When you read the second chapter of Jonah, it’s almost a relief. Finally, this reluctant prophet has turned a corner. He’s calling out to the Lord. He remembers God, and he prays to him. He’s thankful, he’s sacrificial, he seems repentant.
But looks can be deceiving.
Remember, the Bible wasn’t written in English. The Old Testament, with a few exceptions here and there, was first penned in Hebrew. And Hebrew has different words and rules than English does. Most of the time, you don’t really need to know those words or rules to enjoy the Bible and get out of it what God put into it. But there are a few times where knowing a rule or two can actually help you understand the bigger picture.
Jonah 2 is one of those times. From the opening line of the prayer something is going on that tells you a lot about this man Jonah. Take a look.
“In my distress I called to the Lord,
and he answered me.” (Jonah 2:2)
If you think you’ve heard those words somewhere before, you may be right. Take a look at this passage from the Psalms.
“In my distress I called to the Lord,
and he answered me.”(Psalm 120:1)
Same words. Same emotions. Same ideas.
But different attitudes. Why? Because of a little change in the word order. You can’t really see it in the English translation, but it’s there in the Hebrew.
Psalm 120 begins this way in the original text: “To the Lord I called…” But Jonah 2 starts this way: “I called to the Lord…”
You may be asking what the big deal is. It’s just moving words around. We do it all the time. All the time we do it.
But in Hebrew it is a big deal. One of the rules is, put the important stuff up front. If you want to stress an idea, say it first! What does the Psalmist want to stress? God, and his reliance on him. What does Jonah want to stress? His own act of prayer.
It’s a very small and subtle point. But if you were a Hebrew speaking ancient Israelite, it would have been like an alarm going off or a siren flashing. “Get a load of this guy! He thinks he’s so great. He wants everyone to know that he’s praying to God.”
The rest of his prayer sort of plays out that way too. Take a look.
“When my life was ebbing away,
I remembered you, Lord,
and my prayer rose to you,
to your holy temple.” (Jonah 2:7)
Who actually prayed? When he was on the boat, Jonah was asleep. It was the sailors who were praying.
“Those who cling to worthless idols
turn away from God’s love for them.” (Jonah 2:8)
Hey! Shout out to those pagans in Nineveh! And the ones on the boat. Remember, the sailors were the ones who turned to God’s love for them after seeing the sea calm down when Jonah went down into the depths.
And the people of Nineveh would be turning to God, too. As they repent, they lay their trust on God’s love for them.
“But I, with shouts of grateful praise,
will sacrifice to you.
What I have vowed I will make good.
I will say, ‘Salvation comes from the Lord.’” (Jonah 2:9)
Shouts of grateful praise…like the sailors who were saved from the storm. Sacrifices…like the ones those pagan seamen offered right on their ship. A vow made and made good…like the vow that the King of Nineveh enforced on the city, even including the animals (Jonah 3:5-9)!
In every one of those lines of Jonah’s prayers, he’s putting himself first. He’s making himself out to be so great, such a big man! Those pagans? They have no idea. And if they did, they wouldn’t be anywhere close to as faithful as Jonah.
Except he’s completely wrong. Even in a humble prayer, Jonah can’t seem to get out of his own way. I wonder if I ever do that? I hope I never pray like this, putting myself first. Talking myself up to God. But I know I have. False humility and plenty of I’m-better-than-thems.
True repentance can only come from a heart that is humble. Without humility, our words are empty. Jesus told us not to waste our words just to be heard (Matthew 6:5). May our prayers be heartfelt and humble, heavy with the realization that God is God, I’m just me, and everyone is deserving of mercy.
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