Repentance - Running Back To God
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Introduction
Introduction
Have you ever felt that you have messed up so bad it cannot be fixed? Perhpas you are in a situation today of you own disobedience to God and feeling like there is no way out and no way back. By our own rebellion we have put ourselves in a situation and we have no one to blame but ourselves. Perhaps we are on the downward spiral of despair and eventually leaves us hopeless. We dont have to stay in this place.
Jonah was in that exact place as a prophet of God called by God Jonah in rebellion fled God and finds himself in the belly of a fish in the depths of the sea and in the depths of despair. Jonah however as we will see is delivered from the belly of the fish and even finds himself back on dry land. Let's follow along and see how Jonah goes from running from God in disobedience and in repentance is running back to God.
1 Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish: 2 I called to the Lord in my distress, and he answered me. I cried out for help from deep inside Sheol; you heard my voice. 3 When you threw me into the depths, into the heart of the seas, and the current overcame me. All your breakers and your billows swept over me.
4 And I said, “I have been banished from your sight, yet I will look once more toward your holy temple. 5 The water engulfed me up to the neck; the watery depths overcame me; seaweed was wrapped around my head. 6 I sank to the foundations of the mountains, the earth’s gates shut behind me forever! Then you raised my life from the Pit, Lord my God!
7 As my life was fading away, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to you, to your holy temple. 8 Those who cherish worthless idols abandon their faithful love, 9 but as for me, I will sacrifice to you with a voice of thanksgiving. I will fulfill what I have vowed. Salvation belongs to the Lord. 10 Then the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.
Acknowledge Your Predicament
Acknowledge Your Predicament
1 Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish: 2 I called to the Lord in my distress, and he answered me. I cried out for help from deep inside Sheol; you heard my voice. 3 When you threw me into the depths, into the heart of the seas, and the current overcame me. All your breakers and your billows swept over me.
Jonah’s disobedience had brought calamity into his life. His disobedience has put him in this impossible position of being in the belly of the great fish. This position as Jonah describes it is his distress. A state of turmoil and danger - need and cause of anxiety. He also states that he is crying out from deep inside Sheol. Jonah likens his condition to being deep in trouble - even to the point of lifelessness. Sheol can mean grave, afterlife or things of those nature. The poetic usage (which seems evident here) fits the poetic definition of “depths” or more modern “pits”. Jonah’s situation was “the pits”. Notice in verse three as Jonah is talking about the situation he finds himself in - he attributes his current condition as coming directly from the Lord’s hands. “You threw me into the depths, into the heart of the seas, and the current overcame me. All YOUR breakers, and YOUR billows swept over me.” When in the sea Jonah recognized that it was from the Lord that he was in the sea. In the sea the current and the waves have overtaken Jonah (the storm may have subsided but the sea is still the sea). Breakers and billlows are the breaking and the rolllings of the waves and Jonah declared them to the be the Lord’s and sent from Him. Jonah knowing this situation in the sea is from the Lord says he called to the Lord in His distress.
Jonah prayed to the Lord in his distress - even though his distress was from the Lord! It is because of the affliction that Jonah is calling out to the Lord not because of affection.
15 Even if he kills me, I will hope in him. I will still defend my ways before him.
1 Out of the depths I call to you, Lord! 2 Lord, listen to my voice; let your ears be attentive to my cry for help.
53 They smothered my life in a pit and threw stones on me. 54 Water flooded over my head, and I thought, “I’m going to die!”
55 I called on your name, Lord, from the depths of the pit. 56 You heard my plea: Do not ignore my cry for relief.
Jonah had run from God and now in his predicament would run back to God in prayer. Notice something Jonah declares that God heard him, God had heard his voice and had answered him. In his distress of situation Jonah called out to the Lord and the Lord though Jonah was being disobedient had answered his prayer and the answer to his prayer was the fish swallowing him.
Jonah realized that the conditions of the sea and the position of the sea was God’s hand, God was chastening him. God had put Jonah in a position where he had no alternative but to look to the Lord.
Endure suffering as discipline: God is dealing with you as sons. For what son is there that a father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline—which all receive—then you are illegitimate children and not sons.
