The Divinely Appointed Fish (Jonah 1:17)- Pastor Kenneth Collins Maple

Jonah chapter 1 verse 17. To begin, I'm just

Jonah 1:17

going to read one verse. And the reason for this

is, depending on your translation, you actually

may have Jonah 1 -17 lumped in with chapter 2,

because the Hebrew text gives it to us this way,

that 1 -17 is actually 2 -1. the Hebrew Bible.

So we're just going to focus on this one verse

today, but we'll draw in other scripture as we

go. And what you'll see here is something that

we all know about the book of Jonah. It's kind

of the moment that people have been waiting for.

For if you were to describe other books of the

Bible, you would certainly have to cover the

highlights that people have heard before. If

you're covering Exodus, you would talk about

the plagues. and the people of Israel getting

out of there. If you're talking about Daniel,

no doubt you'd probably draw in the lion's den.

Well, when you come to Jonah, you got to mention

the big old fish, don't you? And so let's hear

this from Jonah 1 .17. And the Lord appointed

a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was

in the belly of the fish. Three days and three

nights. This is God's holy word. Let's pray Father

we do once again come before you and thank you

for the book of Jonah I asked Lord that you would

open up our hearts and our minds to hear from

you and to see your incredible Mercy these things

we ask in Christ's name. Amen The book of Jonah

as we have seen, is a book of unexpected twists

and turns, isn't it? You remember how the story

begins. It's unexpected that a prophet of God

would be told not to just prophesy out against

a foreign nation, but that a prophet of God would

be told to go to that foreign nation, a nation

that was known as cruel. and idolaters, a place

of violence, right? He was told to go to Nineveh.

That's a little unexpected. It's also perhaps

unexpected that the same prophet would say no

to that call, turn right around and go the opposite

direction and flee from the presence of God.

It's unexpected that the prophet of God would

be the one who asked to be told to pray. The

sailors on board the ship are praying. They're

crying out to other gods. And finally, Captain

comes to Jonah and says, hey, get up. Call upon

your God. So Jonah, the prophet of God, is instructed

to pray for these reasons and for many more.

The book of Jonah is a bit unexpected, isn't

it? Well, here's another twist. That as those

sailors pick the prophet up and throw him into

the sea, Yahweh is not done with Jonah, is he?

He's not done with him. I mentioned a couple

of weeks ago that children's Bible that I have

that's got the picture of Jonah in it. Jonah

is depicted as sinking deep down into the water.

He's got seaweed all wrapped around him, right?

Jonah is, he's got a big old fish in the background.

That's the picture that I can remember from my

childhood. And because, maybe because it's so

gross to think about being inside the belly of

a fish, I always thought that the fish was the

punishment for Jonah. Perhaps you think that

as well. And indeed, I think there is an element

of truth there. But this great fish, is actually

a picture of God's mercy, isn't it? Because without

the fish, where is Jonah? He's on the bottom

of the sea, isn't he? And so what does the Lord

do here in verse 17? The Lord appoints this great

fish, doesn't he? This word appointed can be

translated in different ways. Your Bible may

have the word sent. It may have the word prepared.

It may have the word provided, all of this to

convey that the Lord is behind the action, this

divinely appointed fish. And this is not the

only place where we see this word appointed.

If you flip over to Micah, or not Micah, we're

still in Jonah. Jonah chapter four. Look in Jonah

4 6 through 8 because you see this same word

repeated in three consecutive verses Jonah 4

6 through 8 now the Lord did what? Appointed

a plant and made it come up over Jonah that it

might be shade over his head to save him from

his Discomfort so Jonah was exceedingly glad

because of the plant But when dawn came up the

next day what to God appoint it says he appointed

a worm that attacked the plant so that it withered

verse 8 when the Sun rose God appointed what

a Scorching East wind and the Sun beat down on

the head of Jonah so that he was faint you see

all of this action is attributed to the Lord

isn't it and so this is not a case of A great

fish being in the right place at the right time.

No, the Lord has him right there. This is not

left up to chance, is it? Matter of fact, I think

R .C. Sproul used to say, chance is nothing.

