Salvation Comes From the Lord
Deep Need, Deep Grace
Jonah 1:17-2:10
By L Going WACC 2/20/2000
Jonah’s testimony would have been “Salvation is of the Lord.” Yet like many of us who
indeed testify to God’s saving us, we still need to learn what the implications of that grace
mean for our attitudes and stance toward others. We also need to learn that responding
to God’s relentless grace to us in Christ means that our hearts should become excited
about God’s purposes. The Lord’s desire for you is that you not merely conform to his
will by going through the motions of obedience but that you find real pleasure in what
God values. He values showing grace and compassion to those in need.
God’s Sovereign Grace is seen again in his sending this giant fish to swallow Jonah. I do
not question the historicity of this supernatural event. The Bible teaches that God’s
sovereignty extends over all his creation. This was a supernatural work of God’s
providence. How did Jonah stay alive within the stomach of this fish? Again, by the
preserving power of God. This is no less a display of God’s sovereign power than the
resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Indeed, Jesus affirms the historicity of this event by
seeing it as pointing to his death and resurrection.
Matthew 12:40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so
will the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
The fish was also evidence of God’s grace to Jonah for it was the agent of his salvation.
Jonah most certainly thought he was a dead man. He accepted this fate. Yet no matter
his courage, the truth is that Jonah was not eager to drown and the fact that God used this
unusual means to save Jonah was to him a great surprise.
Here we have Jonah’s prayer, which is a Psalm. Many of the words and phrases used in
Jonah’s prayer are found in other Psalms. Verse one is a summary description of Jonah’s
overall plight and Yahweh’s response, as he was looking into the face of the grave. “In
my distress I called to Yahweh, and he answered me. From the depths of the grave
(Sheol) I called for help and you listened to my cry.” His distress was almost fatal. He
was in great need.
This is the bottom line: God looks for those who see their need regardless of their sin or
wickedness. The Lord responded to Jonah’s cry for help due to his great distress and it
was His desire to respond in the same way toward Jonah’s enemies. One of the ways the
Lord desires to teach us compassion for others is to give us opportunity to experience
compassion from Him. This is what the Lord was doing to Jonah.
In fact Jonah also acknowledges that his distress was the Lord’s doing. “You hurled me
into the deep (in the same way that he hurled the storm and the ship), into the very heart
of the seas, and the currents swirled about me; all your waves and breakers swept over
me.”
It is often the case that we interpret life’s storms as evidence that the Lord is either not
caring for us or no longer involved with us. This was Jonah’s immediate interpretation of
his plight: “I said, ‘I have been banished from your sight.” For a time Jonah interpreted
what was happening to him as proof that the Lord was no longer looking after him. After
all Jonah had attempted to run away from the face of the Lord. He did not want the Lord
to pursue him or be involved with him and he certainly did not want to be involved in
what the Lord wanted to do. Maybe he thought, “Well Jonah Ol’ boy, you are getting
what you wanted! You wanted to flee from the Lord’s face, now you have it. The Lord is
not looking after you at all. You are banished from his eyes!”
It could have been the case that there was Jonah, sinking under the water, his thoughts
racing and all of a sudden “wosh” he is swallowed by the fish. “Oh great, rather than
death by drowning, I am going to die as this guy’s lunch!” For a while at least Jonah
interpreted these fast pace, horrific events as proof that he had received what he wanted.
He wanted to flee from the face of the Lord, and now the Lord was granting him his
desire, by sending him to the grave, to Sheol. But like David, Jonah learned that even
there he could not really escape from the Lord’s presence or His power.
Psalm 139:7-8 Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy
presence? If I ascend to heaven, thou art there! If I make my bed in Sheol, thou art there!
After a while Jonah may have realized that he was not going to perish. Here he was
inside the belly of this great fish, being preserved. Many believers have testified (maybe
some of you could this morning) how amazed they were to discover that even when in the
midst of extreme circumstances, somehow there were resources available that enabled
them to cope, to survive with a sense of peace and hope. That was no doubt the case with
Jonah. There was a watershed for Jonah at some point during this three-day adventure
with marine and aquatic life. Things had not changed, he was still in the depths (literally)
but he began to have hope. “Yet I will look again toward your holy temple.”
God’s grace was working on Jonah’s behalf not only on the upward side of events but on
the downward side, as well. It also seems that even while Jonah saw the threats from his
circumstances, that he was seeking the Lord. Jonah’s problems caused him to pray.
“When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you Lord, and my prayer rose to you, to
you holy temple.” He sought the Lord to deliver him from his troubles.
Let me pause with you for a moment and make a point. I have at times spoken with
people who were in trouble. Yet they could not bring themselves to pray. In most of the
cases there reasoning went something like this. “I did not seek the Lord when things
were going well, now that they are not, I can not seek him.” It sounds so noble. Yet it is
foolish. It is also evidence of a spirit of self-righteousness. It is to miss completely the
lesson of grace. What these “well-intended” folks miss is that their good times were as
much the result of God’s providential grace as there bad times are the result of his
providential grace. Here is the opportunity to be humble and to seek the Lord. It is not
Jonah the Reluctant Missionary
(A Dramatic Lesson in What Not to Do
And the Sovereignty of God’s Compensating Grace)
2
wrong to seek the Lord in times of trouble. Certainly, the lesson that God wanted Jonah
to learn from this was to seek the Lord in the right spirit and frame of heart after the
deliverance as well. Yet the bottom line for the Lord is that we see our need.
