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Week 11

Week 11. Case Study: Good Intentions. Imagine : You’ve lived most of your adult life in a mid-to-upper class suburban neighborhood, but a couple of years ago, you thought you sensed God leading you to start an inner-city ministry for abandoned children

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Week 11

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  1. Week 11

  2. Case Study: Good Intentions Imagine: • You’ve lived most of your adult life in a mid-to-upper class suburban neighborhood, but a couple of years ago, you thought you sensed God leading you to start an inner-city ministry for abandoned children • Though the idea intrigued you, the logistics were too hard to overcome • You would have had to quit your lucrative job • Move into a high-crime area • Adopt a more stringent standard of living • Work extremely long hours • You honestly didn’t think you could adjust to this new lifestyle

  3. Subsequent Results • But you soon lost your lucrative job anyway when your company went bankrupt • Though you had no active role in the stock scandal that brought it down, the prosecutors did a good job of portraying you as negligent • You were found guilty by jury trial and sentenced • Six months into your two-year prison term, you’d give anything to be able to work freely at an inner-city mission Why does the prospect of a difficult, inconvenient task seem so unappealing from one perspective and so highly desirable from another? Is it possible for us to change our perspective without God putting us in situations that will force us to change? If so, how? Have you ever sensed God’s leading but then hardened yourself to it because of the difficult logistics involved? If so, what would God need to do in your life to cause you to reconsider?

  4. Jonah Prays(Jonah 1:17 – 2:3) Quick Review of Week 10 ….

  5. Transformer • This is the story of a mature believer who had stopped praying and, having stopped, did not know how to get started again • After his secret sin had been exposed, Jonah received revelation from God that the storm would cease if the crew threw him into the water • Jonah spoke to the crew about God; he preached and he prophesied but he could not bring himself to pray • But a great transformation took place when Jonah was in the water. God broke through the barriers that had locked this man into despair. Hope was born and, out of that hope, Jonah began to pray. • Let’s see how this transformation happened

  6. Jonah 1:17 – 2:10 SCENE 3 1:17And the LORD appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. 2:1Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the belly of the fish, 2saying, “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. 3For 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. 4Then I said, ‘I am driven away from your sight; yet I shall again look upon your holy temple.’ 5The waters closed in over me to take my life; the deep surrounded me; weeds were wrapped about my head 6at 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. 7When my life was fainting away, I remembered the LORD, and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple. 8Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love. 9But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the LORD!” 10And the LORD spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land.

  7. The Big Fish • When I first learned the story of Jonah, I pictured God's extraordinary sea creature arriving to rescue the prophet as soon as he hit the water • But a closer look at the story has convinced me it wasn't like that … God allowed Jonah to go to the bottom before He sent the fish • When Jonah was in the water he felt sure he would die; when he was in the fish he was sure he would live • The belly of the fish was not a place of trauma for Jonah; it was a place of deliverance

  8. Jonah 1:17 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. • Why did God use this specific means of returning Jonah to his appropriate place of service? Why not a large bird or some other means? • The fish provided time for instruction from the Lord. The belly of a fish may not be a happy place to live, but it is a good place to learn. • In addition, the Lord does not usually protect us from the consequences of our own choices and actions. Jonah had chosen the sea as his escape route; it is there that the Lord awaits him. • What does the word “swallow” suggest about Jonah’s situation?

  9. Swallowed (bala’ in Hebrew) This word almost always has a hostile connotation in the OT: • Pharaoh & his chariots are swallowed in the Red Sea (Exodus 15) • The psalmist begs Yahweh not to allow the deep to swallow him up (Psalms 21; 35; 69; and 124) • Swallowed up is synonymous with being annihilated (Lamentations 2) • Ephraim [Israel – Jonah’s nation] was gulped down as a person would eat a ripe fig (Isaiah 28) in God’s coming judgment on her • Jerusalem is swallowed, digested, and vomitted out by Babylon (Jeremiah 51) in her future judgment • The followers of Korah are swallowed up by the earth and taken down to Sheol (Numbers 16; Psalm 106) as punishment • Sinners ambush the innocent and like Sheol swallow them alive and whole, like those who go down to the pit (Proverbs 1:12) • Thus, when Jonah is swallowed by the great fish, he and his audience would initially interpret this to mean death and entering the underworld of Sheol

