Exposition of the Book of Jonah, Chapter 2

The last verse of chapter 1 tells us that the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah, and that Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. It is in this fact that we find the key of the interpretation of chapter 2; for our Lord expressly connects this circumstance with His own death. He says, “As Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly, so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” (Matthew 12:40) to trace the way in which Jonah, under the judgment of God, becomes a type of Christ in His rejection and death.
We have seen, in our consideration of chapter 1, that the prophet was a type of the Jewish nation—the remnant who always take the place of the nation before God. Unfaithful in their mission to the world, God rejected them as His vessel of testimony, and caused His waves and billows to pass over them; and it is in this position we see them, as personified by Jonah, at the commencement of chapter 2. Now, it was into this very place that Christ in grace, in His unquenchable love for His people, descended. He was rejected, not by God surely—far be the thought—but by “His own,” to whom He came. Their iniquity, however, black as it was, did but accomplish the counsels of God, and become, at the same time, the occasion for the display of the depths of the heart of Christ. In the same night in which He was betrayed He took bread and gave thanks; and of the cup He said, “This is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” (Matthew 26) He thus suffered Himself to be led as a lamb to the slaughter, and voluntarily went down under all the judgment of God to make propitiation for the sins of the people. All God’s waves and billows therefore passed also over His head. They had passed over (or rather, viewed prophetically, will pass over) the remnant because of their sins; they went over the head of Christ because in grace He took the place of the people before God, died for that nation, so that God might afterward righteously, on the ground of the atonement, fulfill all His counsels of grace towards His ancient people.
It is in this way that Jonah in the belly of the whale becomes a figure of Christ in the grave. He thus uses expressions, as led of the Spirit of God, which have a far wider application than to his own circumstances. Look, for example, at Psalms 42. This psalm is the commencement of the second book, “in which the remnant are viewed as cast out of Jerusalem, while the city is given up to wickedness.” They have fallen, therefore, under the judgments of God, and they use, in respect of this, the very words found in Jonah—“All thy waves and thy billows are gone over me” (Psalms 42:7); but the full significance of this statement is only seen when considered in connection with the place our Lord took, when He identified Himself, not only with His people, but also with their sins, when He bore them in His own body on the tree.
We may now trace further the way of God with Jonah, as also with the remnant, as set forth in the language here employed. The chapter commences with the significant statement,” Then Jonah prayed unto the Lord his God out of the fish’s belly.” His face is now in the right direction. He had turned his back upon Jehovah; but now, under the stroke of the divine rod, he is not only arrested, but his eyes are drawn upward to Him from whom he had attempted to flee. Blessed effect of chastisement when the soul owns its dependence, and humbles itself under the mighty hand of God. “Is any man afflicted,” says James, “let him pray.” Yes, just as a song of praise is the channel of the soul’s joy, prayer is the vehicle of its sorrow. Thus Jonah tells us, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the Lord, and He heard me; out of the belly of hell “(margin, the grave) “cried I, and thou heardest my voice,” &c. And then the prophet recounts the whole process which had been wrought out in him, and by which his soul had been restored. (vss. 2-7) It will be profitable to mark for our own instruction its several steps.
First he owns the hand of the Lord. “Thou,” he says, “hadst cast me into the deep.” There was no entanglement in second causes, as is so often the case with ourselves, and by which we lose all the blessing of the Lord’s dealings with us. Jonah at this moment thought neither upon the storm nor upon the sailors. It was the Lord who had cast him into the deep. So with our Lord, in a more blessed and perfect manner, when suffering upon the cross. “Thou,” he said, “hast brought me into the dust of death.” (Psalms 22) And what rest of soul it gives to take everything that befalls us, as it is our privilege to do, from the hand of the Lord Himself! It stills every murmur, opens the ear to the divine voice, and puts the soul into the condition for profiting by the discipline through which it may be passing. Moreover, he confesses that the Lord’s hand was upon him for judgment. All the figures he employs —the seas, the floods, billows and waves—though literally true in his case, explain this; for they are all the symbols everywhere in the Scriptures of God’s judicial wrath. The effect was, that he felt he was cast out of God’s sight, and his soul fainted within him. (vss. 4, 7) In other words, like Paul, though in another manner, he had the sentence of death in himself. He was brought to a sense of his utter nothingness before God, and all the more because it was on account of his own sin. From a rebel fleeing from the divine Presence, he is changed into a penitent, having no plea of justification for what he had done, but taking the place of having nothing, and deserving nothing but the judgment from which he was suffering. And this, the only true place for the soul, whether of a sinner or of a backslidden saint, and the only place where God can meet the soul, on the ground of accomplished atonement, with forgiveness and restoring grace.
