Advent Day 23 :: A Forgiving God

“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.” (Jonah 1:17)

We are all familiar with the story of Jonah. I remember growing up and learning the story in Sunday School. Our teacher used the flannel-graph board. I won’t forget being called up to help put the characters on the board. I remember thinking “Why doesn’t Jonah listen to God and do what He has asked him to do?” Little did I know how difficult the answer to that question would be. Years later I am understanding that I am a lot more like Jonah than I realize or would even want to admit.

You see, Jonah was called to go share the Good News to the city of Nineveh. The Nineveites were not kind people. In fact, they were notoriously evil. Jonah, a man set apart for the work of God, was not particularly happy to accept the task. So much so that Jonah decided to go the wrong way. He set sail for Tarshish - the complete opposite direction of Nineveh.

I’ve been there. Not Nineveh. I’ve been in those situations where you sense inside to do something just slightly out of my comfort zone. What do I do? I reason it away and justify my reasoning the best that I can. I can honestly saw that I never walk away feeling the best. There is always guilt and shame. I sometimes wonder if Jonah felt the same. As the storm came on and things got dicey quick, he knew he was the cause. He could sense it deep inside. He gave himself up for the benefit of the crew and ship.

Here’s one the highlights of Jonah that I think we overlook at times. God’s forgiveness. Oh, for sure we notice that God’s plan works out and the people of Nineveh accept the Good News brought by Jonah. Their sinful ways are forgiven. Grace is shown on them by the Almighty. But let us not pass over the forgiveness and grace shown to Jonah. No sooner than Jonah drops into the sea we are told that he is swallowed up by a rather large fish. Not the way I would like to be rescued, but none the less, God has a plan. Three days and three nights Jonah stayed there. He had hardened his heart to God until finally He cried out. The large fish spat him up onto dry land and off went Jonah to Nineveh.

The story of Jonah ends in an odd way. We’re never really told what happens to Jonah. I believe it’s intentional. You see we’re Jonah. Even after the nation of Nineveh turned and repented of their sin, God was still having to work on Jonah. So many times we see God leading and showing us great examples to follow in the Bible, but with Jonah we are guided by weakness. In Jonah’s weakness and constant struggle with God we see God’s forgiveness. We see God’s mercy. We see God’s grace. We see God.

We see a similar thing happen several hundred years later in the life of Jesus. He came to be an example in weakness. In Matthew 12 we see Christ say, “For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.” (12:40-41). Christ was that something greater. He knew what it was going to take in order to bring the people of God back to Him. He would have to humble Himself, to the point of death on a cross. He would be buried for three days and rise again defeating sin and death.

Christ was born to die so that we would have life eternal with Him and the Father. He came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10). He came to give life and life in abundance (John 10:10). He came to make clear the path to the Father (John 14:6). He came to show us who the Father is and how much He loves us. He wants us to discover the grace of God—which, once we see it, is stronger than all our fears, anxieties, and disappointments.

Further Reading: Jonah 3

Photo by Milo McDowell on Unsplash