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January 17th, 2021

Jonah 1:11-17 “Then they said to him, ‘What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us? For the sea grew more and more tempestuous.’  He said to them, ‘Pick me up and hurl me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.’  Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to get back to dry land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them.  Therefore they called out to the Lord, ‘O Lord, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not on us innocent blood, for you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you.’  So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging.  Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows. And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights’.”


The Big Picture

Is Jonah repenting or contemplating suicide by telling the mariners to throw him into the sea?  Actually, it appears that Jonah is beginning to take responsibility for his actions and decisions but not because he is repenting and seeking to appease an angry God.  Jonah was doing it “for them.”  Jonah was finally beginning to think of someone other than himself.  He is willing to lay down his life.  This is a picture of the love Jesus requires of us as we follow him.  Even Jonah, in an imperfectly flawed way, was setting an example of the sacrificial, substitutionary love of Christ.  Jonah was able to do that because embedded deeply within him is the forbearance of the image of God.  “As soon as Jonah hits the water, the God whom he did not trust miraculously saves him” (Keller, p67).

How To Pray

  • Pray and ask God to give you a heart to put others interests above your own. Ask God to give you a heart of sacrificial love whether for a spouse, children, fellow Christians on this journey together and for those who are far from God.

  • Pray for Alesha Kendrick as she leads our Local Outreach into our City and County.

  • Pray and thank God for his grace (granting to us all things that we do not deserve). Spend time thanking him specifically even if you have to journal a list.