Jonah: Big Fish, Bigger God

Scriptures: Jonah 1:1-2, John 3:16

More than a big fish

Don’t get distracted by the big fish because the book of Jonah is really about a big God. If you know anything about this four-chapter book near the end of the Old Testament, it’s probably about the giant fish that swallowed ol’ Jonah, but it is only mentioned three times. Jonah himself is mentioned 18 times, but even he is not the star of this story. That honor belongs to God, mentioned 40 times in this 48-verse book! 

To be more specific, the book of Jonah is about God’s love for all people. From the violent, wicked, and abusive Assyrians to the self-righteous, pouty, holier-than-thou Jonah, God shows his shocking love for all kinds of people before the book is done. We see hints of that love in the very first verses: “The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: ‘Go to the great city of Nineveh’” (Jonah 1:1,2). The Lord told a Torah-loving Jew from a small town near Nazareth to take a mission trip to a metropolitan, Gentile, pagan city. Why? Because God, as John later pointed out, loves the world (John 3:16). 

If you struggle with loving “those people” or believing that God loves you, keep reading the book of Jonah. And don’t get distracted by the big fish! This book is about God’s even bigger love for the world.

Scripture: Jonah 1:1-3

God loves all people

Why would Jonah run? “The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: ‘Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.’ But Jonah ran away from the Lord” (Jonah 1:1-3). Running from the Lord, who is everywhere all the time, is about as dumb as Adam and Eve trying to hide from God, who is always behind every tree. Why did Jonah do it? 

You might assume he was afraid. After all, Nineveh was known for decapitating, impaling, and peeling the skin off of its enemies. Would you want to march up and down its streets all alone, preaching fire and brimstone? Spoiler alert!—Jonah didn’t run out of fear of being flayed. He ran out of fear that God would forgive. This prophet knew enough about God’s character that if, by some miracle, the people of Nineveh would repent, the Lord would certainly relent. He would save them by grace. That thought—“those people” saved—was so abhorrent that Jonah sprinted in the opposite direction of God’s call. 

Is there anyone you know whom you wouldn’t want to be saved? As we journey deeper into the book of Jonah, wrestle with these questions: Who don’t you pray for? Who wouldn’t you share the gospel with? And why? I pray that this book, saturated with God’s love for the world (and you!), inspires you to love the world too.

Scripture: Jonah 1:3

Follow Jesus’ example

Why did God bother with Jonah, the runaway, rebellious, self-righteous prophet? When Jonah “ran away from the Lord” (Jonah 1:3), why didn’t God just let him run? Or let him drown in the storm? Why didn’t God tell the angels to find a new prophet? Simple. Because God loves “those people.” 

I had to wrestle with that fact earlier this year. Recently, I received a request to interview with a Christian group whose social media pages rubbed me the wrong way. Post after post was about “those people” who are the real problem with America. Article after article was about “those people” whose sins are destroying this nation. It felt so pharisaical that I wanted to keep my distance from such folks. 

But one day, it hit me. Am I doing what Jesus did? When a tax collector invited Jesus over for dinner, and his rule-breaking buddies were at the table, what did Jesus do? He went. He ate. He spoke the truth, and he spoke it in love. And when a Pharisee invited Jesus over for dinner and his rule-keeping but incredibly judgmental buddies were at the table, what did Jesus do? He went there too! He ate there, too! He spoke the truth, and he spoke it in love there too! 

Jesus embodied what the book of Jonah is all about, namely, God’s love for all people. May we, full of grace and truth, be the next example of showing and sharing that love with the world.

Scripture: Jonah 2:1

Rock bottom prayers

Have you ever hit rock bottom? Like when people are telling you what you said at the party but you can’t remember a word of it? Or when you are Googling “divorce lawyers in my area” for the very first time? Or when you think for the first time about why you do what you do and wonder how many of your “good works” have been fueled by bad motives? 

