Prayer from the Belly of a Fish

Jonah 2[1] 

As preached at Rolling Hills Church 31 Oct 2010

 Last week we saw Jonah sent to warn Nineveh of God's wrath; to preach repentance to that great city, east of Jerusalem. Jonah promptly headed down to Joppa and took a ship west, toward Tarshish on the coast of Spain, about as far west as one could go in the known world in his day. He rose to 'flee from the presence of the LORD' (1:3). For a prophet of God this was remarkable; mostly we see people who are getting ready to go to hell forever who are averse to God's presence. They don't love, enjoy, or desire to be with God; they don't love, enjoy, or desire the things God loves. People who are genuinely converted, well you see them love, enjoy, or desire to be with God; they don't flee His presence. They are preparing to be with God forever. Jonah is, I'm afraid, a poor example of a man of faith in God. When we consider chapter one of this book, let me ask you, church-goers – what do you love, enjoy, and desire? Is it God, and being with Him? Or is it things God warns us away from? Are you preparing for eternity in His presence, or eternity away from His presence[2]? You see heaven is about God, about Jesus Christ; He is the central figure; it's not just about being away from sin, loss, and death; it is about God.

Do you love God?

Jonah certainly didn't love the work God called him to, so he hit the road. But of course, with God having sovereign control, being all seeing, and all-powerful, it makes Him hard to run from. Jonah got caught, tossed into the ocean. You can run, but you cannot hide. We'll pick up in the last verse of chapter one then read all of chapter two today.

Jonah 1:17-2:10

1:17 And the LORD appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

1 Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the belly of the fish,

2 saying, "I called out to the LORD, out of my distress, and he answered me; out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice.

3 For you cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the flood surrounded me; all your waves and your billows passed over me.

4 Then I said, 'I am driven away from your sight; yet I shall again look upon your holy temple.'

5 The waters closed in over me to take my life; the deep surrounded me; weeds were wrapped about my head

6 at the roots of the mountains. I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever; yet you brought up my life from the pit, O LORD my God.

7 When my life was fainting away, I remembered the LORD, and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple.

8 Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love.

9 But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the LORD!"

10 And the LORD spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land.

Church, this is what we do when we hit the hard spots (though we've never been in a fish). We cry out to God for life!

Let's pray, shall we?

Jonah saw God's sovereignty over His life and death. He had heard God speak, and He intentionally disobeyed. God said go east and speak; Jonah went west to not speak. Of course, that was not the end of the story; he knew. You don't run and hide from those who have no power over you; you ignore, or you disdain; but from power? You run and hide. From sovereign power and knowledge, that's futile. But this is the same person you call out to when you need such power! Though he had run, this is who he turned to when facing death.

V 3 For you cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the flood surrounded me; all your waves and your billows passed over me.

V 5-6 The waters closed in over me to take my life; the deep surrounded me; weeds were wrapped about my head

6 at the roots of the mountains. I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever; yet you brought up my life from the pit, O LORD my God.

He was acutely aware of who gives life and who takes it at this point in his story. He is in the ocean in a mad storm; there is no hope for a man against such power. Johnny Weissmuller and Mark Spitz both would have been afraid had they been with Jonah that day. Only one person could really send Him to death, and only One person could save him from certain death in that ocean.

Jonah saw God's sovereignty over His salvation. This isn't a stretch of my imagination; this is Jonah's own words from v 9: Salvation belongs to the LORD! Seeing darkness and death helps us appreciate light and life; salvation is God's to give. He faced darkness and death and he knew it would be stupid, and useless to cry out to some man-made idol now! "Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love". When things got ugly Jonah went straight to the top, to the only One who could make something happen here and now – God. So Jonah cried out to God in His despair. And he regained hope, peace, and joy even in the belly of a fish, church!

…'yet I shall again look upon your holy temple.'

… But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the LORD!"

Church, this is the message we must hold fast to: Cry out to God for life! In your darkest hour, cry out to God. Have done with pride, false religions, rebellions, and idolatries – cry out to God! He is certainly sovereign over salvation, but He won't turn away any who cry out to Him for life!

Ps 34:17 When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.

Ps 130:1 Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord!

Ps 142:1 With my voice I cry out to the Lord; with my voice I plead for mercy to the Lord.

Matt 11:28-30 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

God hears the desperate prayer. As Jonah was beyond games, when we get that way and cry out desperately to God, he hears us. But not just desperate…

God hears the sincere prayer. One man said, "Before my conversion, when I prayed in the presence of others, I prayed to them; when I prayed in secret, I prayed to myself: but now I pray to God." Another man, who was in his late 70s, testified, this: "I am a man who said his prayers for seventy years, and yet all that time had never prayed at all[3]."

God hears the repentant prayer. He turns away no one who seeks salvation in Him! The sinner who prayed after the self-righteous Pharisee in Luke 18:13 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!'

Why? Why does God listen to our prayers?

Because just as Jonah was in the belly of that fish for three days, our Lord was in the grave for three days. He was there because He had chosen to absorb, on that nasty cross, the wrath of God aimed at us. He took our punishment in His own body. We have broken God's laws, and the Righteous One suffered for it. And He brought us from far away to the throne-room of God.

Heb 10: 19-22a Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith…

He shows us mercy because of Jesus Christ.

Will you repent and believe in Jesus Christ, allowing Him to bring you near to God for forgiveness, restored relationship with the Father, and eternal life? Will you today turn from your unbelief and trust Jesus?

Beleiver, is your life one aimed at the presence of God, or away from it? Are you preparing for eternity in His presence, or eternity away from His presence?

God is sovereign over our life and death.

God is sovereign over our salvation.

God hears our prayers that are desperate, sincere, and repentant.

He hears us because of Christ.

Salvation belongs to the LORD!"

This is what we do when we hit the hard spots; we cry out to God for life.

 

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[1] All Scripture, unless otherwise noted, are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (via E-Sword Software) © 2001 Crossway Publishing. All Rights Reserved

[2] This line of questioning was brought up by Mark Dever in his excellent book Promises Made, The Message of the Old Testament, published by Crossway Books, Wheaton, IL, © 2006 by Mark Dever

[3] from 6000 Sermon Illustrations, edited by Elon Foster, © 1992 Baker Book House