Jonah 2
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Disclaimer:
We are not talking about being in a pit of dispair because of what someone has done to you tonight. If you have been abused in any way, the way you feel or the things that have happened are not because of your sin or because God is trying to discipline you.
Tonight, we dig in to the belly of the fish.
Pray
1 Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish, 2 saying,
“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.
Jonah finds himself in a dark spot because of his disobedience. And this was totally unexpected.
He doesnt want to go to Ninevah. Its not that he doesnt want to obey God, he just doesnt want what God wants this time.
He’s literally saying no to God.
Then when God begins to make the storm swell around him, he chooses suicide as the ultimate way to rebel against what God wants him to do, yet here he is, still alive.
Now he finds himself in the most unlikely place. Not Sheol. Not Hell. But the belly of a fish. So bizarre. God is using extreme means to discipline his child.
I question whether Jonah is sorry or sorry he got caught. I guess as I work through the poem, that may come out. But Jonah does seem to be repenting here.
FOR FEELINGS OR TRUTH, there seems to be truth here. Jonah says that from his pit (of sin), he cried and God heard him. That is astounding. I dont think we realize how remarkable that fact is.
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.
He is just telling God the details of what happened.
Jonah also is confident that God is doing this to him. There is no bitterness, only acceptatence in his tone.
7 But God was displeased with this thing, and he struck Israel. 8 And David said to God, “I have sinned greatly in that I have done this thing. But now, please take away the iniquity of your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.” 9 And the Lord spoke to Gad, David’s seer, saying, 10 “Go and say to David, ‘Thus says the Lord, Three things I offer you; choose one of them, that I may do it to you.’ ” 11 So Gad came to David and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Choose what you will: 12 either three years of famine, or three months of devastation by your foes while the sword of your enemies overtakes you, or else three days of the sword of the Lord, pestilence on the land, with the angel of the Lord destroying throughout all the territory of Israel.’ Now decide what answer I shall return to him who sent me.” 13 Then David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Let me fall into the hand of the Lord, for his mercy is very great, but do not let me fall into the hand of man.”
The above passage is a response of David. Although its not a good thing to go around upsetting God, you need to understand that under the discipline of God is a good place to be. He will instruct you how to change. Its must better than being at the hands of men or in danger of God’s judgmental wrath.
Sometimes getting caught in your sin and finding your self in the belly of a fish is a good thing.
Sometimes the pit is your saving grace from God
4 Then I said, ‘I am driven away
from your sight;
yet I shall again look
upon your holy temple.’
He has hope for the future. God is not done with him yet.
This isnt based on feelings but knowledge of how God has worked in the past.
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.
Sounds like it wasnt immediately that the fish swallowed him. There was some time of fear.
How do you think Jonah felt as he tossed around waiting to die?
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!”
10 And the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land.
God had the fish swallow him to save him from both his sin and his death,
and he had the fish throw him up once he repented.
What can we learn from this passage?
Sometimes the best thing that can happen to you is being swallowed up by God’s discipline.
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.
Things dont go your way, and your way was sin - thats God’s grace for Him to remember you and discipline you
Sometimes you get caught - thats God’s grace
Heres what Proverbs says:
11 My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline
or be weary of his reproof,
12 for the Lord reproves him whom he loves,
as a father the son in whom he delights.
2. You are safer in God’s discipline than any where else.
You can trust God.
This may hurt.
But you can trust God.
11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
11 So Gad came to David and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Choose what you will: 12 either three years of famine, or three months of devastation by your foes while the sword of your enemies overtakes you, or else three days of the sword of the Lord, pestilence on the land, with the angel of the Lord destroying throughout all the territory of Israel.’ Now decide what answer I shall return to him who sent me.” 13 Then David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Let me fall into the hand of the Lord, for his mercy is very great, but do not let me fall into the hand of man.”
3. God doesnt want you to sulk or whine, he wants you to repent.
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!”
19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.
Remember we arent talking about suffering do to other peoples sin. If you have been wronged or abused, i am not talking about you.
