Jonah's Prayer of Faith

 

Jonah Sermon 2. Jonah’s Prayer Of Faith

You can watch this sermon here.

Introduction

Last week we started our new mini-series on the book of Jonah with a message titled Broken Instruments. This is such a powerful little book. I think if you spoke to even many non-Christians, they would have some recollection of Jonah and the fish, or as many people remember it, Jonah and the whale. In fact, it is such a well-known story that it is even recounted in the writings of other religions, for example, even the Koran recounts the event. That is how famous this account is.

Last week we noted that God was doing something for Jonah, for the Israelites, for the Ninevehites, and for us. Jonah showed us how God worked through a broken man, from a broken nation, to reach an even more sinful and wicked nation, that did not deserve to be saved. We also saw that God specializes in using broken instruments. People who are imperfect, because when it comes to us fallen human beings, that is all that God has to work with.

I suppose he could just wipe humanity out and start again. Or he could create perfect human beings from scratch with no sinful flesh to do his will. But he has chosen not to work that way. He has great compassion for the people of this world, and has chosen, in his infinite grace and goodness to work with us, even though we don’t deserve it.

And this morning we are going to continue with this theme and expand on it. Because firstly, I think this is the overarching theme of the book of Jonah, that God has great and compassionate mercy for sinners. Secondly this is the theme of this chapter, because we are going to read about Jonah’s own response to his salvation from the fish.

So, let’s see what God has to teach us from this little passage about Jonah’s Prayer of faith, and then we will see how this applies to us today. But first, I want to take us to the book of Zechariah, because there is something there that helps give us some insight into Jonah’s tribulation.

A Consistent Theme – Our theme for the message last week was “Broken Instruments” and it is an important one for us to really focus on, because as I said last week, we can over-spiritualize the heroes of the Bible and miss that they are not superhumans who get everything right, they are there to show us that God works through ordinary people like you and me. God wants us to lift our game, for sure. But he specializes in turning sinners into men and women of God. He used a prostitute, called Rahab, to save the spies in the land of Canaan, he used a murderer, called Moses, to redeem his people from slavery, he gave a sexually immoral man, called Samson, his strength back so he could defeat the Philistines. This is a consistent theme in the Scriptures. Understanding this helps us understand Jonah better. So, in light of this, I want to show you something in Zechariah, because I think it might help us with this passage in Jonah, Zechariah 3:1-10,

“1 Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. 2 And the Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, O Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this a brand plucked from the fire?” 3 Now Joshua was standing before the angel, clothed with filthy garments. 4 And the angel said to those who were standing before him, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” And to him he said, “Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments.” 5 And I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the Lord was standing by. 6 And the angel of the Lord solemnly assured Joshua, 7 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: If you will walk in my ways and keep my charge, then you shall rule my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you the right of access among those who are standing here. 8 Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who sit before you, for they are men who are a sign: behold, I will bring my servant the Branch. 9 For behold, on the stone that I have set before Joshua, on a single stone with seven eyes, I will engrave its inscription, declares the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day. 10 In that day, declares the Lord of hosts, every one of you will invite his neighbor to come under his vine and under his fig tree.”

Let’s reflect on a few things from this passage, and then we can come back to Jonah chapter 2 and make some observations there as well.

A Man Accused – Firstly, who is Joshua? He is the high priest of the Israelites. The nation of Israel went through several different phases. First it was led by Prophet/Judges in the era of Moses to Samuel, then it was led by Kings in the era from Saul to Zedekiah, that’s the era in which Jonah lived, and then after the exile it was led by the priests like Joshua the son of Jehozadak and others, and foreign governors. Joshua is one of those leaders, and here he stands accused, before God and Satan, Joshua 3:1,3 - “1 Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him…3 Now Joshua was standing before the angel, clothed with filthy garments.”

Joshua is pictured here in this vision as standing before the angel of the Lord, and he stands accused by Satan. It might not seem like a big deal to have the enemy accuse you, but though evil likes to lie, when it can use the truth against you, it will do it with glee. Remember Satan means “accuser”. And like any good prosecutor he can use your own record against you.

Whoever you are as a Christian you can feel the weight of these accusations at times. The devil still seeks to accuse, even though he has no legal right to do so. He loves to whisper things which will defeat us if we listen.  

God’s defense - So how does God defend this man from Satan. Does he say the devil is wrong? No, he says this,

“2 And the Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, O Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this a brand[e] plucked from the fire?” 3 Now Joshua was standing before the angel, clothed with filthy garments. 4 And the angel said to those who were standing before him, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” And to him he said, “Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments.” 5 And I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the Lord was standing by.”

