Jonah 1:17-2:10 - Predicament, Prayer & Purpose
Jonah: Undeserved Mercy • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 32:48
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· 3 viewsYou will NEVER find yourself in a place or a predicament that is beyond the Lord's presence and purpose.
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A few months back I showed a clip from the TV show Hee Haw where Roy Clark and Junior Sample couldn’t agree if events in a story were “good” or “bad”.
Today philosophers argue against the existence of God due to the reality that sometimes “bad” things happen to “good” people. They call it the “problem of evil”.
Our misunderstanding of “all things work together for good” leaves us finding it difficult to praise in our prisons.
I did a quick mental rundown of times that God was explicitly present in less than desirable situations.
Joseph sold into slavery then falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife.
Daniel taken captive in Babylon then later thrown into a den of lions.
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego thrown into a foundary furnace for their obedience to God.
Jesus arrested, beaten and crucified
Stephen stoned to death
Paul and Silas in prison in Philippi
Later imprisonment of John on Patmos
Suddenly Jonah’s environment doesn’t look quite so bad. Then I wondered if God still uses difficult surroundings to get people’s attention today and found this clip of inmates at a Maximum Security Prison just 10 months ago:
Play video: https://youtu.be/dIKZTrseU1k?si=anKKp32n-OoEU0yf
Isn’t that beautiful? Young/old, brown, black & white, finding something in common—Hope that God can change circumstances through the name of Jesus!
Transition: In our text today, Jonah has been trying to run from God’s presence. Jonah recognizes the connection between his disobedience and the storm that God has hurled on the sea. The only remedy Jonah can think of is “hurl me overboard to save yourselves”. I believe Jonah had come to the realization that his only future was death by drowning. But the God who was present on dry land, and was present on the ship, is now at work in the sea to continue calling Jonah to repentance.
A Prickly Predicament (Jonah 1:17)
A Prickly Predicament (Jonah 1:17)
Death of Despair
Death of Despair
Jonah reasoned that God was done with him. Death was his earned destiny and eventual resurrection was his only hope.
Not Dead yet (cf.2:7)
Not Dead yet (cf.2:7)
Even if Jonah thought death was his immediate destiny, God wasn’t done with him. There is no escaping the Lord’s presence, power and purpose!
We don’t know what variety of fish God used or if He created a one-use only type of swimming animal. We do know that when Jonah comes back to land he admits that this fish was sent by God because God had a 3-day project that He wished to accomplish rather than death.
Transition: We don’t know if Jonah prayed out loud, or if these were the exact words or first draft that he prayed. Because of the beauty of this poem I am most likely to believe that (Just like when John Newton experienced a miracle on a slave ship and later wrote Amazing Grace) that these thoughts fill Jonah’s mind and it was later as he looked back on the event and that he edited the lines of this Thanksgiving Psalm into the parallelism and symbolism that is so penetrating and remain as Spirit-inspired Scripture.
The Power of Prayerful Praise (Jonah 2:1-6)
The Power of Prayerful Praise (Jonah 2:1-6)
A feeling of Distance (vv.2-4)
A feeling of Distance (vv.2-4)
While most biblical Psalms of Thanksgiving begin with a statement of repentance, this one begins with Jonah describing how distant he feels from the Presence that spoke to him on dry land.
V.4 is the summary of just how far he has wandered.
Some of you may feel just that far from God right now. But just as Jonah starts v.2, God is no further than the call of your heart.
We have the beautiful promise that when we call, He hears and answers.
On the Day of Pentecost (50 days after Easter, right now we are just ½ way there) Peter told the multinational crowd gathered in Jerusalem:
21 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
6. Later, Paul, the earliest missionary to non-Jews would write:
13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
7. So it is with the example of the prophet Jonah and the promise of the Apostles that I can promise you that you are NOT too far for God to hear and respond to your cry today.
Transition: Jonah doesn’t only feel far from God. His distance has also led to decline and as He is sinking, he feels desperation.
The desperation of Decline (vv.5-6a)
The desperation of Decline (vv.5-6a)
1. He feels the abundance of water.
I’m told that those who are tortured by waterboarding find that they feel like they are drowning in less than 2 gallons of water.
2. Not just abundant water, but deep water
I’ve never tried scuba, but I’ve heard that the depths create darkness and the darkness leads to disorientation if one doesn’t watch the flow of their exhaled breath.
3. Heart of the seas describes the place that seems totally removed from the land or the surface as sea weeds wrap and swirl.
