One of the main truths we learn about God from the second
chapter of Jonah is that Salvation from start to finish is from God. It is solely a work of His. At the end of chapter 1, Jonah was in a bad way. He was on the verge of drowning in the midst
of the sea and notice what he says in chapter 2:2. He says, “I called out to the LORD, out of my
distress, and He answered me." He
says, “I remembered you and cried out to you and you heard me and reached down
to me and rescued me—you saved me.”
This was solely a work of God. Notice, God did not throw Jonah a life jacket
for Him to swim to, nor did He provide him with a boat to row His way out. Instead, he appointed a fish to swallow Jonah
up, and he also commanded the fish to vomit him out on dry land. Jonah played no part whatsoever in any of
that. His salvation was solely from the
Lord.
And not only did God provide the means and do all the work
in saving Jonah, but he also gave him the desire to be saved. Look again at chapter 2:3. Jonah says,
For you cast me into
the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the flood surrounded me; all your
waves and your billows passed over me.
Notice Jonah says, “God, you cast me into the deep."
Jonah understands that though the sailors threw him overboard, God is
ultimately responsible for him being where he is. Notice he refers to the waves as “God’s
waves.” He says, “Your waves and your
billows passed over me.” Jonah
understands that God is ultimately in control and has led him to this point,
which is why he says in chapter 2:9, "Salvation belongs to the Lord."
