1. God chastens those He loves (Chapter 2)
When
spanking my son, I find that he is very quick and wise in words imploring me
not to spank him further. He knows how to plead and beg so that he is not
spanked. He makes promises and even sometimes kneels down for the fear of pain.
There are times I listen to him, and relent and there are times I have to be
faithful to God by not withholding the rod of correction and so destroy him. I
know what God has said, "Discipline your son, for there is hope;
do not set your heart on putting him to death." Prov. 19:18 and
again, For the Lord discipline the one He loves and chastises every son
whom He receives. Heb. 12:6. I know that For the moment all
discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful
fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Heb. 12:11.
This
reality is applied in this second chapter that God chastens those He loves.
This is what He did with Jonah, His servant and prophet. When Jonah defied His Word,
He lifted His chastening rod by the appointing the great storm and the great
fish, and later the great scorching heat.
How
Did Jonah respond to this? He responded in prayer. He pleaded with God for
mercy. The most part of chapter 2 is the prayer of Jonah (vv. 2-9) and God’s
answer to Jonah’s prayer (v. 10).
1) Jonah prayed to the Lord His God from the
belly of the fish.
His prayer was so important that it is recorded as inspired Scripture.
Being a man in distress, he called out to the Lord. As was pressing upon the
damp flesh of the fish, the darkness surrounded him, but he recollected his
minds to remember to call upon the Lord. Many Christians of our day do not
highly value prayer – it is regarded as worthy nothing. Yet, we must never
forget that prayer is God’s own idea. It is provided for us graciously. When
Jonah prayed, He also immediately tells us that when he called out,
…he (God) answered … you (Lord)
heard my voice ((2:2)
He described the situation inside the belly and I can assure you I
wouldn’t want to be there for a minute! …floods
surrounded me. He was driven away from your sight… waters closed over me… the
deep surrounded… weeds were wrapped about my head… my life was fainting away!
2) Jonah acknowledged that God answers
prayers even of those who have gone astray.
Even from the belly of the great fish! Even from a fainting heart (2.7).
It is very reassuring to know that God will not tell the worst prayer sinner to
shut up. He will listen. He listened to Jonah. He listened to Samson and in one
day killed more Philistines than ever before! Has the Lord not promised that
whoever comes to Him He will by no means cast out? Why do you then abandon
yourself to prayerlessness? May our dire situations be the fuel to drive us to
fervent prayer. May the prayer meetings overflow with praying saints. And if
not, may the saints wherever they may be, even though in the valley of the
shadow of death, may they sincerely and powerfully, even in their groaning call
out to God in prayer.
3) Salvation belongs to the Lord
One of the most astounding statement in the book of Jonah is the bear
knuckled fact that salvation from disaster and even the eternal danger and
peril cannot come from men. Men are all helpless – we all look to the Lord for
help. More specifically, our salvation from sins, from the eternal punishment,
from the wrath to come, from the final destruction to be meted on all who live
according to the folly is of the Lord. Our gracious God has sent forth His son
who has willingly died in our place and paid the penalty due to you. Trust Him!
Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ today and you will find real life.
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