Furthermore, we had human fathers discipline us, and we respected them. Shouldn’t we submit even more to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time based on what seemed good to them, but he does it for our benefit, so that we can share his holiness.
No discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
God often times disciplines us by bringing about circumstances and situations intended to bring things to a crisis point, which means we can longer ignore or avoid them. It is in these times that we begin to see things for what they are, and with them being revealed before us we begin to do something about it. when we are in rebellion against God He may allow the school of hard knocks get our attention so we will turn to look at Him again.
Despite the brevity of this chapter it encompasses 3 days and 3 nights of Jonah in the belly of the fish as we read in verse 17 of chapter 1. Jonah is now in the belly of the fish. This should teach us something also calling out to God may not immediately change the situation. Just because we have been exposed and forced to deal with our rebellion doesnt mean an immediate change of circumstance - because God desires us to repent from affection not just because of affliction. God heard Jonah’s cries for help, and God answered them with the fish. Jonah realizing his predicament prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish. “He who has learned to pray has learned the greatest secret of a holy and happy life.” William Law.
Confess To the Lord
Confess To the Lord
4 And I said, “I have been banished from your sight, yet I will look once more toward your holy temple. 5 The water engulfed me up to the neck; the watery depths overcame me; seaweed was wrapped around my head.
6 I sank to the foundations of the mountains, the earth’s gates shut behind me forever! Then you raised my life from the Pit, Lord my God! 7 As my life was fading away, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to you, to your holy temple.
Jonah is now doing what he should have done all along. Instead of fleeing from the call of God he could have cried out to God confessing he fell short of the love of God for the Assyrian city of Nineveh. In calling out to God Jonah recognizes that he has been banished from the sight of the Lord. In his flight Jonah realizes his sin and as a prophet of God knows that God will not tolerate sin in His presence and sin before His eyes.
Jonah could have stopped there, as most do when they realize they have sinned before a holy God and just given up there and said that is it I am toast. Given in to the feeling that the Lord is done and doesnt care. Given in to the lie that he was a disobedient failure and God was done with him, didnt want to use him and couldn't use him. In our sin and failures we too may feel like God is done, that God can't do anything with us and perhaps we have convinced ourselves that we are cast out as nothing more than disobedient failures. Sin separates us from God, the unbeliever is separated from the presence of God and the believer is separated from communion with God. In both cases there is a broken relationship and fellowship with God. The greatest pain of rebellion and sin against God is not the resulting calamity, but the separation from God.
Jonah however is no slouch when it comes to knowing God’s character and knowing God’s word. Jonah in verse 4 despaired that he would look once more toward God’s holy temple. Jonah knew the promise of God in relation to His holy temple. The promise that comes from the dedication of the Holy temple by the prayer of King Solomon.
38 every prayer or petition that any person or that all your people Israel may have— they each know their own affliction— as they spread out their hands toward this temple, 39 may you hear in heaven, your dwelling place, and may you forgive, act, and give to everyone according to all their ways, since you know each heart, for you alone know every human heart,
40 so that they may fear you all the days they live on the land you gave our ancestors.
Jonah claimed that promise by faith. In faith he looked toward God’s temple and asked God to deliver him. We have that same option if we would believe in faith that God is a God who forgives and is a God who fulfills His word.
If we say, “We have fellowship with him,” and yet we walk in darkness, we are lying and are not practicing the truth. If we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Jonah described the water as being up to his neck and the watery depths overcame me, seaweed was wrapped around his head. This describes to me someone completely entangled and engulfed in their sinful circumstance being overcome. In fact Joanh then says that he sank to the foundations of the mountains and the gates of the earth shut behind him forever. He was sinking with no hope of recovery, he couldn't save himself and he was drowning. Soon to succumb to his situation. Then you raised my life from the Pit - LORD my God.
A young man went to Buddha to ask how to find God. Buddha took him down to the river. The young man thought the teacher was going to perform a ritual cleansing. Instead, Buddha immersed his head in the water for a dangerously long time while the young man thrashed in the water. Then Buddha let him up. “What were you thinking about when I held your head under water?” the teacher asked. “Air, air!” the young man gasped. “When you want God as much as you want air you will find him.”
Jonah prays and says as my life was fading - I remembered the LORD - and I prayed and my prayer came to your holy temple.
