God is absolutely committed to making His people holy. The prophet Jonah found this out the hard way when he almost drowned at sea, and then spent three days and nights in the stomach of a great fish. Find out what changed in Jonah’s life when God finally got this prophet where he wanted him.
The Praying Prophet
“The Breaking Of A Rebel’s Will”
Jonah 1:17 – 2:10
Many years ago when I was listening to an episode of Focus On The Family, I remember hearing James Dobson tell a story of when his son Ryan had fallen and broke his arm. Dr. Dobson took Ryan to the doctor who needed to set his broken arm. Ryan, was very young at the time, and didn’t understand much of what was happening. He was crying and trying to squirm away from the doctor, so Dr. Dobson had to hold Ryan down on the table while the doctor set the broken bone. As this little boy was going through such pain and trauma it was as though he was looking up at his daddy and crying, “How can you let him do this to me?!” Of course “Daddy” was doing this to his son, because he loved him, and it was the only way that his arm could heal properly.
Similarly, “those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and He scourges every son whom He receives” (Heb.12:6). The story is often told of the loving shepherd who has a rebellious, wayward sheep, who continually wanders off away from the fold. The shepherd tries to teach this sheep not to wander off, but finally, he breaks the leg of that sheep, bandages it up, and carries the little sheep in his arms. When the leg finally heals, the sheep has learned its lesson, and doesn’t stray any more. Oh, we are so much like those wayward sheep aren’t we?!
This morning we are going to focus on what the Lord often must do to break the will of one of His children. You will recall that God had commissioned Jonah to rise up and go and cry out against the Ninevites because their wickedness had come up before Him. So what does Jonah do? He gets on board a ship going to Tarshish, the opposite side of the world. The Ninevites are the sworn enemies of Israel, and rather than preach to them with the possibility that they might repent and be spared, Jonah flees from the presence of the Lord. Well, is this the end of the story? Hardly! God hurls a great wind on the sea creating a great storm that threatens to break the ship apart. The sailors work like crazy to save the ship, but there’s nothing they can do. So, they all cry to their own god to save them. When that doesn’t work, they roll the dice to see who is to blame for this storm. Jonah gets the short straw, so he confesses that he is to blame, and that they should throw him overboard. When they finally do so under great duress, the sea becomes calm instantly. The sailors recognize this as the hand of Almighty God, so they feared the Lord, offered sacrifices, and made vows.
Well, remember last week I told you that the book of Jonah was a literary masterpiece? Each major theme in the first half of the book is mirrored by another similar major theme in the second half. Well, there’s more. Notice the sequence of events in Chapter 1: the sailors are perishing at sea; they cry to the Lord; they are saved from the storm, they offer sacrifices and made vows. Well, Jonah goes through the exact same 4 stages in Chapter 2. He is perishing at sea, he cries to the Lord, the Lord delivers him, and he responds by pledging to offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving and keep his vow.
So, the Lord has a rebellious child on His hands. We might be tempted to conclude that Jonah was not even saved, however, 2:1 says “Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God.” Later he prays in vs.6, “But You have brought up my life from the it, O Lord my God.” How does He handle him? Does He wipe his hands in disgust, and say, “Good riddance!” letting him drown in the sea? Now, that is probably what we would have done if we were God, but that’s not how the Lord acts. Instead, the Lord pursues His rebellious child to the point where He breaks his will. What is God after in this story? He’s bringing Jonah to the point where he will surrender. Jonah needs to be broken of his rebellious self-will, and wave the white flag of unconditional surrender. And, notice, that God will go to any length He needs to, in order to bring that surrender to pass.
We actually saw the Lord begin this process of breaking Jonah’s will in Chapter 1. There in Jonah 1:4 we read that “The Lord hurled a great wind on the sea.” Well, I’m sorry to say, that this great storm wasn’t enough to break Jonah’s will. And so, as the old saying goes, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” The Lord is not going to give up. If the storm won’t break Jonah’s will, God will continue to turn up the heat.
