Sermons
Swallowed Up By God
Series: Man Overboard: Jonah In JeopardySWALLOWED UP BY GOD
Pt#3 / Man Overboard: Jonah In Jeopardy
Sermon Outline By Terry Siverd
Cortland Church of Christ / January 24, 2016
Chapter one of the book of Jonah nears to an end in vs.15 - -
“they picked Jonah up, threw him into the sea, and the sea stopped its raging”.
How much time elapses between verse 15 and verse 17 we can not say for certain.
Was it minutes? … Was it half an hour? … Was it an hour? … Was it hours?
Did the raging seas cease the moment Jonah’s body hit the surface?
Did the sea stop it’s raging instantaneously or did it take hours to return to being calm?
One can be on board a ship in the midst of a ferocious storm and while the mighty winds may cease,
the residual effect on the waves and currents may go on for many hours after the wind has calmed down.
Over thirty years at our summer youth retreat at Camp Judson we witnessed a number of strong storms.
An early-morn storm could end at 8am, but it might still be difficult/dangerous to have a baptism in the lake at 8pm.
Verse 17 states: “The Lord appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah…”
Over the centuries, this verse has become the source of much heated discussion and even derision and mockery.
Some have concluded that this story is just a parable of sorts or an allegory.
Some would argue that we need not feel compelled to interpret this verse literally.
Every student of The Bible readily acknowledges that The Word of God has its share of parables and allegories.
Yet when we read Mt.12:40,
Just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster,
so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth,
Jesus Himself appears to take this account at face value.
“Jesus said it, we believe it, and that settles it” / David Jeremiah in The Runaway Prophet, pg.35.
While the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus may have been mystifying to the early saints,
there was nothing mythical or unreal or make-believe about it. Jesus really was crucified on the cross.
His lifeless body really was buried/entombed. And He really was raised from the dead on the third day.
In their scoffing as to the reality of this account, some have divulged their own prejudices and close-mindedness.
They have trouble swallowing the truth (pun intended) about Jonah being swallowed up by a sea monster.
But for those of us who affirm the miracles of Jesus, and in particular the resurrection of Jesus from the tomb,
THERE IS NOTHING HARD TO SWALLOW ABOUT THE STORY OF JONAH AND THE WHALE.
All that I have said thus far has been by way of introduction.
Now let’s return to the text and do some detailed exegesis.
Chapter two (of the book of Jonah) really begins with vs.17 of chapter one. Read Jonah 1:17
THE LORD APPOINTED
Jonah 1:4 states, “the Lord hurled a great wind…”.
Jonah 4:6 states, “the Lord God appointed a plant…”.
Jonah 4:7 states, “God appointed a worm…”.
Jonah 4:8 states, “God appointed a scorching east wind and the sun…”.
Here in Jonah 1:17, “the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah…”.
After Jonah’s three-day crash course of being schooled in the belly of the fish,
Jonah 2:10 states, “the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah up onto dry land.”
There is nothing accidental about the story of Jonah. God’s hand is all over it.
THE LORD APPOINTED A GREAT FISH TO SWALLOW JONAH
It is not uncommon to find big fish in big bodies of water.
But this fish/whale/sea monster was given a special assignment: to swallow up Jonah.
WHY did God direct the fish to swallow up Jonah?
First of all, the sea monster was sent by God to RESCUE Jonah.
Jonah 2:3 speaks of Jonah being engulfed by the current and submerged beneath the breakers and billows.
This describes Jonah in the sea before being swallowed by the “sea monster”.
How long Jonah bobbed around on the surface on the verge of drowning we just don’t know.
I suspect he “cried out for help from above” (Jonah 2:2) well before he was swallowed up by the fish.
In a very real sense the whale became a lifeboat and/or a lifeline for Jonah.
What first seems to be a terrible tragedy and an unimaginable calamity becomes Jonah’s salvation.
Sinclair Ferguson speaks of this as “the merciful wrath” of God. cf. Man Overboard, pg.37ff.
Actually Ferguson is borrowing an expression employed by Martin Luther during the days of the Reformation.
While we first believe the Bible (ancient and sacred words), it does help to bolster our trust and confidence
in the word of God when we read other pieces of historical evidence that serve to confirm that which is written.
See David Jeremiah, The Run Away Prophet, pg,34, regarding the following accounts.
In 1935, of the coast of Cape Cod, a 100’ long sulphur-bottom whale (a.ka. “blue whale”) was caught.
It had a mouth that was 12’ wide, and multiple stomach compartments large enough for several men.
This mammal is known for disgorging offensive contents from its stomach.
Records exist of an English sailor who fell overboard in the English Channel.
He was swallowed up by a monstrous whale shark, and was found alive when the shark was caught 48 hours later.
Another incident, near the Falkland Islands, records a sailor on a whaling ship who also was swallowed up.
Hours later the whale was harpooned and cut open and the man was recovered - - still alive inside the whale.
Secondly, the sea monster was sent by God to REHABILITATE Jonah.
Let’s not forget the setting here. Jonah has disobeyed the voice of God.
He has become a man on the run. He has faltered in his faith and is on the brink of disaster.
God commanded Jonah to “Arise and go to Nineveh” (Jonah 1:2), but Jonah arose and went to Joppa
with plans to run as far way as possible (on to Tarshish - - to the far western extremity of civilization).
Jonah has defied Almighty God and is serious need of rehab.
Onboard, he is awakened from his slumber to realize that you can’t run from / outrun God.
Sometimes you teenagers make the mistake of telling your parents, “get off my case”.
If you ever want to light a fire under your mom or dad, just tell them that (and then you’d better brace yourself).
You are likely to get that hard-nosed lecture (and perhaps a “grounding”) that includes words similar to these:
“I brought you into this world and I can take you out.”
God once spoke through Jeremiah to the Israelites who were in exile in a foreign land (Jerm.29:11):
I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord,
plans for peace (welfare/well-being) and not for calamity - - to give you a future and a hope.
When Jonah disobeys God he finds himself promptly enrolled (without his permission) in rehab - -
assigned to a detention - - a “reform/retention school” of sorts - - where he undergoes remedial instruction.
In this case Jonah’s classroom is totally dark, burning with digestive acids, slimy and filled with all
manner of decomposing sea-life, stinky and gurgly and in constant motion - - he is the belly of a whale.
If the design of this special tutorial is to readjust Jonah’s focus, God has hit the nail of the head.
SUDDENLY GOD HAS JONAH UNDIVIDED ATTENTION.
Jonah’s number one need is to return to the Word of God. David writes (Ps.119:67 & 71),
Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep Thy Word...
It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I may learn Thy statutes.
Heb.12:10 states that “God CHASTENS us for our (own) good”.
The text adds that God chastens us “that we may share in His holiness”.
On any given day (and perhaps on every given day) some of us, if not most of us,
may be on the receiving end of “the chastening of the Lord”.
I think I have been remiss in my preaching in that I have not addressed this subject as much as I should have.
But here we are, working our way through the book of Jonah and this subject is now front and center.
It is my prayer that this series on Jonah can be received as not just the story of Jonah - - but as the story of US.
Some of us are going through some hard times - - hard times brought on by our own bad behavior and disobedience.
When we find ourselves down and out (or flat on our backs), it’s a good time to LOOK UP and to LOOK INWARD.
Maybe, just maybe, there’s a Biblical explanation for our troubles. Could it be the chastening of our loving Father?
Next Sunday (actually on February the 7th) we want to discuss the way out - - or better yet, the way back.
When Jonah finds himself in a serious bind, he decides to PRAY.
It was a good decision on his part and it is likewise a good place to start for us.
