The fact that these five words are even recorded is evidence of the truth that they state. These words were not heralded from a preacher on a hill, or heard and recorded by a multitude. They come from a disobedient, rebelling prophet in the belly of a great fish from the dark depths of the sea.
Is it true? How is it possible that they were heard? Salvation is of the LORD. These five words say it all!
It was Jonah’s own sin that brought him into this situation. Jonah wanted to run from God. It was in his heart to get as far away as possible from where God wanted him. But Jonah’s sin took him farther from Nineveh than he would have ever imagined. And so there he was – entombed in the awful blackness of a great creature of the sea. What a place to be! Not one of us would ever choose to be lost in Jonah’s place, and yet we begin our lives and live in a worse situation with little or no care as to our lost condition.
Have you ever considered where your sins are taking you or where you are spiritually in relation to God? Jonah attempted to run from the LORD. We are born separated and removed from Him by our sinful nature inherited from Adam. Every day we wander farther and farther from our Creator by naturally choosing our own way. We are lost and far from God. But we are not only lost, we are perishing. To be far from God is to be separated from the only source of true peace and eternal life. Left in our sins we are in the great danger of perishing forever under the judgment that our sins demand. What a terrible situation to be in! The billows of time, activities, and responsibilities, continually crashing upon us, seem to wash away any interest or opportunity for us to consider our perilous condition.
Our desperate situation sounds similar to our friend Jonah’s. It was obvious to him in the blackness that he needed salvation. And that is just what we need spiritually – salvation from our sins and where they will take us. A positive outlook, finding inner peace, being a better person may in some way make one feel a little better in this life, but will never give lasting security and the salvation that is necessary for the next. We need to be saved and it needs to come from someone else, someone removed from our same perishing condition; someone who can save.
So to whom did Jonah cry? Who would ever hear the cry of an encapsulated man in the depths of the sea? The only One Who could! Salvation is of the LORD! And this same God still hears the cry of any who acknowledge their guilt and sin before Him. God sent His Son to be the Savior of the world. God can offer salvation through the completed payment that the Lord Jesus Christ made for sins when He suffered on the cross. A lost sinner is saved when he trusts in that provision offered by God through His Son. And this salvation from sin’s depths, dilemma, and destiny is eternal. What a salvation this is!
Imagine trying to find, in the ever-rolling currents of the vast depths, the one fish that carried Jonah! Who could ever save after this sort? Salvation is of the LORD! The LORD can save you today!