Chance is nothing whatsoever, but God's sovereignty

is everything. And so the Lord appoints this

fish. Now, what was the fish? Well, you can see

it there. The fish was to swallow up Jonah. Now

let me say something about this fish. Sinclair

Ferguson once said, this must be the most criticized

fish that ever swam the Mediterranean. Because

people doubt this story, don't you? Maybe you

even come to this story and you're like, Hey,

what's really going on here? Friends, we should

not doubt this story. This is not a fictitious

story. This is a historical story. But people

dismiss it because they just can't possibly believe

this. But if we dismiss this story, if we dismiss

this episode, what would we do? with the other

supernatural spiritual stories that we find all

throughout scripture. What would we do with Elisha?

Do you remember when Elisha raises the boy who

is dead? I don't hear anybody explaining that

away, maybe because they don't know the story.

What about Balaam's donkey? Do you remember when

God speaks through the donkey has this donkey

speak? Does anybody explain that away? What about

Jonah's friends in the fiery furnace, right?

And they come out of that furnace unsinged. Do

we explain away that story? We'd better not.

Because if we start doing that, if we start going

down that road, what do we do when we get to

the virgin birth? What do we do when we get to

Jesus' miracles? What do we do with the resurrection

of Jesus and his ascension in his return? Friends

the miraculous thing about miracles is they are

miraculous Let us not forget what we are reading

We are reading a book breathed out by the Holy

Spirit God has given us his trustworthy word

And God's ways are higher than our ways. God

is the creator. He's the omniscient one, the

omnipresent one, the omnipotent one. And so we

would be wise to receive this book, this episode

that is written as a narrative. We would be wise

to receive it as such. Now, some pastors and

some theologians and scholars and teachers like

to point out that there are other episodes of

people being swallowed by gigantic fish or whales

or sharks or whatever it might be. The problem

there is that for every instance of someone saying

that, there's somebody saying, no, that didn't

happen. But just because we cannot validate those

examples does not mean we invalidate this one.

For this one is true to its core. I'm going to

show you why. in just a couple of minutes. I

don't want to spend too much time on this fish,

but I do think we should take note of how the

fish is described. Look there in verse 17. The

Lord appoints what kind of fish. In the ESV we

see it's a great fish. This is in keeping with

the rest of the book of Jonah. We see the word

for great used several times. The city of Nineveh

was described as a great city. The storm that

the Lord brings up is a great storm. The fear

of the sailors is described as a great fear.

And so here, once again, we see this word for

greatness, friends. This might not be an ordinary

fish. Matter of fact, the word that is used for

fish here is a general word for fish. And our

designations for what makes a fish might be different

from what Jonah and others said about fish. So

this could be a whale. This could be a shark.

Depending on how you read, this could be a gigantic

sea monster. I think it's probably best to just

go with fish here. But this is a great fish.

meaning it could be referring to its incredible

size. Now, as I said, I grew up thinking the

fish was Jonah's punishment, and as I said, that

might be partly true for the act of swallowing

within the Old Testament especially, though some

of the New Testament often implies divine judgment.

But I think there might be a way that we might

explain it a little better than punishment. I

think the fish here is used for the purpose of

correcting. Because God does not immediately

deliver Jonah to shore. Jonah doesn't hop on

the back of the fish and surf all the way to

the shore, does he? He's in there for three days

and three nights. And so this is a means of correction,

which we will see, Lord willing, next time as

we examine Jonah's prayer. But certainly we must

also say this, the fish is a vehicle. through

which God shows his mercy. And so the fish has

a dual purpose, doesn't it? I like how one commentator

says this, the great fish that Yahweh graciously

provided for Jonah's transportation is parallel

to the ship that Jonah paid for out of his own

pocket. The ship carried Jonah close to the grave.

while the fish carry Jonah back to dry land and

life. And friends, this is this dual purpose.

I think it's in keeping with the rest of scripture

because doesn't God sometimes take his people

through the difficult things to accomplish his

purposes. God takes his people through the slavery

to to get them out of it. God takes his people

through the wilderness to get them to the promised

land. God takes them through the exile to bring

them home. God corrects his people. Do you know

what that's like? Have you ever found yourself

in a season of correction, a season of growth

in Christ? The Lord does this at times and we

might not understand it in the moment. We may

have to look back on it and see what the Lord

was doing, but the Lord is shaping us. after

the image of his son. And so I think this is

what God is doing with Jonah as well. He is correcting

him. Jonah is learning something about himself

and about the mercy of God inside the belly of

this fish. This also tells us here that God is

not being vindictive, is he? God is not up in

the heavenly places messing with Jonah. No, God

divinely appoints the fish for correction and

for our salvation for Jonah and in doing so directs

Jonah back to his mission. We might even say

the Lord is giving Jonah a taste of the medicine

that awaits Nineveh if the people of Nineveh

don't repent and so we'll see next time that

Jonah is humbled here. He had some learning to

do about the mercy and the power of God. And

so he's in the belly of the fish for three days

and three nights. Does this three -day motif

sound familiar to you at all? We should see heads

nodding here, shouldn't we? For naturally we

are to think of Jesus here. But that's not the

only case. The three -day motif is not limited

to just Jonah and Jesus. Let me give you a few

other examples. Do you remember perhaps Genesis

Genesis 22 · chapter mention

chapter 22? Do you remember Abraham and Isaac?