  10. Psalm of Thanksgiving • Jonah's surprised (and possibly breathless) prayer is a typical psalm of thanksgiving with: • an introduction that attests that his prayer for deliverance was answered (verse 2) • a recounting of the crisis and of his deliverance from it (verses 3-7), and • a subsequent vow to worship God for that deliverance (vv. 8-9)

  11. Jonah’s Psalm • Experts view Jonah’s response to God in two completely different ways: • Some see Jonah praising God despite his difficulties because God has given him a second chance • Others see Jonah in denial, praising when he should be lamenting and repenting … he is familiar with prayers used in worship, but he misses the spirit behind them and misapplies them in his own situation • What do you think and why? Introduction 2“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. Crisis and Deliverance 3For 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. 4Then I said, ‘I am driven away from your sight; yet I shall again look upon your holy temple.’ 5The waters closed in over me to take my life; the deep surrounded me; weeds were wrapped about my head 6at 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. 7When my life was fainting away, I remembered the LORD, and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple. Vow to Worship 8Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love. 9But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the LORD!”

  12. Declarative Psalm of Thanksgiving:Introduction – Jonah 2:2 “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. • In Hebrew, the first word in Jonah’s psalm/prayer is “called out.” • Where have we heard this verb before? • This is the same verb that Yahweh (1:2), the captain (1:6), and the sailors (1:14) used in seeking help to alleviate life-threatening danger • What irony is revealed here? • In Chapter 1 Jonah was unwilling to “call” (preach) to Nineveh to save it from divine judgment or to “call” upon God to save the foundering ship • But now, Jonah is finally calling Yahweh, fulfilling His command that he “call.” Yet ironically, the prophet is only calling out for his own sake!

  13. Jonah 2:2 – “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. • Sometimes Sheolrefers to the place where all people go after death (see Genesis 37:35; Job 7:9; Psalm 89:48) • In other passages Sheol is the destination of unbelievers (see Numbers 16:30, 33 and Psalm 9:17); they are cut off from Yahweh and forgotten • In still other parts of the Old Testament, true believers in the LORD experience Sheol when they suffer divine punishment, such as tragedy, suffering, calamity, or untimely death (such as Jacob in Genesis 44:29 and King Hezekiah in Isaiah 38:10) • What is the connection between Sheoland the concept of the presence of the LORD that we studied earlier? • Sheol in its essence represents separation from God; theologically, it is the opposite of Yahweh’s presence • Which understanding of Sheolbest describes what Jonah experienced as he was drowning? • Should we interpret the belly of the great fish to be Sheol? Explain.

  14. 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. • Jonah 1:15 clearly shows that it was the crew that threw Jonah overboard; however, here in Jonah 2:3 the prophet says God “cast [him] into the deep, into the heart of the seas” • Was Jonah telling the truth (an orthodox statement of God’s sovereignty) or was he blaming the LORD for his predicament? • What does Jonah not say about his predicament? • He makes no mention of his own role in the events that brought him here, especially his flight from the divine commission and his failure to repent while onboard

  15. … Now Week 11

  16. Herman Melville, Moby Dick “Where lies the final harbor, whence we unmoor no more? In what rapt ether sails the world, of which the weariest will never weary? Where is the foundling’s father hidden? Our souls are like those orphans whose unwedded mothers die in bearing them: the secret of our paternity lies in their grave, and we must there to learn it.”

  17. Jonah’s Prayer and the Psalms Jonah 2:4 – “Then I said, ‘I am driven away from your sight; yet I shall again look upon your holy temple.’” • Psalm 31:22 – “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.” • Psalm 138:2a – “I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness…” • Psalm 5:7b – “I will bow down toward your holy temple in the fear of you.”

  18. Jonah 2:4a Then I said, ‘I am driven away from your sight … • What did the prophet experience in this passage? • Do you agree with Jonah that he has been “driven away [by God] from [God's] sight?" • When Jonah says “driven away” (garas in Hebrew with sense of being banished, thrown out), it means he feels he has no option of return • Jonah was not driven from God’s sight when he ran to Joppa’s port; he ran of his own volition • Jonah was not banished in the storm or through his inspired word to the sailors that the storm would become calm if they threw him overboard • Jonah experienced banishment/thrown out when he was lifted up and hurled overboard and hit the water When did Christ experience this? When do we Christians experience this?