Let us, then, now see in what way the Lord responds to the cry of the prophet. Jonah says, “I cried... and thou heardest my voice.” Again, “When my soul fainted within me I remembered the Lord: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple.” (vss. 2, 7) What could more strikingly illustrate the grace of God, or display the tenderness of His heart! The object of His dealings accomplished, He immediately answers the cry of His servant. In the folly of our unbelief how often are we tempted to think that He cannot forgive us after our sinful and rebellious wanderings. But His grace never fails; nay, He waits upon His people, His ear ever being open to their cry; for His attitude towards us does not depend upon what we are, but solely upon what He is in Himself. Satan would always fain deceive us now as he deceived Eve in the garden of Eden, and hence the importance of learning the character and the ways of God from His own word, and from the revelation He has made of Himself in Christ Jesus. Many examples of His readiness to hear His people’s cry, spite of their conduct, might easily be collected from the Scripture. Psalms 107 is a collection of such; see also Hosea 14; and especially the Lord’s message to Peter on the morning of His resurrection. (Mark 16:7) These words of the prophet, “I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the Lord, and He heard me,” should therefore sink deep into our hearts. They are a blessed encouragement to timid, and, beyond all, to backslidden souls, teaching as they do that God waits for nothing, if we have wandered, but our return to Him. We have a sheet anchor whose hold no storm can loosen when we have learned the simple truth, that God never changes His attitude toward us, that His love is always the same—the same when we have fallen into sin as when we are walking in the enjoyment of the light of His countenance. And it is just because of His unchanging love that He deals with us in chastening and affliction. “Whom He loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth. It was, too, on this same principle that He acted with Jonah, and the issue was that the prophet could declare, “I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me forever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O Lord my God.” (vs. 6)
Thus restored, the prophet now can testify of the folly of sin. “‘They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.” And surely this witness is true. Will not all our hearts, indeed, set their seal to it? For whenever we have been beguiled by the lying vanities of the flesh, of the world, or the devil, have we not proved the truth of the prophet’s instruction? Ah! yes, there is a way that seemeth right unto a man (when under the power of these allurements), but the end thereof are the ways of death. Mercy is never found in the path of sin. Under the influence of this truth, wrought out by practical experience in Jonah’s soul, he cries, “But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving: I will pay that I have vowed.” He thus recognizes the source of his preservation and blessing, and renders his thanksgiving and praise.
He then proceeds a step further. “Salvation is of the Lord.” And, together with these words, we are told that “the Lord spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry ground.” This is undoubtedly a remarkable foreshadowing of the truth of deliverance. All the exercises of Jonah’s soul lead him up to this beautiful conclusion— “Salvation is of the Lord;” and immediately he is set free. So with the soul in Romans 7 “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God “(is the answer) through Jesus Christ our Lord.” And the deliverance is reached and enjoyed. Blessed conclusion, again we say, whether for the sinner or the troubled saint— “Salvation is of the Lord.” It brings peace into the soul; it stills all doubts and questionings; it puts an end to self-occupation, and it turns the eye upward to the only source of blessing and deliverance. The knowledge of this truth is essential to the whole of the Christian life, and brings ineffable rest to the soul when weary with its burdens and conflicts. “Salvation is of the Lord.” Then we have only, like the king of Israel, to say, “We know not what to do: but our eyes are up unto thee;” and we shall find, as he did, that the Lord will come in with His delivering mercy beyond our utmost thought and expectation.
The prophetic application of Jonah’s deliverance to the Jewish remnant in the future is easily perceived. We have already called attention to the identity of the expressions used by the prophet with those found in Psalms 42. And the Lord’s way with them will be precisely the same as that found here. Bringing in upon them all His waves and billows, He will, by thus exercising their souls, reach their consciences, produce in them the sense of their guilt and utter helplessness, and turning their eyes up to Himself, evoke from their hearts cries and supplications for succor and deliverance. Then, as in the case of Jonah, the Lord, who had been waiting with yearning compassion upon His people, will instantly answer their cry and appear for their salvation. Thereon they will cry, “Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.” (Read Isaiah 11:12.; also chapters 25. 26.; and Zechariah 12-14)
E. D.
Nehemiah and His Workers
And now look at verse 10, where the work of an individual is recorded— “Next unto them repaired Jedaiah, the son of Harumaph, even over against his house.” This is very instructive. The Lord sees and knows what is needed to be done over against our own houses. He takes knowledge of the work of saints, even when engaged on what they deem very small service. Home labor is little seen by man, but God marks it well. It is most important service. You may not be able to pray in the assembly; it is not the place God has given to some to do so; but have you unconverted ones at home? Do you seek their souls for Christ? Do you seek so to live that Christ is commended to them? This is service very pleasing to God, and in His book you will find it has its own record. “Jedaiah worked over against his own house.”
