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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 2:9-
Most people know the story of Jonah, after all, it was Jonah who boldly proclaimed “Salvation comes from the Lord.”
Here is what happened. Jonah was on the a boat, not on vacation tanning on a cruise ship with bottomless buffets, no, Jonah jumped on a ship to avoid God’s instruction to forgive the people of Nineveh.
Nineveh was a horrible place, filled with horrible people, but God had a job for Jonah to do in that very place. His task? Minister to the terrible people of Nineveh and tell them of God and His salvation for them. But Jonah refused. He tried to sneak his way out of his task, so he took the first boat heading West to Tarshish (instead of Nineveh) to the East because Jonah did not want God's salvation to be for the people of Nineveh.
Let’s stop the boat for a moment and be honest with each other.
Do you think salvation is not for “those people” in our lives too? The “people” who have practiced and promoted awful things and live horrible lifestyles contrary to God’s will. Do we refuse to love those “people” and share the Gospel of Jesus with them? These “people” reside in our Nineveh. I know we don’t like it, but we must admit, we have a lot in common with Jonah. We sometimes think God’s salvation is only for us and not for “them.”
Back to the boat . . . The cruise quickly turned into a Titanic-type tragedy when the Lord caused huge waves to rattle the sailor’s ship. The crew panicked and threw the cargo overboard in a desperate attempt to save the boat and themselves. Jonah was distraught blaming himself. The sailors cast lots, Jonah lost, and was tossed into the raging sea where he was gobbled up by a giant fish. Inside that fish, Jonah had a change of heart but only for a while. God forgave the people against Jonah’s wishes. Jonah knows God and even stated,
“…..I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger, and abounding in love, a God who relents from calamity.” (Jonah 4:2)
Jonah admits that he knew how God would respond, and yet Jonah doesn’t want God to forgive the people of Nineveh. Frankly, that's none of Jonah’s business; he was working above his pay grade. Jonah wanted to control God’s grace and dictate whom God shows mercy, love, and grace. We often think we can tell God who He can forgive and when. We attempt to play God, which is exactly what Satan tempted Eve to do in the garden all those years ago. Satan tries to corrupt us too, but God gives us the helmet of salvation to protect our brains from corruption. Sadly, Jonah never really did get the point. Do we?
We may not run to Tarshish but we run from God in other ways- we are quick to judge, quick to anger, slow to forgive, and we are often abounding in greedy self-righteousness. But God is gracious, compassionate, slow to anger, and abounding in love. Our Lord Jesus said he did not come to condemn, but to save! (See John 3:17).
This Labor Day weekend, Jonah’s story reminds us to stay within our job description knowing Salvation comes from the Lord. who calls us to share that good news with others. In Jesus, you are fully protected and don’t need to be swallowed by a fish to know it.
See you Sunday! I can't wait!
Pastor Austin
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