Of course you do, and the sacrifice, the near

sacrifice of Isaac. For a while Abraham and Isaac

are journeying with other people, but then the

text says the two of them go off alone for three

days. There. Isaac is nearly sacrificed, isn't

he? But the Lord does provide that ramp. And

so Isaac escapes death. What about Exodus 15?

The Israelites, after they get out of Egypt,

and they're in the wilderness, and they are wandering,

and they go for three days without water, and

then the Lord provides for them. What about 2

2 Kings 20 · chapter mention

Kings chapter 20? Hezekiah, King Hezekiah nearly

dies. but he prays the Lord hears him and heals

him and on the third day on the third day Hezekiah

is back in the temple what about Hosea chapter

Hosea 6 · chapter mention

6 Hosea being a contemporary of Jonah chapter

6 1 through 2 it says come let us return to the

Lord for he has torn us that he may heal us he

has struck us down and he will bind us up After

two days, he will revive us on the third day.

He will raise us up that we may live before him.

There are so many episodes and instances of this

third day motif. There's one that's even greater

than the third day. You remember Jesus raising

Lazarus. Lazarus was raised on the fourth day.

Why? Because the scripture really wants us to

know and Jesus wanted the people to know at the

time that Lazarus was really dead wasn't he?

He was not merely sleeping as a matter of fact

one commentator says here in ancient Near Eastern

culture a Person was not officially declared

dead until the third day And so with that in

mind Let's turn Let's go to Matthew chapter 12.

Matthew 12 · chapter mention

Go to Matthew chapter 12. You could also see

Matthew 12 · chapter mention

this in Matthew chapter 16 and the parallel account

Matthew 16 · chapter mention

in Luke chapter 11. Matthew 12, beginning in

Luke 11 · chapter mention

verse 38. This is important, so please listen

for this reading of God's word for you. Then

some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him,

him being Jesus, saying, Teacher, we wish to

see a sign from you. But he answered them. An

evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign,

but no sign will be given to it except the sign

of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three

days and three nights in the heart of the earth,

or so, just as Jonah was three days and three

nights in the belly of the great fish, so will

the Son of Man be three days and three nights

in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh

will rise up at the judgment with this generation

and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching

of Jonah. And behold, something greater than

Jonah is here. What is Jesus doing here and sharing

this? with these Jewish leaders. Jesus is pointing

us towards Jonah in saying the story of Jonah

previews the death and the resurrection of our

Savior. It's true then that Jesus is authenticating

the story of Jonah. Jesus wouldn't use a fictitious

story to talk about the reality of his death

and his resurrection. You can see from that text

what's happening there. The Jewish leaders demand

a sign of Jesus, don't they? Which is an incredible

thing to say considering this is what Jesus has

been doing the whole time. Do we not see Jesus'

miracles throughout the Gospels? But they say

essentially, prove yourself, Jesus. Look at how

Jesus responds. He says an evil and adulterous

generation seeks this kind of sign. Can you imagine

how the scribes and the Pharisees would have

felt hearing that they are lumped in with an

evil and adulterous generation? And imagine how

they would have felt when Jesus says that the

people of Nineveh would rise up to condemn them.

Why? Because we know this and we're gonna see

this as we keep going through Jonah. that the

entire city of Nineveh repents, don't they? Imagine

how this would sound to these Jewish religious

leaders to hear about cruel Nineveh. How cruel

Nineveh would condemn these pious Jewish leaders.

How could Jesus give praise to the Gentiles of

Nineveh? And then lastly, the thing that Jesus

says, hey, there is one greater than Jonah. You

see, there's lots of connections here between

Jesus and Jonah. I think we can even go deeper

than what I have said. Let's ask ourselves, how

accurate is the sign of Jonah? Well, firstly,

before we go any deeper, let us make sure we

do not associate Jonah's rebellion with Jesus

in any way. For as Jonah ran from the call of

God, Jesus ran to it, right? But I do think that

there are further associations between Jonah

and Jesus. And so just three points here. Don't

worry, I'm not just getting started on my sermon.

