Jonah 2; go to Jonah’s prayer: petitions and the exchange of wishes: I wish he had, I wish I may: an important lesson on how not to be, a Jonah. For me to not be a Jonah, I need to be in prayer, not just petition God, or just say prayers, but, for me to go beyond obedience to being in glad agreement with God and join Him in HIS will I must be willing to pray, to agree with God - Aman and amen…
Oh, what a beautiful prayer! So theologically accurate and beautifully poetic and eloquent too! BUT, was Jonah’s prayer, really, pray-ing? Or, could it be, that Jonah’s prayer was a prayer, for sure, but a type of prayer, a prayer prayed for sure, but a prayer prayed that has its own limited effect? Not that his prayer was insufficient for what it was, a plea, thanks, appreciation, and even declarative… but, did this prayer engage God in such a way as to change his own heart? His own heart’s desires? His own wishes? Did this prayer take him from his own wants and wishes to God’s, in glad agreement with God?
Now, let’s ask ourselves a question: did this prayer change Jonah’s heart? Welllll…
Jonah 2:7 He turned toward God and confessed - yes! And, good!
Jonah 2:9a He committed to doing what God had commanded - yes! And, good!
Jonah 2:9b - turn to Jonah 3 He obeyed and saw fruit - yes! And, good, and good fruit!
We might stop right here and we might ask: “Well, didn’t Jonah finally relent and obey? And, didn’t his obedience do exactly what God intended it to do? If so, what’s the problem, Jonah got the job done! But, was it done in the manner God would have preferred?”
And we can answer, “Yes, he did obey, and yes fruit was born”, but, could there be something more God wants from us and for us?
Jonah 4:4, 11 “...the Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry? …should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?”
“I desire mercy not sacrifice…, …if you love me, you’ll obey me…”
“...obedience, not sacrifice…”, does not mean obedience without sacrifice.
Matthew 23:23 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.”
But, was his heart changed? Was his and his affections aligned with God’s? Did Jonah reflect God’s joy in Ninivah’s repentance and saving? Or, was he still obstinate and opposed to God?
Jonah 4:1-3
You see, there is… Saying a prayer; A petitioning prayer; A prayer that acknowledges and speaks to God
But these types of prayers, though good and pleasing to God, are limited by the very nature of what they are.
Now, let us understand, that God loves the prayers mentioned above. And, although God loves, invites, receives, and cherishes each of these “types” of prayer, there is a type of prayer that not only acknowledges God, but also speaks to God, shares with God, and makes requests of God, there is type of prayer that springboards from the previously mentioned prayers to a whole different kind of prayer. This is a prayer that, once the one praying has preyed their prayer, doesn’t finish and go on their way, but, stays, still, and remains to hear, to listen to what God has to say, that in its remaining, allows its heart and its desires to be examined, challenged, removed, and/or transformed - this prayer sits, it remains long enough - to receive from God His wishes, His will, His purposes… and to gladly accept them.
So, then, there is, saying prayers - as mentioned above, and then there’s PRAY-ing…
These are the prayers that will take us from being like Jonah to being like Jesus, able to pray with Him
Luke 42:22 “...not my will, but your will be done.”
Obedience AND sacrifice, work hand-in-hand and are the fruit of having been a recipient of God’s mercy which turns our affections toward God in love - love for our Father and what our Father loves…. first Jesus, then us, sent AS He was sent
Hebrews 10: 5Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; 6with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. 7Then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll—I have come to do your will, my God.’ ”
Romans 12 “1Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will…, …think of yourself with sober judgment… serve cheerfully…” may your “love be sincere…, eep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.”
And this might be seen in the way we pray and the transformation of our hearts when we pray sincerely:
…Your kingdom come…, not mine - take my wishes and give me Yours
…Your will be done…, not mine - take my wishes and give me Yours
We must see that to pray, to remain and be transformed is sacrifice that leads to loving and joyful obedience that bears the fruit of the command (the law of love) AS WELL as the fruit of righteousness (the mark of Jesus’ character and goodness, the AS, His manner and way)
So, to not be like Jonah, but, in fact, to become and be like Jesus, we must be in view of God’s mercy, seeing that we ourselves are beneficiaries of that mercy, and then practice that act of offering me and mine as a living sacrifice that I might obey goodly and beautifully, not just dutifully: not just doing the right thing, but doing the right thing in the right manner and way - AS Jesus was sent by the Father, so Jesus, sends us… AS. then, I will not just go, and at that, begrudgingly, but go, and though with some trepidation, gladly go, just AS Jesus went.
