For Exposition of Jonah Part 5 click HERE
Jonah 2
The good thing about studying further a series after you preach on something is that you are able to go back for deeper study. Sometimes that means you come to a better conclusion that you had originally. Case in point? The last few weeks going through Jonah chapter two I was struggling with whether or not Jonah repented in the belly of the Big Fish. The following is my conclusion, my reasons and what I see is the implication for our lives.
Further Consideration: Did Jonah Repented?
(A) Jonah saying “While [i]I was fainting away, I remembered the Lord,” (v.7a)
(1) Inversion of Noahic flood where Genesis 8:1 where “God remembered Noah,” since it’s God’s initiative that saves Jonah rather than the other way around (Youngblood, Location 2172).
(2) The faithful in the Bible typically confess that it’s Yahweh remembering them rather than they taking the initiative to remember God such as in Judges 16:28, 1 Samuel 1:11, 19; 2 Kings 20:3, Psalms 25:7, 106:4, Jeremiah 15:15, etc (Youngblood, Location 2175).
(B) Jonah’s prayer makes no reference to wrong doing and lacks confession or sorrow over his own sin (Youngblood, Location 2183).
(C) Jonah’s prayer has tension that indicate he might not understand the difference between penance and repentance
(1) Jonah 2:8 talks about other sinners who were idolators but there is not acknowledgement of his immediate sin and situation at hand.
(2) In contrast to the Idolators he compares himself as one who gives sacrifice to the Lord in the next verse in Jonah 2:9. He is comparing himself to others rather than comparing his sins to God’s standards.
(3) In Jonah 2:9 Jonah said “which I have vowed I will pay.” He might be having a works righteousness mentality going on here.
(D) Jonah’s attitude later on when Nineveh repented reveals that Jonah might not have had any heart change despite his initial behavior.
We can legitimately go to the conclusion to help illuminate what came before since the book of Jonah likes to use the literary device of intentionally leave out details in the beginning only to reveal it in a later scene what Jonah’s mind was thinking:
(1) The secret of Jonah’s reason for not going to Nineveh
(2) The secret of Jonah’s God with the mariner
What can we learn from Jonah not repenting?
(A) Action is not enough! Jonah did outwardly carry out God’s plan but it’s important to confess our sins especially in light of 1 John 1:9 that He is faithful to cleanse us when we do!
(B) Make sure you do repent!
NEXT: Exposition of Jonah Part 7
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You’ve brought out same very good points SJ. I really appreciate it. I have to mull over it a bit. But I certainly understand where you are coming from. Thanks for presenting a different view of things!
Thank you for reading this; I struggled with landing on this conclusion and it was just fairly recently; two years ago when I preached through Jonah I held that Jonah repented. Thanks for reading this brother!
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Thanks for sharing this post =)
Reblogged this on My Delight and My Counsellors.
Appreciate that you shared this!
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Narrative in the OT can be quite difficult at times when it comes to characterization. Samson did not seem righteous but Hebrews 11 states that he had faith. Many people say Esther was godly but some don’t believe she was due to her questionable actions. I’ve wondered the same thing about Jonah. Just for discussion (even though God only knows), do you think Jonah was saved (not sure if you discussed this in the other studies)?
Good question brother (I did not discussed this issue in my series on Jonah). I do think Jonah was saved largely because 2 Kings 14:25 calls him a servant of the Lord; not as a air-tight, I know…what do you think brother?
Good call. I didn’t think of the 2 Kings passage. There may be something there. It seems very similar to the spiritual status of the latter Judges. If you were to isolate Judges it would seem like they were not saved, but then Hebrews 11:32 explains their faith. It could be a strong argument if the term “servant” has only been used with reference to saved individuals.
I agree with what you are saying; Hebrews 11 definitely surprises me with who it is on that list!
This article is a home run, pure and simple!
Thank You for this Post! Stimulating post that makes one ponder whether Jonah repented!
Rob Barkman (who commented on here) has passed away. Just thought you wanted to know that.
I did not know that Sal.
Food for thought
I’ve always thought he repented
Your series on Jonah has been so insightful