This is a synopsis of a series on Jonah that was presented at summer camp.
Part 3 of 7:
FISH (Jonah 1:17-2:9)
It is here that we meet perhaps the most recognizable character in the story of Jonah, the great fish. It is interesting that all of the emphasis during this section is not on the fish and Jonah, but on Jonah and the Lord. Jonah spent three days and three night praying in what may be the weirdest place ever--the belly of a great fish in the depths of the sea. As the story unfolds a stunning truth is revealed in this dark place.
IT IS GOOD FOR JONAH TO BE HERE.
Let's find out why.
Many people have questioned whether this is an accurate historical description. Some see the story of Jonah as a metaphor or an allegory but find it unbelievable that Jonah could survive in a fish for that long. It is important to acknowledge that Jesus identified himself with Jonah's situation--paralleling his time in the tomb with Jonah's time in the fish. There is also evidence that Jonah was a real historical figure. He is mentioned in 2 Kings 14:23-28 as being a prophet from the area around Galilee. It seems like the Bible itself assumes this unbelievable event was an actual historical account.
This section provides striking insights on several levels. Here is what is highlighted today.
Jonah's Prayer
Jonah as he relates to King David
Jonah as he related to King Jesus.
The application will simply be to discover how this is relevant today.
JONAH'S PRAYER
Though Jonah had been rebellious and running from the Lord, notice that his desperate prayer is full of Scripture. Jonah's prayer in Chapter 2 confidently asserts that God hears his cries. The rhythm of Jonah's prayer reflects the ping-pong emotional swings that Jonah probably felt. We see the prayer continually transitions between Jonah focusing on his agony and God responding in mercy.
Doubt Hope
"I called out to the Lord in my distress.... and he answered me
Out of the belly of the belly of Sheol I cried...and you heard my voice."v. 1
Again the reality of both human responsibility and God's sovereignty is seen. Jonah acknowledges in verse three that it was God who cast him into the sea. It was also God's plan, through the actions of the sailors, that ended Jonah in this most peculiar of places. In the midst of the belly Jonah concludes that he will be not only rescued but restored to the faith of God's people.
"For you cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas and the flood surrounded me...
...Then I said, 'I am driven way from your sight; yet will I again look upon your holy temple." vs. 3-4
During the three days in the belly of the whale Jonah refers to it as Sheol. This was a place the ancients thought that people went when they died. Clearly Jonah equates this time in the fish with passing away. The Lord only knows the despair and fear Jonah must have felt. Yet in the midst of this dark place, the worst place Jonah physically would probably ever be, the Lord was using it for his good. Jonah was full of pride and getting what he NEEDED not what he WANTED. This dilemma always causes people to wrestle, doubt and struggle on some level. God was showing Jonah that he was an unworthy servant who was undeserving of deliverance, so that when God worked Jonah would respond appropriately.
There is an old Jewish saying that says God is closest to those with broken hearts. The reason it is good for Jonah to be in this place is he is brought to the end of himself. In this place one is more likely to be fully dependent upon the Lord.
At the end of the prayer Jonah makes a simple and profound statement which is the main idea of the entire book--indeed of the entire Bible. Jonah prays, "Salvation belongs to the LORD!" Jonah is moved from disobedience to repentance. One sees that God is capable of moving the Ninevites from idolatry to faith and in the New Testament it that God's salvation will move Gentiles to faith and repentance. Deliverance doesn't ultimately come from 12 step programs, luck or chance, gritty hard work, it is a gift from the Lord to his people. Ultimately this deliverance has come to earth in Jesus, but first another word.
Doubt Hope
"I called out to the Lord in my distress.... and he answered me
Out of the belly of the belly of Sheol I cried...and you heard my voice."v. 1
Again the reality of both human responsibility and God's sovereignty is seen. Jonah acknowledges in verse three that it was God who cast him into the sea. It was also God's plan, through the actions of the sailors, that ended Jonah in this most peculiar of places. In the midst of the belly Jonah concludes that he will be not only rescued but restored to the faith of God's people.
"For you cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas and the flood surrounded me...
...Then I said, 'I am driven way from your sight; yet will I again look upon your holy temple." vs. 3-4
During the three days in the belly of the whale Jonah refers to it as Sheol. This was a place the ancients thought that people went when they died. Clearly Jonah equates this time in the fish with passing away. The Lord only knows the despair and fear Jonah must have felt. Yet in the midst of this dark place, the worst place Jonah physically would probably ever be, the Lord was using it for his good. Jonah was full of pride and getting what he NEEDED not what he WANTED. This dilemma always causes people to wrestle, doubt and struggle on some level. God was showing Jonah that he was an unworthy servant who was undeserving of deliverance, so that when God worked Jonah would respond appropriately.