But if you are living in sin, God wants you to repent. TONIGHT.
You will always hear me preach God’s grace
4 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?
BUT IF YOU ARE IN SIN, YOU NEED TO REPENT.
God will discipline those that are his.
Time of Response
Exegete
Exegete
1 Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish, 2 saying,
“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.
Jonah finds himself in a dark spot because of his disobedience. And this was totally unexpected.
He doesnt want to go to Ninevah. Its not that he doesnt want to obey God, he just doesnt want what God wants this time.
He’s literally saying no to God.
Then when God begins to make the storm swell around him, he chooses suicide as the ultimate way to rebel against what God wants him to do, yet here he is, still alive.
Now he finds himself in the most unlikely place. No Sheol. Not Hell. But the belly of a fish. So bizarre. God is using extreme means to discipline his child.
Upon reading verse 2, i thought maybe that Jonah was quoting a psalm or some prophet, but it doesnt seem to be the case. He uses similar language to things found in Isaiah (comes after jonah), and in Psalms, but Tyndale commentary says its just similar, no quotes found. It also calls this poem a Psalm and says that Jonah would have been familiar with Psalms used for worship, so would be familiar with the genre.
I question whether Jonah is sorry or sorry he got caught. I guess as I work through the poem, that may come out. But Jonah does seem to be repenting here.
FOR FEELINGS OR TRUTH, there seems to be truth here. Jonah says that from his pit (of sin), he cried and God heard him. That is astounding. I dont think we realize how remarkable that fact is.
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.
He is just telling God the details of what happened.
Jonah also is confident that God is doing this to him. There is no bitterness, only acceptatence in his tone.
1 Then Satan stood against Israel and incited David to number Israel. 2 So David said to Joab and the commanders of the army, “Go, number Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, and bring me a report, that I may know their number.” 3 But Joab said, “May the Lord add to his people a hundred times as many as they are! Are they not, my lord the king, all of them my lord’s servants? Why then should my lord require this? Why should it be a cause of guilt for Israel?” 4 But the king’s word prevailed against Joab. So Joab departed and went throughout all Israel and came back to Jerusalem. 5 And Joab gave the sum of the numbering of the people to David. In all Israel there were 1,100,000 men who drew the sword, and in Judah 470,000 who drew the sword. 6 But he did not include Levi and Benjamin in the numbering, for the king’s command was abhorrent to Joab.
7 But God was displeased with this thing, and he struck Israel. 8 And David said to God, “I have sinned greatly in that I have done this thing. But now, please take away the iniquity of your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.” 9 And the Lord spoke to Gad, David’s seer, saying, 10 “Go and say to David, ‘Thus says the Lord, Three things I offer you; choose one of them, that I may do it to you.’ ” 11 So Gad came to David and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Choose what you will: 12 either three years of famine, or three months of devastation by your foes while the sword of your enemies overtakes you, or else three days of the sword of the Lord, pestilence on the land, with the angel of the Lord destroying throughout all the territory of Israel.’ Now decide what answer I shall return to him who sent me.” 13 Then David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Let me fall into the hand of the Lord, for his mercy is very great, but do not let me fall into the hand of man.”
The above passage is a response of David. Although its not a good thing to go around upsetting God, you need to understand that under the discipline of God is a good place to be. He will instruct you how to change. Its must better than being at the hands of men or in danger of God’s judgmental wrath.
Sometimes getting caught in your sin and finding your self in the belly of a fish is a good thing.
Sometimes the pit is your saving grace from God
Its ok to vent to God
4 Then I said, ‘I am driven away
from your sight;
yet I shall again look
upon your holy temple.’
He has hope for the future
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.
Sounds like it wasnt immediately that the fish swallowed him. There was some time of fear.
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!”
10 And the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land.
God had the fish swallow him to save him from both his sin and his death, and he had the fish throw him up once he repented.
Alternate Sermon
Jonah 2
In the belly of disobedience
Safer in gods discipline than man’s wrath
David says this after Bathsheba Cry out to god