FELLOWSHIP IN A FISH

Jonah 2:1-10

By: Dr. Timothy F. Lee

"Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish's belly, {2} And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice. {3} For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me. {4} Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple. {5} The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head. {6} I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O LORD my God. {7} When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple. {8} They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy. {9} But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD. {10} And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land."

1. When most fish stories are told, they are not believed because they have a tendency to be stretched.

2. Many fish stories in the Bible are remarkable, and Jesus was present when most of them were told (Actually, all of them.)

3. There has been much controversy about this story. A lawyer asked a preacher if he believed that Jonah swallowed the whale. His answer was, "If the Bible had said that Jonah swallowed the whale, I would believe it."

4. Many times we miss the blessing of the passage by arguing whether this were possible or not.

5. The miracle here is not the fish, but the Gospel. It is a beautiful picture of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.

6. Notice what took place when Jonah began to fellowship with God in the fish.

I. JONAH’S CRY FOR HELP.

Jonah had been pretty independent during this journey until this point. Things began to change significantly when he found himself in the belly of the fish.

A. The Place Of Jonah’s Cry (1-2) - "Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish's belly, {2} And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice." Most of the time we wait for an emergency before we seriously call on God for help.

1. His cry came from the fish’s abdomen. God had prepared the fish and it is of little importance what kind it was.

2. His cry came from the belly of hell. This was the hollow place of sheol – the place of the dead – the same place that Jesus spoke of concerning the rich man and Lazarus. Jonah saw eternity dawn upon him. Sometimes we have to get really desperate before we cry out to God for help. We may not be ready to surrender to God until we are this desperate.

B. The Purpose Of Jonah’s Cry (2) - "I cried by reason of mine affliction."

1. Jonah saw his affliction as coming from God (3) - "For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me."

2. Many have had to see hell and all its agonies to be changed. This is true for the lost and the saved. William Booth said if he could take the preacher boys to hell for five minutes, they would all become great evangelists.

II. JONAH’S CHANGE OF HEART. It is amazing how circumstance will change our attitude so quickly. Actually, Jonah began to change before he left the ship.

A. Jonah Saw His Failure (4-5) - "Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple. {5} The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head."

1. He had taken God’s presence for granted. He had wanted to get away from Him, now he regrets that he has been cast out of God’s sight. We often take Him for granted and don’t seem to care if He is present or not.

2. He had taken God’s protection for granted. Now Jonah was all alone and helpless. What an awful feeling, to be alone.

B. Jonah Saw His Future (6) - "I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O LORD my God." Jonah knew his life on earth was ended.

1. He saw himself in eternity. Life was over for Jonah. Do you ever feel that way?

2. He saw himself in corruption. Jonah knew he was useless in that condition. Some of us today need to come to the point of seeing that in the power of the flesh, we are useless to God and that we need to come to a place of surrender to Him.

C. Jonah Saw His Foolishness (7-8) - "When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple. {8} They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy." He saw that what he had done was wrong. Of course he should have known better in the first place. We don’t see it many times ourselves until it is too late.

1. Jonah remembered his call, his vow to God, his commitment, his intention to serve well, etc.

2. He said, "They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercies" (8). What were the "lying vanities?"

a. He thought he could sin and get by with it.

b. He thought he could sin and it wouldn’t bother him.

c. He thought he could run away from the responsibilities of life and still enjoy the privileges of life. any other "lying vanities" exist today as well.

d. Many folks say, "All religions are the same and it doesn’t matter which one you are in."

e. Many folks say, "What you don’t know won’t hurt you."

f. Many folks say, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do."

g. Many folks say, "If it feels good, do it." Problem is, when you do it, it doesn’t feel so good.

III. JONAH’S COMMITMENT TO HOLINESS.

Things are different now. It is strange how the judging hand of God makes our calling seem more important than before.

A. Jonah Seemed Anxious To Praise The Lord (9) - "But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD." He is now ready to do God’s will instead of his own, and be happy about it.

B. Jonah Seemed Anxious To Pay His Vows - "I will pay that that I have vowed."

1. He remembered the vows he had made. We need to do that too. Vows to God; vows to our spouse.

2. He remembered the seriousness of making a vow to God. It is not to be done half-heartedly or under pressure or just when we are desperate.

C. Jonah Seemed Anxious To Preach The Gospel - "Salvation is of the Lord."

1. The message became very real to him.

2. He could speak with great conviction.

3. We need to preach the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.

Conclusion:

1. God may have called you and you rebelled.

2. He may have called you to the ministry, missions, work around the church, and you rebelled.

3. You may end up in a fish’s belly.

4. When Jonah got right, the judgment was removed from his life.

5. God found an obedient servant in the fish (10) - "And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land." The fish went through the pain of service; in an unusual place for a fish; but I am sure it was sheer pleasure to get the prophet out of him when it was all over.

6. It may be painful for you to come to the place that you are willing to pay your vows to the Lord and to your spouse. You may not think this is the place nor the time. But I promise you there will be pleasure when you are obedient to the Lord.

7. Are you ready to do that? Come to Him today.