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.
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.
Then I said, ‘I am driven away
    from your sight;
yet I shall again look
    upon your holy temple.’
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.
When my life was fainting away,
    I remembered the LORD,
and my prayer came to you,
    into your holy temple.
Those who pay regard to vain idols
    forsake their hope of steadfast love.
But I with the voice of thanksgiving
    will sacrifice to you;
what I have vowed I will pay.
    Salvation belongs to the LORD!” —Jonah 2:2-9

Recap

Jonah the Prophet

• God’s Call: Go to Nineveh and call out against it!
• Assyria + Nineveh
• Jonah’s Rebellion: Rebellion is saying ’NO’ to God, God says GO, Jonah says NO
• God’s Pursuit - The Storm

Jonah 1:17 - God Sends a Great Fish

Controversies:

• Fish or whale?
• Historical or Myth?
• Allegory or Narrative?
• Dead or alive?!
• Written by Jonah?
• Did Jonah actually repent?

Historical or Myth?

• 2 Kings 14:25 - Historical Person
• Matthew 12:40 - Our great OT Professor Jesus thinks Jonah was real
• Archeological Findings:
• Seal of Amaris II of Egypt shows man emerging alive from a Sea Monster
• Excavation in Nineveh show a mound called Neby Yunas = The Prophet Jonah

Physically Possible?

• Sperm Whales swallow Giant Squids - their mouths are 15 ft high x 20ft long
• 1891 Whaling Vessel ’Star of the East’ had a sailor named James Bartley swallowed and found alive in the whale’s stomach unconscious, but alive

Jonah 2:1 - Jonah Prays

A Prayer of Desperation

Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the belly of the fish —Jonah 2:1

Jonah 2:2-9 - The Psalm of Jonah

Jonah’s Psalm of Repentance

Chiastic Structure:

A - Underworld
    B - Cosmic Waters
        C - Poet’s Plight
    B - Cosmic Waters
A - Underworld

Indicators of Jonah’s repentance:

• Jonah proclaimed his fear of the LORD and he was honest about his sin and rebellion, no longer covering it up (Jonah 1:9).
• Jonah allowed himself to be cast into the sea (Jonah 1:12).
• Jonah began to pray; he called out to God during the three days and three nights in the belly of the fish (Jonah 2:2, 2:4, and 2:7).
• Jonah had a new heart of gratitude (Jonah 2:9).
• Jonah renewed the commitment to his vow (Jonah 2:9).
• Jonah gave glory to God in all of this (Jonah 2:9).

Repentance:

True repentance is not common - in our society we do not repent, we excuse, explain, deny and blame shift.

• Excuse - I can’t help it!
• Explain - It’s not my fault!
• Re-Define - That was not a sin…

Definition: Repentance is a heartfelt sorrow for sin, a renouncing of it, and a sincere commitment to forsake it and walk in obedience to Christ!

Restoration to fellowship with God must begin in the very area where rebellion formerly existed. —Sinclair Ferguson, Man Overboard!

What Repentance is NOT:

• Mere Confession without change
• Worldly SorrowSelf-Righteousness
• Quid pro Quo - I repent so God blesses me.

What is Biblical Repentance:

• Conviction - recognize your guilt
• Contrition - Godly sorrow, not just sorry that you got caught
• Confession - name it!
• Change - repentance is more than stopping, it is turning

For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment! At every point you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter. —2 Corinthians 7:10–11

APPLICATION

Return to God’s Word; return to God’s presence