In 1:17 – 2:10, I want you to see the 3 things the Lord does. He cast Jonah into the deep (2:3), He appoints a great fish (1:17), and He commands the great fish (2:10). The first 2 things the Lord does puts Him in a position to do the last one. What I want you to see as we move through this fascinating story, is how the Lord makes His move, and then Jonah responds. It’s almost as if the two of them are playing chess. God moves His piece into position and says, “Check” and Jonah moves his King out of harm’s way. God continues putting Jonah into Check, until finally He says, “Checkmate!” And Jonah is utterly defeated and surrenders to the will of the Lord. Let’s notice God’s First Move.
1. The Lord Casts Jonah Into The Deep:
Let’s first notice something about the structure of this prayer. Notice, that in verse 1 Jonah is praying from the stomach of the fish. But when Jonah tells us what he said in his prayer, he uses the past tense – (called out, cried, cast, engulfed, passed over, etc). Everything is in the past tense until we come to vs.8-9, then everything changes to the present and future tense – (regard, forsake, will sacrifice, will pay). It is for this reason that I believe 2:2-7 describe Jonah’s experience in the depths of the sea and 2:8-9 describe Jonah’s prayer in the stomach of the great fish. Now, of course, all of this, 2:2-9 were prayed from the stomach of the fish. But vs.2-7 is the portion of the prayer where Jonah thinks back and recalls what was going on after he was thrown overboard into the stormy sea.
We must also notice that Jonah knows that God is sovereign in his afflictions. Vs. 3 says, “For YOU had cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the current engulfed me.” We might have said, “Hold on – wait a minute Jonah. Don’t you know that it was the sailors that cast you into the sea?” Jonah would have replied, “Sure it was the sailors. But God was behind the sailors!” Jonah knew that all things come about through the sovereign hand of God. God’s first chess move was hurling the great wind on the sea. His 2nd move was causing the lots to indicate that Jonah was to blame for the great storm. His 3rd move was to cause the storm to get even worse when the sailors tried to row to shore to save his life. His 4th move was casting him into the sea through the sailors. So, how did Jonah respond to the Lord’s discipline?
Jonah Sinks Helplessly: Notice the text. “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.” Jonah is in distress, and crying for help. He is in the depth of Sheol. Now Sheol was the word used in the Old Testament to describe the place of departed spirits. As Jonah sinks, down, down, down, he thinks of himself as losing all hope, and entering the realm of the dead. He’s a goner, as good as dead. Notice how often Jonah refers to “the deep” or “the depth” (vs.2,3,5,6). Furthermore, he speaks of the “current”, the “breakers”, and the “billows” which were “engulfing”, “passing over”, and “encompassing” him (vs.3,5). So, we have described here is Jonah being caught in the current, the breakers and billows, and being pulled under, down, down, down, to the bottom of the sea.
How serious was his situation? 2:5 says Water encompassed me to the point of death. 2:7 says While I was fainting away I remembered the Lord. Jonah was sucked under and sank like a rock was hung around his neck. He was under the water so long that he is at the point where he is getting ready to black out due to a lack of oxygen to the brain. At the same time seaweed was wrapped around his head. He’s struggling to swim to the surface, but he can’t see a thing with all this seaweed around him and the waves and current pounding down upon him. But at the same time that Jonah is sinking helplessly, something else is going on. He is also praying desperately!
