Jonah 2:1-3:3 / I am Jonah - Repentance
The Heart of the Story
Well, four short chapters, and yet, what a journey it has been even thus far, has it not? When you read the book of Jonah, you just kind of get lost in the story. You think, “Okay, Jonah, great, gets called, something about a fish, and he’s mad about a plant.” It seems like a weird book. And yet, when you slow down and look at where it’s going, there is a lot happening. What we’ve seen so far, even in just a short chapter, is God’s heart for the world—God’s heart for the lost. God longs for His people to be a contagious and distinct people who proclaim His excellencies, living in a way that draws others to the living God.
We saw that in chapter one. When the people of God were not living as they ought, God rose up this man, Jonah the prophet, and sent him to the pagan nations. This was a shock to those who would have heard it in that day. In fact, if you look at chapter one, verse two, the message is very simple: “Arise and go to Nineveh. Cry out against it, for their wickedness has come before me.”
Jonah 1:2 (NASB)
‘Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me.’
Jonah had a pretty simple calling. But the beginning of verse three is very frustrating, and we often live in this kind of tension. It says, “But Jonah…” Anytime God says, “Go do this,” and then the text says, “But so-and-so decided they’d do something quite different,” it always takes the wind out of my sails. Jonah decides to do the exact contrary. In fact, he gets on a boat and heads to Tarshish, which was in Southern Spain. It’s literally as opposite a direction as you can go. He’s trying to run from an omnipresent God. He’s not the sharpest tool in the shed, but he’s trying.
Jonah 1:3 (NASB)
But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. So he went down to Joppa, found a ship which was going to Tarshish, paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.
The Choice to Run
The question that struck me as I was looking at the text and hearing Jared do a bang-up job last week talking about chapter one is: Why did he run? What was the precipitating event? What was stirring in him to make him say, “No, I’m not doing that. Whatever you want me to do, there’s no way”? What you find in the life of Jonah is an incredible pride and a spiritual arrogance that says, “My people are better than those people. So God, even though You want me to go to them, I’m not going. I’m going to do what I think is best.”
I don’t know about you, but when I look at the major moronic decisions that have happened in my life, they have never been based on God’s calling. They always happened when I said, “No, I’m going to do what I want.” Have you ever found that to be true in your life? Where you decide, “I appreciate the advice, God, thank you; however, I think I know better.” That’s what Jonah does. His heart is not for the things that God has a heart for. God has called His people to love God and love others. Jonah doesn’t mind loving God so much, as long as it doesn’t put him out of his comfort zone. But when it comes to loving others, it depends on which others. If it’s people he’s comfortable with, then sure. But if it’s outside of that—if it’s to those people or that city—then he’s not down with it.
I don’t know if you’ve recognized it or not, but it’s very difficult to run from God. Have you tried doing that? Jared mentioned last week that you can run, but you can’t hide. Isn’t that true? How many times have you felt called by God to do something, but instead, you do something else? Once God calls us, the assumption is obedience. God isn’t really looking to negotiate with us. Almighty God isn’t looking to have a conversation about, “Hey, what do you think? This is my will, but if you have another plan, I’m open.” When God says, “Do this,” there isn’t a plan B.
The Price Tag of Disobedience
Once God lays something on your heart, once He implants a cause in you or begins to convict you of a sin, He does something in a way only He can. He gently slips you into a sort of submission hold and begins to choke you out. It’s lovingly done, of course. It’s smooth. There’s very little pain initially, but all of a sudden, you find yourself wrapped up in a proverbial pretzel with God leaning in on you. God wants—He lovingly demands—our obedience. Yet we find Jonah trying to fight with Almighty God. My advice? Pick a fight with the runt, not with the Almighty. Jonah, think about who you’re talking to! But Jonah chooses disobedience instead.