Here’s the tricky part: When you hit rock bottom, reaching out to the Most High God is hard. As much as you need God, sometimes you don’t run to him because you feel so far from God. You wonder if he wants anything to do with you. You wonder if he’s even listening. You’re disgusted with yourself, so wouldn’t a holy God who hates sin be even more disgusted? Why bother to ask him for help? 

If that’s you, I want to tell you that God responds to rock-bottom prayers. Even if it’s your fault that you’re there, God responds to rock-bottom prayers. Even when you’re that low, God will respond from on high. Here’s the proof: “From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God” (Jonah 2:1). Jonah, the rebellious, runaway prophet, prayed . . . and God answered! 

There is no place, no matter how low, that is too far from the ears of God. Call out to him! Cry out for mercy! The God who loves the world, including those who’ve hit rock bottom, has promised to listen.

Scripture: Jonah 2:3-7

Turn to the Psalms

Unless you are an Old Testament scholar, you probably didn’t know Jonah quoted so much Scripture. While inside a big fish, Jonah prayed, “You hurled me into the depths, into the very heart of the seas, and the currents swirled about me; all your waves and breakers swept over me. I said, ‘I have been banished from your sight; yet I will look again toward your holy temple.’ The engulfing waters threatened me, the deep surrounded me; seaweed was wrapped around my head. To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever. But you, Lord my God, brought my life up from the pit. When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, Lord, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple” (Jonah 2:3-7). 

Almost every line of that prayer is a snippet from the Psalms—Psalms 30, 42, 5, 103, 18, and 107, proof that when you’re in a dark place (pun intended), it’s good to know your Bible. When life gets hard, there’s no better place to turn than the Psalms. 

Some Christians love to start their day with a chapter of Proverbs since it’s filled with wisdom to prepare you for the day ahead. I suggest you end your day with a chapter of Psalms, a book filled with the God who saves, who is our refuge, who hears our prayers, and who lifts us up, providing peace no matter what happened during our day. Be like Jonah today and spend some time in the saving words of the Psalms.

Scripture: Jonah 2:8-9

Joyful worship

How can you resist a sin that feels so good? How can you fight your critical nature or stay sober when everyone else isn’t or love that tough-to-love person in your family? How can you give more money away or be courageous enough to stand up to your friends when they gossip? In other words, how can you follow God with a joyful, willing heart? 

Jonah knows. “Those who cling to worthless idols turn away from God’s love for them. But I, with shouts of grateful praise, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. I will say, ‘Salvation comes from the Lord’” (Jonah 2:8,9). Why repent? Why obey? 

First, so you don’t “turn away from God’s love.” God loves the world, but you can turn away from that love if you “cling to” anything besides God. Is any sin worth throwing away his eternal love? Is any temporary thing worth more than being with God forever? 

Second, because the Lord saved you. Jonah is shouting (not mumbling), is grateful (not grumbling), and is ready to sacrifice to God. Why? Because “salvation comes from the Lord.” That’s the spiritual game changer! You made a mess, but God made you clean. You did the crime, but the cross did the time. You broke it, but your Father bought it. You were dead, but God made you alive. That salvation will change your heart and compel you to joyful worship. 

Fix your eyes on the cost of sin and the cross of Jesus, and you will joyfully worship God, too.

Scriptures: Jonah 3:1-2, Jonah 3:4-5

By God’s grace

Can you think of someone who will never become a Christian? Someone so set in their ways and their sins that there is no chance they will repent and believe in the true God? Before you answer, check out what happened in Jonah chapter 3: 

“Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: ‘Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.’ Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming, ‘Forty more days, and Nineveh will be overthrown’” (verses 1, 2, and 4). Jonah walked into this ancient metropolis, famous for its wickedness, and turned over God’s sand timer of judgment. “Forty days, and you’re dead!” 

You would think that the next verse would say, “Then the men of Nineveh arrested, tortured, and murdered the prophet who dared to defy them.” But that’s not what the next verse says. Here’s what it says: “The Ninevites believed God” (verse 5). 

