An Imperfect Prayer - Jonah 2:1-10
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An Imperfect Prayer
An Imperfect Prayer
Big Idea
Tension: What does God do when Jonah prays as a wronged righteous sufferer?
Resolution: He graciously shows him mercy.
Exegetical Idea: When Jonah prays as a wronged righteous sufferer, God graciously shows him mercy.
Theological Idea: God shows believers grace when they view themselves more righteously than they should.
Homiletical Idea: God shows us grace when we view ourselves more righteously than we are.
Big Idea: God gives grace to self-righteous believers.
Application points:
We need to be self-conscious that we’re hypocrites. (relation to unbelieving world)
We should praise God that he gives us grace when we don’t even know it. (this points us to Christ)
We should ask God to help us see our self-righteousness. (it guides and directs our way to empowered living)
We should be a community that is continually growing in authenticity yet is gracious towards the self-righteous.
Introduction: How does God treat the self-righteous man?
One of my favorite novels is a novel by a guy named Fyodor Dostoyevsky. And in that novel, the main character, a guy named Raskolnikov, is this really self-righteous guy. He believes that he is destined for greatness, and he believes that he is really such a morally upright person that the normal laws don’t apply to him. So he decides that he is going to do a science experiment. Because he is such a morally upright person, he is going to murder someone. But it can’t just be anyone. It has to be someone who really deserves it. So he decides he’s going to this person who basically is a loan shark. And he plans it out carefully so that he won’t get caught and he is so precise and careful. SO he goes and sneaks in, and manages to kill someone. But deep down he knows that he is wrong. So when the woman’s sister discovers him, he kills her too. ANd he spends much of the rest of the book trying to evade the capture of the persistent police. And as we read the book, we the reader can see clearly what Raskolnikov can’t: he thinks that he is perfect and innocent, but he is not. He is not nearly as righteous as he thinks he is, he is not nearly as impressive as he thinks he is. He is a two-rate, self-righteous man.
At our church, we talk a lot about how God loves to save sinners. And rightly so, God does love to save sinners. God loves to save sinners, to save the tax-collector, the prodigal, the defiled. But does God love to save self-righteous people? What about the Pharisee, the older brother, the self-righteous person? Is that person too far gone for redemption? You see, I think sometimes we think that we get grace for the beginning of our salvation, but after we become Christians, and maybe for a year or two while we’re baby Christians, we can lean on God’s grace. But mature Christians shouldn’t have to do that. People who have been going to church for a long time, reading their bibles for a long time, praying for a long time, shoudln’t need GOd’s grace. But what we see in these brief few verses today is that God gives grace to even self-righteous people.
The irony of Jonah’s lament: Now, to really understand this chapter of Scripture, we have to understand the use of irony. You see, where we left Jonah, he was running away from God. But God wouldn’t let him escape and sent a giant fish to seek him out and to capture him. And so Jonah is in the belly of the fish for three days and he makes this prayer to God while he is in the fish. Now, to really understand this, we have to understand that Jonah is making what is called a lament. And a lament was a prayer or song that someone woudl make to God in their suffering, to bring their complaints to God boldly. And there are many laments in Scripture. ANd most laments are somewhere on a spectrum between two poles.
The lament of the unrighteous sufferer: The first pole is the pole of the unrighteous sufferer. This is someone who has sinned and who knows that the reason that he is in the situation that he is is because he has sinned. IT is because of some great sin that he is where he is. And it is a prayer asking God for forgiveness. It is the prayer of someone who knows that they need God’s help. So, for example, listen to Psalm 32:1-7...
The lament of the righteous sufferer: But, on the other pole, there is the lament of the person who is totally righteous and believes they have done nothing wrong. It is the prayer of the person who is suffering for some reason and does not know why. It is the prayer of the person who is going through some undeserved trial. Now, let’s be clear, this is not always wrong. In fact, we see many of these laments in Scripture. So for example, listen to Psalm 13...