Disobedience always comes with a price tag. Every single time, there is a cost. As we saw last week, our disobedience always hurts other people. Jonah runs from God, gets on a ship, and doesn’t even care; he’s asleep in the boat. But the storm comes, the cargo is jettisoned, and these sailors are losing their livelihood and their very lives because of him. It also comes at a great personal cost. What’s the solution to the storm? Throw the brother overboard! I was talking to Sam Freshwater, one of our pastors, and we were laughing about the nuances here. Jonah says, “Throw me overboard.” Why doesn’t he have enough guts to jump himself? If you know the storm is because of you, jump! But he says, “You throw me.”
So, kerplunk, he gets tossed in. While sinking to the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea, literally drowning and sucking in salt water, God finally has his attention. Isn’t that typical of us? We fight and fight, and then finally, some “saltwater-inhaling moment” happens where we recognize that despite our fighting, we are not in control. The world does not revolve around us. It’s heartbreaking, I know, but that’s reality. Finally, God gets our full attention.
A Father’s Discipline
It reminds me of parenting. Have any of you gone down that road? Talk about negotiating with terrorists! Kids learn quickly; they know if they throw a fit in a restaurant, they’ll get a different response than at home because they know you’re worried about someone calling CPS if you light them up in public. There’s that moment where your kid looks at you, and you look at them, and you’re thinking, “Get behind me, Satan!” You’re looking at this little one you love, and they are pushing you. They want to know: Will you cave, or will you stand for what’s right?
I remember bowing up with my oldest, Peyton. I wanted her to do something, and she said no in her own little way. I thought, “Excuse me?” What she didn’t realize is that not only was I going to win, I had to win. If I didn’t set the pace then, I would be raising a child who would eventually rebel against teachers, bosses, and her God. I did the best I could in the moment. How much more does a holy God say to us, “I need to heat up your backside a little bit to melt the wax out of your ears so you can hear me. I need obedience here; it’s not an option. You don’t understand my plan yet, but I’m thinking from a perspective you don’t have. We need a ‘come to Jesus’ meeting so you understand what it means to be obedient.”
Yet, we have a faithful and patient God. Even in Jonah’s disobedience, God was there. As Jonah is descending to the bottom of the sea, with his flesh being crushed by the pressure, the Lord appoints a great fish to swallow him.
Jonah 1:17 (NASB)
And the LORD appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights.
The Drama Inside the Whale
I love the book of Jonah because of the “hero” of the story. If you ask most people what this book is known for, they don’t say Jonah or Nineveh; they say the fish. The fish gets all the street cred! He only gets a couple of verses—he eats him, he pukes him, that’s it—but he’s the hero. We start asking, “A fish? Is this a children’s book? What kind of fish? Was it a whale?” We act as if the miraculous isn’t possible. Friends, if we disregard the miraculous, we have much bigger issues than a fish. We have a God who spoke the world into existence, a savior born of a virgin, and a resurrection from the dead. We have bigger things to worry about than what kind of fish swallowed Jonah.
Thomas Carlyle, a poet and minister, once said, “I was so obsessed with what was going on inside the whale that I missed seeing the drama inside Jonah.” That struck me. It’s not about the fish; it’s about what God is doing in Jonah. Jesus even refers to this event in Matthew and Luke. When people wanted a sign or a “magic trick” to prove He was the Messiah, Jesus told them that just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so the Son of Man would be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Jesus refers to this as a factual event, comparing it to His own death and resurrection.
Matthew 12:40 (NASB)
for just as JONAH WAS THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS IN THE BELLY OF THE SEA MONSTER, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
Tapping Out and Finding Grace
The real drama is what is happening inside Jonah, and I hope that drama is beginning to happen inside us. We need to ask the question: “Maybe I am Jonah?” Has God placed someone on your heart? Has He given you a cause you can’t quit thinking about? Has He given you a conviction about a sin that you keep feeding while saying “later” to God? If so, look at chapter two. Jonah is at the bottom of the sea, working on his prayer life. What would you do? We’d all turn charismatic and pray in tongues if that’s what it took!