No. Way. Nineveh?! There wasn’t a chance that people so bad could do something so good! But apparently, they did. The Holy Spirit can do more than we ask or imagine. Just ask Jonah! 

There is no promise that everyone you love will be saved, but there is the potential. Don’t stop praying. Don’t stop loving. Maybe one day, something will change, and God will grant them a change of heart. It happened back then, and by God’s grace, it can still happen today.

Scripture: Jonah 3:5-9

What’s repentance?

What is repentance? Is it something you feel? Think? Something you do? We can learn a lot by looking at the repentance described in the book of Jonah: 

“The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth. When Jonah’s warning reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust. This is the proclamation he issued in Nineveh: . . . ‘Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish’” (Jonah 3:5-9). 

In this crash course on repentance, we learn a few key truths. First, repentant people are sorry for sin. They aren’t proud of sin. They can’t plan to live in sin. Next, repentant people show they are sorry. In this case, it was fasting and sackcloth. In other passages, this is called the fruit of repentance, the visible proof that we are sorry for our sins. Finally, repentant people call on God’s compassion. They know they deserve his anger, justice, and wrath, so they call on God’s compassion, mercy, and grace. They look to his love to save them from their sins. 

You may not be wearing sackcloth today, but a repentant heart is sorry for sin, focused on Jesus’ forgiveness, and willing to make necessary changes. May God give all of us humble, repentant hearts.

Scripture: Jonah 3:10

God’s abounding love

If you have trouble forgiving yourself or believing that God isn’t mad at you after you messed up in a big way, look at how God treated the wicked people of Nineveh after they repented. “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”(Jonah 3:10). Despite their countless sins, God immediately showed them mercy. 

By nature, we tend to think of our relationship with God as a scale that balances good and bad choices. If we do more good things than bad things, God smiles. If we do more bad things than good things, God scowls. So, if you’ve done too many bad things, you better pile up some good things before God brings destruction down on your head. 

But that isn’t true, and this story is the proof. God relented before these sinners had time to put in much effort. Their hearts turned from sin and turned to him, and—boom!—God showed compassion, a preview of how Jesus would later treat the thief on the cross. 

The Lord treats you the same way. You might think you must earn back God’s love, but you don’t. You might assume you need some time to balance the scales and be worthy of his affection, but you don’t. Because God is God—abounding in love and full of grace—you can run back to him in repentance any time, on any day, and find his arms wide open. 

Isn’t grace amazing?

Scripture: Jonah 4:10

Angry at God

A few months ago, I contacted a Christian counselor and asked, “What makes people get mad at God?” His answer? “Expectations.” People have an idea about how God should act, and when God doesn’t act like he “should,” people get mad. I think he’s right. For example, you might get mad at God when he allows more pain in your life than he “should.” 

Or, like the prophet Jonah, you might get mad that God is so quick to forgive. After God’s mercy on the wicked people of Nineveh, we read, “But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry” (Jonah 4:1). Jonah was red in the face, furious because he felt it was wrong for God to forgive “those people” who had no right to grace after committing such horrific wrongs. 

Imagine someone who hurt you deeply, showing up at church and sitting three rows in front of you. Imagine how you would feel, even if they were sorry for their sin, as the pastor says, “God loves you. God forgives you for everything. Because of Jesus, God isn’t thinking about your sin. He likes you!” If you saw the one who wounded you nodding, wiping away a tear, and smiling at grace, would you grimace? 

The final chapter of Jonah forces us to think deeply about God’s grace toward those who have sinned against us. If they repent, do you want God to rescue them? Do you want them in heaven with you? Will it seem very wrong if they are right with God?

Scriptures: Jonah 4:2, Exodus 34:6-7

God’s character

Do you know the most quoted verse in the entire Old Testament, the one that appears over twenty times throughout the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms? Jonah did. In fact, he memorized it. 

