"The Lord foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples. But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations." (Psalm 33:10-11)
The Aftermath
The work of God has incredibly far reaching effects. Imagine God's work as a massive jigsaw puzzle. Each part must fit together according to a plan and, in the end, it makes one cohesive picture. That being the case, one piece cannot stand alone. When one piece is added it is not simply an accomplishment for the one piece, but for the entire puzzle. One piece necessarily affects the others. This is vaguely how God's holy plan for salvation works. When God touches someone, he does so with the intention of invading all who come in contact with that person. He works in wonderfully creative and intrinsically personal ways. His arms are fluid and constant like a river. He does not work in a vacuum; no, God's resurrection power seeps, spreads, simmers, and solidifies. From beginning to end, his plan is flawless and purifies and precipitates like fire. His greatness is unspeakable and unimaginable.
Jonah's story is a brilliant display of how God works. In the end, look at all of the great things God did through this cataclysmically glorious chain of events: He spoke to Jonah (1:1), the sailors on Jonah's ship are saved (1:16), He had compassion and saved the people of Nineveh (3:10), and He answered Jonah in His time of need (4:10) and taught Him innumerable lessons (if, indeed, Jonah followed through with them…!). For all we know, many more people may have been touched as a result of God's gifts to Jonah. Plus, here we are something like 2700 years later learning of God's ways through Jonah's life. See, Reader? Ultimately, God's will lines up circumstances between all of us in order to guide us into His unending love. His plan for us as individuals interlocks with his plan for mankind as a whole. All things work together for His glory and, God, "no plan of yours can be thwarted" (Job 42:1).
The Cistern
I'm going to take a short departure from Jonah to expound upon this idea of God's colossal salvation plan: So, walk with me over to Genesis and the story of Joseph. Now, remember the "pit" in Jonah's story? Remember your own personal "pit" that you thought of in Part III? Keep that in mind here as we study the story of Joseph. I'll quickly go over what's going on here. Joseph is the son of Jacob, the guy who wrestled with God and was given the name Israel (Genesis 32:22). Now, Joseph's birth was a gift to Jacob in his old age and so Jacob "loved Joseph more than any of his other sons" (37:3). Because of this, his brothers hated him and, long story short, threw him into a cistern (or a well sort of thing). Eventually, he was taken out of the cistern and sold into slavery to the Midianites (37:28). Scripture tells us that "the Lord was with Joseph." So, God blessed Joseph and he remained faithful to God whether he was in the cistern or in the hands of the Egyptians. He was eventually wrongfully accused of seducing his master's wife and was thrown into prison. Even still, Joseph remained faithful to God. Eventually, through an awesome chain of events you'll have to read on your own time, God brings Joseph out of prison and he is put in charge of the "whole land of Egypt" (41:41). During Joseph's service under Pharaoh there were seven years of abundance in Egypt. The land prospered.
So that's the beginning of the story of Joseph.
His testimony is remarkable. Do you see it? Despite the "pits" in his life, Joseph remained faithful unto God. In fact, I'd go so far as to say because of his "pits" Joseph remained faithful to God and look what happens next: He says in verse 52, "… God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering." On the other side of it, his suffering sure looks an awful lot like a gift, huh? What used to be a cistern is now an entire countryside exploding with "huge quantities of grain like the sand of the sea."
So, what of Joseph's brothers who sold him into slavery?
Because of Joseph's love for God, he shows compassion to his brothers. He gave them provisions, clothing, silver, donkeys, and grain. Towards the end of the story (forgive me, I'm skipping a bunch of the story for time's sake) Joseph's brothers "threw themselves down before him. 'We are your slaves,' they said" (50:18). Instead of holding a grudge and damning his brothers, Joseph speaks life into them. Joseph allows the spirit of God to raise out of him and enter into them: "But Joseph said to them, 'Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don't be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.' And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them" (50:19-21). Unbelievable! See, Reader, that's what God's work looks like. That's how God moves. God offers forgiveness and abundance. Joseph understood that all of his suffering, all of his rejection hurt like Hell but cultivated Heaven. He understood his role as a human being (Gen. 50:19). In his time spent in the cistern and his time in prison he remained faithful to God… and God remained faithful to him. What was supposed to kill his loyalty to God only made him stronger. It sure looks to me like the cistern and the prison were a gift from God not only to Joseph, but to his brothers and Potiphar. The Lord should be praised before, during, and after our times spent in Sheol.