There is an old Jewish saying that says God is closest to those with broken hearts. The reason it is good for Jonah to be in this place is he is brought to the end of himself. In this place one is more likely to be fully dependent upon the Lord.
At the end of the prayer Jonah makes a simple and profound statement which is the main idea of the entire book--indeed of the entire Bible. Jonah prays, "Salvation belongs to the LORD!" Jonah is moved from disobedience to repentance. One sees that God is capable of moving the Ninevites from idolatry to faith and in the New Testament it that God's salvation will move Gentiles to faith and repentance. Deliverance doesn't ultimately come from 12 step programs, luck or chance, gritty hard work, it is a gift from the Lord to his people. Ultimately this deliverance has come to earth in Jesus, but first another word.
JONAH & KING DAVID'S PSALMS
Much of what Jonah prays in the belly are reflected in Psalms attributed to David. The link between Jonah and David is not only looking back at the Psalms, it is the connection in looking forward to David's greatest descendant Jesus.
We see that Jonah literally experiences David expressed in poetry.
"The cords of death encompassed me; the torrents of destruction assailed me; the cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called upon the LORD; to my God I cried for help." Psalm 18:4-6
"Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me. I am weary with my crying out; my throat is parched. My eyes grow dim with waiting for my God....let not the flood sweep over me, or the deep swallow me up or the pit close its mouth over me." Psalm 69:3-4, 15
"If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me." Psalm 139:8-10
We see that Jonah literally experiences David expressed in poetry.
"The cords of death encompassed me; the torrents of destruction assailed me; the cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called upon the LORD; to my God I cried for help." Psalm 18:4-6
"Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me. I am weary with my crying out; my throat is parched. My eyes grow dim with waiting for my God....let not the flood sweep over me, or the deep swallow me up or the pit close its mouth over me." Psalm 69:3-4, 15
"If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me." Psalm 139:8-10
The Bible comments and illustrates itself often. A clear connection is made to Jesus here that the brings deeper meaning in the story alive. Let's look at how Jonah connects to Jesus!
JONAH & KING JESUS
"No sign shall be given to this evil and adulterous generation except for the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Ninevah will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for the repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here." Matthew 12:40-41
Jesus draws a clear parallel here between the time Jonah spent in despair in the deep and his time in the tomb. Jonah points us to Jesus! The tie between the two is so strong that Paul in 1 Corinthians 15 states that Jesus was raised on the third day in accordance with Scripture. The only two places where this is stated in the Old Testament is Hosea 6:2 and more clearly here in Jonah!
Jesus taught, after the resurrection, that the entirety of the Old Testament Scriptures pointed in some way to him. Jonah declares that salvation alone is from the LORD, and Jesus declared that He was God. Jesus is the greater Jonah. Jesus is the faithful Jonah. Jesus is the prophet who was literally swallowed up by death, cast from the Lord's presence, took the brunt of the storm of God's wrath and was vomited up, brought back to life because the grave couldn't contain Him!
Where are you looking for hope and deliverance? There is only one place you need to look. It is to THE ONE that Jonah point. We are to hope in the only place that salvation is found and that is Jesus. His death and resurrection is our only hope for forgiveness and new life. Jonah illustrates this amazing fact!
Next we'll look at the amazing second chance that fish vomit provides. Even this is used by God in his sovereignty for great things!
Jesus draws a clear parallel here between the time Jonah spent in despair in the deep and his time in the tomb. Jonah points us to Jesus! The tie between the two is so strong that Paul in 1 Corinthians 15 states that Jesus was raised on the third day in accordance with Scripture. The only two places where this is stated in the Old Testament is Hosea 6:2 and more clearly here in Jonah!
Jesus taught, after the resurrection, that the entirety of the Old Testament Scriptures pointed in some way to him. Jonah declares that salvation alone is from the LORD, and Jesus declared that He was God. Jesus is the greater Jonah. Jesus is the faithful Jonah. Jesus is the prophet who was literally swallowed up by death, cast from the Lord's presence, took the brunt of the storm of God's wrath and was vomited up, brought back to life because the grave couldn't contain Him!
Where are you looking for hope and deliverance? There is only one place you need to look. It is to THE ONE that Jonah point. We are to hope in the only place that salvation is found and that is Jesus. His death and resurrection is our only hope for forgiveness and new life. Jonah illustrates this amazing fact!
Next we'll look at the amazing second chance that fish vomit provides. Even this is used by God in his sovereignty for great things!
No comments:
Post a Comment