Leviticus 1:1-4 (The Burnt Offering, Part I)

Leviticus 1:1-4
The Burnt Offering, Part I

When someone decides to read the Bible, for whatever reason, they will normally start at Genesis and work quickly through that and the first half of Exodus. Then, about chapter 25 of Exodus, the reading slows down. Eventually, it is treated as a chore rather than a pleasure. For many, this is the standard pattern.

By the time they get to Leviticus, the book is closed, placed on a shelf, and never referred to again, except in times of great distress or personal need. In distress, the psalms are referred to. Maybe even the beatitudes are checked out.

For times of personal need, it is common to open the Bible arbitrarily with eyes closed, and then to point to any given portion with the right (yes, it must be the right) index finger. And then,,, in hopes of something miraculous directing their way to riches and glory, or the repair of a failed marriage, or whatever, they open their eyes and feast on that one verse.

If it is a verse or passage which gives them hope, the book is closed with satisfied delight. “Yay! I will have the years that the locust ate away at my possessions restored to me!” If the verse isn’t a satisfying one, the process is repeated until something better is obtained. And then all is right with the world once again. The book is closed and peace is restored. It is certain that nobody wants that one passage to be 2 Chronicles 21:12-15. That’s for sure.

This is the effect that the book of Leviticus has on many people. It is viewed as strange, hard to comprehend, brutal or outdated, and completely irrelevant to the world we live in today. It is, to them, as painful as having their blindly placed finger wind up on those words of 2 Chronicles. Words which, by the way, are our text verse of the day.

Text Verse: “Thus says the Lord God of your father David:

Because you have not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat your father, or in the ways of Asa king of Judah, 13 but have walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and have made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to play the harlot like the harlotry of the house of Ahab, and also have killed your brothers, those of your father’s household, who were better than yourself, 14 behold, the Lord will strike your people with a serious affliction—your children, your wives, and all your possessions; 15 and you will become very sick with a disease of your intestines, until your intestines come out by reason of the sickness, day by day.” 2 Chronicles 21:12-15.

Reading the book of Leviticus seems as painful to many as the fate of Jehoram, king of Judah. Be honest, how many of you have ever read the entire book of Leviticus? And of you who have, do you delight in it each time you come to it? Do you say, “Oh boy! This is the cat’s meow and the bees knees?” Or do you read it to get through it and onto the next book?

While in Bible college, there was very little Bible involved. We had a few courses, but most of it was religious stuff, not Bible stuff. But there were a few mandatory Bible courses. One of them was “Old Testament Survey.” It was a survey of the entire Old Testament in a one week module. If one expected great theological discoveries from the Old Testament, this was not going to happen.

However, the professor asked that during the course each student would pick one Old Testament book, and do a full summary on it. We were to outline it, explain its authorship and dating, give its historical context, provide a summary of the book, and include the messianic expectations which could be derived from it. Further, we were to include an application of that particular book to our lives.

As the choice of book was up to each of us, it was obvious that a very large and complicated book, like Ruth or Jonah would be chosen. For the truly daring, the one-chapter book of Obadiah might be the courageous choice. As this is what was normally expected, my professor nearly had a heart attack when I told him I wanted to do Leviticus.

Surely, of all of the books of the Old Testament, this one had the least to offer, especially concerning messianic expectations and contemporary applications! But he was more than excited to approve my choice and await my submission. I chose Leviticus, because it is the heart of the Law of Moses, and one cannot understand the greater work of Christ properly without understanding that work in relation to the law.

Further, messianic expectations in Leviticus literally permeate the book. Like the detailed and marvelously pictorial hints of Christ in the construction of the sanctuary, each portion of Leviticus follows along that path as well. For those of you who survive through this book, you will have a much fuller understanding of the work of Christ, and how Leviticus points to our desperate need for Him.

I will not lie that there are portions which will seem tedious and repetitive to you. However, we will get through them, and you will ultimately say, “I will never look at this marvelous book the same again.” LEVITICUS! It is a marvel and a treasure of God’s wisdom and glory – revealed in Jesus Christ our Lord. Yes, it is a glorious part of His superior word. And so let’s turn to that precious word once again and… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. An Introduction

The book of Leviticus is the third book of the Law of Moses and of the Holy Bible. Its Hebrew name is derived from the first word of the book, va’yikra, which literally means “and called.” In Hebrew, the word consists of the letters vav, yod, qoph, resh, and aleph which numerically equal 317. This is numerically the same as the Hebrew word yabashah, or dry ground. We can think of Leviticus as the dry ground and firm footing of the Law of Moses. It is where the waters of chaos are separated and something substantial is brought out for the people of Israel to conduct their daily lives.

Beginning the book with the word “And” signifies that this is a continuation of what has already been presented. The book of Exodus closed out, but it did not really end. The thought process is simply continued with the opening of the book of Leviticus.

In the Masoretic text of the Hebrew, in the last letter of the word va’yikra, the letter aleph is written smaller than the rest of the letters. This is known as a miniscule, and it is a rare occurrence in the Old Testament. Majuscule and miniscule letters show up in seemingly arbitrary places and without any explanation. For this reason, they can only be guessed at concerning what they mean.

The scholar Rosenmüller notes that ancient variations of the manuscripts leave off the aleph at the end, and so it would say, “And the Lord appeared to Moses” instead of “And the Lord called out to Moses.” The smaller aleph might then be inserted to indicate that it is one or the other, but nobody is sure.

The English name, which is used by almost all modern translations, comes from the Greek translation of the Old Testament known as the Septuagint. They call it Levitikon, which means “relating to the Levites.”

Leviticus is the shortest book in the Pentateuch, being comprised of only 27 chapters, and yet it is certainly the most overlooked of these five masterpieces. A careful study of the book will lead the reader directly to Jesus Christ again and again – and again. As far as the book’s authorship and dating, the author is undoubtedly Moses. Despite modern higher criticism, there is no evidence to support anything other than Mosaic authorship. Internally, the book states, “And the Lord called out to Moses,” “The Lord spoke to Moses,” or “The Lord said to Moses,” etc., many times.

Although this is in the narrative format and therefore such statements could have been made by another author, there is no reason to disbelieve Jewish or Christian tradition which speak of Moses as the author. More to the point though, the New Testament in general, and our Lord Jesus Christ in particular, ascribes Leviticus to Moses as evidenced in passages such as Mark 1 –

Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, ‘I am willing; be cleansed.’ 42 As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed.43 And He strictly warned him and sent him away at once, 44 and said to him, ‘See that you say nothing to anyone; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing those things which Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.’” Mark 1:41-44

In those words, Jesus cites a requirement specifically mentioned in Leviticus 14. Such New Testament references confirm, without any doubt at all, that Moses is the author of the book.

There is dispute as to when this, along with the other 4 books of the law, was written; however, the conservative and traditional dating can be figured based on when Solomon’s Temple was built. By tracing back from that day as stated in 1 Kings 6:1, which indicates 480 years from the Exodus, we can assert with relative confidence that it was penned approximately 1445 BC.

There was a 45-day journey to reach Mount Sinai, where the Israelites worked to construct the Tabernacle. In Exodus 40:2 it stated, “On the first day of the first month you shall set up the tabernacle of the tent of meeting.” This would have been the beginning of the second year and 345 days after the Exodus and 300 days since their arrival at Sinai. It would also make it the year 2515 AM. Later, the Israelites departed Sinai as indicated in Numbers 10:11

Now it came to pass on the twentieth day of the second month, in the second year, that the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle of the Testimony.”

As Leviticus was certainly recorded by Moses during this 50-day period, we can be confident of this time-frame and dating. Whereas the book of Genesis spanned well over 2000 years of human history, Exodus spanned less than 100, and now Leviticus spans less than two full months. Although mere speculation, it very well may even be that the entire book was compiled during the eight days of the ordination of Aaron and his sons.

The importance of the information then is seen in the condensed time-frame. Special attention was directed to the details of this book, ensuring that the precise instructions at a particular moment in redemptive history were carefully compiled for us.


As far as a historical and redemptive context, the book was given to describe the proper method of approaching God; proper sacrifices when doing so; the priestly requirements which were intricately bound to the religious worship; and other areas of holy living.

These were needed because of 1) The fallen condition of man; 2) The growth of the population of the chosen race to a point where organized worship became essential; and 3) The pagan conditions to which Israel had been exposed during their sojourn in Egypt, thus necessitating a complete break from the incorrect worship conditions which had surely been infused into the Hebrew society.

Further, many of the regulations looked forward to the time when the Israelites would arrive in the Promised Land. As an example, instruction on the handling of mildew in permanent housing was issued. Due to the lack of modern fungicides, which we take for granted, God instructed the people in this area. However, these were issued before such housing was available, while still in the wilderness. Therefore, they anticipated the conquest and settling of Canaan. In a sense then, God was informing them that, “The battle is already won; the land is yours.”

The book deals with a multitude of matters which are all intricately connected to the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ. Although He fulfilled every stated requirement and Christological pre-figuring of Leviticus, thus redeeming us from the curse of the Law (see Galatians 3:10-13), we are reminded that we are to live holy lives before God.

We can look back on the great prophetic fulfillments of Leviticus and have absolute surety that Jesus Christ was and is the Messiah, and therefore is God come in human flesh. Reading and understanding Leviticus also reminds us of the sincerity of God’s promises and curses.

By following them, as laid out in Chapter 26, and then observing the consequences of them as fulfilled in the Jewish people, our faith is actually strengthened that all other promises in Scripture are also accurate and dependable. This book provides us with fundamental proofs of the surety of God’s Old Testament and its fulfillment in Jesus Christ as indicated in the New Testament.

Concerning the sacrifices which are many, and which seem brutal to the world in which we live today, the entire sacrificial system was necessary until the time that the true Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, would come and fulfill each and every one of them. What the world sees as brutal concerning mere animal sacrifices is really a foreshadowing of the most brutal of all sacrifices. One which every person on earth contributed to in their sins of the flesh.

The book itself is categorical rather than chronological. Being compiled in this way, it is a book of spiritual statutes for the people of Israel as the Lord’s congregation. The scholar Keil states that –

“…as the nation of Israel was separated from God, the Holy One, by the sin and unholiness of its nature, the only way in which God could render access to His gracious presence possible, was by institutions and legal regulations, which served on the one hand to sharpen the consciousness of sin in the hearts of the people, and thereby to awaken the desire for mercy and for reconciliation with the holy God, and on the other hand furnished them with the means of expiating their sins and sanctifying their walk before God according to the standard of His holy commandments.”

In accomplishing this, several severe object lessons, involving the death of members of the congregation, will be included for the people to read and remember.

As with many books of the Bible, there are countless sections and patterns which run through Leviticus, but as an overall theme, there are two major sections to the book. The first runs from chapter 1 to chapter 16. These are essentially laws for sacrifice and for purification. These will be highlighted by the laws for the Day of Atonement in Chapter 16. It is a chapter which so precisely pictures the coming Christ, that the only thing more exciting than reaching that chapter would be the rapture itself.

The second major section will go from chapter 17 to chapter 27. These mostly look to the process of sanctification in the lives of the people. These will be highlighted in the instructions for the sabbatical years and the year of jubilee. The two series then remarkably correspond to one another.

The first book of Moses looked to the work of God the Father through Christ in creation, and in directing that creation in the initial process of redemption. The second book of Moses then looked to the work of God the Son in Christ in the actual redemptive process, mirroring His own work countless times. This, the third book of Moses, will highlight then the work of the Holy Spirit applying the purification and sanctification of Christ to the people of God.

In all three books though, it is Christ, the anticipated Son of God who is on prominent display. Nothing is more obvious, and in a thousand different ways it will become evident. When the book of Leviticus is over, the Person and work of Jesus Christ will have been highlighted so many times that you will never look at this book in the same way again.

If we were to sum up the book of Leviticus with one single thought which carries us from Exodus and then into the continued life of Israel, it would be that “The Lord sanctified Israel by His presence, and so the people needed to sanctify themselves in His presence.”

II. The Burnt Offering

Now the Lord called to Moses, and spoke to him from the tabernacle of meeting, saying,

All translations essentially say the same thing here. And the Lord called to Moses… However, it is not how the Hebrew literally reads. Rather, it says, va’yiqra el moshe vaydaber Yehovah elav – “And called unto Moses and spoke Yehovah unto him.” To understand why this change is so important, we have to go back to the end of Exodus. In the last paragraph, it said –

Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 35 And Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting, because the cloud rested above it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.” Exodus 40:34, 35

The beginning of Leviticus is being tied directly to this thought. As I said before, despite this being a new book, it is still only a continuation of the narrative which closed Exodus. Understanding that, we see that there is a time when the glory of the Lord retreated into the Most Holy place, and Moses was then able to enter there in order to speak with the Lord at the ark itself.


This marks one of three most important points in the Lord’s dealings where Moses was specifically called by Him. He was called to his commission in Exodus 3:4 at the burning bush. He was then called twice in Exodus 19 from the top of Sinai prior to the giving of the Ten Commandments. And, he is now called at the beginning of the instructions for the divine worship.

The first looked in anticipation to the coming of Christ. The second looked in anticipation to the work of Christ. And the third looks at the completion of the work of Christ and its application to the lives of His people. In this, the work of the Trinity is implicitly seen. Each member performs His part in the realization of the whole. Finally, as was the case with Exodus, the words should read “tent of meeting,” not “tabernacle of meeting.”

“Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them:

The instructions given to Moses here are to be relayed directly to the people of Israel, and not merely to the priests who will receive the offerings which will be laid out next. This then is a corporate instruction intended for all of the covenant people. This is similar to the call to the people to bring offerings for the construction of the sanctuary which was in Exodus 25:2. The call went out to the entire congregation for free-will offerings to be made. Something similar now occurs at the beginning of Leviticus, not for the construction, but for the use of, the sanctuary.

2 (con’t) ‘When any one of you brings an offering to the Lord,

There are many types of offerings which will be allowed – both in type and in purpose, and of which will be precisely named. Nothing else was to be offered except what the Lord specifically authorizes. Each will be detailed in a precise order as the book continues.

The Hebrew reads, “When a man brings an offering.” However, the masculine speaks of both male and female, just as it traditionally has in English. This is confirmed, for example, in the Nazirite vow of Numbers 6 where both men and women could make such a vow. After the fulfillment of it, the offering was then presented by either the man or the woman.

Further, the “when” of this verse implies “if.” Any person in the congregation could bring a voluntary offering. Though they are mandatory in the sense that they had to be brought in order to come near to the Lord, they are voluntary in that they accompanied the desire of the person to, in fact, come near to the Lord.

The word for “offering” here is qorban. It is used for the first two of 82 times in the Old Testament, and almost all of them are in Leviticus and Numbers. It is mentioned one time in Nehemiah and twice in Ezekiel, and that is it. It comes from the verb qarav which means “to come near,” or “approach.”

The idea is that in order to approach near to the Lord, there must be an offering presented at that time. No person could draw near to a king or a royal without presenting an offering. How much more the Lord who was Israel’s true King.

Understanding this, we can already see a picture of the coming Christ. We cannot draw near to God without an offering, and yet, we as believers are told that we can, in fact, draw near to God. This is through the work of Christ, which is our offering. This is spoken of by Jeremiah in the 30th chapter of his book –

Their nobles shall be from among them,
And their governor shall come from their midst;
Then I will cause him to draw near,
And he shall approach Me;
For who 
is this who pledged his heart to approach Me?’ says the Lord.
22 ‘You shall be My people,
And I will be your God.’” Jeremiah 30:21, 22

Jeremiah states that One would come who would be allowed to draw near to the Lord God. In the next chapter, it is revealed how this will be accomplished, which is through a New Covenant. When Jesus came, He established that New Covenant in His blood as is recorded in all three synoptic gospels, and which is confirmed by Paul in his writings, such as in 1 Corinthians 11 when speaking of the Lord’s Supper. This is followed up and explained in detail in the book of Hebrews.

The instructions, going directly to the people instead of the priests, shows that the priest had no say in the offering, but rather he was to follow through with his part in the process, inspecting the offering for type, perfection, and conducting the associated work in transmitting the offering to the Lord.

In Christ, we make our offering to God which has been deemed as proper and perfect, and thus He is our qorban. He is our offering by which we draw near to God. This is a voluntary offering in the sense that we must choose to use it, and yet it is mandatory in that if we choose to draw near to God, it must be through Him and Him alone. This is explicitly stated by the author of Hebrews which explains the New Covenant in Christ’s blood –

For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment because of its weakness and unprofitableness, 19 for the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.” Hebrews 7:18, 19

As long as we continue to think about how each detail points to Christ, the book of Leviticus will flow properly, it will be interesting, and it will reaffirm our own Christian walk which is far superior to these rites and rituals which are only foreshadowings of His great work.

2 (con’t) you shall bring your offering of the livestock—of the herd and of the flock.

The first type of acceptable offerings are those of quadrupeds, or behemah. These are set off in contradistinction to the birds which will be mentioned starting in verse 14. The word behemah, or livestock, is then further defined by the terms ha’baqar and ha’tson, or the herd and the flock. The herd speaks of cattle, and the flock speaks of sheep or goats.

