Jonah 1:17 17 Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Jonah 2:10 10 So the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.
Jonah 3:1-4 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you.” 3 So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord.
I wanted to write this blog and say, “God WILL have His way, period.” Mic drop. But there is so much more to this passage. The book of Jonah is about a prophet, Jonah, chosen by God to deliver His message to Nineveh, whose wickedness had captured God’s attention. Jonah attempted to flee the presence of God. Simply put, Jonah was refusing to co-labor with God on this rescue mission, so he hopped aboard a ship and sailed opposite his assignment.
A great wind came up against the ship, the frightened mariners began to call on their false gods, and of course nothing happened. Then they found Jonah and he proclaimed that he served the God of Heaven, the Creator of the seas and land, and they prayed to our God and threw Jonah overboard, the winds ceased, and Jonah was swallowed by a great fish.
While in the belly of the fish, Jonah prayed, Jonah repented, and Jonah acknowledged God’s sovereignty. The scripture goes on to say in Jonah 2:10; so, the fish spit Jonah out on dry land and the word of the Lord came to Jonah again.
Here are a couple of Kingdom thoughts to consider:
- The call is an unconditional command that’s nonnegotiable. God decides, we obey. Nineveh was a great city and filled with wickedness, yet God in His great mercy wanted to give Nineveh an opportunity to repent. In our preaching and teaching we must include the Gospel; God’s love, man’s sin, and God’s remedy for sin, Jesus. Repentance and faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior is the genesis for relationship with God. Like us, Jonah was only the vessel not the source of salvation. It is not God’s will that any should perish. How will they hear without a preacher? God decided that just like Nineveh we were worth saving!! “Salvation is of the Lord.” Jonah 2:9
- It’s good news that we could never flee the presence of the Lord. Even while Jonah sought to hide, his testimony of who God is caused idolatrous men to turn and call on the only true living God for salvation. The book of Jonah is a testament of God’s grace and mercy. Even in Jonah’s rebellion, God was getting the glory! These mariners in Jonah 1:16, after they prayed, and the seas calmed, they feared the Lord and they worshipped God! That’s my prayer: “Lord, save people everywhere I go. Let me hide in You, not from You.”
- God is sovereign over all creation. The Bible says God prepared a fish to swallow Jonah. He allowed Jonah to be in the fish for 3 days and nights unharmed, and then He commanded the fish to vomit Jonah on dry land. Jonah will do what God says, and so will all creation. There is nothing or no one that is more powerful than our God! God is in control! God chose Jonah to declare His Word. God chose the mariners for deliverance. God chose Nineveh to receive mercy through repentance. God chose all of us to know He is the only true living God! He is Sovereign!
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