Jonah: Prophet Delivered

God Delivers

Sometimes we find ourselves in really difficult situations. Sometimes those difficulties occur because of our own poor decisions and sin. All of us make poor decisions. None of us has enough wisdom to do the right thing every time. Whether the difficulty comes as a result of our poor decision or just happens, it is what we do in response to those difficult situations which really shows our heart and our faith.

Jonah was God’s prophet. God told him to go to Nineveh and preach a message of doom. He refused to go. We are not told why he refused although later Jonah states that he didn’t want God’s mercy to be applied to the Ninevites. Whatever the reason, Jonah runs from God and from God’s instructions. But God got his attention again. In the midst of a violent storm, Jonah realizes that he has gone against the will of God. Sometimes we have to get into the difficult situation to see our sin. With the storm raging all about him and with a ship about to be destroyed, Jonah is tossed into the sea. Immediately, the storm stops and Jonah is left to drift in the ocean waves.

But God still has a job for Jonah to do. God still wants him to go to Nineveh. So God prepares a large fish as Jonah’s next sailing vessel. We may find this miracle difficult to swallow. We may question what kind of fish, how it is possible, and if such fish still exist in the region. Those questions are not answered in this story nor do they have to be. Miracles occur in scripture. These God-generated interruptions in nature demonstrate God’s power. But if we reject this miracle we must reject them all. If this miracle appears to be too fantastic then we cannot possibly accept any of them. But the point of the miracle again is to show us the power of God. He prepares the fish. The fish becomes his servant even when Jonah doesn’t want to be.

This fish, this servant of God, comes along and swallows Jonah. Chapter two is Jonah’s prayer while in the belly of the fish. Notice in verses 1-7 that Jonah praises God for his deliverance. Jonah is in a difficult situation. He is swimming in the sea. The waves are engulfing him. The seaweed is wrapped around his head. He is sinking to the mountains that are below the sea. He is in a watery grave. And in this predicament, he cries out to God for salvation. God delivers him. Ideally, we don’t wait for tough times before we cry out to God, but the point is to call out to God when we are in tough situations. God delivers. But God’s deliverance doesn’t mean an end to problems. Jonah is drowning. God delivers, but he delivers him into a situation that is not much better. God doesn’t deliver him to the safety of land. He delivers him into the belly of a fish. Yet, Jonah praises God for deliverance. Why?

Too often it isn’t until we are in the tough situations of life that we recognize our need for God. We may not like tough times very much, but it is an opportunity for us to rely on God. It is a time for us to focus on discovering God’s will and to seek his direction and wisdom. It is this hard time that God gets Jonah’s attention. The immediate problem of continuing to live is resolved, but there are still problems. God’s deliverance doesn’t mean the end of all problems. It does mean though that we can see the hand and power of God at work. Jonah thanked God for saving him. He prayed and God delivered.

Consider Jesus. Through no fault of his own, his days on this earth were coming to an end. It was time for his crucifixion. In the garden with his disciples, he prayed for deliverance. He prayed that God would take this cup away from him. God did deliver. Just not in the way Jesus wanted, but in the way that God needed. And when Jesus meets the crowd he is resolved to do the will of God. We seek God’s deliverance. It doesn’t mean the problems are over. It means that God will provide strength to follow. Let us sing songs affirming our faith, affirming what we believe about Jesus, affirming what we believe about God’s salvation and deliverance.

Renewal

Turn your attention to verses 8 and 9. Jonah recognizes that placing our trust in anything other than the God who delivers is a waste of time, energy, and devotion. We turn to other things and forfeit the grace that could be ours. When we trust something other than God, we miss out on his divine favor. Trusting in something other than God separates us from God’s presence. We cut ourselves off from God’s love and care.

Jonah says in verse 9 that he is going to turn from his ways and renew his spirit with God. He will offer a song of thanksgiving and will sacrifice to God. But the real pledge is in the latter part: “What I have vowed I will make good.” This could come from sacrificial vows made. Or it could mean that as a prophet he is going to carry out his work. The latter is preferable because it is a sure sign of repentance. Jonah is promising to carry out his work. He is going to do what God wants him to do. God delivered him from certain death. What he committed himself to do as God’s prophet he will now do.

When we became Christians we made promises to God. Sometimes we allow other things to come between us and God. We find other things more appealing. But we promised God to live for him. We promised that our heart would be set on him and him alone. We promised to honor him with our bodies, our minds, our hearts, and our strength. We promised to stay near to him. But there are times that we take a ship from Joppa and hope we can escape God’s attention. For just a moment we would like to leave God out of the picture.

We can even think of a lot of good reasons to forget about God for awhile. Like Jonah we would like to set aside our promises and do what we want to do for awhile. So we run. We run from God, from people, from ourselves. But the truth is that God doesn’t want us to run. He gives us opportunities to stop running and to ask for forgiveness. This is what God wants to do. As we say we are sorry, he wants to throw his arms around us and say “I forgive.” Today is a time of renewal. Today is a time to stop running and give your life again to God.

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