I. Not every fish that swallows a man is a curse from God. Sometimes it is the very token of God’s mercy that sends the fish, especially when the alternative is drowning.
II. Sometimes the best news is bad news before it is good news. Sometimes a blessing looks first like a curse. Sometimes mercy takes the form of judgment. Sometimes hope comes from a hopeless situation.
III. We were in a hopeless situation and that was that. Our empire had grown up in leaps and bounds under the leadership of many great and powerful kings and our name had come to strike fear into the very hearts of our enemy. We were the Assyrian hoard, known for doing to other peoples the things you would expect a pillaging army to do. When we captured a city we would lead the prisoners away like fish with a hook driven through their cheek and tied to a great rope pulled by a horse. Hundreds would be drawn along on one of these cords, writhing in agony.
IV. We had many tortures far worse, but some things are not worth remembering, especially with the children present.
V. That was why we were surprised when the prophet arrived. He was clearly a Hebrew. We had invaded Israel a number of years ago and left in our trail nothing but devastation. Under the leadership of Sennacharib the armies of Assyria had broken down the walls of Israel and carried their men and women away as slaves. The atrocities would be well remembered by any who lived in recent years, and Jonah had good reason for hating our nation. I’m sure he lost relatives and friends in the great dispersion.
VI. When Jonah arrived he created a great stir, because he stunk. He smelled like a bucket of fish gut left out in the sun. His clothing was discolored and bleached, and his skin seemed splotchy. The rumor we had heard was that he had been spit onto the shore by a great fish. It seemed like a tall tail, until we saw the man, then it seemed altogether likely.
VII. Jonah did not take time for formalities. No introduction seemed necessary, he simply entered the city gate, paused until he had the attention of those around him and then in a vehemently angry voice said, “In 40 days Nineveh will be overthrown.” That was the message, he continued through the city, pausing periodically to repeat it. He delivered it with pleasure, he delivered it with glee, he delivered it with such gusto that we were terrified. He delivered it in obedience to the command of God Almighty. But he had tried to avoid delivering it at all.
VIII. When God sent Jonah to Nineveh he ran. He went straight to Joppa and hired a boat for the furthest point West. He had no interest in delivering a message to our people. I’m sure he hated us so much he couldn’t bear to even look upon our city let alone speak to our faces.
IX. But God is not to be trifled with, and only a short way into the voyage a tremendous storm overtook the boat and the entire crew despaired that they would ever see land again. Each man on board prayed to his particular God, and when Jonah was found sleeping in the bottom of the boat he was roused and told to pray also.
X. On the deck of the boat the men cast lots to see if they could determine who was the cause of the tempest, the lot fell to Jonah. Jonah then revealed to them that he was running from God, that he was a Hebrew and that his God was indeed the only true God.
XI. Such a fear gripped the men that they did not know what to do. Surely a man whose God was so furious at his running away would not be less furious if they drowned his messenger, so they rowed for shore, digging deep with the oars, but to no avail. Finally with a prayer for mercy they followed Jonah’s advice and cast him into the sea. No sooner had Jonah sunk from sight than they were floating peacefully beneath the stars.
XII. Deep below the waves Jonah descended, deeper and deeper. Seaweed wrapped itself around him and he seemed almost resolved to his fate. But God stirred in the body of one of the great creatures of the deep, one of the giant sea fish which had been prepared for Jonah’s arrival and with a mighty gulp he was swallowed.
XIII. I cannot imagine the fear and discomfort that would occur being trapped in the gullet of a fish for three days, hovering even on the edge of life, praying for a miracle, hoping against hope. But God heard Jonah’s prayer and on the third day he was spit up on the shore. Clothes tattered and corroded from stomach acid, skin splotchy and burned and smelling like a pile of fish gut. Without pausing Jonah set off for Nineveh.
XIV. People usually develop one of two wrong ideas about God. The first is that God is some angry deity waiting to cast down lightning bolts onto the earth or smite anyone who breaks the slightest rule. For centuries this idea has held sway. But a second misconception, more dangerous than the first, has slowly taken the fore. It is the idea that God, if there is a God, is a doting old man, more than happy to overlook the indiscretions of people.
