Jonah recognizes that his only hope is in the Lord,
"Salvation belongs to the Lord."
He has had a few days to reflect on his situation and that somehow he is
yet alive but there can't be much more hope of survival and yet there must be
some reason he is alive. What an
experience he had in being in the belly of the fish for those days! Now, he summons faith to believe that this is
God's doing and yet God must have a plan that includes his salvation. He wants to see the temple again, it is his
chief delight, his motivation for living.
He vows to do what the Lord wants in exchange for his life. It doesn't mean he's going to enjoy it or
even pray for success for his work and mission, he won't, but he will do what
he has to do in order to get what he wants. Sometimes that is all we offer to God as well,
grudging acceptance of our cross.
Can it be more plain than John 14.6, "I am the way, and
the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." Salvation belongs to the Lord and He has given
us the way to salvation. We, like Jonah,
had no other hope, everyone alike. We
don’t get to choose our own path, God has given us the only one guaranteed to
end up in eternal life. The others,
Jesus says, are cul-de-sacs, they go nowhere and double back on
themselves. His offer is eternal life,
it is also a way of life, marked by the cross, the call to make disciples of
others, to live by the very Spirit of God, and His yoke is easy and His burden
light. If you know the truth, share it
with everyone that they may also know salvation and eternal life, the truth
path of enlightenment.
Peter quotes David concerning eternal hope. David saw the Lord ever before him and that
vision gave hope to his flesh, strengthened him, and led him to believe that he
had been redeemed from death to life eternal.
His flesh would not see Hades or corruption. Peter says that David foresaw the
resurrection of Jesus in that vision.
David's hope was in the Lord, it was in Jesus even though he didn’t know
Him by name, he knew that the truth was, salvation belongs to the Lord.
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