  19. The Temple of the Lord Jonah 2:4b – …yet I shall again look upon your holy temple. Jonah 2:7 – When my life was fainting away, I remembered the LORD, and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple. Jonah 2:9 – But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. • Remember where Jonah is as he says this prayer • What is strange about the plans he is making in verses 4 and 9? • What does this tell us about Jonah's faith? • This is a remarkable picture of trust in God, pre-deliverance • Jonah believes in God while he is drowning • His prayer of thanksgiving is prayed to God from the belly of a fish, certainly not a place of safety, comfort, and total deliverance! • He trusts & thanks God during his rescue, not after it is completed • As God’s dwelling place with us (“Immanuel,” Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23), Christ is the new temple (John 2:21) • Through Him we have access to the throne of grace (Romans 5:2; Ephesians 2:18; Hebrews 10:19-20) • Indeed, all prayers are to be directed to God the Father through His Son, Jesus Christ, because no one can come to the Father except through the Son (John 14:6) Do you find it easier to trust God before He's provided deliverance or after? When you're "in the belly of the fish" or when you're "on dry land”? Verses 4b and 7b contain references to the temple of the LORD. Recall that in chapter 1 Jonah had determined to escape from the presence of the LORD. Why then in chapter 2 did he pray toward the temple in Jerusalem, the location of the LORD’s sacramental presence? In what way can it be said that Christians also pray toward the temple?

  20. Jonah’s Prayer and the Psalms Jonah 2:5 – “The waters closed in over me to take my life; the deep surrounded me; weeds were wrapped about my head at the root of the mountains.” • Psalm 69:1-2 – “Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me.” • Psalm 18:4-5 – “The cords of death encompassed me; the torrents of destruction assailed me; the cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me.”

  21. Jonah’s Prayer and the Psalms Jonah 2:6 – “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.” • Psalm 30:3 – “O LORD, you have brought up my soul from Sheol; you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit.” • Psalm 16:10 – “For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption.” • Psalm 103:4 – “who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy”

  22. Jonah 2:5-6 The waters closed in over me to take my life; the deep surrounded me; weeds were wrapped about my head 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. Jonah’s downward movement that began in chapter 1 continues and reaches its conclusion in chapter 2. Jonah 2:5-6 depicts the prophet at the lowest point in his descent. What is the “land whose bars closed upon [him] forever?” How did the prophet escape this terrible place?

  23. Hell • What does Jesus promise us about this place in Matthew 16:18? • Recall the words from the Apostles’ Creed, “He descended into hell.” Some Christians teach that Christ descended into hell to suffer. • What does it mean that Christ “descended into hell”? • This is a summary statement refering to all of Christ's redemptive sufferings • Christ went through a literal hell when He was alienated from His Father because our sin was laid upon Him • Indeed, Jesus "descended into hell" when He was made sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21) and was, as a result, alienated from the love and fellowship of His Father, receiving from God the punishment that our sins deserve (Isaiah 53; Mark 15:34) • Why did Christ descend into hell & experience separation from God? • So that His elect would never have to … praise His holy name! Matthew 16:18– “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

  24. Jonah Going Down 1:3 “went down to Joppa” “went down into it” [the ship] 1:5 “gone down into inner part of ship” “lain down” fell “fast asleep” 1:7 The sailors “cast [down] lots” “the lot fell [down] on Jonah” 1:15 The sailors “hurled him [down] into the sea” 2:3 “you cast me into the deep” [on the surface of the water] 2:5a “waters closed [down] over me [in midst of the sea] 2:5d “at the roots of the mountains” [the sea bottom] 2:6 “down to land whose bars closed upon me forever” “the pit” [Jonah is in “Sheol,” the lowest point he could possibly go]

  25. God never casts off his children • If this story is about Jonah running from God it is even more about God running after Jonah … and God never casts off his children • This is true, first of all, for those who do not yet believe in Christ, but will • Some of you here in this room have not submitted to the Lord • You are still fleeing from His loving lordship • Know that the Lord may be pursuing you … it may be why He has brought you here this morning • And if He is, He will not let you go … • But do not be a fool and lose out on the joy of being found by Him

