah is mentioned repeatedly in 2 Kings and three times in 2 Chronicles. His name appears sixteen times in the book that bears his name. The book is dated in the reign of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. Late tradition asserts that the prophet was martyred in the reign of Manasseh.

Outline

A. Historical background

1. General. These were troublous times in Israel’s history. During this period the northern kingdom fell and was taken captive. The southern kingdom (Judah) was heavily attacked. Isaiah lived to see the menace of Assyria wane, and his faith in God’s promises to Jerusalem fully vindicated.

The period was the era of Assyria’s expansion to the W. In a previous cent., a coalition of kings including Ahab had halted an Assyrian drive in the battle of Qarqar in 854 b.c., but the Assyrians were on the march again. Tiglath-pileser III (745-727 b.c.) invaded the W, conquered the Phoen. coast, and informed the world that he took the tribute of Rezin of Damascus, Menahem of Samaria, and many other kings. These campaigns are mentioned in 2 Kings 15:19-29, where Tiglath-pileser III is also called Pul—his native name witnessed in Babylonian sources. Apparently, about 732 b.c. Tiglathpileser III conquered much of Galilee and deported the two and a half tribes of that area. He had revived the old Assyrian practice of intermixing the peoples of his empire (2 Kings 17:6, 24). - Isaiah - Encyclopedia of The Bible - Bible Gateway

Despite their trouble, they kept running to idol Gods ad worshipping them instead of worshipping Jehovah.

Isaiah 65:1–9 ESV

1 I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me; I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me. I said, “Here I am, here I am,” to a nation that was not called by my name. 2 I spread out my hands all the day to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, following their own devices; 3 a people who provoke me to my face continually, sacrificing in gardens and making offerings on bricks; 4 who sit in tombs, and spend the night in secret places; who eat pig’s flesh, and broth of tainted meat is in their vessels; 5 who say, “Keep to yourself, do not come near me, for I am too holy for you.” These are a smoke in my nostrils, a fire that burns all the day. 6 Behold, it is written before me: “I will not keep silent, but I will repay; I will indeed repay into their lap 7 both your iniquities and your fathers’ iniquities together, says the Lord; because they made offerings on the mountains and insulted me on the hills, I will measure into their lap payment for their former deeds.” 8 Thus says the Lord: “As the new wine is found in the cluster, and they say, ‘Do not destroy it, for there is a blessing in it,’ so I will do for my servants’ sake, and not destroy them all. 9 I will bring forth offspring from Jacob, and from Judah possessors of my mountains; my chosen shall possess it, and my servants shall dwell there.

Isaiah 65:1–2 NIV

1 “I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me; I was found by those who did not seek me. To a nation that did not call on my name, I said, ‘Here am I, here am I.’ 2 All day long I have held out my hands to an obstinate people, who walk in ways not good, pursuing their own imaginations—

Isaiah 65:24 NKJV

24 “It shall come to pass That before they call, I will answer; And while they are still speaking, I will hear.

3) God is There to Help Those Who Turn to Him

Psalm 46 NKJV

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. A Song For Alamoth. 1 God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, Even though the earth be removed, And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; 3 Though its waters roar and be troubled, Though the mountains shake with its swelling. Selah 4 There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God, The holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High. 5 God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; God shall help her, just at the break of dawn. 6 The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved; He uttered His voice, the earth melted. 7 The Lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah 8 Come, behold the works of the Lord, Who has made desolations in the earth. 9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; He burns the chariot in the fire. 10 Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! 11 The Lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah