SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/03/2025 9:01 AM
My Worship Time Focus: PT-2 “A Heartfelt Cry”
Bible Reading and Meditation Reference: Jonah 2:2
Message of the verse: …and he said,
“I called out of my distress to Yahweh,
And He answered me,
I cried for help from the belly of Sheol;
You heard my voice.”
I want to continue to look at this rather long section from John MacArthur’s commentary from the book of Jonah on the second verse from the 2nd chapter of Jonah.
I have to believe that Jonah is very happy that Yahweh heard is cry from inside of this giant fish that actually saved his life as he swallowed him after he was thrown into the sea, the sea that was reacting to this sinfulness of Jonah going the wrong way that God was sending him, which was to Nineveh, and the reason was that Jonah disliked Gentiles.
John MacArthur writes “Despite Jonah’s previous disobedience, the Lord graciously heard the heartfelt cry of the sinner. As Jonah exclaimed, ‘He answered me.’ With these words, the prophet expressed his wonder that God’s lavish mercy, that the Lord would answer the petition of His sinful servant. First in the deepest part of the furious sea, and then in the vile den of the fish’s stomach, Jonah knew he should have been dead. Yet he was alive, and only because God’s grace abounded more than Jonah’s iniquity (cf. Rom. 5:20).”
Now I want to give a quote from Dr. Warren Wiersbe that is from his commentary on Psalm 103 as I think it fits in well with what we have just read: Dr. Wiersbe writes, “But we must remember that it is not God’s love or pity that saves us, but God’s grace (Eph. 2:8-10), for grace is love that has paid the price. Were it not for the death of Christ on the cross, there could be no forgiveness of our sins. Yes, God is like a tender Father, but His pity is not a shallow sentimental feeling. A Holy God demands that His law be satisfied, and only His perfect Son could provide that satisfaction (Rom. 3:19-31).”
John MacArthur continues “In formulating his prayer, the penitent prophet used the language of the Psalms (cf. Ps. 4:1; 81:7; 91:15; 120:1), some of which anticipated the hope of resurrection (cf. Ps. 17:6, 15; cf. Isa. 26:19; Dan. 12:2). Through Jonah’s circumstances were extraordinary, he joined with believers from every age of redemptive history by resting in the truth of God’s marvelous grace (cf. Matt. 5:7; Rom. 11:31; Eph. 2:4; 3:14-21; 2 Cor. 4:1; 1 Pet 2:10). Jonah’s reflection also served as a powerful reminder that, even though he was a divinely commissioned prophet, he needed mercy just as any other sinner does. He should have never considered himself as spiritually superior to the Ninevites. In the same way that they needed divine grace, so did he. As the Apostle Paul reminded his fellow Israelites, ‘Where then is boasting? It is excluded’ (Rom. 3:27). The Lord manifested to Jonah His grace by rescuing him from the sea, even as He prepared Jonah to proclaim that same grace to the Gentiles (Jonah 3:1).
“Having begged the Lord for mercy, Jonah also acknowledged God’s power, as he cried for help to the only One mighty enough to save him. The verb cried implies a successive series of screams, being used elsewhere to describe the desperate shrieks of someone starving (Job. 38:41), the panicked outbursts of a person terrified (Ps. 31:22), or the agonizing groaning of one in deep affection (Job. 35:9). Knowing that only God could hear him, Jonah shouted out to Him for help.”
Well we still leave Jonah in the belly of the great fish, and we can see that God surely has his attention at this time in his life. It looks like there may be at least two more Spiritual Diaries on this very important section from the book of Jonah.
Spiritual Meaning for My Life Today: I think that this part of Jonah’s book is a picture of many things, including salvation as even though Jonah was a true believer in Yahweh, what he is now going through makes me think of a nonbeliever sinking deeper in sin, and then he realizes that the only way to take care of his sin is to cry out to the Lord from the deepness of his sinful life, believing that it is only Jesus Christ than can bring new life to him through His death, burial, and resurrection as He paid for all of his sins.
My Steps of Faith for Today: To continue to trust the Lord as my wife has begun her cancer treatments and so I trust the Lord to work out His perfect will for her as she goes through these treatments, and it is my desire to be a great help for her as she goes through them.
10/3/2025 9:37 AM
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