But some may not have houses of their own; they lodge in the house of another. Then the service of such an one we find mentioned in verse 30: “After him repaired Meshullam the son of Berechiah over against his chamber.” He did his bit of work there, and it also is taken into account. The service of the sisters has its record here also. “Next unto him repaired Shallum, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem, he and his daughters.” A lovely sight! There was a thoroughly united household—the daughters heart and soul with their father in the work of the Lord. But all did not work alike, and that also the Lord takes notice of in verse 20: “Baruch the son of Zabbai earnestly repaired the other piece.” We may well labor earnestly, for Who is the One we are called to serve? The Christ of God. And the building, of which we are the living stones, is the habitation of God through the Spirit. An earthly city was the object of desire with the remnant in Nehemiah’s day, but how far surpassing is the one God has given to us—the person of the Christ! We are living stones of the temple He builds.
What motives have we to be in earnest, beloved! Our calling is a heavenly one; but, like the returned captives of whom we have read, we have come out of Babylon. We have made our exit out of that which will culminate in the spiritual Babylon of Revelation 18. They came from the literal city. We do not come out of the house of God; it would be a mistake to say that, for we are part of that house; but we are to separate ourselves from that which is not according to the word of God—from the evil that has crept into the house of God. Our calling is to please God. Have we all set out with purpose of heart to do this? If we are faithful in this we may expect opposition; mockery and anger too may be hurled on us. This the remnant of Israel got. “When Sanballat heard that we builded the wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews. And he said, What do these feeble Jews? will they fortify themselves?” &c. But there was more than this. “Tobiah the Ammonite heard what Sanballat said, and he also spoke contemptuously, “Even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall even break down their stone wall.” Thus was the work of these true-hearted servants despised on all hands. Sanballat mocked them, and Tobiah looked upon their work as contemptible. And are there not Sanballats and Tobiahs now, who speak of the truth for which we contend in a similar way? Alas! there are amongst the children of God some who, from lack of knowledge of what the Lord by His Spirit is doing in these last days, oppose His truth most warmly, and have said of us, “Their work will all come to nothing.” Now, let us learn from the captives of Israel how to meet such mockery and contempt. We read (4:4), they prayed, “Hear, O our God; for we are despised,” &c. They told God they were despised, and they contented themselves to leave their defense in His hands. They believed He would care for His work and justify them.
Further, we read (4:6) the people “had a mind to work.” Perhaps now and then we have a mind to work; but do we come together to pray about the work, as did Nehemiah and his people? Thus only can we be strengthened to go on to the praise of God. If there is not more expression of our dependence on God, the Lord will break us up, beloved. Prayer was always the resource of the captives in Nehemiah’s day, and it should far more characterize us. As the enmity against these servants of Jehovah grew hotter, the more we read of their unwavering confidence in God— “Nevertheless we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night.” (Chapter 4:9) They prayed, they watched, and they worked with a mind. They were in downright earnest. Ah, my friends, would to God these traits were all more seen in us But it was not all bright; decay began to show itself amongst the workers. Read chapter 4:10: “And Judah said, The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed and there is much rubbish; so that we are not able to build the wall.” Here is the beginning of internal weakness. Hitherto what hindered success came from without; but now faintheartedness appears in the workers; yet there was amongst them a devoted one, who was equal to the moment. Let us see how he acted— “Therefore set I in the lower places behind the wall,” said Nehemiah, “and on the higher places, I even set the people after their families with their swords, their spears, and their bows. And I looked, and rose up, and said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Be not ye afraid of them: remember the Lord, which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses.” (Chapter 4:13,14) And what effect had these words of Nehemiah? “And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that it was known unto us, and God had brought their counsel to naught, that we returned all of us to the wall, every one unto his work.” Blessed effect! Their hearts were turned to the Lord when they felt their feebleness; thus were they strengthened to go on. They counted on the great and terrible God, who brought the work and counsel of the sneering to naught, and the fainthearted burden-bearer was again set heartily to work.
But the workmen were watchmen as well as builders. Read verse 16: “From that time forth, the half of my servants wrought in the work, and the other half of them held both the spears, the shields, and the bows, and the habergeons... everyone with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon. For the builders, everyone had his sword girded by his side, and so builded.” Then at verse 23 they seem to have reached the highest point of devotedness— “So neither I, nor my brethren, nor my servants, nor the men of the guard which followed me, none of us put off our clothes, saving that everyone put them off for washing.”
