Last time, we looked to chapter one, where we learned about the true nature of rebellion - rebellion involves our choosing to no longer walk with God but to run away from God. We also learned that the terrible consequences of rebellion are that we experience a loss of fellowship as well as a loss of testimony. Finally, we noticed that the tragic end of rebellion is that it causes the Christian’s life to enter a downward spiral which leads to utter despair and hopelessness. That’s where we left
Jonah, in the depths of despair in the belly of a great fish.
But today, we are going to read about how Jonah got out of the fish’s belly to stand once again on dry land. (READ TEXT)
Chapter two tells a story of repentance. Jonah went from running from God, to once again walking with God. Let’s look at the prayer Jonah prayed while in the fish’s belly to see what we can learn about
repentance and the restoration of a rebellious believer.
1. Jonah was chastened by God - verses 1-3
Jonah realized God was chastening him. God allowed things in Jonah’s life to bring him where he had no alternative but to look to the Lord.
“Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate
children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” - Hebrews 12:7-11 (NIV)
Sometimes the school of hard knocks is the only way sense can be knocked into us. When we rebel against God, He lets us go through the “school of hard knocks” to get our attention and get us to look to Him.
After a called strike, a rookie batter threw his bat high into the air in anger and protest. The umpire turned to the rookie quickly and said, “Son, if that bat comes down, you’re out of the game.” Just as surely as that rookie’s bat came back down, you and I can count on the fact that if we rebel against God, he will chasten us!
A judge and a banker lived next to each other. Both had kids who played together and sometimes got into trouble. The banker let his kids get away with doing wrong and they went further and further astray. The judge, however, spanked his kids to correct them each time they did wrong. But the judge didn’t spank the banker’s kids. Eventually one of the banker’s kids grew up and committed a serious crime. He was brought into a court of law and faced the judge. The judge ruled over the banker’s child and sentenced him.
So it seems that Satan’s children “get away with it,” at least, for a time. At present, the judge of all the earth ignores them. But this same judge will not ignore the disobedience of his children. He will chasten and correct them because as a Father, He cares for his own. Just as God chastened Jonah in an effort to bring him back to a life of obedience, He will chasten you and me if we go astray.
2. Jonah confessed his sin to God - verses 4-7
Jonah decided to “look again toward (God’s) holy temple.” He chose to “remember the Lord” and in so doing, he confessed his sin to God. I say this because the Bible teaches that while committing sin breaks our fellowship with God, confessing our sin restores our fellowship with God. Jonah’s fellowship with God was restored (v.2), therefore we know that in his prayer to God, he confessed his sin.
“If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of
Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” - 1 John 1:6-7; 9 (NIV)
If the rebellious Christian is to be restored to full fellowship with God, he must confess his sin and claim forgiveness. Forgiveness is his, not because of any penance he might do or promises he might make, but because of the sacrifice of the blood of Jesus on Calvary.
A pastor was asked, “How can the blood of Jesus cleanse sin?” He replied, “How can water quench thirst?” “I don’t know,” said the questioner, “but I know it does.” “Neither do I know how the blood of Jesus cleanses sin,” said the preacher, “but I know that it does.”
Because of the finished work of Christ on Calvary, we know that “if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” - 1 John 1:9 (NIV)!
A boy appeared at a mission hospital in Kenya with a gaping wound in his foot. He had been cutting grass far out in the jungle. Part of his heel was cut off. Sending word to the boy’s mother, he and a friend set out across country to find the mission station where they knew medical help was available. Every time his foot touched the sandy earth it left a faint trace of blood. The journey was long and difficult, but at last they arrived.
Soon after the boy’s mother appeared. The doctors were surprised she had found the way. There were no well defined trails, and she had never been to the mission station before. “How did you do it?” she was asked. The mother, overjoyed to be reunited with her child said, “Oh, it was easy. I just followed the blood!”
Have you realized that God is chastening you in order to call you back to Him? Do you want to be restored to fellowship with your heavenly Father? Then follow the blood! Trust in the forgiveness available through the cross of Christ, confess your sin to God and be forgiven!
3. Jonah committed his life to God - verses 8-10
In verse 9, Jonah says that in his decision of repentance, he made vows of obedience to God. He not only confessed what he had done wrong, he determined that he was going to do what was right!
True repentance has a double aspect; it looks upon things past with a weeping eye, and upon the future with a watchful eye.
Repentance means more than being sorry for your sins. Real repentance means you are sorry enough to quit doing wrong and start doing right!
To repent means to turn around. Whereas before I was running from God, now I’m running to God! That’s the commitment Jonah made and it’s the commitment we must make if we are going to go from rebellion to obedience; from being chastened by God to being blessed by God!
What commitments do you need to make to God today? Have you rebelled against God by neglecting his word, His church, His fellowship, His service? Confess your sin to God and commit your life to God. Admit what you know you have done wrong and begin to do what you know is right! That is real repentance; and only real repentance will restore you to a right relationship with God!
Robert Robinson was the author of the hymn, “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing.” The following are the words he wrote:
Verse One: “Come, thou Fount of every blessing, Tune my heart to sing thy grace; Streams of mercy, never ceasing, Call for songs of loudest praise: Teach me some melodious sonnet, Sung by flaming tongues above; Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it, Mount of thy redeeming love.”
Verse Three: “O to grace how great a debtor, Daily I’m constrained to be! Let thy grace, Lord, like a fetter, Bind ray wandering heart to thee. Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love; Here’s my heart, Lord, take and seal it, Seal it for thy courts above.”
Sadly, years after he penned those words, Robinson did wander away from the Lord. As a result, he became deeply troubled in spirit. Hoping to find same peace, he decided to travel.
On one of his trips, he met a young woman who was a committed Christian. Their conversation turned to spiritual matters. She shared that she read a hymn in her daily devotional time. She shared with Robinson the hymn she had read in her devotional time that day and asked what he thought of it. To his astonishment he found it to be none other than his own song. He tried to evade her question, but she pressed him for a response.
Suddenly he began to weep. With tears streaming down his cheeks, he said, “I’m the man who wrote that hymn. I’d give anything to experience again the joy I knew then.” Although greatly surprised, she assured him that the “streams of mercy” mentioned in his song were still flowing. Deeply touched, Robert Robinson turned his “wandering heart” to the Lord, confessed his sin, and committed his life to once again serving God. As a result, once again he knew the joy he had known, several years before.
How about you? Do you find yourself in the fish’s belly of despair and hopelessness? Are you experiencing the chastening of God in your life as a rebellious, backslidden Christian? Have you lost the joy of your salvation? Then repent today. Confess your sin to God and commit your life to once again serving God.
As a result of his repentance, Jonah said that God “brought his life up from the pit.” He can do the same for you today. Don’t be like those Jonah describes in verse 8, “who cling to worthless idols” and “forfeit the grace that could be theirs.” But do as did Robert Robinson and turn your “wandering heart” toward God!