The irony of Jonah’s lament: Now, most of the time, the laments of Scripture actually have elements of both. But there are also quite a few laments that are on one end or the other. Now, which one of these poles does Jonah belong on? Should Jonah be singing as an unrighteous sufferer or as a righteous sufferer? Of course the unrighteous one. God called him to do something, and he literally did exactly the opposite. But, where does Jonah put himself? On the righteous end of the spectrum. He belongs over here. But there is not one shred of authentic confession in his song. He never admits his own sin. He never admits his guilt. He views himself as someone who hasn’t really done anything wrong. He doesn’t see his own sin. So, it’s so easy to miss this, this is a satirical picture of Jonah. His confession is not authentic, it’s not real, it’s not genuine. It’s patently false.
Quote: “Despite the book’s interest in the theme of repentance, a theme which comes to the fore in chapters 3 and 4, repentance is not referred to in Jonah’s psalm. Here we see him finally calling on God in prayer because of his distress. The setting of his psalm in the ‘belly of Sheol’ naturally inclines us to sympathize with the prophet. His circumstances must surely justify the self-centredness evident throughout these verses.” - Rosemary Nixon
Despite the book’s interest in the theme of repentance, a theme which comes to the fore in chapters 3 and 4, repentance is not referred to in Jonah’s psalm. Here we see him finally calling on God in prayer because of his distress. The setting of his psalm in the ‘belly of Sheol’ naturally inclines us to sympathize with the prophet. His circumstances must surely justify the self-centredness evident throughout these verses.
Transition: So, once we see the purpose of this psalm that Jonah puts together, this patchwork of bible references and of images and poetry begins to make a lot more sense. Jonah is like the person who can put together long sentences filled with religious themes and images, but who can’t penetrate his own ehart.
The imagery of Jonah’s lament
The depths of the earth: We see here, repeatedly that Jonah views his journey as a journey to the depths of the earth. LIsten to this imagery in vs. 2, he says “the belly of sheol,” in vs. 3, “The deep, the heart of hte seas, the flood surrounded me, all your waves and your billows passed over me”, vs. 4, “I am driven from your sight.” vs. 5, “the water closed in over me to take my life, the deep surrounded me, weeds were werapped about my head, at the roots of mountains” vs. 6, “I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever,” - For Jonah he is having this expereincew ehre he is going into the herat of the world. He is going to the very foundation of the earth. He is penetrating the earth. For the Israelite mind, he is going into death. Whereas, in Creation, God split the waters, the waters are coming back over him. IN creation, God establishes dry ground in Creation, Jonah is goign down under the sea to the roots of the mountain. Jonah is leaving behind this mortal coil, headed straight for the uncreated void, he is giong to sllip into nothingness.
The height of the temple: But then, this reversal happens, right. He looks from teh depth, and there he remembers the temple. How, the temple of Israel was on Mt. Zion, high up in the mountains. So Jonah is here, drowning under the earth and he says, “I want to see GOd’s temple again.” SO he is writing this Psalm to say, here I was, down in the depths of the earth, and GOd miraculously took me from the very end of existence and brought me back to the temple. THere is this reversal from the depths of the seas to the height of hte mountain, from the pit to being drawn out, from the sea, to freedom. For Jonah he is being saved fromd death’s door and death’s clutches.
Jonah pictures his journey as from the depth to the height: For Jonah, this is all about a reversal from dark to light, death to life, slavery to freedom. He believes that God will draw him out of the pit. He believes that he will not be in the fish forever. He believes that there is salvation coming. Interestingly enough, he views this trial he is going through much like the children of Israel being brought out of Egypt on dry ground. This phrase here that Jonah says you drew me out of the pit, is consistently used to describe the Exodus journey through the Red Sea. Jonah views himself as going through the storm, being led through the sea like Israel is in the Red Sea. We sense the irony of Jonah’s speech, he is far more like the Egyptians in his disobedience than the Jews.
How Jonah views God: In this Psalm we see Jonah has a peculiar view of God. In fact, he says much about God that is good to say, yet, as will see, he does not view this proportionately.