Needs vary. Jonah’s need for a broken and contrite heart actually preceded his need for
deliverance from the sea. In times of trouble we need to seek the Lord for deliverance
from our troubles but we also should seek him from deliverance from all unbelief and
pride. The tragedy here is that Jonah was delivered from the former but not from the
latter!
The last two verses of Jonah’s prayer are interesting in light of what happens at the end of
the book.
“Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.
But I with a song of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you.
What I have vowed I will make good.
Salvation comes from the Lord.”
All of this is good theology. It is true. Jonah is preaching a good message here. Jonah
would not think of clinging to worthless idols. Jonah’s acknowledgment of the Lord and
his formal worship of sacrifice and vows were appropriate. He saw the connection
between the truth that Salvation comes from the Lord, and how this should lead to
exclusive worship of the Lord. We might even say that Jonah caught the letter of grace
but not the spirit of grace.
It seems that by sheer default Jonah’s life and reluctant witness to these Gentile seamen
was the instrument of God’s saving grace to them. How pure their worship would be is
not clear. As they went through this violent storm they eventually discovered Jonah’s
part in it. As they listened to Jonah’s theology “I am a Hebrew and I fear the LORD God
of heaven who made the sea and the dry land” and, as the storm immediately became
calm, once Jonah was tossed into the sea, they also are described as fearing the Lord
(1:16).
They offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows. How far we are to take these actions
isn’t clear. Unless they remained in contact with faithful Jews, probably their “fear of the
Lord” would not grow and mature. Yet how pure was Jonah’s “fear of the Lord?” He
may have feared the Lord, but the Gentile sailors “feared the Lord greatly.” Jonah may
have had all the forms of worship down but he did not fear the Lord enough to in faith
obey him. Even now while Jonah once again experiences God’s saving and preserving
grace, we have to wonder how deep God’s grace penetrated his heart. Deep need requires
deep grace. Jonah’s need was deeper than the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea!
While Jonah did not cling to a worthless idol, he did cling to a worthless attitude. While
he confessed that salvation was from the Lord, he failed to grasp that this meant that God
Jonah the Reluctant Missionary
(A Dramatic Lesson in What Not to Do
And the Sovereignty of God’s Compensating Grace)
3
was free and sovereign to give his grace to whomever he chose. Jonah basked in God’s
compassion and grace to him but frowned when God extended it to his enemies.
Salvation is from the Lord. He offers salvation freely to all that want His salvation.
Jonah and Jesus
Jesus described Jonah’s “fish” encounter as analogous to his death and resurrection. He
called his death and resurrection by the descriptive title “the sign of Jonah.” We will deal
more specifically with this in a future message. For now it is important to draw the
following connection between Jonah and Jesus.
Jonah’s time in the belly of the great fish, deep in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea was
due to God’s judgment. The three days of the Son of Man in the grip of the grave was
also due to God’s judgment. Jonah’s judgment was deserved. The judgment of the Son
of Man was due to his being the great substitute for sinners. His was a vicarious
judgment. Jonah’s deliverance from the fish was due to the supernatural power of God.
The Son of Man’s resurrection from the dead was also due to the supernatural power of
God. Jonah’s deliverance from the fish enabled him to continue with the ministry the
Lord had ordained that he do. The Son of Man’s deliverance from the dead enabled him
likewise to carry out the ministry that His Father ordained for him. Hebrews 7:25 reads
“Consequently he is able for all time to save those who draw near to God through him,
since he always lives to make intercession for them.”
Jonah’s deliverance from the fish and the sea did not change his frame of heart toward his
enemies. He carried out his mission but reluctantly and did not delight in the gracious
heart of God. The Son of Man, the greater Jonah, has always shared in His Father’s
gracious heart. He was and ever is full of grace and truth. He carries on his ministry not
reluctantly but willingly. Every promise of God to sinners is Yes and Amen in Christ.
By His Holy Spirit working through the preaching of the Gospel, this greater Jonah
continues to seek and save the lost orphan-enemies of his Father. There is no reluctance
with this greater Jonah to minister to the needy enemies of God. Through him we hear
the good news of pardon and amnesty to all traitors. It is the risen greater Jonah that
saves sinners and the gospel of this risen greater Jonah is not a pronouncement of
judgment, leaving you to figure out whether or not there might be mercy with God. No
His message to you and stance toward you is one of certain grace, pardon and permanent
acceptance with God. For these reason and others we will elaborate in the next few
weeks the Lord Jesus is indeed the greater Jonah.