What does God do? He acknowledges that the devil is speaking the truth about Joshua. Joshua’s record is not clean, his “garments are filthy”. But instead of condemning him, he rebukes the devil and tells the angel to dress Joshua in white.

The only way that any man or woman can survive the accusations of the devil, is to be clothed white by the Lord. Those whom God calls into service for him at any level will often hear the whisper of the evil one that they are not worthy. And what is your only response to that?

Yes that is true, but God has made me clean! Joshua was not made righteous in his own right, but by the grace of God. As the Lord says, “And to him he said, “Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments.” God knows that Joshua is not righteous in his own right. So, God makes him new in his sight, so he can perform his role.

Then God encourages him to live up to his calling, walk in his ways and to keep the charge of the Lord. But the fact that he needed to be made clean shows he had already fallen short. Like Jonah he was a broken instrument. But then God points Joshua forward to a future day when something great will happen, “9 For behold, on the stone that I have set before Joshua, on a single stone with seven eyes, I will engrave its inscription, declares the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day.”

God points Joshua to the day when the sin of the land will be swept away, in one day. We call that day Good Friday, or Easter Friday. It is the true Passover, the only Passover that counts. When God took care of our sins in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.  

In fact, Joshua and his fellow leaders will serve as a sign that God will bring his “servant the Branch.” Joshua points to The Joshua, remember Jesus is just Greek for Joshua, who will come and save this people. The righteous branch. There is always hope in the prophets. There is always hope.  

Nowhere here is God denying Joshua’s sin, nowhere here is God pretending Joshua is worthy of this role as high priest in his own right. All the priests had to make sacrifices for their own sins. God is simply showing that he makes his servants righteous, he makes us worthy based on him, and his work. And I think this gives us some powerful insight into our passage from Jonah this morning, so let’s turn to Jonah 2 now.

Jonah An Accused Man (1:17-2:5) – Jonah was also an accused man and we get some real insight into what he was thinking while he was in this “appointed fish”. It’s important to note that this is simply a summary of his thoughts while he was in the bowels of hell. This prayer reads just like a Psalm. Let’s see what he says,

“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. 2 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…”

We spoke a little bit about Jonah being swallowed by the fish last week, and all I really noted about it is that we should not seek to try and explain it in normal terms. This was no normal fish, this was a fish God had appointed for this task. We noted that God was doing something for Jonah, for Israel, for Nineveh and for us. But we shouldn’t just gloss over this situation. We should stop and think about what Jonah actually went through.

Imagine what it was like to be in the belly of that fish, knowing full well, that you were there, because you disobeyed your Lord, and you are under just punishment and judgement. Imagine the horror. Can you imagine how dark Jonah’s mind would have gotten while he was in that fish? Can you imagine the accusations that Satan would have been whispering in his ear? Can you imagine the self-accusations he would have been under?

Stuff like this: “Jonah, you rebelled against the Lord, look at you now.” “Jonah, you are such a loser.” “Jonah, you are literally fish food, this is how you will die.” “Jonah, you deserve this, you are wearing filthy clothes”…which while he was in the fish, was both a literal and a metaphorical accusation. “Jonah, you are a failure.” “Jonah, you deserted your God.” “Jonah, you are not fit to be a prophet.”

Thoughts of anguish would have coursed through his mind again and again and again. It would have been torment. I can only imagine how dark his mind got, though we do have some indication in his own prayer.

We know he was in “distress” how could he not be. We know he felt as if he was in the “grave”, because that is what “Sheol” means. Or as the KJV says, “out of the belly of Hell cried I”. He literally felt like he was in hell, the grave, hades, Sheol. How could you not? This is a dark place to be.

The believer in distress will often feel like they deserve hell or they are in hell. They might even be experiencing hardship that feels like hell. Because, as we saw with Joshua the high priest, the accusation that we are filthy in the sight of God is true. Especially when our life is falling apart, because we ran away from the call of God. It is especially crushing and disheartening for us when our disastrous situation is of our own making. And Jonah was in this situation of his own making.

Jonah got his wish - What is also terribly ironic in this passage is that Jonah in some sense got his wish. He says in verses 3-4, “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;…” Remember, why did Jonah run? “3 But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.”

He wanted to flee from God’s presence, well there is no sense of God’s presence in hell, is there? 2 Thessalonians 1:9, “They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might,…” Be careful what you ask for.