God reigns: Jonah also believes that God reigns. Look how Jonah says “You cast me into the deep.... your waves and your billows....” (vs. 3) Jonah knows the Bible. He knows that God has brought him through the waters. He knows that God is sovereign over all things. Jonah knows this is true. He knows God sent the storm after him, he knows that God can snap his fingers and it will all be gone. He has faith that God is controlling all things. Now, he believes this to be true. Look down in vs. 8 where he says that there are vain idols, contrasted with God. Jonah knows that idols are powerless. He knows that idols have no strenght. He knows that idols have no ability or power or sovereingty. Jonah is under no illusion about who is God and who is not. He knows that God reigns and that God is sovereign and God is in control
God hears: He says in vs. 2, The Lord answered me, he heard his voice. This is very similar to . And is a lament of a righteous sufferer who is going through a terrible tragedy and how GOd hears the righteous sufferer, this is what he says in , . Jonah views himself as a sufferer who has done nothing wrong and is suffering this much like Job.
God reigns: Jonah also believes that God reigns. Look how Jonah says “You cast me into the deep.... your waves and your billows....” (vs. 3) Jonah knows the Bible. He knows that God has brought him through the waters. He knows that God is sovereign over all things. Jonah knows this is true. He knows God sent the storm after him, he knows that God
God reigns
God saves: He believes that God will save. This is why he says in vs. 2, that God heard his voice, this is why he says in vs. 4, that he will again be brought to the Holy temple, this is why he believes that GOd has brought hs life up from the pit, this is why he says that salvation belongs to the Lord. He believes that even though he is suffering unfairly, unjustly, for no reason, that GOd will save him. Now, just think about the arrogance in that statement. I, he says, have absolutely nothing to repent of. And I know that God will save me.
God is loyal: Now, finally he says that “those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope fo steadfast love.” Now, this word hesed is an interesting word. It means sometimes faithfulness, sometimes steadfastness, sometimes graciousness and kindness and love. Now, sometimes it means a couple things. I’m going to make a judgment here. Jonah is here emphasizing not necessarily God’s kindness, I htink Jonah is emphasizing God’s loyalty to his people. Now, why do I think that he particularly emphasizing God’s steadfastness and downplaying his love? Two reasons. First, look who Jonah is contrasting this with. He is contrasting this with idols. Jonah here is really not interested in the personal element of the idols, he is emphasizing their powerlessness. Well, he then confesses God’s great loyalty. He doesn’t abandon his people, he doesn’t forget about his people, he holds onto them by bringing themt hrought eh strom. And secondly, if Jonah was really referring to Gopd’s kindness, to God’s compsasion, then you would think it would change him. But as we see in chapter 3 and 4, Jonah has no real understanding of GOd’s mercy and grace in his life. And so, it is only fair to say, when Jonah uses the word “love” here, he is talking about God’s loyalty and strength in his love, but not necessarily his graciousness and compassion.
All Transcendence, No Immanence, All Power, No Grace: What we see with Jonah’s view of God, is Jonah emphasizes God’s transcendence but says virtually nothing about his immanence. He emphasizes his power, but says nothing of his grace. He emphasizes his long suffering and steadfastness, but says little of his compassion. This is a Big GOd, but not a GOd who cares. This is interesting for us, because the struggle in our culture is precisely the opposite, We see God’s love, but have a hard time seeing God’s strength. We see God’s mercy and grace, but have a hard time seeing God’s justice. We see God’s compassion, but we have a hard time seeing GOd’s sovereignty. But these two things, God’s transcendence and his immanence, his loyalty and his intimacy, his love and his strength, his sovereignty and his compassion, his justice and his mercy are equally true about God. He is on the one hand, totally transcendent, other, limitless, boundless, and on the other, infinitely enar, committing himself to his people, loving his people, he is bigger than Jonah thought, but he is also closer than Jonah thought.
