Title: Look at the Temple
Jon 2:1-9 Look to the temple Topic: 14. Prayer and Answer 2005. 10. 23.
◎ Introduction
: Jonah, who was thrown into the sea, realized God's salvation in the desperate situation in the belly of the fish that God had prepared, and thanked God and prayed.
1. Jonah gives thanks (2:1~9)
1. Prayer of Hope in Suffering (1~2)
One). Jonah calls his situation “in the belly of Sheol.”
“Sheol” means a grave or is seen as an expression of “a grave-like predicament.”
2). Pray that you will be rescued from the present situation such as death. (2, Psalm 30:3)
※ This attitude is evidence that your relationship with God is not perfect.
To believe is to build a strong relationship with Him through continued devotion and fellowship on a daily basis.
2. Awareness of God's Discipline (3)
One). “The Waves of the Lord and the Great Waves” Jonah recognized that his plight was God's discipline.
※ It is a great grace and a miracle to be able to pray to God without giving up or giving up in spite of a desperate situation.
2). Maturity in Discipline
: If you are a true believer, the moment you realize your fault and God's punishment, you will despair,
We mature in faith by repenting, not by giving up.
※ Discipline is like a soldier's training indispensable to God's children. (Hebrews 12:5-11, 2 Chronicles 24:19, Jer 32:33, Isaiah 9:13, Jer 2:20, 5:3, Zep 3:7,)
3. Relying on God's mercy in suffering (4)
One). “I will look to the temple of the Lord … again” His desperate situation was punished by God
Despite recognizing that this was due to Jonah, Jonah does not despair, remembers and relies on God's mercy.
※ It is a great blessing to be able to ask God for grace even when we are in despair because of our sins.
※ Jonah abandoned God, but God did not forsake Jonah.
2). He has mercy even in judgment. Therefore, it is better for you to be disciplined and to be left in God's hands than to be separated from God (2 Samuel 24:14).
“…May we fall into the hand of the LORD, and I not fall into the hand of men.”
4. Confession of your desperate situation (5-6)
One). “Waters surrounded me … and … delivered my life” (5-6).
: He was relying on God's mercy, but the actual situation was hopeless.
2). He had reached the end of his life.
※ “Earth” is a word similar to Sheol, where the dead dwell, and indicates how desperate his situation is.
※ He was dying realizing how terrifying it is to disobey Almighty God.
5. Remembering the Lord again in despair (7)
One). “When my soul is weary within me” means “when I faint (dizziness and blackness)”, and in a situation like death, Jonah thought of God.
※ The reason the person who ran away against God cried out to God for salvation in the midst of death because he was confident that his prayer would be answered.
2). The phrase “I am crazy about your temple” means God’s answer.
The temple in Jerusalem was a symbol of God's presence, and Solomon built the temple and prayed that if anyone in distress prayed for the temple, God would answer it, and God promised this.
: Jonah was sure that his prayer would be accepted by God.
6. Thanksgiving and vows for salvation (8-9)
One). “Any falsehood and vanity… Salvation comes from the Lord” (8-9).
As an expression of Jonah's determination with the certainty of answers, it means that even if those who worship false gods act unfaithfully, they will never forsake God's grace.
2). Jonah's sin was essentially a sin of "idol worship" (1 Samuel 15:23).
“Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as the sin of worshiping an idol.”
3). “I will pay back my vows to you.” He vows to fulfill his vows to God.
: Jonah's vow is that he will go to Nineveh and preach the message.
※ “Vow” should be a natural expression of devotion to thank God for salvation based on true repentance.
※ Jonah needed a miracle of salvation: No one but God can save anyone.