As I read Jonah chapter two this morning, I'm trying to really put myself in Jonah's wet shoes. The chapter is filled with emotion and power...and truth about God's faithfulness. It also gives a pretty good description of what it was like for Jonah down inside the belly of the great fish. It was no party down there, having a cookout, or toasting marshmallows by the light of a candle. No, Jonah was alone, disgusting, miserable, and perhaps for the first time since running from God, he was facing the facts.
Jonah 2
1) "From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God.
2) He said: 'In my distress I called to the Lord, and He answered me. From the depths of the grave I called for help, and You listened to my cry.
3) You hurled me into the deep, into the very heart of the seas, and the currents swirled about me; all your waves and breakers swept over me.'
4) I said, 'I have been banished from our sight; yet, I will look again toward your holy temple.
5) The engulfing waters threatened me, the deep surrounded me; seaweed was wrapped around my head.
6) To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever. But you brought my life up from the pit, O Lord my God.
7) When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, Lord, and my prayer rose to you to your holy temple.
8) Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.
9) But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from the Lord.'
10) And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land."
Try to put yourself in Jonah's shoes with me. "Throw me overboard. It's my fault." With no other choice, the sailors did just that. Surely, Jonah believed his life would soon be over. He admitted his sin of disobeying God, yet he didn't really have a change of heart. I wonder why he offered himself to be thrown into the sea instead of having a change of heart right there in the boat? Certainly he could have confessed and God could have spared him the belly of the whale experience. (Could have...not necessarily would have!) Admitting sin and repenting are two different things. At that point, Jonah knew in his heart that he was to blame for the storm, but I don't think his heart was yet aligned with God's.
How many times is this same thing true in my life? I know deep down what the truth is, but doing something about it is much more difficult. It's easier to just keep the truth buried deep within my soul then to be honest and do something about it. OK, I'm not a closet alcoholic or drug dealer, but I am a sinner. We all are. The Bible says we are created with a sin nature, and everyone has tendencies toward certain sins. Me? Probably the thing I struggle with most is self-control when it comes to eating. No, I'm not two-ton Tessie, but I do love my food. Just when I think I have it under control, it creeps back into my life, like a snake in the night. It's a constant struggle, and one I will probably struggle with the rest of my life. Having no thyroid definitely doesn't help the weight issues, either, but it's not an excuse. My body is the temple of the Holy Spirit now that I am a believer, and like Jonah, sometimes I know about this sin; I even admit it, but do I repent and turn the other way? Food for thought. :)
So there Jonah is...seemingly buried alive. He says it himself, "From the depths of the grave..." I wonder if this is the first waterboarding experience recorded in history and administered by God Almighty? It almost seems like spiritual torture, but I don't believe God works like that. He allows us to go through situations, and in them, there is always a purpose. For Jonah, the engulfing waters threatened him; he sank deep into the sea. BUT, God brought his life up from the pit. Jonah says, "When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, Lord." The King James version says, "When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord."
How true those words ring. When things were going south, Jonah remembered the Lord. We go along life's merry way, our life decaying and fading away, our soul fainting within us. We try to do what's right with our own power, worse yet, we don't even try. Life throws some curveballs at us, we get thrown into the pit, then we remember the Lord. Then we remember to pray. This is unfortunately the case with many Christians, too. As I read the words of Jonah, I'm reminded that life doesn't have to take us by surprise. Sure, the event itself might be a shocker, but when things happen to throw us in the belly of the whale, our daily intimate walk with the Lord shouldn't just start with the incident. It should be an ongoing love affair that grows stronger with each passing day, not just spike when the trouble comes, then fade off when the outcome looks better.
Finally, Jonah talks about idols. An idol is anything that takes the place of God in our life. In our western culture today, it's rarely a statue. (Although I pass a Buddhist temple every time I go to the mall, filled with hundreds of statues that people come pray to!) No, most idol worship is less obvious. It's self. Television. Music. Food. Job. Finances. Even our children.
I have a one inch pewter chair that sits in my kitchen on the counter. I got it at a Ladies Retreat several years ago, and it serves as a daily reminder to me. Who is on the throne of my life? Is God? or am I sitting there, with my own desires, getting my own way? If God is not on the throne of your life, then someone or something else is...and steps need to be made to put God on the the throne and replace the idols.
As I study this prayer of Jonah, I find it interesting that Jonah was just grateful to be alive. He wasn't praying for deliverance out of the belly of the great fish; he was definitely in no place to bargain with God. Sometimes we try to do just that. We tell God, if you do this for me, I will do that for you. Lord, if you take this burden from me, then I promise I will start living the way you want me to. But not with Jonah. Maybe he knew deep down that God was going to have him preach to those terrible Ninevites after all. He ends his prayer with, "What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from the Lord."
Then the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land. (I don't know about you, but that whole vomiting experience, the sounds and the smells, is just more than I really care to imagine. UGH! Someone needed some extra soap and deordant for days, I do believe.)
I can sure learn a lot from these ten verses in Jonah chapter two. God is a God of second chances, and I'm so glad He is. My past mistakes don't disqualify me from God using me in the future. In truth, no one "qualifies" for service to the King of Kings, yet God chooses to use us, if we are willing. Are you running from God? Are you in the belly of the whale thinking about the mistakes you've made? Maybe It's time for a change of heart, like Jonah. It's time to start running toward God instead of away from Him. It's time to choose God's way all the time, not just when you're in distress.
Some of my favorite verses are found in Psalm 40:1-5. As I study Jonah, I can't help but think of the parallels to David's life and words.
1) I waited patiently for the Lord; He turned to me and heard my cry.
2) He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire, He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.
3) He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put heir trust in the Lord.
4) Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods.
5) Many, O Lord my God are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare.
If the book of Jonah ended after chapter two, it would be full of wisdom for me to glean. But there's so much more to learn in Chapters three and four. Alas, that's for another day, another blog. Today, I'm just glad God spit me up onto dry land and gives me an opportunity to serve Him. I pray I will never get to the point where pride or sin in my life keep me from fulfilling His will. Yep, I can learn a lot from Jonah, but I hope I never follow in his wet shoes. No, I plan to stay on dry land, seeking the Son.
---Beth Banfill
www.Godandme2theMax.com