Some Final Applications
How To Seek the Lord In Times of Trouble and Distress
Jonah the Reluctant Missionary
(A Dramatic Lesson in What Not to Do
And the Sovereignty of God’s Compensating Grace)
4
Are you one of those “well intentioned folk” who hesitate to pray to God in times of need
because you do not pray to him when things are going well? Certainly, the Lord wants
you to seek him in times of circumstantial abundance and harvest and not simply in times
of famine. Yet beware of self-righteousness. Your good times are from His hand too.
They are not the results merely of your hard work and industry, nor are they necessarily
rewards from Him for your upstanding morality and good deeds. Paul asked a probing
question of the Corinthian Christians, “What do you have that you have not received?”
(1 Corinthians 4:7). The correct answer is “everything you have is ultimately a gift of
God’s grace.” Are you facing trouble right now? Are you about to be swallowed by
some kind of monster? What better time to pray? What better time to seek the Lord?
Yet as you do, remember that Jonah needed God to do more than deliver him from
external adversity, he needed God to deliver him from a twisted heart. Never simply cry
out to God for deliverance from external trials alone, whether it is the trial of illness,
family problems, loss of a job, difficult fellow workers, or any number of challenges or
set- backs. Use these times first to ask the Lord to search your heart, to show you how
deeply His grace really has a hold of you. Ask the greater Jonah, the Lord Jesus, how
much of his Word really abides in you.
John 15:7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it
shall be done for you
I understand that the phrase, “If you abide in me,” is further fleshed out by the following
phrase “and my words abide in you.” In other words, there can be no real abiding in
Jesus Christ, unless his words, his teachings, the truth of God’s written word the Bible
take up residence in your heart. There is no Lord without a word. And if His words
abide in you in this way, your heart will be increasingly transformed by and conformed to
His purposes, will and agenda. So your prayers, what you ask from him, will reflect the
glory of your abiding union with the risen Lord Jesus. You will do more than simply pray
for deliverance from trials, you will pray that He will use the trials to purify your faith, so
that you will bring glory to Him and the Gospel.
Outward Expressions of Faith Must Reflect Hearts That Truly Grasp Grace
Don’t confuse acts of formal Christianity with a heart that his really tuned into God’s
agenda of sovereign grace for the nations. I see Jonah’s spiritual blindness reflected in
the end of his prayer “Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be
theirs. But I will sacrifice to the Lord. What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation
comes from the Lord.” (Jonah 2:8-9). As I said while Jonah does not cling to worthless
idols, he does cling to a worthless attitude. While he willingly makes sacrifices to the
Lord and fulfills his vows, he resents fulfilling the Lord’s mission. He goes to Nineveh
but still harbors reluctance and resistance in his heart. Jonah does not seem to know or
grasp or value what an earlier prophet of the Lord proclaimed to a King who had a similar
Jonah the Reluctant Missionary
(A Dramatic Lesson in What Not to Do
And the Sovereignty of God’s Compensating Grace)
5
notion, “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying
the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice and to heed is better than the fat of
rams. 1 Samuel 15:22. Jonah is far from being a “cheerful giver.”
It is possible for you to mask a stubborn heart about what really matters with outward and
formal acts of Christian worship or even correct theological notions. You can not fault
Jonah on the purity of his worship of Yahweh. He unlike many of his fellow Israelites
was not a worshiper of idols. He hated the false gods that his people went whoring after.
You could not fault Jonah on his theology. He knew the truth concerning Yahweh’s
attributes, power and dominion. Nevertheless, Jonah just did not get it! He did not grasp
or value the freedom of God’s sovereign grace and mercy. He did not affirm the great
truth the Lord had proclaimed to Moses in Exodus 33:19 "I will make all my goodness
pass before you, and will proclaim before you my name `The LORD'; and I will be
gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.
Nor had he grasped the great purpose of God’s election of and covenant with Israel.
Genesis 26:4 I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven, and will give to
your descendants all these lands; and by your descendants all the nations of the earth
shall bless themselves:
Exodus 19:5-6 Now therefore, if you will obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall
be my own possession among all peoples; for all the earth is mine and you shall be to me
a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words which you shall speak to the
children of Israel."
Correct Christian observance and correct orthodox convictions by themselves amount to
very little in the Lord’s eyes, if they are not joined by a gracious heart for the lost and a
willingness to obey the Lord from your heart.
Finally, I will close with where I began. We also need to learn that responding to God’s
relentless grace to us in Christ means that our hearts should become excited about God’s
purposes. The Lord’s desire for you is that you not merely conform to his will by going
through the motions of obedience but that you find real pleasure in what God values. He
values showing grace and compassion to those in needs, so that they might truly worship
Him. What is our purpose in life? What was Jonah’s? The same, to rightly from the
heart worship the Lord, not merely in a formal sense. This always involves more than
having right notions of God. It must also include valuing what God values and in this
book of Jonah we learn how much the Lord valued being gracious to the undeserving, all
this for His honor and glory.
Jonah the Reluctant Missionary
(A Dramatic Lesson in What Not to Do
And the Sovereignty of God’s Compensating Grace)
6