How Far Will God Go to Bring Us Home?

Bible Passage: Jonah 2:1-10

Introduction

SCUBA Certification and the Gator: When I was getting my certification for scuba diving, one of my dives was at Juniper Springs.

About twenty to twenty-five feet deep. I look up and near the surface of the water, I see a thirteen foot alligator swimming just above me. My heart raced. I sunk to the bottom and held my breath (something I’m not supposed to do, by the way), not moving a muscle as it passed by.

Make this dramatic!!

I think about Jonah in very much a similar situation.

Recap the events of Chapter 1

Jonah 1:17 “17 And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.”

And now we find the rebellious prophet plummeting into the depths of the sea. Tangled up in seaweed. His wet robes weighing him down. As he drops, the pressure of the water begins to squeeze him. His ears pop. His head and body feel like they’re in a vice grip.

He’s utterly without hope. I imagine the water is murky, if not outright dark.

Jonah thinks he’s about to die. Maybe there’s relief in that. Maybe he’s heard that drowning is a relatively peaceful way to go.

Then something darker than the dark swooshes just above him. He glances up, but sees nothing.

Another swoosh, and he catches something big out of his peripheral vision. Not just big. Massive.

His eyes adjust to the darkness by now and he soon sees it. An enormous sea creature, mouth opened wide as it lunges for him. The gleam of moonlight from above trickles down just enough to reflect against the monster’s teeth—teeth easily the size of Jonah’s own head.

If he wasn’t sure before, he’s certain now. He’s going to die. But not from drowning. Not even from being crushed by the ocean’s weight. He’s going to be eaten alive! Devoured. Crushed with massive teeth.

Then, the unthinkable happens. He’s swallowed. If he thought things were dark before, the darkness inside the creature’s mouth is unfathomable. Oppressive. Then…

Nothing happens. He sits up, confused. He’s alive. He’s not dead like he should be. At first, he’s confused, then he remembers the LORD.

And that’s where we find ourselves in the next chapter of Jonah. In the belly of the great sea creature. For three days and three nights. Alone in the dark. Alone with his thoughts. Alone with the LORD of Heaven and Earth.

Open your Bibles to Jonah 2

Jonah 2 ESV

1 Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish, 2 saying, “I called out to the Lord, out of my distress, 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 flood surrounded me; all your breakers and your waves passed over me. 4 Then I said, ‘I am driven away from your sight; yet I shall again look upon your holy temple.’ 5 The waters closed in over me to take my life; the deep surrounded me; weeds were wrapped about my head. 6 To the roots of the mountains I went down, to the land whose bars closed upon me forever. Yet you brought up my life from the pit, O Lord my God. 7 When my life was fainting away, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple. 8 Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love. 9 But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the Lord!” 10 And the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land.

Let’s break this down a bit and see what’s going on.

Jonah’s Descent into Sheol…

Jonah 2:1–4 ESV

1 Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish, 2 saying, “I called out to the Lord, out of my distress, 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 flood surrounded me; all your breakers and your waves passed over me. 4 Then I said, ‘I am driven away from your sight; yet I shall again look upon your holy temple.’

So, Jonah finds himself inside this enormous sea creature. Alone in the dark. No food. No drinkable water. Miraculously, he DOES have one major necessity: AIR!

And what does he do with that air? I have a feeling he does the same thing as most of us in this situation. The ONLY thing he COULD do…

He prays.

But this isn’t a prayer for help, mind you. It’s a prayer—written as a Psalm, by the way, for people in our Wednesday night study and our discussion of genres—of THANKSGIVING!

Jonah’s not out of the woods yet, but he starts worshipping God in the belly of that beast and offering thanksgiving while explaining how bleak things had been for him just before being swallowed up whole.

How can Jonah be praising God right now? He’s still inside the fish. Possibly slowly digesting! And yet, he raises his voice to thank God for his salvation before that salvation is completed. How?

Well, let me ask this: What did Jonah say about God to the sailors who asked him who he was and who his God was?

Jonah 1:9 “9 And he said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.””

…who made the SEA and dry land.

Of course such a God could provide a sea creature to save Jonah from drowning.

He knew this intellectually before, when he was speaking those words. Now he knew it firsthand!

And he knew if he was still alive—thanks to God—then there was definitely a reason for it.

God wasn’t finished with him and he knew it.

And the man who wished for death while on that boat heading to Tarshish, now suddenly found himself with a new lease on life!

Isn’t it funny how near death experiences changes our perspective on things? Isn’t it funny how the darkest moments in our lives tend to shift our priorities?

Case in point? Do you remember what we said last week about what Jonah was fleeing FROM? Let me remind you:

Jonah 1:3 “3 But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord.”