Jonah Prays Desperately: Vs. 2 says I called out of my distress to the Lord… I cried for help. Vs.4 says So I said, “I have been expelled from Your sight.” Vs.7 says While I was fainting away, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to You, into Your holy temple. Jonah knows he is going to die, and so he does what everyone does at that point. He prays like crazy! In 1968 an airliner was heading to New York when the pilot realized that the landing gear refused to engage. The pilot tried again and again in vain to get the landing gear to lock into place to no avail. He radioed the control tower for instructions as he circled the landing field over and over. The airport personnel sprayed the runway with foam and put fire trucks and emergency vehicles into position. The whole time the pilot was informing the passengers what was going on in his bright and cheerful voice. The airline stewardesses glided about the cabin with an air of cool reserve. They told the passengers to place their heads between their knees and grab their ankles just before impact. Some people were crying, others were screaming. When the impact was only a few seconds away the pilot announced over the intercom: “We are beginning our final descent. At this moment, in accordance with International Aviation Codes established in Geneva, it is my obligation to inform you that if you believe in God you should commence prayer.” The belly landing went off without a hitch. No one was injured, although there was very extensive damage to the plane. The next day a relative of one of the passengers called the airlines and asked about the prayer rule. All anyone would say was “No comment.” But isn’t that interesting? The only thing that brought out this secret prayer rule was a life and death crisis.
It’s sad that God has to go to such great lengths to break Jonah’s stubborn will. You will recall that Jonah never prays in Chapter 1. At least God has got him to the point where he is praying in Chapter 2! I hope he doesn’t have to go to those lengths to break your will or mine!
So, here is God’s first move – He casts Jonah into the depths of the sea. Jonah responds by sinking helplessly and praying desperately. What is God’s next move?
2. The Lord Appoints A Great Fish To Swallow Jonah:
“And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights” (1:17). “But You have brought up my life from the pit, O Lord my God” (2:6b).
After the Lord had hurled Jonah into the great deep, and he was sucked under by the strong currents and billows of the storm and sank helplessly to the bottom of the sea and he descended to the roots of the mountains, God broke through! Jonah was in abject despair, in a humanly hopeless situation. “But You have brought up my life from the pit, O Lord my God!” Instead of drowning, Jonah found himself sucked into a huge black hole. Instead of dying, Jonah was still alive. But where was he? He wasn’t in the sea any more. True, it was very wet in here, but it was also very different from sinking in the sea. To start with, it was pitch black – Jonah couldn’t see a thing. Further, it was a tight place. Jonah could feel the slimy lining of his living tomb all around him. The stomach of any animal is made to constrict and tighten around its contents, so we know that there wouldn’t have been much room for Jonah to move around. He is sharing the space with the half-digested remnants of whatever the fish ate yesterday. Moreover, there was a very powerful foul stench. Imagine the odor of decomposing seafood. We all know how badly our own gas smells like. Imagine the gas inside of a whale’s stomach! Not only that, but there was a suffocating shortness of fresh air. He has the vile taste of fishy stomach acid. He’s sloshing around in the stomach acids and gastric juices of this fish. If this was a cold-blooded fish it would have been uncomfortably cold inside. If this was a whale, a mammal, it would have been close to 100 degrees inside, day and night! The gastric juices would irritate his skin and eyes. He would have to keep his eyes tightly shut at all times. His skin would itch and become raw. If there was any other fishes this great fish had swallowed, it always has bones, so Jonah is not only wet and slimy, but he’s scraping against the bones of other fish. He’s feeling the pressure in his ears as the fish dives to the bottom of the sea and then back up again to get a gulp of air. There is the constant sense of vertigo which would amplify any nausea he was already feeling. And to top it all off, there is absolutely no hope of escape or survival! Jonah is not in the mouth of the great fish, where he might be able to jump out. He’s in the stomach. And this goes on minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day. He is trapped! All Jonah can do in there is think and pray. His conscience would have been continually smiting him. He knew that all this had come upon him because of his disobedience to the Lord. Folks, this is about as horrifying a situation as anything that I can imagine! This is the stuff of nightmares!