The Lessons
The story of Jonah does not end conclusively, but I would hope that Jonah walked away from this with four lessons. Two of which are of God and two are of mankind.
First of all, Jonah (and Joseph… and we) should have learned of God's omnipotence through his experience in the "pit". Through it, we gain an understanding that God has both a small-scaled individualistic plan for salvation (Jonah), as well as a large-scaled corporate plan for salvation (Nineveh).
Secondly, through Jonah's story we experience God's omniscience. Despite the "pit", or should I say through the "pit", God wants only to save us. God is only love. Through the Hell of the fish and scorching sun, God saved. God saved Jonah, Nineveh and even saves us today as we study this story. We mustn't get caught up in the "pit" and miss God's love within and without it. We should remain faithful just as Joseph did in the cistern, in slavery, and in prison so that we can bless others and allow God to finish his deigned work of salvation.
The third realization that I hope Jonah finally understood was that without God, nothing is possible. Conversely, with God, all things are possible. Until we understand our ineptitude as humans, we will be faced with humbling "gifts" as God tries to gain our attention. We need God. The vine that shaded Jonah in the desert was planted overnight… and it died overnight. Jonah was resting and completely unaware. The people of Nineveh were created without Jonah's help, too. We as believers must remember that what we have and who we are was no more created by us than the trees that hold bird nests or the mountains that tower stiff-necked over us. God created all things and to him all things belong. We are inherently incapable.
The final lesson we gather from Jonah's story is intertwined with the third: Yes, we are empty, but with Christ, we are full! We need to realize that our weakness is filled by God's strength. Remember the nursery song, "Jesus loves me this I know… we are weak but He is strong." In him we have all the fullness that can be offered. It wasn't until Jonah realized that he'd rather die before God came in and filled him (John 15:19b). We must die to ourselves in order to let Christ fill us… "body broken and blood shed." When we die, we are raised up… our bodies take on a new form as we become vessels for God's great plan of salvation. In John 16:14-15 we read the words of Jesus that say, "He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine." What belongs to Jesus? With little investigation we figure it out: "Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power…" (John 13:3). See, Reader, we have all the power of Jesus Christ! We have the resurrection power of the Messiah… Yahweh! Get it? Do you REALLY understand that? "I tell you the truth," Jesus said, "anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these…" (John 14:12). Jesus inhabits our souls and flows from us into others. That's how God works.
Now, don’t get hung up, Reader, on the validity of the story of Jonah. Don' miss the point. I know it seems weird that a guy would get swallowed up by a fish and live in there for three days, but listen… To the believer, it shouldn't matter if this actually happened. Too many Christians today argue over the interpretation of Jonah, whether it is literal or figurative. It doesn't matter. The point remains the same: God is capable of ALL THINGS. If God wanted to put a guy in a fish for three days, he could. If God wanted to make a vine to shade you from the sun and then have a worm eat it up, he could. If God wanted to put his only Son in a tomb for three days, he could. The point is, God uses whatever means he desires to save us.
Take a look at your "pit" now, Reader. Does it look the same? Look at it with the "mind of Christ." Does your "pit" look like a gift? Even if it doesn't right now, you'll see… it will. God only creates and he only loves. Stop running. Surrender to the loving arms of your Father and watch what he does. Watch how many people he saves because of your faithfulness.
Thank God for the fish. Praise him for the vine. Thank God for the cistern and the prison. Praise God for the cross.
