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Jonah 2
Jonah is about to discover that God is not only a God of justice but He is also a God of grace, for Jonah himself will experience God's undeserving love, as God grabs hold of him in an unusual and remarkable way and rescues him from death. Jonah needs to learn (as we all do) that God's heart beats with compassion for individuals lost in their sin, facing certain and deserving death, and that He is determined to rescue them. For God responds in mercy to all those who cry out to Him in repentance and faith, whoever they are or wherever they find themselves, whether a rebellious Israelite prophet drowning in the Mediterranean, or an idolatrous citizen of a great city like Nineveh, or someone from Whitby.
God had already demonstrated His power over creation in sending the violent storm upon sea. Now He further demonstrates His power over the natural world by appointing a great fish to swallow drowning Jonah (1:17). Being swallowed by the great fish is not, as it initially might seem to be, an instance of God's judgment. Rather it is the means of Jonah's preservation and his deliverance. Therefore, Jonah's prayer (2:2-9) is to be read as a prayer of thanksgiving following his salvation, not as a prayer of penitence requesting salvation from within the belly of the fish.
Jonah's turning to the Lord in repentance and faith occurs as he sinks under the waves into very heart of sea, with the currents swirling all around him (3). The waves and breakers had crashed over him, waters were engulfing him (5), the deep surrounded him, seaweed was wrapped around his head. Jonah was sinking down, down, down to the bottom of the sea, to the roots of the mountains (6), as far as a man could sink. He was entering a watery abyss, as he received the judgment he knew he deserved. For he acknowledges that ultimately it was God who hurled him into the sea (3) and it was His waves & breakers that were sweeping over him. God has pursued Jonah & caught him.
In his distress (2), Jonah calls out to the Lord. When his life was ebbing away (7), Jonah remembers the Lord. He repents of (turns from) his sin and cries for help. What evidence is there of Jonah's turning? Firstly, Jonah calls to the Lord. Previously Jonah wanted to be ignored by God. He'd been trying to get away from God (1:3). Even when the ship's captain had urged Jonah to call on his god (1:6), Jonah had remained silent. Now Jonah cries out to G for help (2) and remembers the Lord (7). Secondly, in his prayer of thanksgiving Jonah quotes from the Psalms e.g. Psalm 18:4-6, 16. Jonah utilises the resources of Scripture available to him. He is no longer running from the Word of the Lord, he turns now to the Word of the Lord. Thirdly, twice in his prayer, Jonah refers to God's holy temple (4, 7). The temple was the dwelling place of God and symbolic of His presence. It was the place for repentance and sacrifice for sin, where God and man might be reconciled and a broken relationship restored. Jonah's thoughts are now on the place of God's presence and he desires to be there. He is no longer fleeing from God; now he wants to run to God.
The Lord hears Jonah's cry. He listens and He answers (2). The Lord brings Jonah's life up from the pit (6). The Lord appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah and in so doing Jonah is saved. He proclaims (9) "Salvation comes from the Lord" and reconsecrates himself (9) to the worship and service of his Saviour. The Lord in His grace has restored a guilty, condemned, rebellious sinner to new life and fruitful service. Jonah is vomited out of the fish onto dry land (10). He is brought back from the dead having spent 3 days and nights inside the fish.
Jonah's experience of salvation can also be yours & indeed needs to be yours. For in flight from God, following and gratifying the desires and thoughts of your sinful nature, you face God's righteous wrath - his just anger. Like drowning Jonah, you're receiving no more than what you deserve. But God's grace goes beyond his justice. This is the message of Jonah; this is the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Salvation comes from the Lord. Jonah acknowledges this following his three days in the fish, but it is Jesus who accomplishes this following his three days in the tomb. The three days that Jesus spent in tomb following his crucifixion and prior to his resurrection also demonstrate that what at first sight might appear to be an event of judgment (like being swallowed by the great fish) is in reality a means of salvation and deliverance from death. For the cross and tomb of Jesus Christ are truly a means of salvation.
God continues to reach down into the depths of human misery and raise up undeserving sinners. All those who turn from their rebellion against him, and cry out to him for rescue, will be saved from eternal death. So stop running from God. Turn and call out to Him in repentance and faith, for it is both foolish and futile to run from Him.
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