A God Who Appoints
Opening Prayer
Loving Lord Jesus, how wonderful You are! You love me singularly, perfectly, fully—right to the very end.
Read Jonah 2
1 From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. 2 He said:
“In my distress I called to the Lord,
and he answered me.
From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help,
and you listened to my cry.
3 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.
4 I said, ‘I have been banished
from your sight;
yet I will look again
toward your holy temple.’
5 The engulfing waters threatened me,
the deep surrounded me;
seaweed was wrapped around my head.
6 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.
7 “When my life was ebbing away,
I remembered you, Lord,
and my prayer rose to you,
to your holy temple.
8 “Those who cling to worthless idols
turn away from God’s love for them.
9 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.’”
10 And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Meditate
“Have you not seen? All you have needed has been met by his gracious providing” (Joachim Neander, 1650–1680).
Think Further
Languishing in the belly of a large fish, Jonah utters a prayer in the form of a psalm. It is not a cry for help but a psalm of thanksgiving after deliverance. Unnecessary to the story, it seems that the writer, or an editor, added the psalm at a later stage. It functions mainly to exonerate Jonah, whose piety has suffered in comparison with the exemplary behavior of the foreign sailors in the previous chapter. The psalm makes for an absorbing study on its own. Still, what interests me most about this chapter is God’s intervention in protecting Jonah.
It seems to me that God’s providential activity is an important theme in Jonah, which we can trace through the entire book. First, God takes the initiative and calls Jonah. When Jonah flees and takes a ship to Tarshish, God appoints a storm to flush him out. Once he is in the sea, God appoints the fish to swallow him, saving him from the sea and keeping him alive for God’s mission. After Jonah prays, God commands the fish and it spits Jonah out onto dry land. Later, in chapter 4, God appoints a tree to grow up; then God appoints a worm to eat the tree. God is at work at every step, calling and wooing, cajoling and inspiring people to work with him in carrying out the divine purpose. The God of the book of Jonah does not directly cause everything that happens, but, in all that happens, the divine will is ultimately accomplished. This reminds me of the apostle Paul’s assertion that “in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Rom. 8:28).
Apply
Take a few moments to look back over the events of your life. In what ways can you trace the hand of God in what has happened?
Closing prayer
Gracious Lord, through the years I have lived by Your providence: I desire above all else to live to Your praise.
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