  26. God never casts off his children • It is also true that God will never cast off his believingchildren, no matter how greatly they sin • This does not to give us license for sin; we have seen sin's damaging effects • This is to encourage us by God's love even in the face of our disobedience • Jonah, as disobedient as he is, is a child of God • He was a prophet who had previously proven himself faithful, and even at the present time feared the Lord • If God has begun a work of grace in you, be assured that He never quits halfway • God is not alarmed by those who run from Him; those that belong to him, He steadily and persistently pursues

  27. Jonah’s Prayer and the Psalms Jonah 2:7 – “When my life was fainting away, I remembered the LORD, and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple.” • Psalm 61:2 – “I call to you when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I” • Psalm 42:4 – “These things I remember, as I pour out my soul: how I would go with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God” • Psalm 107:5-6 – “…their soul fainted within them. Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.”

  28. Jonah 2:7 When my life was fainting away, I remembered the LORD, and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple. • Some commentators argue that this verse depicts a “fox-hole” religion, that is, an example of someone calling on God only when he believes he is facing sure and imminent death • Do you agree or disagree with this interpretation of the verse? Explain your answer. • Why did Jonah only remember Yahweh when his “life was fainting away”? Why didn’t he remember when Yahweh called him in chapter 1? • Like all OT and NT believers, Jonah is simuliustus et peccator – “saint and sinner at the same time” • Sometimes his faith is weak or not evident at all; at other times it shines forth (he utters a powerful confession that converts the sailors; his psalm is a model prayer that can be spoken by any believer) • So Jonah, like every believer, is inconsistent, yet saved by the Lord who alone is always steadfast • Jonah 2:7 is the halfway point in the book in terms of verses • This passage is also the place where Jonah and the LORD appear to be the closest • What was happening to the prophet at the beginning of this verse? • This “fainting” is closer to a near-death experience than it is feeling woozy on a hot day or a temporary loss of consciousness

  29. Remembering the Lord Isaiah 44:21-22 – Remember these things, O Jacob, and Israel, for you are my servant; I formed you; you are my servant; O Israel, you will not be forgotten by me. I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you. Jonah 2:7 – When my life was fainting away, I remembered the LORD, and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple. • Based on the passage in Isaiah, what did Jonah mean by his words “I remembered the LORD” in Jonah 2:7? • A remembering in faith leads to a change in spiritual condition and to action • We are called to “remember” the works of God in order to learn a theological lesson or repent • How does Jonah 2:7 illustrate the doctrine of salvation by grace alone? • God’s deliverance came before and was independent of Jonah’s prayer

  30. Jonah’s Prayer and the Psalms Jonah 2:8 – “Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love. • Psalm 69:1-2 – “I hate those who pay regard to worthless idols, but I trust in the LORD.” • Psalm 119:155 – “Salvation is far from the wicked, for they do not seek your statutes.”

  31. Jonah’s Prayer and the Psalms Jonah 2:9 – “But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the LORD!” • Psalm 66:13-14 – “I will come into your house with burnt offerings; I will perform my vows to you, that which my lips uttered and my mouth promised when I was in trouble.” • Psalm 116:17-18 – “I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the LORD. I will pay my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people.” • Psalm 3:8 – “Salvation belongs to the LORD; your blessing be on your people!” • Psalm 37:39 – “The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; he is their stronghold in the time of trouble.”

  32. Declarative Psalm of Thanksgiving:Vow to Worship – Jonah 2:8-9 8Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love. 9But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the LORD!” • Who might be the idol worshippers Jonah refers to here? • In what way had Jonah acted exactly like these idol worshippers? • In his unwillingness to help the sailors and his disregard for the salvation of the citizens of Nineveh, Jonah has his own idol: himself! • What idols do we Christians sometimes worship? • The “Jonah sindrome” (misspelling and pun intended) manifests itself when we are unwilling to share Yahweh’s salvation with others • Why do we do this? • Jonah ends his prayer with a flattering comparison of himself with idol worshipers • What two things did Jonah say he was going to do? • In what way can we say that Jonah “followed in the footsteps” of the sailors from chapter 1? Why is this ironic? • What did Jonah mean by his final words in verse 9?