4. From this distance and decline we see an unexpected reversal.
The elation of being Drawn Up (v.6b)
The elation of being Drawn Up (v.6b)
The place of death from where no human could escape was frequently thought to be at the bottom of the ocean. If land = security then the sea pictured chaos and at the end of chaos was the place of death.
But from the pit Jonah testifies of God’s provisionand promotion.
I think it is clear that Jonah knew his own rebellion was taking him further away, and only the mercy of a forgiving and restoring God could rescue from his self-imposed decline.
Transition: I labeled the last section the Power of Prayerful Praise, because I have an underlying assumption. Any desire that is expressed to any person other than the God of the Bible is not a prayer, it is only a warm wish. What makes a prayer a prayer is that it is offered to the one who can make a difference!
Maybe I’m making a distinction where most people don’t see a difference, but you may have thoughts about a situation or for a person. But true prayers are only extended to God!
If you served in one branch of our armed forces, you would bristle if all are simply called “the Army”.
If you’ve ever spent much time in a kitchen, you know that some recipes call for Baking powder and others call for Baking Soda, and they are not interchangeable.
I’m just saying that in our society many quip about “thoughts and prayers” but there is a distinction. And Jonah was very aware of whom answers prayer.
Gracious God or Icky Idols? (Jonah 2:7-8)
Gracious God or Icky Idols? (Jonah 2:7-8)
Remembered by God
Remembered by God
I remembered the God who had not forgotten me.
Jonah ran but could not escape. The prodigal rebelled but never went beyond the Father’s love. In Jonah’s day the Jewish people of the 10 Northern tribes forsook the God of Abraham, yet even today, He is faithful to His covenant with Abraham’s and David’s descendants and is yet to fulfill promised made.
Jonah knew it was the Lord who had spoken to him on dry land; It was the Lord who hurled the tempest over the sea; and it was the Lord who appointed a great fish to stop him from drowning in that sea.
Forsaken by hope in Idols
Forsaken by hope in Idols
Who is in mind when speaking of vain idols? Ninevites (God’s original mission)? Sailors (the foreigners who staffed the boat for Tarshis)? Israelites (Jonah’s countrymen)? The Wayward Prophet, Jonah?
ANY who seek to satisfy the gods of self or myth. E.g. all 4 of the above mentioned possibilities are included in this rebuke. And there are many today who don’t have gold or wooden statues, but they worship items of this world: Chemicals, relationships, wealth, respect
Transition: as long as one can call on the Lord (v.7), Salvation is possible and…
Salvation births Second Opportunities (Jonah 2:9-10)
Salvation births Second Opportunities (Jonah 2:9-10)
Notice the future hope (v.9)
Notice the future hope (v.9)
Jonah is not only voicing hope in the Lord’s presence in eternal life. He now expressed hope in actions of devotion that he will be able to do in the flesh, in this life.
Will sacrifice and will pay
Will sacrifice and will pay
There are no sacrifices in Heaven, because Jesus has already offered the once-for-all supreme sacrifice.
There is no payment of vows because we enter our eternal peace with empty hands.
This leads me to conclude that Jonah wrote after returning to dry land that while he was still in the Big Fish he had hope of earthly forms of worship, much like we are doing right now.
Conclusion:
Conclusion:
Every human baby takes many falls and makes many mistakes in the process of maturing to adulthood. Every disciple of Jesus who has been born again also must mature from sincere milk to greater forms of worship and obedience as we are conformed into the image of Christ. Neither you, nor I made a straight beeline from salvation to Christlikeness.
I never wish to glamorize these times that we wander or fall away, but I am equally convinced that you are never too far from God’s forgiveness and redemption.
If Jesus could offer paradise to a criminal being executed right next to him, and if both Peter and Paul promised salvation to ANY who call on the name of the Lord, I am absolutely confident that you are not too far from God’s grace. The people that we live, play and work with are not too far from God’s grace. If God would go so far as to send a fish to swallow a disobedient prophet, He will come as far as necessary to adopt those in Chase County Kansas.
Highlight idea
You will NEVER find yourself in a place or a predicament that is beyond the Lord’s presence and purpose.
If inmates in a maximum security prison can cry out to God, He will hear your call as well.
I don’t know your rebellion or your challenge, But I do believe God can turn it around for His Glory.
Closing Song [https://youtu.be/-Gv8VDqc-os?si=LXiZ8BzgGrBpsPPB] God, Turn it Around