Chapter 2 of Jonah has a definite duality. I believe it is about Jonah and his journey and Jesus experience on the cross. The latter I have already blogged about, so refer to the blog “Jesus Prayer on the Cross” for more details.

So I am going to concentrate on Jonah and the words he utters when he was spending that time in the belly of the fish. Before I go on, I would like to add that at one time in our life we will have a time in the metaphoric “belly of the whale or big fish”. By going through this chapter of Jonah you will see why I say that.

When Jonah was in the “belly of the fish” we find Jonah in a very dark place, in fact he says “Out of the belly of Sheol”. Ok, where is Sheol?  Sheol not only figuratively represents the grave, it can also refer to the actual physical place where the literal bodies of the dead are buried.

Therefore what Jonah was experiencing here is an acute realisation of being separated from God, in this place of deepening darkness. Jonah actually says “I have been cast out of your sight” indicating he is in spiritual darkness or separation. For where God is, there is Light because He is Light. Jonah goes on to say “the deep closed around me” and “The earth with its bars closed behind me forever”. This gives the feeling that he is so deep in darkness that he was never to be released from this spiritual darkness. Stuck there forever. Separated from God forever. Jonah was also physically on his way to Sheol or the grave.

If not for Jesus death and resurrection that is our fate, that is, eternal separation from God. However, God’s love and grace is so strong that He wants us to be in a relationship with Him. The cross is an example of God’s love because it was love that kept Jesus on the cross. It wasn’t the nails in his hands!!

I believe Jonah’s experience, is something that all christians experience at one time in their life. There comes a realisation (all because the Holy Spirit chases us and works on our heart) that God loves me so much that He gave His son for me and I believe in Him I will be with God forever. The choice for us is very simple. Either choose “Darkness or Light”.

It is from that time of reflection in the “belly of the whale” where darkness surrounded that Jonah made his decision. Even though is was deepening darkness God was still there in the darkness seeking Jonah;s heart.

Jonah says from the darkness “Salvation is of the Lord”. He gives himself completely to God, saying “But I will sacrifice to You with the voice of thanksgiving”. Those words tell of his choice. In essence his response to seeing God’s love, was to give his “heart, mind and soul to God”, which is one of the commandments Jesus taught along with the second – Love your neighbour as you love yourself, even if your neighbour is your enemy.

When he gave all to God, to the point he would do as God commands him, he was “vomited” out of darkness and into Light. It could also be stated that when Light came to him he was was vomited out of darkness.

If I briefly look at Jesus when he was “in the belly” of the grave, it was His purity and righteousness that spewed Him from the grave. The parallel in our lives is that when we believe and give our all to God, we are clothed in Jesus righteousness. That is why the verse “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” (1 Corinthians 15:55-56) can be said.

So for those who rest in the grave as a child of God, they too will be spewed out of the grave like Jesus was, because God will see Jesus righteous in us.

What a great chapter in the book, especially when you see the parallel of Jesus in this chapter.

Praise God that He loves us without restraint and his grace is sufficient. All He wants is our heart, mind, soul and time.

 

 

One of my favourite books of the Bible is Jonah. Let me say up front I think Jonah gets a really bad rap by most commentators. So in response I say “he who is without sin cast the first stone”. The reason I love the book Jonah is that it uniquely reveals the power of Jesus love for us.

Anyway here is my perspective on Jonah. The first thing we read is that God spoke to Jonah. God said “Arise, go to Nineveh….and cry out against”. Lets put ourselves in Jonah’s place. God speaks to him. That in itself would make his mind race at a thousand mile an hour! Imagine if God spoke to you right now and he asked you to go to the people who killed your son or your closest friend. After all the Ninevites were the enemies of the Hebrews (Jonah was a Hebrew) and they were brutal in their attacks on the Hebrews.

Imagine God speaks to you and asks you to do something that is not what you want to do.   Maybe we are all afraid of what God may actually ask of us unless of course we have 100% given our heart and life to Jesus? Giving up that last bit of control in our lives can be hard but there is nothing better than to rely completely on Jesus.

So Jonah tried to run away from God, that is, do the human response to a moment that confronted him. Yes fight or flight! Jonah chose flight. Maybe he still wanted some control in his life and wasn’t prepared to give it all to God? We all know he ran the opposite direction to God’s request and he thought he could hide from God in the “belly” of the ship. Little did he know that God had a different belly for him to be in. I detect God’s sense of humour in that scene.

The boat set sail and the inevitable big storm came and “the mariners were afraid, and every man cried out to his god”. Then the mariners dumped the cargo overboard to prevent the ship sinking, but their efforts were not enough. Much like us if we think our efforts contribute to our salvation. Remember Jesus did it all.

Meanwhile Jonah was fast asleep in the belly of the ship. The mariners woke him and ask him to call upon his God. Just like they called upon their gods. The mariners also called upon their superstitions and casts lots and Jonah came up short. Interesting they are were trying all the things they thought would work. In this case it did! So they ask Jonah who, what, where, when questions. When the mariners knew he was a Hebrew they had fear because they knew of the Hebrew God. Interestingly the mariners ask Jonah what shall we do to calm the sea. Again it is all about “what works can I do to be saved” or salvation by works!

Eventually, the men cried out to the Hebrew God and basically said don’t let us perish because Jonah ran from you. The ask to be forgiven for what they are about to do, which is followed by the proverbial “BUT” we see this man was running away from you and you sent a raging storm to take revenge and kill him. So we are helping in that process. Then threw him overboard. Following that the seas went calm.

That event and witness alone, converted the mariners to offer a sacrifice to the Hebrew Lord and they also took vows to the Lord. Instant conversion! Amazing how God uses all sorts of circumstances and events and people to bring people to Him.

I ask is there any parallels between Jesus and Jonah in this chapter of Jonah? Lets look at the time Jesus slept in the boat when the storm raged about Him (and the disciples). Jesus was calm because He had faith in His Father. Whereas Jonah was ready to go down with the ship because he knew he was running away from God. You see the thing that God ask Jonah to do was too much for him to do. Also what the Father asked Jesus to do was also too much but Jesus but He trusted and had faith in His Father. Jonah did not.

The last verse in Chapter 1 states that a great fish swallowed Jonah and he was in the belly for three days and three nights.

Now that is a direct parallel to Jesus, as Jesus was in the belly of the tomb for 3 days and nights as stated in Matthew 12:40 : “For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” So is there a parallel between Jonah and Jesus? After all Jesus said these words to the disciples. Or is this verse there to get our attention about the following chapter?

I believe Chapter 2 has two themes. One is about Jonah and the other is to give us an understanding of the feelings and anguish Jesus felt on the cross. I refer you to my blog “Jesus Prayer on the Cross”.

As for Jonah in Chapter 2 and 3, I will leave that for my next blog.