Now, let’s go back to Jonah’s prayer - as beautiful as it was and is, it does seem to have rightly aligned His heart with Gods…
Jonah’s human, carnal, wishes were never expunged, or exchanged with and replaced by God’s heart’s divine and divinely inspired wishes - that of the compassionate Mercy of God on his enemy (who was also an enemy of God, Himself, too)
We can be obedient and used of God without our heart’s being truly transformed by God. This does not mean we are not saved, it does mean we may never realize the true and vibrant joy of being one in spirit (not meaning Spirit) with God.
We should want to delight God, delight in God, and be delighted by God, marveling astonishingly and joyfully at His working - this is God’s wish for us “He is pleased to…” and takes pleasure in His works and working. All of this while, and because, God delights in His children!
So, this is the fruit of prayer: the exchange of wishes! That we would join with God in the sanctification of our hearts, having Him remove from us our fleshly desires and wishes, and through the glad-suffering of the process of prayer, have our own human wishes, not only removed, that is just one thing, but in fact, to have them replaced by God’s divine, good = beautiful wishes!
This thus becomes prayer AND intercession AND amen! In other words, our being able to say sincerely and cheerfully and really proclaim: Matthew 6:9-10
“Father, I agree!
Your kingdom come…
Your will be done…”
This transformation of my will becoming God’s will, comes from our moving from saying prayers – which are good, to remaining, abiding in, and communing with God in prayer - where intimacy with God becomes power from God to accomplish His will with joy, and NOT a begrudging heart – and now I’m becoming less like Jonah and more like Jesus
So, Jonah and the Whale, what a story! Where we thought it was about a prophet…
What have we learned so far?
We have been learning that the book of Jonah is a story with a Prophet, merchant-sailors, a GREATER and GREATER storm, little gods, a GREAT fish, a GREAT city, and its many inhabitants (and animals too!). The story contains all of these characters, each playing a crucial part, yet the story is not about any of them, none, notta one.
All of these characters are, actually, supporting actors, the cast and crew, parts and pieces, pieces and parts of the story, but then, who? What’s this GREAT story about? About Whom is this story really about?
It is about the Lord God, the GREAT I AM, and His GREAT compassion and mercy shed upon each person according to His merciful compassion.
Jonah 4:2 “...You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion—One who relents from sending disaster.”
So, taking it home! Take time in the word to…
Compare and contrast Jonah’s prayer, his petition, with Jesus petition in the garden. And Jonah’s attitude and message in Jesus attitude message
So we look at the two petitions, we compare how each one goes out, the nature of the message from Jesus incarnate, and then Jesus’ risen self, and start into chapter 4 in terms of the attitude they each displayed
Jonah’s message, though he was to take three days across the city, made it across the city in one day. 120,000 people, including cows, repent.
He, though, refuses to see God‘s mercy. or recognize that he’s been a recipient of God‘s compassionate mercy. And so about Jonah, the Jews, who Jesus would come to, would not receive them. Yet to anyone at all, who would believe would receive the promise I’ll be becoming a child of God.
Whereas. Jesus would also her say poor Paul would say that the gentiles are in before the Jews. They are responding to the gospel more quickly than Jews would. This is the extension of Jonas attitude and Israel’s attitude toward the lost world.
A little be more:
Jonah 3:10 ”When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.“
In the book of Isaiah, the prophecy regarding a rod of discipline or punishment for Israel can be found in Isaiah 10:5-6. This passage refers to the Assyrian Empire as the rod of the Lord’s anger against Israel:
Isaiah 10:5-6 “Woe to the Assyrian, the rod of my anger, in whose hand is the club of my wrath! I send him against a godless nation, I dispatch him against a people who anger me, to seize loot and snatch plunder, and to trample them down like mud in the streets.”
As an exercise: Compare Jesus’ excited declaration to His Father that He was willing, waiting, and excited to go “...a body you have prepared for me…”, in essence, “Let me go!” (Hebrews 2:13-18; 10:5-10) to Jonah’s “I told you so! This is why I didn’t want to go!” (Jonah throughout)