I pass over chapter 5 with but little comment. There was internal trouble, and it came out. It is a poor thing when we fall out amongst ourselves. Satan is not careful what instrument he uses if only he can stop the work of God. His greatest victory is when discord is sown amongst the Lord’s people. From verse 15 we learn what it was whichever kept the soul of Nehemiah right— “But so did not I, because of the fear of God.” This was in his heart in the presence of God.
In chapter 6 we find the enemy making another and most determined effort. If he cannot succeed by attacking the captives from without, and if the internal trouble is settled, he will now try to get the remnant to be less exclusive. “Sanballat and Geshem sent unto me, saying, Come, let us meet together in some one of the villages in the plain of One. But they thought to do me mischief.” (Chapter 6:2) Here is the cry for union. “Why are you so exclusive? Cannot you join with us in the work of the Lord?” Now, beloved, Nehemiah teaches us, and Jeremiah also, how we are to meet all such advances. God in His grace has called us out from the evil that has come into His Church, and we must be careful not to lessen in the eyes of others, nor to lose the sense in our own souls, of the distance between the ground on which we are, and that out from which we have come. Beloved saints of God are where we were, but true love will cause us to walk in the light we have received, that they also may learn and obey the truth in the love of it.
Listen to what Nehemiah said to the messengers of Sanballat and Geshem, “I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?” (Chapter 6:3) This was a beautiful answer. So sure as we depart practically from the ground of thorough separation to which our Lord has called us, our strength will be seen to go. Any vacillation brings in weakness. In the world it is said, “Nothing succeeds like success;” but, amongst saints, “Nothing succeeds like consistency.”
Nehemiah said, “Why should the work cease whilst I come down to go?” And Jeremiah said another very plain, and most helpful word, which it is well we should heed, each one of us— “If thou take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth; let them return unto thee, but return thou not unto them.” (Chapter 15:19) The separated one must say, “I am here for God, and I must abide with God.” But if Nehemiah will not listen to this proposal, Satan will put forth one more effort. Tobiah, Sanballat, and others, sought to make Nehemiah afraid, but again he goes to prayer. In everything he turns to God, and at verse 15 we read, “So the wall was finished in fifty-two days. And it came to pass, that when all our enemies heard thereof, and all the heathen that were about us saw these things, they were much cast down in their own eyes: for they perceived that this work was wrought of our God.”
Then chapter 7:2 shows that Hanani and Hananiah were put in charge of Jerusalem, and a very beautiful thing is said of one of these men. Of Hananiah it is said, “He was a faithful man, and feared God above many.” A lovely thing to be able to say of a brother in the Lord. May we merit such a comment! Let us seek so to live, that in truth this could be said of us.
In the eighth chapter two things come out—a deepening love for, and intelligence in, the word of God. “The Levites caused the people to understand the law: and the people stood in their places. So they read in the book, the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.” “And all the people wept when they heard the words of the law.”
Ah! the word had great power that day on the hearts and consciences of the people. And what followed this real heart-searching? Blessing, of course. “Nehemiah and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people said, Mourn not, nor weep, neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” And at verse 12 we read of great mirth, “because they had understood the words that were declared unto them.” They wept, for they knew how weak they were; but joy filled their hearts because God was their strength. It is well to feel our weakness, and to acknowledge it; but what cause for joy when we learn the strength of the Lord is ours! The joy of the Lord must be that which sustains us. Then we have a strength outside and in spite of all circumstances. Individually we ought to be so happy and so sure of our position that we have a portion to give to others. Streams of blessing should flow from us; we should be a refreshment to everyone who crosses our path.
Now I think we learn, from what has been traced in Nehemiah, that as the darkness increases so does the blessing of the soul that is faithful to God. 2 Chronicles 30:26 confirms what I have just said. There we find that the joy at Hezekiah’s passover exceeded all since the days of Solomon. Then we read in 2 Chronicles 35:18 that the passover kept in the days of Josiah surpassed any since the days of Samuel; but what is said of the feast in Nehemiah’s day, which the returned captives held after the wall of the city was finished? It excelled any since the days of Joshua, the son of Nun; “and there was very great gladness.” There had been no feast of booths since the first that Israel kept when they entered the land. It was the brightest point in all the history of God’s ancient people for the one who was faithful to God, though the surrounding darkness was greater than at any other stage of their history. So, no matter what the difficulty, there is joy as deep, for the saint who will do God’s will, in the days of decline, as in the first days when all was as God set it up.
What a comfort this is for us! Then let nothing hinder us; for if we make Christ our object, and “have a mind to work,” our joy and blessing will be as great as was that of the Pentecostal saints, when all were filled with the Holy Ghost, and gladness and singleness of heart was characteristic of each one of them.
(Continued from page 75)
W. T. P. W.