The Pulpit Commentary — Jonah — Section 41

II. JONAH, IN ms BURIAL, WAR A SIGN OF CHRIST. Very unlike was the sea-monster bearing away the prophet to the rock-tomb that received the body of our Lord; yet in this they were alike, that they had been unused as tombs before. Prepared were both for the event that has made both eternally memorable. "The Lord had prepared" the fish. Joseph, unwittingly acting out the Divine purpose, had prepared the rock-hewn tomb. He may have meant it for himself. God meant it for his Son. This Isaiah had foretold: "He made his grave with the rich." The time of Jonab's and our Lonl's burial agreed. So our Lord's resurrection on the third day was "according to the Scriptures "-to bis own word, and bis predictive type. Jonah, cast into the deep, seemed done with. An end of him I So, to many, with Christ, when the loving Marya and" those lords of high degree" bore him to the tomb. In his living tomb Jonah miraculously lived. And though Christ's body was dead, where was he, Still living; "doing good ; " preaching the glad tidings in the unseen world (1 Pet. iii. 19). III. JoNAn's RESURREOTION WAS A SIGN OF CHRIST'S. God" spake unto the fish," and it cast the living prophet to the shore. So "God raised from the dead" the Lord Jesus. Thus he reversed the marked judgment that, in suffering and death, had come upon his Son. He was now" highly exalted" as Prince and Saviour. Moral resurrec- tions attest Christ's. " Witnesses to Christ's resurrection" are all saved men and women. They are "risen with Christ; " and by his Spirit rise. IV. JoNAH'S MISSION TO THE GENTILES WAS A TYPE OF CHRIST'S. Jonah was sent to the Ninevites. Christ arose to be a Saviour "to the uttermost parts of the earth." To all nations. For every creature. His mission-by many voices and ministers-is going on. Its continuance declares his. Its moral victories--over ignorance, superstition, sin-attest his royal and almighty power. "All power bath been given unto me." Jonah himself, raised from such a grave, was the sign to the Ninevites. Christ is the Sign of Christianity. Often, alas I spoken against and rejected. Happy those-only those-who accept and glory in him !-G. T. C. Vers.1, 2.-The call of Jonah. We may fairly identify Jonah, the son of Amittai, with the prophet who preached in Israel during the reign of Jeroboam II. (see 2 Kings xiv. 23-27). His name signifies "a Dove," and it well expressed his mournful and brooding temperament. Amittai means "the Truth of God," and it has been wisely said by a great Puritan divine," I would that truth were every preacher's father." The narra- tive is exceedingly simple, and the Hebrew remarkably pure; while the lessons taught by the book are of profound significance, and far in advance of those we might have expected in that age of the world's history. The revelation of God's infinite goodness shines radiantly throughout. 1. He was merciful to the Ninevites, who were regarded as being outside the covenant; t"lt were warned, converted, and saved. 2. He was merciful to Jonah, not cursing him for his wilful disobedience, but preserving him from peril into which his own foolish precipitancy had plunged him; graciously giving him a new commission in spite of his failure; teaching him gently, after a sinful out- burst of temper; and closing tl:.e narrative of his life by a question of infinite tenderness. 3. He was merciful to the sailors, who had been heathen all their lives, but who, on turning towards him, found his deliverance near and complete. I. THE PROPHET'S OALL. "The word of the Lord came unto Jonah.n 1. It was CJ Divine call. Without it no service should ever be attempted; with it no service should be avoided. To go and preach to Nineveh would never have arisen as a conception of duty in the heart of a patriotic Israelite in those days. The generosity of the thought was Divine, not human. We, too, should listen for the words of our God, and wait for his commission. If we are true Israelites, we shall not precede the cloud, but follow it. 'l'he attitude of those who would be true prophets should be that of Samuel, when he said," Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth." 2. It was a secret call. Jonah was not commissioned by courtiers, or by ecclesiastics, or by a popular assembly. Probably his proposed expedition was unknown to all of these. It is a frequent experience with a Christian to get instruction as to what he should do, when he enters into the closet, shuts to the door, and prays to the Father who seeth in secret. II. THE PROPHET'S SPHERE. Nineveh was at this time in the zenith of its glory. Rieb, corrupt, and godless, it was the centre and focus of evil. 1. The sphere WG.t dangerowa, Even in these gentler timea, e.nd amidst more phlegmatic people, moral 38 'l'HE BOOK OF JONAH. [on. 1. 1-17,