How Jonah views himself: But Jonah does not just view GOd wrongly, he also views himself wrongly. Look at how he views himself:
The subject of Jonah’s l
The God who saves
He is a righteous sufferer: As we have already said, Jonah views himself as a righteous sufferer. He views himself as someone who has done nothing wrong and who will endure to the end. One parallel that is interesting is in vs. 4. There, Jonah uses the same language that King David uses when he is fleeing before Saul. Saul was king over Israel, and was wicked. And GOd had annointed David to take his place. ANd Saul knew this and was jealous and sought to kill David. And David fled to the caves of Judea. ANd one day, David has the chacne to kill Saul, but he doesn’t. Instead he says to Saul: . Jonah here is putting himself in David’s shoes. He is saying, “I didn’t do anything wrong. I am perfectly just. I have been driven away from God for no good reason. Of course, he neglects to add that he was the one who ran from God, God did not send him away.
He is a steadfast sufferer: But Jonah also believes that he is a steadfast sufferer. Did you notice in 1, 4, and 7, Jonah is praying and says, “I cried, I shall look again, lI remembered the Lord.” Jonah here believes that he is enduring, he is strong, he will not give up, he will last, he will be faithful. In his mind, he has held onto God’s word and has not abandoned him. He has not given up. he has not let go. No, he is steadfast and strong.
The God who hears
The God who loves loyally
He is a thankful sufferer: But finally, Jonah says in vs. 9, I, “with a voice of thanksgiving.” Jonah here believes that he is thankful. That he has done nothing wrong. He thinks that he is the perfect picture of a grateful person. Of course, if Jonah was really grateful, he would change his heart. But no, Jonah here believes that he has done nothing wrong. ANd so, because God has answered his cry, he’s going to be good, he’s going to do his part.
He is innocent: All this combines for Jonah to believe that he is innocent. He believes that he has done nothing wrong. He believes he is faultless. He believes that God’s inscrutable wisdom has seen fit to inflict him like he did JOb, but he does not believe that he has done anything wrong. In Jonah’s mind, he is like Raskolnikov, beyond the laws of man, morally upright, fiercely intelligent, totally pure.
What is missing from this chapter? Of course in this chapter, Jonah has not necessarily affirmed anything about God that is untrue. ANd much of what Jonah said might be permissible to say in some circumstances. But, the most problematic parts of this chapter are not what Jonah has said, they are what Jonah has failed to say.
Jonah does not confess sin: Jonah has failed to confess his sins. He has failed to stand before God and say, “Have mercy on me, a sinner.” He has failed to come to him empty handed. He has failed to acknowledge his sins. He has failed to come before God as someone who is penitent, who is repentant, who is distraught over his sins. He has emerged from the fish much like he went in, proud and self-righteous.
Jonah does not confess God’s righteousness
The God who forgives
Jonah does not speak of God’s forgiveness
He is a remembering sufferer
Isaiah’s later view of Jonah
Jonah does not confess God’s grace: Neither does Jonah see God as merciful and gracious. Jonah has no problem saying God is just, righteous, and strong. He struggles to consider how GOd could be merciful, and compassionate, and forgiving. He has no problem seeing God’s love as steadfast, he has every problem seeing God’s love as merciful. ANd for Jonah, the irony is, what he cannot see about GOd is exactly what he needs for what he cannot see about himself.
Isaiah’s later view of Jonah: Not long after Jonah was written ,another prophet would come along. He was the prophet Isaiah, a powerful prophet in the Southern Kingdom who also had the ear of his King, just like Jonah did. And in Isaiah’s prophecy, he cites this chapter from Jonah and points out Jonah’s flaws (). Isaiah says, JOnah you call out to teh Lord and you say that he answers, but his answer comes for the person who stops pointing the finger at others and stops speaking wickedness about him.
Climax
God still shows him grace: So, if all this is true, if Jonah is this hypocrite, if Jonah thinks that he is better than he is, why does God listen to him. If Jonah is a self-righteous prototype for the Pharisees. Why does God seem to listen to him? Why does God command the fish to spit him out on dry land? Here’s the simple answer. Grace. It is a gracious and loving and forgiving thing for God to spit Jonah out. He doesn’t have to do it, he isn’t compelled to, and there’s no good reason for him to do. But God saves self-righteous sinners like Jonah. You mean, God would relaly extend forgivneess to someone like Jonah? He would really offer salvation to this stubborn prophet who ran away from him? thank God that he does. Because if God is in the business of saving self-righteous sinners, that’s good news for you and me both.