THEN You raised my life! From the Pit! LORD my God! Declares the Jonah. The awesomeness of deliverance corresponds to the messiness and hopelessness of the pit.
1 My soul, bless the Lord, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. 2 My soul, bless the Lord, and do not forget all his benefits. 3 He forgives all your iniquity; he heals all your diseases. 4 He redeems your life from the Pit; he crowns you with faithful love and compassion.
Renewed Commitment
Renewed Commitment
8 Those who cherish worthless idols abandon their faithful love, 9 but as for me, I will sacrifice to you with a voice of thanksgiving. I will fulfill what I have vowed. Salvation belongs to the Lord. 10 Then the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.
Jonah states that those who cherish worthless idols abandon their faithful love. I believe that the NKJV adds some clarity to this stated truth from Jonah.
8 “Those who regard worthless idols Forsake their own Mercy.
Jonah here realizes that running from God and resisting against God is the same as turning to idols and being an idolator. Idolizing self over God, the secularist, the humanist, one who is extreme in their patriotism, and disloyalty to God. Idols will cost you your relationship with God. Those who cherish and hold onto idols abandon the LORD. The idols are worthless and the LORD is faithful love - the One who can and will save and deliver them.
Jonah makes a line in the sand for himself. He doesnt care what anyone else chooses - he states BUT as for ME. Jonah is declaring that idolator abandon their faithful love, Jonah says as for me I will sacrifice to You. I choose to sacrifice to you, worship you, acknowledge You LORD - Yahweh.
This is a willful and free choice and results in worship of thanksgiving as well. Jonah declares not only will I serve you and sacrifice to you but I will do it with a voice of thanksgiving.
True repentance comes with a voice of thanksgiving and not with a disgruntled spirit.
Jonah also declares and rededicates himself to the vow to the LORD. He says I will fulfill what I have vowed. As a prophet Jonah has a solemn vow to proclaim the message of the LORD to whomever the LORD says to proclaim it to. Jonah submits and says that “salvation is of the LORD”. Salvation belongs to the LORD. Jonah is not stating a mere fact or sharing head knowledge. This statement now has a heart connected to it and must be read with a triumphant tone. God has saved and God will save for salvation is His to give and Jonah understand this.
Close-up view — Salvation is personal and individual
Big Picture view — Salvation is not a race, nation, or language
As soon as Jonah had finished declaring this God commanded the fish to vomit Jonah out on to dry land. We do not get to choose how we are delivered, but know that the Lord has purpose in the method of our deliverance.
Conclusion
Conclusion
This prayer from Jonah shows us how to pray in the midst of our rebellion and failure. It also shows us that we can pray even when our distress has been caused by our own disobedience. This is often the most difficult time to pray because of our own self-condemnation, which tells us we have no right to pray, or that even if we did God wouldn't listen or answer. If an errant rascal prophet can pray from his affliction brought on by his own choices, then so can we, and we must! God meets us even in our own self-imposed trouble.
This prayer from Jonah also teaches us to thank the LORD and see it as deliverance for Him to confront our disobedience. It is a great source of hope to know that God will not let us continue forever in our own rebellion and disobedience. It would be terrible news indeed to think God not care enough to catch us when we run from Him and discipline us as children.
In his prayer Jonah has not one word of petition, instead it mainly consists of thanksgiving, contrition, and rededication. At the end of verse 9 it is clear that Jonah Has indeed repented, but one might wonder when Jonah repented? There are indications throughout of Jonah’s repentance.
Jonah 1:9 - He came clean to the sailors
Jonah 1:12 - Jonah allowed himself to be cats into the sea
Jonah calling out to God - verse 2,4, and 7
Jonah renewing his commitment to his vow verse 9
So when did Jonah repent? All of them. We must begin to see repentance as more than a one-time event. It for sure begins with the first time, but it must continue and mature. Repentance is both an event and an ongoing process throughout our life. Repentance is completed when and only when not only are we truly sorry for sinning against God, but when we also turn back to God trusting in God again.
Salvation is of the LORD and is through Jesus Christ - who was killled, buried and resurrected on the third day. Having suffered death and defeating death He has been given victory over death to give life to all who would repent of their sin and trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of their sin and trust in Him for new life - everlasting life.