But three points, three points of connection

here. The extent of the sign of Jonah, the instrument

of the sign of Jonah, and the accomplishment

of the sign of Jonah. Jonah, as we have said,

was fleeing from God. He was fleeing from what

God was calling him. And we mention how it seems

the text is showing us again and again the downward

descent of Jonah. For Jonah went down to Joppa.

Jonah went down into the belly of the ship as

it were. And Jonah here, he's at the fullness

of his descent. Some people would say that Jonah

dies in the belly of the fish. I'm not sure I'm

willing to say that, but we'll see more of this

next time. But at the very least, we could say

Jonah is in effect buried alive. But the extent

of the sign here is that Jesus really did die,

didn't he? He really did die. He was really buried.

He was really put in the tomb. and the soldiers

were placed outside of the tomb because if Jesus

is raised, then everything he said would be true.

And we know that Jesus really was raised, friends,

that Jesus died for you and for me. That's the

extent of the sign. What about the instrument

of the sign? Well, for Jonah, the instrument

is this fish. But as I said, this fish seems

to have a dual purpose. the purpose of correcting

and the purpose of mercy. It's the same way with

Jesus, isn't it? It's the same way with Jesus

in the cross. The cross was a terrible instrument

of punishment and of wrath, but it's also the

instrument of our salvation. Our sins were imputed

to Jesus on the cross and the full weight of

the wrath of God came Upon him such that Jesus

cried out my God my God. Why have you forsaken

me? It was an instrument of wrath, wasn't it?

But we also have a cross on the wall behind me.

We sing the hymn the old rugged cross Why do

we cling to the old rugged cross because it's

not just an instrument of wrath The cross is

an instrument of salvation like the fish was

appointed for Jonah. So the cross was appointed

for Christ and for all of those who would believe

in him. Paul wrote this and said, Christ redeemed

us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse

for us, for it is written, cursed is everyone

who is hanged on a tree. Referring back to Deuteronomy.

I like how one of the church fathers put it.

Kirill of Jerusalem said Jonah was cast into

the belly of a great fish. but Christ of his

own will descended to the abode of the invisible

fish of death. He went down of his own will to

make death disgorge those it had swallowed up

according to scripture. I shall deliver them

from the power of the nether world and I shall

redeem them from death. That is what Jesus does

for us. He redeems us from what we deserve. And

so lastly, let's talk about the accomplishment

of the sign. What does the cross accomplish for

us? What does the life and the death of Jesus

accomplish for us? Well, you remember I mentioned

last Sunday that as Jonah is thrown overboard,

this is like a sacrifice of Jesus or of Jonah,

right? Who is saved in that instance? We know

immediately the sea became still and it became

calm. And so the sailors were saved. So it is

with Jesus. Listen to this quote from Rick Phillips.

Just as Jonah's death in the deep removed the

storm from the sailors above, so Jesus' cross

removes the wrath of God from our sins. Jesus'

death was substitutionary. By it, he accomplished

salvation for all who would trust in him. Friends,

I want you to know this. God always had a plan

to save you He always had a plan to save the

elect But his justice had to be satisfied because

he is a just God and so Jesus faced the wrath

for us Jesus faced all of it. So today if you

are in Christ You are safe in him. You are safe.

You are protected from the wrath of God But today

if you hear my voice If you have heard the scripture

and if you have not repented and if you have

not trusted in Jesus, you are facing the wrath

yourself. You are doing what Jonah was doing.

You are attempting to run from the presence of

God. It's been said, no one goes to hell against

their own wishes. Jonah. He thought that he wanted

to run from God until he got to this place. where

he was experiencing death apart from God. He

got what he wished, but when he got it, it turns

out this is not what he wanted. Friends, don't

write Jonah off as a book of fiction, and do

not write off the very word of God as fiction.

The book of Jonah points you to the one who died,

to the one who was raised for rebellious sinful

people. The book of Jonah is for all of us Jonas

out there. But God is merciful to all who repent

and believe. When we were running from God, God

sent his son to deliver us. Friends today, don't

be like the Pharisees. Don't be like the scribes.

Jesus has done us one better than give us a sign.

He has given us himself. Let's pray.