Jonah’s Fishy Story
The Book of Jonah tells a compelling story at a hectic pace. Jonah is instructed by God to go and preach to his hated enemy. Jonah disobeys. Jonah hops on a boat to run away from God. God sends a storm, and Jonah is nearly drowned by the storm. At the last minute, God sends a colossal fish to swallow Jonah, saving his life. Wow, what a crazy couple of days! For most people, being in the belly of the beast would be seen as the end of the story. However, Jonah seems to finally come to his senses.
In a drama filled with bad decisions by Jonah, he finally wakes up. Think about what led to Jonah’s 3-day cruise inside the S.S. Minnow (sorry for that bad joke, Gilligan’s Island fans). Jonah selfishly decided to disobey God; then, he foolishly figured he could run away and hide from God. Now, as Jonah stews inside the fish (sorry, another bad pun!), he realizes that God has saved him. Chapter two of Jonah is a prayer where Jonah thanks God for his salvation — from inside the giant fish. Consider a few verses of Jonah’s prayer: “To the roots of the mountains I sank down [Jonah is drowning and about to die]; the earth beneath barred me in forever. But you, Lord my God, brought my life up from the pit. 7 When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, Lord, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple [Jonah prayed for God to save him!]. 8 Those who cling to worthless idols turn away from God’s love for them. 9 But I, with shouts of grateful praise, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. I will say, ‘Salvation comes from the Lord.’ ” (Jonah 2:6-9 NIV) While sinking in the depths of the sea, Jonah realized how foolish he had been. He prayed for God’s help, and God sent the fish. Now in the belly of the fish, Jonah vows that he will faithfully serve and obey God. Wise choice, by the way!
Over the last few weeks, we have been exploring the basics of faith and the story of Jonah has been an insightful case study. We have seen that Biblical faith is more than assent to a few facts. One has to move beyond the idea that there is a God out there somewhere. Real faith moves the heart. When we believe in God and develop godly faith, we “bow the knee” to God. Having faith in God means that we are driven to do God’s will rather than our own will or the mandate of the world around us. God-honoring faith will begin a process where our minds and hearts undergo change. Scripture calls this process repentance and sanctification. I believe that the Book of Jonah was written as an autobiography by Jonah. Jonah saw that the foolishness that had gripped his heart must be discarded. To faithfully follow God, one must be committed to God’s agenda. Our selfish ways must be abandoned so that our lives and actions line up with God’s ways.
As you read Jonah’s narrative, it seems that Jonah’s conversion and life transformation are genuine. Jonah vows that he will be faithful in his service to God. I am amazed at the number of people who make deals with God and then renege later. How often do we get in trouble and call out to God, pleading for another chance? How often do we say, “I’ll never do that again if you save me, O Lord.” Yet, we renegotiate at a later date and practice the same disobedient behavior. We are all guilty and have done such things. We often justify such behavior by rationalizing, “Oh well, I’m just human.” The story of Jonah reminds us that following God is serious business. We cannot “run away” from God and expect things will be okay. Scripture tells us that we have an incredible God and that He loves us with an amazing love. Because God is so great and His love is so marvelous, He is not content to leave us in the trouble we create. He moves us, He disciplines us, and he grows our faith through challenging circumstances. This is the story of Jonah and his journey of faith. Join me again next week as we see that God is not done working on Jonah. Keep looking up!