The author of Jonah stated the purpose of his fleeing twice in one paragraph!

Now let’s look again at Jonah 2:4 “4 Then I said, ‘I am driven away from your sight; yet I shall again look upon your holy temple.’”

All of a sudden, it’s important for Jonah to be in the God’s presence again!

Seminary Professor’s Definition of Hell.

Removal from God’s presence is truly hell—whether literally or metaphorically. It’s why Jesus dreaded the cross so much. The moment He took our Sins upon himself, He was cut off from God’s presence until His resurrection!

Verse 3a - YOU cast me into the deep.

Jonah is describing God’s judgment against him. God’s JUST judgment.

And yet…

Verse 4b — I shall again look upon your holy temple.

Most likely, Jonah isn’t talking figuratively here…or about heaven, but rather, literally, he will look upon the temple in Jerusalem again.

Jonah truly believed he would be saved at the darkest moment of his life!

And he was praising God for it!

But God…

Jonah 2:5–7 ESV

5 The waters closed in over me to take my life; the deep surrounded me; weeds were wrapped about my head. 6 To the roots of the mountains I went down, to the land whose bars closed upon me forever. Yet you brought up my life from the pit, O Lord my God. 7 When my life was fainting away, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple.

Here we’re given a glimpse inside Jonah’s head as he sinks to the bottom of the sea. We see the seaweed wrapping itself around him. We feel that water pressure beginning to crush him as he descends.

To the roots of the mountain — Basically, the very lowest point of the earth. Or better yet, the grave!

Verse 6, most likely a reference to the gates of Sheol closing behind him and locking him in forever.

In other words, HE DEAD! Or at least, he thought he was going to die and without hope.

Verse 6b — Yet you brought up my life from the pit…

This…this right here is the life preserver for us to take heart in.

That word ‘yet’ can also be translated as ‘but’.

It is one of the numerous ‘But God…” verses in the Bible.

Genesis 8:1 ESV

1 But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided.

Psalm 73:26 ESV

26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Matthew 19:26 ESV

26 But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Acts 13:29–30 ESV

29 And when they had carried out all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb. 30 But God raised him from the dead,

“BUT GOD…” Such tremendous power in two little words.

In fact, our entire faith can be summed up in those two words.

Man sins, but God…FORGIVES

Man lies, but God…IS TRUTH

Man hates, but God…LOVES

Man holds grudges, but God…IS MERCIFUL

See what I mean? BUT GOD!

The two most powerful words in the history of words!

When things get almost unbearable for you…when life weighs you down and you find yourself being crushed by the pressures we face, remember those two one-syllable words…BUT GOD.

Repent and Be Delivered!

Jonah 2:8–10 ESV

8 Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love. 9 But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the Lord!” 10 And the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land.

Verse 8 literally translates: “those who guard/serve vanities of worthlessness.” I rather like that. In context, it is indeed referring to idols though (think about the sailors and their impotent prayers to their own gods).

“Salvation belongs to the LORD.”

As long as that salvation comes to Jonah and not Nineveh.

As long as the salvation comes to people like me or people I like.

As long as I approve of God’s choice of who He will save.

But that’s NOT how it works! Salvation BELONGS to the Lord. It is His exclusively to give to those He chooses.

That’s why it doesn’t matter what you’ve done in the past. It doesn’t matter what sins you’ve commited. It doesn’t matter what you look like or how you dress or how much money is in your bank account.

Salvation belongs to the Lord!

It’s not up to me.

It’s not up to you.

It’s not even up to the person who needs saving!

Salvation comes to those God chooses to save.

Which brings us to the last verse.

Jonah 2:10 “10 And the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land.”

In Matthew chapter 12, Jesus himself compared this to His own resurrection. We talked about that last week.

But not only is Jonah’s tale a foreshadowing of the day Jesus would rise from the dead, it also reminds me of birth. Of being born.

Or rather, being born again.

Jonah was swallowed by the fish because of his sin.

Through his repentance, he was spat out of the fish renewed. Rededicated to his mission and purpose. The old prophet was gone and in its place was a new man of God ready to go to Nineveh to do what needed to be done.

What about us?

Maybe we’re sinking in the depths of our sin.

Maybe we feel as though we’ve been swallowed up by everything weighing us down…maybe we feel trapped inside a great monster we have no control over.

God has come to rescue us! God has come to carry us to dry land.

All that is needed is for us to acknowledge our rebellion against God and agree to go in the direction He desires us to go.

Don’t you want that? Don’t you want the LORD’s salvation?

You can have it today…

Let’s pray.