XV. The God the sailors encountered on the sea was not like these myths, he was powerful and ferocious, just and holy and filled with mercy. The God Jonah encountered under the sea was neither a vengeful nor a doting God, but a God unwilling to tolerate rebellion, but merciful enough to send a great fish to swallow his servant, and save him for future use. The God we encountered in Jonah’s message to Nineveh was not like these myths, he was much more loving and gracious.
XVI. For the thought occurred to us to wonder why God would send a messenger to tell us of judgment to come, if it was not to warn us of judgment to come. Surely if God wanted only to destroy us, he would simply have done it. But a 40 day warning might be just that, a warning.
XVII. After he delivered his message Jonah went up on a hillside and built a little booth from which to watch the destruction of his enemy. Day after day he waited. Would it be fire from heaven or water out of the centre of the earth. Would the ground shake until every building crumbled or would a great wind carry in tongues of fire to consume the great city. Perhaps the earth would open and swallow the city whole or the locust would come and the people would starve. Already Jonah could hear the groans coming from within the city walls.
XVIII. But the groans he heard were something wholly different. For within the walls of Nineveh the people had ceased eating, they no longer celebrated, instead they were gathered in mourning and groaned in repentance to a God they did not know. They hoped for deliverance, although they knew they DESERVED destruction.
XIX. When the 40 days were up and nothing had happened it was clear that God had spared them. On his hillside Jonah was shaded by a plant that had grown up near his booth. He was quite glad for the comfort it provided him, comfort from which to watch the destruction of his enemies.
XX. But when destruction failed to come Jonah became angry. We could see him yelling furiously at the heavens. He said, ‘This is what I knew would happen if I brought this message. They have repented and You have forgiven them. I knew You were a God gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in loving-kindness.
XXI. The next morning a worm ate the vine that was shading Jonah and the wind blew a Sirocco with scalding heat. Jonah wished he was dead. But God had an answer for him. God said’ You have had pity on the plant for which you have not labored, nor made it grow, which came up in a night and perished in a night. And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left, and also much livestock.
XXII. It seems as I reflect on the whole scheme of events that indeed God is a merciful and gracious God. He is still that God.. (CHANGE HATS).
XXIII. Today we discover that the best news is bad news before it is good news. It is the news that God will not tolerate rebellion in any form. That he takes the same view of cheating on a test and cheating on a spouse. He is opposed to bullying on the playground and terrorism on the global level. He punishes rebellion to parents in the same way that he punishes rebellion to the law. He sends his messengers to warn people that at the end of this life there will be a reckoning, and no amount of good behaviour will erase the bad behaviour.
XXIV. But lest we mistake God for an angry and vengeful deity who seeks our destruction with glee, we must be reminded that this same God has sent a substitute to make a way that we should be saved. Jesus Christ opens the door to salvation. He is the great ransom paid for our rebellion, and only through him can a person be saved.
XXV. I said before that not every fish that swallows us is a curse from God, often it is God in his mercy who is willing to do anything to save us, even placing disaster in our way. Modern day fish sometimes look like a doctors prognosis, or an accountants sheet revealing we are indeed bankrupt. Sometimes it is tragedy, grief or pain. Indeed, pain is God’s megaphone to rouse a deaf world.
XXVI. And many people will stand one day in heaven and praise the God of mercy. They will stand there because God in his mercy sent a great fish to swallow them and in their hopeless despair they found the only thing that could give them hope, the God of all the world.
XXVII. Perhaps there is a reason that you are here today. Perhaps a great fish has swallowed your dreams. Perhaps you are here by chance and have heard the bad news for the first time, that God is opposed to your rebellion and if you die without Christ you will deserve the punishment you find at God’s hands. Perhaps, like the Ninevites of long ago God is showing you mercy, giving you a chance to repent and discover the God who loves you so much he will stop at nothing until you belong to him.