Crime and Punishment: One of the most interesting relationships in the book Crime and Punishment is when the hero Raskolnikov meets the girl Sonia. Unlike Raskolnikov, a starving academic who offends everyone and holds everyone at a distance because he considers himself better than everyone, SOnia is a girl who has gone into prostitution to provide for her family. But she’s become a Christian. And Raskolnikov learns of her, this repentant sinner who has received forgiveness, and he is so puzzled by her. Because she is so free. Here she is, this sinful, poor, foolish girl, who is living as someone fully cognizant of the forgiveness she’s gotten. And he wants this freedom. So he decides he’s going to tell her, to unburden himself to her. And she grabs his hands. And he says, “You’re not going to leave me?” You see, even self-roghteous sinners, even the hyuporcites, even the older brothers, the Pharisees, even they know that they need forgiveness and grace. And praise be to God that he is lavish with it.
The Gospel is for Christians too: Here’s what we need to recognize this morning. The gospel is for Christians too. The gospel is for Christians too. God sending his son to die on the cross in your place and rise again from the dead is just as much for you now as it was for you when you became a Christian. You see, so often, we think that the gospel is for when we first become Christians. But the gospel is not just the door to teh Chrsitian life, it is teh Christian life. The gospel is what saved us, what is saving us, and what will save us. You need to lean into and trust in the free gift of God today just as much as you did when you became a Christian. In fact, the longer that you are a Christian, the more tempted you will be to lean on your own strength and sufficiency. And if you do that, you will never be able to live up to your own expectations of yourself. ANd you will have to do exactly what Jonah does here. You will have to shrink your view of GOd and you will have to expand your view of yourself. And the farther you stray from teh gospel, lthe more you will rely on yourself, and hte mroe you will let yourself down, and the more you will sin. ANd them ore you sin, the more you shrink your view of GOd and your view of yourself.
Can God’s grace really save someone like Jonah? So, could God really save someone as evil as Jonah.
God’s Grace will lead to repentance: Now, here in this story, Jonah doesn’t really repent and GOd offers him grace. But we need to make sure we note, that God’s grace will lead Jonah to repent later. In fact, God will later bring Jonah to this point to force him to repent. Here’s the thing, when
There’s Always Room for One More: I read this story as I was preparing this sermon about a guy named Dr. James Kennedy, maybe you’ve heard of him. And someone came to him complaining that all Christians are hypocrites. And he leaned back in his chair and he thought for a minute, and he said, “Well, I guess you’re right. We are all hypocrites.” He smiled, “And there’s always room for one more.” You see, the reality is that each one of us is not as good as we think we are, we’re not as consistent or moral, we all need God’s grace every day. So I do not know where you are at this morning. I do not know if you are like the prodigal son who fled into teh far country. And I do not know if you are like the older brother who stayed home, resenting his father. i don’t know if you are a new Christian, an old Christian, or maybe not a Christian at all. But don’t you want to come to a God who gives his people this kind of grace? Don’t you want to come to a God who shows this kind of mercy? Don’t you want to come to a Lord who is this merciful? Let’s pray.
How Jonah views God
God hears
(3) We should ask God to show us our self-righteousness
God reigns
(3) We should ask God to show us our self-righteousness
God saves
(3) We should ask God to show us our self-righteousness
God loves
(2) We should gladly receive God’s graciousness
(4) The church is a community of Jonahs
(1) Unbelievers respect those who admit they can be self-righteous:
Acknowledging our own hypocrisy can be painful. In serious matters, we can feel guilt and shame about our shortcomings. But it can also be an opportunity for personal growth. A sharp reminder of who we think we are and want to be can motivate us to return to our authentic self. Research has shown that threats to the integrity of our self-concept can inspire positive behavioral change.