It would probably be hard to find
the child who has been raised in a home where the scriptures
are valued, honored, and taught, who has not heard the account
of Jonah and the great fish which swallowed him. The unfortunate
truth is that many have grown to adulthood with little consideration
of the depths of truth which are hidden in this account, other
than the usual moral lesson that Jonah's disobedience caused his
uncomfortable situation. Now, it is surely true that Jonah
did indeed seek to flee from the presence of the Lord and
thought he could escape from the task which the Lord had sent
him to do. Yet we can be certain that Jonah's
path from Joppa to Tarshish was as much ordained by the Lord
as was his path from the fish's vomit on the seashore to the
city of Nineveh, since he prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah
at the exact place and moment when he was cast overboard by
those men who were caused to fear, as the one who rides upon
the storm stirred the heavens and the sea to that end, in order
that they might carry out the task he ordained for them to
perform. This fish was no ordinary fish,
for it was prepared, that is, fitted ahead of time for a certain
task by the Lord, not only to be able to swallow Jonah, but
to preserve his life as it rescued him from drowning in the stormy
sea. The timing of this occurrence is no less miraculous than Jonah's
preservation in a hopeless situation. This fish nor Jonah could possibly
have been anywhere else than the exact spot they both were
at this exact instant according to the predestined purpose of
God. We are certain that all of these events worked together
for good to Jonah even though he did not enjoy them as they
unfolded. The religious moralists of the
world would opine that Jonah could have avoided this situation
if only he had made better choices. Or they would see the main lesson
found in the book to be about the Ninevites and their repentance.
Yet even the repentance of the Ninevites was brought to pass
in order to benefit Jonah and to teach him important truths
which he either did not know or through hardness of heart
could not see. Jonah learned the high price
of disobedience as he paid the fare for his supposed excursion
to Tarshish. He never arrived at that place
he desired to go and bought the ticket to, but he did arrive
safely at that destination to which the Lord had sent him.
Jonah learned that the Lord is in the dark and low places of
the earth as much as he is in the great heights and glorious
light. Yet he was exercised by deep despair at the hopelessness
which he felt, even as Christ himself was cast into the very
depths of the grave as he bore our sin and carried our sorrows. Jonah learned that there is no
salvation except in the Lord. Jonah could not deliver himself,
but was totally dependent on the Lord's salvation. Jonah learned
the glory of being set free from the fish's belly, which was to
him a sealed tomb. Thus he serves as an illustration
of him who has triumphed over death. For as Jonah was three
days and three nights in the great fish's belly, so shall
the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the earth.
The very basis of the hope of all those who have fled for refuge
to Christ rests on the fact that he has risen from the dead and
ever lives and reigns as the great high priest over the household
of God. Jonah learned that every man
will perform the exact activity which God has ordained for him
to do. Jonah learned that God will show
mercy according to His sovereign prerogative and will call whom
He wills. The Lord testified of this very
truth when He said, All that the Father giveth Me shall come
to Me, and him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out. Jonah learned that the Lord is
of tender mercy to all who shall call upon Him. In his carnality
he became angry as he judged the Ninevites to be unworthy
of the Lord's mercy. Yet the lesson which he had to
learn was that he had no reason to expect that he should receive
mercy either. A man cannot have a true understanding
of mercy until he is made to see that the merit and activity
of man is of no consideration in the Lord's decision to grant
mercy. For all have sinned and come
short of the glory of God. The book of Jonah reveals the
lengths to which the Lord will go to instruct those whom he
loves. He will never forsake them. It
is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the
salvation of the Lord.