Jonah 2:1-2 (NASB)
Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the stomach of the fish, and he said, ’I called out of my distress to the LORD, And He answered me. I cried for help from the depth of Sheol; You heard my voice.
Jonah is learning an important lesson: even in despair, even in the consequences of bad decisions, God is present. Even when you are raising your fist in disregard of His commandments, He is there. As the psalmist says, “Where can I go from your spirit? If I dwell in the remotest parts of the sea, you are there.”
Psalms 139:7-10 (NASB)
Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, Even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will lay hold of me.
In the eleventh hour, while Jonah is “fainting away,” he remembers the Lord.
Jonah 2:7 (NASB)
’While I was fainting away, I remembered the LORD, And my prayer came to You, Into Your holy temple.
Jonah confesses something that seems odd at first. He says that those who regard vain idols forsake their faithfulness.
Jonah 2:8 (NASB)
’Those who regard vain idols Forsake their faithfulness,
Who is he talking about? Himself! He realizes the issue isn’t Nineveh; the issue is Jonah. He admits, “I am an idol worshiper. I have been unfaithful.” He was serving the idols of self, comfort, preference, pride, and control. He wanted to tell God what God should do. As he’s fading to black, he finally taps out. He says, “I give up. I will sacrifice to you with the voice of thanksgiving. What I vowed, I will pay, because salvation is from the Lord.”
Jonah 2:9 (NASB)
But I will sacrifice to You With the voice of thanksgiving. That which I have vowed I will pay. Salvation is from the LORD.’
Jonah finally realizes that the salvation of the Ninevites is not up to him. His job is not to determine outcomes, but to be faithful to the calling. Once he taps out, once he realizes he isn’t God, the Lord commands the fish, and it vomits Jonah onto the dry land.
Jonah 2:10 (NASB)
Then the LORD commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah up onto the dry land.
The Call to Obedience
Through the discipline of God, Jonah found obedience, but it didn’t come without pain. He went the hard way. So I have to ask you: Does God have your full attention? Are we still playing games? Is He really the Almighty God whose will you have committed to obey, or are there still limitations? “I’ll do anything but that.” We try to collective-bargain with God as if He were obligated to our will. Can we just be honest? I am Jonah. I find myself there all the time.
If you’re still playing around with this Christian thing—claiming the name of Jesus but living in disobedience—God does not have your attention yet. And chances are, He’s sneaking up behind you. He’s going to put you in a little sleeper hold. It probably won’t be a big fish, but there will be discipline. God will lovingly and gracefully remind you that you are not God; He is.
Choose obedience now. For the love of God, for the sake of others, and for your own welfare, choose obedience while the opportunity is there. Our God is gracious, but Proverbs gives us a stern warning.
Proverbs 29:1 (NASB)
A man who hardens [his] neck after much reproof Will suddenly be broken beyond remedy.
God is patient, but there comes a point where He will remind you that He is to be obeyed, not mocked. Don’t become a lazy Christian who uses grace as a license for disobedience. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He didn’t “hit puberty” between the Testaments and change from a God of wrath to a God of grace. The same requirement of obedience given to Jonah is given to us.
What is God calling you to do? Is it a place? A person? A cause? A sin you need to deal with? My challenge to all of us—and I’m right there in the battle with you—is to choose obedience. God is going to get obedience from us the easy way or the hard way. Either way, He’s going to win, because He is God and we are not.
Let’s pray together. Father, it is wonderfully terrifying to see a loving God who loves us like a father. I think of the lengths I would go to for my own children, and I realize how much more You love us and are grieved by our disobedience. When we shake our fists in arrogance, You allow us to sink until we shake free of our pride and tap out. Thank You for Your patience. May we learn our lessons without the crushing weight of discipline. We thank You for the freedom we have to walk with You. In Jesus’ name, amen.