In the midst of his tantrum over God’s love for the world, Jonah said, “I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love” (Jonah 4:2). Those four descriptions of God come from a famous interaction between God and Moses in Exodus 34, where the Lord reveals what he’s really like. Gracious—not punishing those who repent. Compassionate—blessing those who deserve to be cursed. Slow to anger—God takes a deep breath before his justice comes. Abounding in love—more acts of love than hairs on your head. God reveals the beautiful balance between his grace for his people and his justice upon those who do not repent. 

My mom used to repeat before I went out with friends, “No drinking, no smoking, no sex, no drugs.” My dad still repeats, “You don’t know how good you got it.” I repeat to my daughters, “You know God loves you, right?” And Jews would repeat, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, and abounding in love” (Exodus 34:6). 

Got a few minutes today? Read—better yet, memorize—Exodus 34:6,7 and get to know the character of our God.

Scripture: Jonah 4:2-3

The heart of God

Imagine a spectrum of morality with the worst people on one end and the most loving people on the other end. Moral monsters here; Mother Teresas there. From Hitler to child abusers to violent criminals to desperate addicts to the arrogant, the average, the kind, the generous, the good examples, the people you want to babysit your babies, and the people you want to be like. Can you picture a lineup of humanity according to morality? 

Who has a chance of going to heaven? And who is in danger of the torment of hell? According to God, everyone and everyone. According to Jesus, no one is so good they deserve to be with God. And no one, according to Jesus, is so bad they can’t make it to God, can’t be saved. 

That is what made Jonah mad. After seeing the wicked men of Nineveh spared, he whined, “I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. Now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live” (Jonah 4:2,3). 

True Christianity is unbearable to some people because salvation is not by works. Sin—every size and shape of it—is worse than you think, so bad that even the best life can’t pay its debt. Grace—abounding in God’s heart and poured out on the cross—is better than you believe, so good that even the worst sinners can be saved. Grasp that, and you’ll get the heart of God.

Scripture: Jonah 4:6-8

At the heart of our emotions

The reason that the prophet Jonah was mad enough to run from God is that Jonah was infatuated with Jonah. Skim the final chapter of this Old Testament book, and you’ll find plenty of “I,” “me,” and “my” on Jonah’s lips. To expose his self-centeredness, look what God did: 

“Then the Lord God provided a leafy plant and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the plant. But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the plant so that it withered. When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die” (Jonah 4:6-8). 

Jonah was so angry about his sunburn that he wanted to die. But when God saved thousands of others from burning in hell, Jonah didn’t care. Scratch that. Jonah claimed that God’s grace had gone too far! 

Take note of your strongest emotions today. What makes you angry? What triggers excessive reactions? Probe your emotions and figure out what’s at the heart of them. You, like Jonah, may be too interested in yourself and not interested enough in others. Drag that sin to Jesus. If there’s anything we learn from the book of Jonah, it is that our God truly does love and forgive sinners like us.

Scripture: Jonah 4:10-11

The essence of our faith

Ready for a cliffhanger? Here’s how the book of Jonah ends: “But the Lord said, ‘You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. And 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?’” (Jonah 4:10,11). God said, “Jonah, you care about a little vine and some extra shade. Shouldn’t I care about a big city and saving souls?” 

That question hangs unanswered at the end of Jonah. How will Jonah answer? How will we? Will we have the humility to celebrate God’s love for “those people”? 

This story is not about a big fish but about the biggest issues of faith. It’s about a God who really does love the world: violent Assyrians, self-righteous Jews, me, and you. It’s about a God who calls people to repent, to be sorry for their sins, to show they are sorry for their sins. It’s about a God who saves and rescues pouty people who think they’re good and wicked men who know they’ve been bad. It’s about a God who would love the world so much that he would send his one and only Son so that whoever believes in him—whoever!—would not perish but have eternal life. 

Never mind the fish. Jonah is about the essence of our faith.