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The congregation I am part of has been working our way through Jonah recently. It’s been a great opportunity to engage with a text where much of the story is well known. Well, at least the first half. And it’s been a really fun way to incorporate the children of our church into helping us understand the text as they built Ninevah and a giant fish out of massive pieces of cardboard. But the book of Jonah is so much more than the fish, isn’t it? And it has its dark and condemning side as well as the intentional humor of fish spewing out rebellious prophets.
One of the passages that struck me again as we read through Jonah was his prayer. At first read it’s a wonderful prayer. Based on the Psalms, it draws on rich understanding of God. It has fabulous imagery – I particularly love the picture of the “roots of the mountains” at the bottom of the ocean. Jonah cries out to God – and isn’t that exactly what he should be doing, stuck in that fish? And God rescues Jonah!
Here it is – see what you think:
17 Now the Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. 1 [a]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 deep in the realm of the dead I called for help,
and you listened to my cry.
3 You hurled me into the depths,
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 your sight;
yet I will look again
toward your holy temple.’
5 The engulfing waters threatened me,[b]
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, 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.
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.’”
10 And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.
But let’s look below the surface. The passage opens with God rescuing Jonah – “Now the Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.” And it ends with God rescuing Jonah – “And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.” Now pause a minute to remember how Jonah ended up in the water in the first place. He was running away from God. And now remember how he ended up in the fish? God did rescue Jonah – from himself and his reckless attempt to disobey God. And God gave him three long days to think about that.
And yet this is what Jonah came up with in those three days:
It’s no wonder God’s response was “And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.” And given the lack of repentance in Jonah’s prayer, it is no surprise then that Jonah continues to rail against God’s rescue of Ninevah in Chapter 4, “But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry. He prayed to the Lord, “Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. Now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.”
Take a moment to compare David’s prayer in Psalm 51 which begins, “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.” It is a stark contrast to Jonah’s prayer.
When we find ourselves in situations where we have been rebellious and sinful, we need to turn to God and beg forgiveness. We need to acknowledge who He is and what He has done for us. We have nothing to bring Him. We can only rely on His mercy and grace, and the precious blood of Jesus. Thank God for prayer and that we can come before Him knowing He does hear us indeed. And that because of Jesus we are assured of our salvation and His forgiveness.
51 Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.