  33. Jonah’s Prayer • Why is an intimate familiarity with verses from Scripture, the liturgy, and the hymnal a comfort and blessing to Christians? • When we are in great need, familiar and treasured passages of Scripture, liturgy, and hymnody become freshly meaningful • Familiar words recreate images that reawaken faith or mend a broken heart • What does the fact that Jonah modeled his prayer so closely on the book of Psalms tell us about him and his faith? • Frequent repetition fills his memory with God’s own words, phrases, and images • These then become a rich treasury from which to draw on in times of distress 2“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. 3For 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. 4Then I said, ‘I am driven away from your sight; yet I shall again look upon your holy temple.’ 5The waters closed in over me to take my life; the deep surrounded me; weeds were wrapped about my head 6at 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. 7When my life was fainting away, I remembered the LORD, and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple. 8Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love. 9But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the LORD!”

  34. God’s Actions 1:4But the LORD hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up. 1:7 So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. 2:10 And the LORD spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land. • Now have a look at 1:4, 1:7 and 2:10. • What are all these verses teaching us about God? • God is totally in control of everything that's happening. • In 1:4, the LORD sends a great wind on the sea • In 1:7, God controls the casting of lots • In 2:10, God commands the fish and it vomits Jonah onto dry land. The Maker of the sea and land (1:9) is clearly in continuous, comprehensive control of His entire creation, down to the smallest detail!

  35. Jonah 2:10 And the LORD spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land. • In a previous question we discussed how the word “swallowed” might indicate something about Jonah and his predicament. Now consider the word “vomited” in Jonah 2:10. • What does this word tell us about the prophet? • Why did the fish vomit Jonah out and not simply spit him out or allow him to crawl or walk out? • In the OT, vomiting is usually a metaphor for judgment … the fish has had enough of Jonah’s tensions in his belly; it finds him repugnant • Jonah’s salvation by regurgitation is a conscious attempt to shame him for his nationalistic pride that would withhold salvation from other peoples • It is as though three days of undigested Jonah is enough for the fish! • Where did the fish return Jonah?

  36. The Dry Land Genesis 1:9 – And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. Jonah 2:10 – And the LORD spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land. 2 Corinthians 5:17 – Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. • These verses use the phrase “the dry land,” the ESV’s rendering of the Hebrew word yabbashah. • What is the context of the word yabbashahin Genesis 1:9? • What is its context in Jonah 2:10? • If tehomor “the deep” gave us an indication of the consequences of sin, what does yabbashahor “the dry land” tell us about redemption? • In what way does 2 Corinthians 5:17 reinforce this idea?

  37. Jonah’s Resurrection 2:10“the LORD spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon dry land” 2:7“my prayer came to you, into your holy temple” [mount] 2:6 “you brought up my life from the pit, O LORD my God” 1:17 “the LORD appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah”

  38. “A Sermon on Preparing to Die”by Martin Luther • Martin Luther compared the death/resurrection of a believer to the birth of a child who moves from the confines of the womb into a broad new world: “Just as an infant is born with peril and pain from the small abode of its mother's womb into this immense heaven and hearth, that is, into this world, so man departs this life through the narrow gate of death. And although the heavens and the earth in which we dwell at present seem large and wide to us, they are nevertheless much narrower and smaller than the mother's womb in comparison with the future heaven. Therefore the death of the dear saints is called a new birth.” • Jonah, like all believers called by Yahweh, must be reborn by God's grace

  39. Grateful and Defiant • Yes, Jonah is grateful, but his description of his piety is hard to stomach by his readers (and by the big fish)! • He is making vows, but he is not repentant … his basic beliefs have not changed • He recalls his trust in Yahweh, yet shows few signs of real trust • He has expressed thanks for the fact that he is still breathing, but that is all • He prays what he is capable of praying – and not more • He uses a flourish of words for his own deliverance, but has only a few reticent words for the Ninevites and sailors • God accepts the prayer for what it is: a stiff but true expression of thanks for not drowning … it is enough for his deliverance • God will deal with his protest/running issues later … for now they must remain in tension • God answers those who call out in distress whether their issues of protest are resolved or not • He accepts Jonah’s thanks and his lack of repentance because he accepts Jonah’s protest, not as sin but as welcome dialogue

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