So, here was a man who was in the belly of hell, almost literally, and he stood accused. Can you imagine what impact the accuser, Satan, was having on his mind? How he was messing with him in this deep and dark place?

Have you ever been in the depths of despair, or in anguish over your sin, or felt lost in your walk with God, and the devil has swooped in to attack? If you have not, and you live long enough such a day will likely come. So, what should you do?

Turn to Hope (vv.6-9) – Turn to hope like Jonah did,

“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!”

No one had more reason to give up than Jonah did. Some had equal reason. Joseph had equal reason to give up when he was in the Egyptian prison. Daniel had equal reason to give up when he was the lion’s den. Samson had equal reason to give up when he was blind and in chains and being made a mockery of.

But none of them had more reason than Jonah. All their situations were pretty hopeless. Except for one thing: hope in God has a supernatural source. All of these men, and many women just like them, have overcome hopeless situations by refusing to give up hope, even when all hope seemed hopeless.

What did Jonah do, when he felt the utmost of despair? This, “7 When my life was fainting away, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple.” He did what we can sometimes forget to do, he turned to the Lord in prayer and he sought him. Not only this, but he based his prayers in the bowels of hell on the Psalms. I noted before that Jonah’s prayer reads like Psalm, because it is one, but it also rehashes a lot of lines from different Psalms.

He Turned to the Psalms – This is a point that I don’t want to gloss over, that in the midst of his trial and distress, Jonah prayed the Psalms. We did a series on this earlier in the year, but here is an example of it from the Bible itself. Look at these references:

The beginning of Jonah 2:2, “I called out to the Lord, out of my distress, and he answered me;” is equivalent to the beginning of Psalm 120:1 – “In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me. The only difference here is the words are in a different order.

Jonah 2:3, “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.” Is saying much the same thing as Psalm 42:7 – “7 Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me” (KJV).  

The beginning of Jonah 2:4 “4 Then I said, ‘I am driven away from your sight” is equivalent to Psalm 31:22 – “22 I had said in my alarm, “I am cut off from your sight.” But you heard the voice of my pleas for mercy when I cried to you for help.”

You can keep going through the Psalm and see that in so many of the lines of this prayer, Jonah is quoting or rephrasing his prayer from various different Psalms. Right up to verse 9 which quotes Psalm 3:8, “salvation belongs to the Lord.” Jonah is praying the Psalms, from memory, and he likely chose to write down some examples of this when he wrote this summary of his prayer. He wrote is own Psalm, forged from his experience in the bowels of hell.  

Think seriously about this. When you are put under pressure, what is inside of you will come out of you. When you are in despair do you pray the Psalms? Do you praise God?

Maybe you don’t pray the Psalms, maybe you sing your favourite worship songs to yourself. This is good too. Note, our worship songs are not Scripture, and therefore they are not the exact same thing, but don’t forget that the Psalms were the worship songs of the temple of the Lord.

It is good to have songs of praise on our minds.

The Israelites were not focused on singing the latest music all the time, though they would have written new Psalms. They were focused on singing the same solid truths again and again and again, so that these truths buried deep into their souls, so that when they were under pressure, they could write a Psalm like Jonah’s here, and it reflected the word of God.

Get the word of God into your soul, by memorizing it, pray the psalms and make them part of your walk with God, sing good solid worship songs, and when you are under pressure, just like Jonah, you will overflow with praise for God, and you will likely expect him to do something good.

And God did do something good for Jonah, “10 And the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land.”

Application – So how do we apply this sermon?

The brutal and hopeful book. Recognize that there is no book in the world which is more pessimistic about humanity and human nature than the Bible. And there is also no book in the world that is more hopeful for the destiny of humanity, by virtue of what Jesus Christ has done for us.

The Bible is honest in its brutal takedown of human nature. And if you trust in its words, it will also fill you with a hope that nothing else can, and nothing else can take away.

Be careful what you ask for, God might grant it - Jonah wanted to flee from the presence of the Lord, so God sent him into the depths of the ocean.

Meditate on the Psalms Regularly – Make yourself familiar with the Psalms. Sings Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, fill your mind with the truths of God, and you will be better prepared for hard times, and personal struggles.

Conclusion – God was good to Jonah. Jonah did not deserve grace, but then again, none of us do. We all deserve wrath, but we get grace and mercy if we turn to our Lord. Learn to pray like Jonah when you are caught in the consequences of your sins. Learn to turn to God when the devil seeks to attack you and accuse you. And never, ever, ever, lose hope. Let’s pray.