Let's pick up our study today in Jonah chapter one verse seventeen, the last verse of the chapter. Now you may wonder why it is apart of the first chapter rather than the second, which matches its theme. I did at first, but now I believe it was placed precisely where it needed to be, as God's way of giving his children hope. Here laid out before us, we have the story of a man, a prophet, but one so unordinary and unexpected that we are found learning from his mistakes rather than his prophecies and examples. We see his rebellion, his selfishness, and his sin, but when hope is lost, and death is shrouding near, a fish comes and swallows him up. In other situations, being swallowed by a fish would not have meant life, but this fish was sent by God, and because of this, we can have faith that it does.
When Jonah put his blood on the sailor's hands and requested that they throw him into the ocean, he thought he was escaping God, but can anyone? No. The Lord was waiting, ready to send a fish to save his life. It's really a humorous situation, here Jonah would rather drown in the raging sea than be martyred in Ninevah, but God had other plans and rescues him so that Jonah may follow through with them. Ha, and Jonah thought he could run!
At the beginning of chapter two, we are told Jonah is praying from the belly of the fish, waiting three days and three nights in this watery tomb.
Three is the number of completion and perfection, God kept him in the belly of a fish, Jonah's passage of death, till his heart had been refined for his purpose in completion and perfection. The way to death Jonah thought he was pursuing was really the way to life the Father had granted.
It is also a symbol of the One to come, Jesus Christ, would spend three days in a tomb, three days in the grave, three days from light, but on the third day, would rise again and defeat death forever.
Jonah is a beautiful book of pairs. Chapter one and chapter three are accounts of Jonah's encounters with Gentiles. Chapters two and four, are inside glimpses into Jonah's thoughts, petitions, and prayers through chapter two's repentance (sort of) prayer and chapter four's prayer of complaint where Jonah grumbles to the Maker in bitterness and jealousy.
"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 waves and your billows
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 at 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!”
This is Jonah's prayer of repentance, never once does he mention his sin, ask for forgiveness, or even technically repent. He cries out to God, bubbling over with thankfulness for his mercy. In a way, Jonah admits he was wrong without explicitly pointing out where he failed and what he did. (I think it is important to note this point and to remember it for later reference. The revealing of this seed of pride in Jonah's heart is a foreshadowing of what will corrupt it later). In verse two, the word Sheol appears. When I read that, I immediately knew there was an incredible significance behind this word. I've learned through my studies that one little word can put a whole passage into perspective or add a whole new level of depth to the manuscript. I anxiously looked up the meaning Sheol and found that it was the unseen abode of the deceased, the place of punishment for the wicked, and the location where they are saved.
In his prayer, Jonah admits through impactful words of unseen significance his guilt and God's mercy. He cried out to the Lord, realizing he was in a place of punishment, but acknowledging that it was also the place where he would be saved in and through God's grace.
This struck me. How beautiful is it that amid this harrowing chapter of Jonah's life, our hope is reassured for no matter how far we have strayed, we can always return to the foot of the cross. Our God is merciful and abounding in steadfast and uncircumstantial love. He answers our prayers despite what we have done or left undone. He answers our prayers not based solely on our desires but based on something beyond what we can see. Something that will grow us beyond what we knew imaginable and change us in wondrous ways. Something far better than anything we could ever ask for, think on, or even imagine.
One more thing friends before you go. In Jonah's prayer, I noticed he speaks in past-tense. Jonah knows God's character and exclaims and rejoices over it. He knows the Lord is merciful to forgive and will grant him the forgiveness he desires because it is God's nature. He says, 'He answered me,' 'You heard my voice,' 'You have brought me life from the pit,' 'My prayer came to You,' but although none of it had taken place in his time, Jonah knew his request had been fulfilled in God's time.
We may not see Jonah as a character to imitate, but we all should have the faith and knowledge in and of God's nature to be able to speak in past terms of future mercies.
Lord, You are my defense. You are my stronghold. You are my God, worthy of far more praise and adoration than I could ever give. I will spend my days worshipping and following You for Your abundant and great mercies. I thank You for Your grace, love, and character, which I can depend on and lean into for their never-changing ways. I thank You for extending Your infinite forgiveness to a sinner like me, for loving Your broken people, and for repeatedly delivering me out of trouble. Give me faith that in my greatest need, I can cry out to You and know Your will is done. Amen.
That was beautiful! I love all the discovers and connections you made. You truly have a gift! Love you sweet girl!