Guest Contributor: Pastor Shalom Gasilao-Barbero
Last Week Jonah 1: 17 Can we believe the Bible is true?
This week: We’ll discuss how far ‘down’ does Jonah have to go before he is willing to repent?
Jonah 2:1-10
As you listen to this message, think about this: how far ‘down’ are some Christians prepared to go before they are willing to repent?
So how far down did Jonah go? – He was actually inside the belly of the great fish when he stated to cry out to the Lord. He realized that he was in the land of the dead (v2) – and when I was reading this verse, God impressed it in my heart – that the land of the dead can synonymous to a spiritual drought – when one is so far away from the Lord, he is in a spiritual dessert. No life, no energy, no color or meaning in his spiritual life – and that’s a dangerous place. When one is so far from the Lord, it’s a dangerous place to be.
And Jonah realized that he is away from the Lord – in the land of the dead. There is no life in the belly of the great fish.
v.3 – ‘I sank down to the heart of the sea’
v.6 – ‘I sank down to the very roots of the mountains’
So how far down is that?
Graphic: Port of Joppa
Graphic: Big map, Jonah’s journey out to sea / Jonah is thrown into the Eastern Mediterranean Sea
Graphic: The Eastern Mediterranean is called the Levantine Sea
Graphic: (NASA satellite) The Levantine sea is very very deep, an area called the Levantine Basin
The Levantine basin has an average depth of 1,500 meters (1.5km)
In some places the Levantine Basin is 4,000-5,000 meters deep (4-5km).
The Calypso deep is 5,627m deep! – this is the deepest part of the Mediterreanean sea – near the Ionian Sea
Look at the Graphic again: Levantine Basin
In the Levantine Basin there are underwater mountain ranges
Example: Anaximenes mountain 4,000m deep
Jonah said v.6 – ‘I sank down to the very roots of the mountains’.
Think about that: Jonah sank down in the ‘heart of the sea’ to the ‘very roots of the mountains’
To swim 4,000m it would take a very good swimmer, 1.5-2 hours to swim that far (1000m = 25 minutes)
But swimming is different from sinking
To sink down 4,000m / 4km it could take 3 hours to sink that deep
So the question is, how long could Jonah hold his breath?
Some people can hold their breath about 2-3 minutes
After that, a person will go unconscious and be full dead after 7 minutes
So, it’s quite possible that Jonah could not hold his breath under water for 3 hours!
There is only one conclusion that we can come to – Jonah died in the ‘heart of the sea’
We have this idea that the great fish came along and swallowed Jonah sparing him from death
No, Jonah died in the heart of the sea and sank down to the very bottom.
v.6 – ‘I sank down to the very roots of the mountains. I was imprisoned in the earth, whose gates lock shut forever. But you, O Lord my God, snatched me from the jaws of death’!
Then the great fish came along and swallowed him. He was ‘buried’ inside the great fish.
God then revived Jonah inside the great fish, Jonah repented.
Then God ordered the great fish to spit Jonah out onto the beach (resurrection)
Jonah 2:10 – ‘Then the Lord ordered the fish to spit Jonah out onto the beach’.
Jonah’s sin against God took him ‘down’ to death
It’s very sad to say that some very foolish Christian do the same
They are prepared to go so deep ‘down’ in sin, they are willing to risk even their death
Example: Judas Iscariot
The Bible warns us:
Hebrews 10:39 – 39 But we are not like those who turn away from God to their own destruction. We are the faithful ones, whose souls will be saved.
Acts 5:1-11 – Ananias and Sapphira – lied to Peter and died instantly
Some people would choose death, rather than repent of their sins.
Dear Friends, even death can not overcome God’s purposes.
If God says, you are not following me, then I’ll take your life, he can take it.
Psalm 33:11 – ‘But the LORD’s plans stand firm forever; His intentions can never be shaken’.
THERE’S ALWAYS TIME TO REPENT
Question: Why do you think Jesus compared himself to Jonah?
Matthew 12:40 – 40 For as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.
Answer: As Jesus died, was buried, and resurrected from the dead on the 3rd day so Jonah died in the heart of the sea (v.3a), buried in the great fish (v.3b) and was resurrected from the dead, spit out by the great fish onto the beach (Jonah 2:10)
Jonah 2:10 – Once again, the great fish obeys the Lord, and spits out Jonah
Question – But was Jonah now ready to obey the Lord – go to Nineveh and announce God’s judgement against them?
Closing Applications: –
When we fall to our sins before God, and we come to our senses and ask God’s presence, God answers us and saves us.
It’s never too late to repent.
Next time: – Jonah 2:1-10 – Jonah’s prayer inside the great fish.
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