Our God does not sit on his hands when it comes to sin! Not in Old Testament times. Not today. Not with wicked cities like Sodom and Gomorrah or societies that promote terrorism. Not with the wickedness in your own heart that is just as evil and more dangerous.
God called Jonah to preach to the city of Nineveh, a very wicked city (Nahum 1:11, 3:1). But the biggest sinner presented in chapter one of the book of Jonah in the Bible isn’t the wicked city of Nineveh at all. It is Jonah himself.
Jonah refuses to obey God’s call to Nineveh, and he boards a ship sailing the opposite direction. So God sends a storm and Jonah is tossed overboard by the sailors. They figure that will make God happy.
But God wasn’t punishing Jonah. He was pursuing him. Yes, in a storm. Yes, in dark and stormy waters dragging him down and then a great, big fish swallowing him alive.
In chapter two Jonah is hanging out in the belly of the big fish wondering how he got into this mess. The details aren’t important and the Bible doesn’t say anything about how Jonah escaped alive through the fish’s big teeth, squeezed through its esophagus or survived in an oxygen-deprived pool of stomach acid.
It’s a miracle. That’s it. God commands his created design to make an exception for Jonah, and it obeys better than Jonah did. The bigger story than what is happening inside the fish is what is happening inside Jonah.
He repents. “Those who cling to worthless idols turn away from God’s love for them. 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 2:8,9).
Repenting is like making a U-turn. That’s what Jonah did. Normally we consider a U-turn as a smooth, simple curve but it was a bit more involved for Jonah. Here’s what happened to Jonah, and why it matters for us:
- Jonah was reluctant about God because he preferred to “cling to worthless idols.” These God replacements consume us with their empty promises and convince us that we can control things to be comfortable for us. But what are they? “Worthless.” Jonah was holding onto his idols of self-survival and national pride more than God.
- Jonah ran away from God. We “turn away” because comfort and convenience are more attractive than God’s call. Survival and strength are more attractive than faith-filled sacrifice and service.
- Jonah was rescued by “God’s love.” Are you going through something now? Alone? Burdened? Confused? Desperate? Empty? Fighting? God isn’t punishing you, but pursuing you. Like he did when he came to find you in this world, became a real person, breathed your air, suffered your sins, completed the payment for God’s justice, and rescued you from your enemies and fears and idols.
- Jonah repented in redirection. There’s a big connecting word here that defines repentance: “but.” It indicates something new, something different, something left behind and the opposite looking ahead. “Salvation comes from the Lord.”
- With faith and love we say to God with Jonah “I … will sacrifice to you.” We turn away from sin to salvation, from self to God. Here is a sign you’re repenting and following God in the right direction: you rejoice with thanks, praise and serving. Right there in the belly of the fish Jonah expressed “shouts of grateful praise.” The God he walked away from, now Jonah worships. That’s a different direction. When salvation from the Lord is your greatest concern and interest, your worship is going to be much more joyful and expressive. You’ll praise God in places you never realized you could praise. You’ll praise God in ways you’ve never before experienced.
PRAYER: I repent, Lord, because I am reluctant about you and run my own way. Rescued by your love, I’m seeing a new direction and I rejoice! As you forgive my past, direct my future. Guide me in your way. Amen.
FURTHER STUDY: Ready Jonah chapter two with the 5 points above nearby. Find each of them in the chapter. Which one of them is a point that helps you repent God’s way today?