Of course, this miracle has been attacked by liberal scholars for centuries. They claim that this must be treated as myth, legend, fable or allegory, because it would have been impossible to actually take place. I admit that it was impossible for it to take place. It would be impossible for a man to survive in the stomach of a fish. There is no air to breathe. The gastric juices would have digested him. The fact that this great fish swallowed Jonah and that he survived in its stomach for 3 days and 3 nights is a miracle. But that shouldn’t trouble us?! The very first verse of our Bible says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” If you can believe that verse, the story of Jonah shouldn’t pose any problem at all to you. In fact, the story of Jonah has already contained several miracles. God hurls a great wind on the sea. God causes the dice to turn up so that Jonah is identified as the culprit. The sailors throw Jonah overboard and the storm becomes instantly calm. Folks, these things are supernatural. So, what’s the problem with another miracle? In the Bible we find fire falling from heaven, a woman turning into a pillar of salt, God parting the waters of the Red Sea, axe heads floating, a man walking on water, Jesus feeding 5,000 people with a few small loaves and fishes, and people being raised from the dead. If you believe these other miracles, why is it hard to believe in the miracle of Jonah in the great fish? God is able to appoint a fish big enough to swallow a man. God is able to miraculously keep that man alive for 3 days and nights. Friends, don’t doubt the Word of God. The Bible can be trusted!
So, how does Jonah respond when the Lord causes him to be swallowed by the great fish? You would think that he would react in anger or self-pity, but he doesn’t. You can see God’s amazing grace in Jonah’s life by the way he responds to God. Jonah doing in the stomach of that great fish? 4 things: Jonah is repenting, thanking, vowing and declaring.
Jonah Is Repenting: Look at Jonah 2:8, “Those who regard vain idols forsake their faithfulness.” This verse can be interpreted in 1 of 2 ways. Either it means that those who regard vain idols forsake their hope of God’s steadfast love toward them, or it means that those who regard vain idols forsake their own faithfulness to God. Either sense is true, but let’s take it the way it is translated in the NASB. I believe Jonah is referring to himself here. Jonah had regarded vain idols. His idol was his own self-will. God had given him a command, and he had regarded his own will and rejected God’s will. This was idolatry. Jonah is saying that he had forsaken his faithfulness to the Lord as His child and as His prophet. Here God has finally gotten Jonah to the point where he is acknowledging and confessing his sin. He realizes he has been an idolater, and he has been unfaithful to the Lord. This is the point where God must bring all His rebellious children before He can bless them.
Jonah Is Trusting: 2:9 “But I will sacrifice to You with the voice of thanksgiving.” Notice that this is something Jonah is going to do in the future. Perhaps he is referring to a time in the future when he will again go up to the temple in Jerusalem and bring his thank-offerings to the Lord. So, what does that tell you about this prophet? He has faith that God is going to deliver him. Somehow he believes that God is going to get him out of the stomach of that fish so that he can offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to Him. Now, when Jonah was about to drown and finally fainted away, then the great fish swallowed him. He came to in the belly of the fish. He must have figured that just as the storm and the lots were God’s doing, so was this. And if God saved him from drowning, then he must have a future purpose for him. So, we find Jonah trusting the Lord. He’s putting into practice the Biblical definition of faith. He has assurance of things hoped for and has the conviction of things not seen (Heb.11:1).
Jonah Is Vowing: 2:9 “That which I have vowed I will pay.” Notice the verb tense moves from future to past tense. Jonah is declaring that he has made a vow, and he will pay it. Now what vow is that? My best guess is that Jonah had vowed that if the Lord would deliver him he would do anything the Lord told him to do! He won’t disobey any more. He has learned his lesson. He’s pledging fresh obedience to the Lord. He’s had enough of fish guts, gastric juices, and being trapped in a living tomb!
Jonah Is Declaring: 2:9 “Salvation is from the Lord.” Here is the climax of Jonah’s entire prayer. Salvation is of the Lord! Now, what did Jonah mean by that. Probably his being saved from the belly of this fish can only be accomplished by the Lord. However, he believed the Lord would do it. Not only is it true that temporal deliverances from danger are accomplished by the Lord, but every other kind of salvation – spiritual and eternal. The salvation of every single soul who is ever saved is from the goodness and kindness and grace of the Lord. Salvation is not of man’s free will, or man’s rituals, or man’s obedience. It is of the Lord, and of Him alone!
