THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD
Please read Jonah 1
The ancient Greek philosopher Socrates is reputed to have said: ‘Know thyself’. We are told by historians, however, that the advice is much older than Socrates and was inscribed on the wall of the temple of Apollo in Delphi. Whatever its origin, the counsel is wise and we are wise if we heed it. However, we have a problem: how can we know ourselves? For, as the prophet Jeremiah said long ago, ‘The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?’ (Jeremiah 17:9).
How, then, can I know myself? Indeed, it is even possible to know myself? I know that I cannot know myself fully, but can I know myself even in part? Can I know myself, not as I imagine myself to be, but as I really am? The answer was given four hundred and fifty years ago by one wiser even than Socrates: ‘It is certain that man never achieves a clear knowledge of himself unless he has first looked upon God’s face, and then descends from contemplating him to scrutinize himself’ (John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book I, Chapter I). To know ourselves we must first know God.
It is for this reason that, when we study our Bibles, the first question to ask is not, “What does this passage tell me about me?” but, ‘What does this passage tell me about God?’ Over the coming days we will be reading the Book of Jonah and, as we do so, we will be asking the question, ‘What can I learn from this chapter about God?’ Will you come with me as we study the Book of Jonah and learn about the God of Jonah?
In the first chapter of Jonah we have five remarkable examples of the providence of God. What do we mean by the providence of God? A very good definition of providence is that given in The Westminster Shorter Catechism: ‘God’s works of providence are his most holy, wise and powerful preserving and governing all his creatures and all their actions.’
If we work backwards through this definition, we see three things about the providence of God. First, God’s providence covers ‘all his creatures’ (i.e., everything God has created) and ‘all their actions’ (i.e., every-thing they do). Secondly, God’s providence consists of his ‘preserving’ (i.e., his keeping), and his ‘governing’ (i.e., his controlling) everything that he has created. And thirdly, in all he does God is most holy (so he never does what is evil), most wise (so he never makes a mistake), and most powerful (so nothing and no one is outside his control).
We see the providence of God in five places in the first chapter of Jonah. We see it, first, in the presence of a ship bound for Tarshish at just the time Jonah was looking for one. (See v. 3). For Jonah had decided to flee to Tarshish, a mining port in Spain, at the western end of the Mediterranean, as far away from Nineveh as he could get. Now ships to Tarshish were very rare but, when Jonah went down to the port, there was a ship about to depart for (of all places) Tarshish! It was part of God’s plan for Jonah that he board that ship, for there were lessons that he must learn and the sea would be God’s school.
We see the providence of God, secondly, in the raging storm at sea (see vv. 4, 11, 13). This storm was no accident for the wind and the waves are under God’s control (e.g., see Psalm 135:6-7). The storm, too, was part of God’s plan for Jonah, sent for his good. There were lessons that Jonah still needed to learn and the storm was God’s teaching aid. Jonah still had to learn that the will of God will be done. It was the will of God that Jonah preach in Nineveh and nothing and no one could thwart his will, not even Jonah.
We see the providence of God, thirdly, in the lot’s falling on Jonah (see v. 7). Though Jonah surely knew the reason for the storm, he remained silent; he did not want it known that he was the reason. It was not until the lot fell on him that he came clean and confessed his sin. The fall of the lot was not mere chance or luck; it was God’s doing to bring Jonah to repentance.
We see the providence of God, fourthly, in the sudden calm that came upon the sea when the sailors threw Jonah overboard (see v. 15, cf. Mark 3:37-39). The sailors understood that this was no coincidence. They were men used to the sea and its ways; they knew that after a violent storm the sea does not become suddenly calm. They were awestruck and they did something they had never done before: they offered sacrifices to the Lord and made vows to him. Like the storm, the calm was also part of God’s plan, and his purpose was to teach not only Jonah but also the sailors about himself.
We see the providence of God, fifthly, in the great fish that swallowed Jonah (see v. 17). We do not know just what was the nature of this fish and we do not need to know. But we do know that the Lord sent it (see v. 17). Even the fish are under God’s control (cf. Luke 5:1-8). And we also know that the fish was sent not to eat Jonah but to save him. In the storm Jonah had experienced God’s displeasure and discipline; in the fish he will experience his kindness and salvation. Sometimes God’s providence is for our correction and sometimes it is for our protection, but it always for our good (see Romans 8:28).
QUESTIONS FOR PERSONAL REFLECTION
- How should belief in God’s providence affect my attitude to trials and tribulations?
- How have I seen God working all things together for my good in years gone by?
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