Jonah 2:8-9 — They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord.

Jonah often gets a bad press, and I don’t think it’s completely fair. To be sure, he denied the Lord’s first command to go to Nineveh, and he never really got on board with God’s compassion on the Ninevites, but for all that I think he had qualities that were almost heroic.
When it became clear that the sailors on the boat he was fleeing on were at risk Jonah didn’t hesitate. “Throw me overboard he said” — and they did. Knowing that his rejection of the Lord’s instructions was what had got him into the deep water, as soon as he had the chance he headed for Nineveh after all. And it should be clear — Ninevites were brutal, and Nineveh was not likely to be a healthy place for a Hebrew prophet of the Lord.

To me, one of the most remarkable things about Jonah was his prayer. Stuck in the belly of a whale he passes from despair to repentance to a wonderful declaration of faith and commitment. It’s that declaration that I want to look at today.

First, Jonah points out the futility of worshiping false Gods  — literal idols, or any of the other things in which men may put their trust. He was probably thinking of the sailors, whose boat didn’t protect them and whose “Gods” were no help either. But he generalized — anybody depending on “lying vanities” “forsake their own mercy” — and what is that mercy, the only hope of mercy? They forsake the living God.

Next, Jonah says that he will sacrifice to God what he has vowed. With a shout of Thanksgiving he will, of course, make the sacrifices due but beyond that he will sacrifice to God something God cherishes much more — obedience. As a prophet he had committed himself to a life of obedience. In seeking to escape to Tarshish he had turned his back on that commitment. Now he will recommit himself. It’s a statement of faith, made from the belly of the whale.

At the end of the prayer is, fittingly, a bottom line “strong salvation comes from the Lord”. When  the believer surrenders whole-heartedly salvation is not a paltry rescue from danger, but a glorious restoration to a wonderful future.

As it was in Jonah’s time, so it is today. We can either choose to serve God or chase after idols. Chasing after idols will gain us nothing and lose us everything. We need to commit ourselves to wholehearted following, discipleship, of Jesus. When we do we gain an eternal salvation which only the Lord can deliver. Jonah slipped — but he got the message. Give him some credit!