3. The Lord Commands The Great Fish To Vomit Jonah: Jonah 2:10
The Timing of Jonah’s Deliverance: Then – God could not deliver Jonah until this point. God had to break Jonah’s will. God had to bring him to repentance and faith and to the point where he would vow to do the Lord’s will henceforth. He needed to inspire faith in Jonah that his deliverance would come and it would only be because of God’s free grace. When God has humbled Jonah and brought him to the place of unconditional surrender, God is now ready to deliver and bless him!
The Reason For Jonah’s Deliverance: God commanded the fish. Isn’t that an interesting expression?! I didn’t know fish could understand others. Evidently they can understand God! God whistled and pointed to the shore and the fish happily obeyed, unlike Jonah!
The Means Of Jonah’s Deliverance: He’s vomited up by the fish. Now, that’s not hard for me to understand. I mean imagine you are the fish and you’ve swallowed a man with clothes and shoes on and you’re trying to digest him, but he won’t be digested. This fish has got a severe case of indigestion! I bet he was very happy to obey the Lord’s command. This is his way of getting rid of his belly ache. When the Lord gave the command, all of a sudden the fish got the urge to regurge! He didn’t lose his cookies; he lost his prophet!
The Location Of Jonah’s Deliverance: Onto dry land. Where do you suppose this dry land was? Remember that Jonah was on a ship sailing toward Tarshish. He’s thrown overboard, swallowed by the great fish. Where do you suppose the fish dropped him off? I can’t prove this, but my hunch is that the fish took him all the way back to the place where Jonah caught the boat. Jonah had to pay his fare to get on the ship but now he’s getting a free ride back. You can’t fight God and win. Jonah tried. He failed. He tried to run from God. God hunted him down and brought him right back to where he started and gave him the same command again (3:1-2). Oh the foolishness of trying to resist God’s will!
Application:
Notice the 4 stages in a backslider’s life: Disobedience – Discipline – Dedication – Deliverance. By the end of chapter 2 Jonah has gone through the entire cycle. Where are you in this cycle? I hope you aren’t in the cycle at all. I hope you life is characterized by obedience to the Lord, but if it’s not, you are somewhere on this cycle. If you have rebelled and the Lord has brought chastisement into your life, you only have 1 real option. If you continue to rebel, His chastisement will get heavier and heavier and your life will become more and more miserable. Like I said last week, if you are a believer you will obey the Lord. You can either do it the easy way or the hard way – it’s your choice! If you will dedicate yourself to him afresh, he will bring deliverance. How do you dedicate yourself to him? The same way Jonah did. By repenting of idolatry and trusting in Christ to cleanse you of all sin. By making a commitment to serve the Lord afresh. However, you’ve made commitments to the Lord in the past, and you haven’t followed through. What is going to be different about this time? You need to make a declaration that “Salvation is of the Lord.” You need to refuse to trust in your commitment. Instead, you need to trust in God’s grace and power to enable you to do what you can’t do in your own strength.
Are you unsaved? Are you outside of Christ? The process is exactly the same for you. Repent! Believe the gospel! Make a commitment to serve the Lord. Declare that your salvation is of the Lord. Are there any Jonah’s here this morning? Lay down your arms. Raise the white flag. Surrender, and follow the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind and strength!
______________________________
© The Bridge
Permissions: You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that you do not alter the wording in any way and do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. For web posting, a link to this document on our website is preferred. Any exceptions to the above must be approved by The Bridge.
Please include the following statement on any distributed copy: By Brian Anderson. © The Bridge. Website: www.TheBridgeOnline.net
Follow Us!