The difference is found in the meaning of the words of each. The baqar, or cattle, indicates to seek or inquire. When one plows, they open up the ground, seeking out where to sow. The tson, or flock, comes from an unused root which speaks of migrating, just as flocks are known to do. Of the quadrupeds, only these were considered acceptable as offerings to the Lord.

‘If his offering is a burnt sacrifice of the herd,

The first type of offering is now specified, the olah, or “burnt sacrifice.” The word means “to ascend,” and so the idea of the offering ascending in smoke is what is conveyed. The first time it was mentioned in the Bible was in Genesis 8:20 after the Flood of Noah. There it said –

Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21 And the Lord smelled a soothing aroma. Then the Lord said in His heart, ‘I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done.

22 “While the earth remains,
Seedtime and harvest,
Cold and heat,
Winter and summer,
And day and night
Shall not cease.’” Genesis 8:29-22

The last time this is mentioned in the Bible is actually in the New Testament. There in the Greek it is known as holokautoma. As you can hear, the word finds its origin in the Hebrew olah. However, if you listen carefully, you can also here where our word holocaust comes from. Thus, one can see the where the concept of our modern term is derived.

But its meaning is applied differently based on the user. For those who burnt the Jews, it was as if it was a sacrifice to God which would supposedly please Him because they had done away with His enemies. For the Jews, it was as if a sacrifice to God had been made of their lives in order to please Him. Either way, no such word should rightly be connected to what occurred at the hands of the Nazis – from either viewpoint. There is but one truly acceptable offering which this burnt offering pictures. That is detailed in the final use of the burnt offering in Hebrews 10 –

Therefore, when He came into the world, He said:

Sacrifice and offering You did not desire,
But a body You have prepared for Me.
In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin
You had no pleasure.
Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come—
In the volume of the book it is written of Me—
To do Your will, O God.’”

Previously saying, “Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them” (which are offered according to the law), then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.” He takes away the first that He may establish the second. 10 By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” Hebrews 10:5-10

This olah was completely burned on the altar. With the exception of the skin, no part of it was eaten, or kept, by either the offeror or the priest. The skin was given to the priest, and which he could use according to his wishes apparently. This is seen in Leviticus 7 –

And the priest who offers anyone’s burnt offering, that priest shall have for himself the skin of the burnt offering which he has offered.” Leviticus 7:8

3 (con’t) let him offer a male

Unlike the sin offerings and the peace offerings, the burnt offering was always to be a male. This was specified to more accurately picture Christ in this type of offering.

There is one exceptional deviation from this which is found in 1 Samuel 6. When the Ark of the Covenant which had been captured by the Philistines was returned to the Israelites, those to whom it came took the cows that had pulled the cart on which it was carried and offered them as a burnt offering –

Now the people of Beth Shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley; and they lifted their eyes and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it. 14 Then the cart came into the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh, and stood there; a large stone was there. So they split the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord.” 1 Samuel 6:13, 14

This was an exception based on the circumstance, but not an acceptable custom according to the letter of the law.

3 (con’t) without blemish;

The word is tamim. It indicates that which is perfect, without spot or blemish. To make an offering with a blemished animal would be an insult. It would be like drinking half a coke and then when a friend asks for a coke, you give him the half you hadn’t finished and then go an open up of cool, fizzy, fresh one for yourself. This is exactly what the deceivers of Israel were known for doing –

But cursed be the deceiver
Who has in his flock a male,
And takes a vow,
But sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished—
For I 
am a great King,”
Says the Lord of hosts,
“And My name 
is to be feared among the nations.” Malachi 1:14

This burnt offering, which was to draw a person near to God, was typical of Christ in this way as well –

“…knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” 1 Peter 1:18, 19

3 (con’t) he shall offer it of his own free will

The words here are not well translated. It should not say, “of his own free will.” Rather, it should say, “that it may be accepted.” The word is ratson, and it can be translated either way, but many other passages in Exodus and Leviticus explain the meaning which is to be used.

Despite this, and although it is not a sin offering, it certainly implies that there is a fracture between God and man which necessitated coming to the Lord with a gift in order to be accepted. But unlike the sin-offering, it is not intended to specifically take away sins so much as it is to obtain God’s favor. In other words, it looks to the universal sinfulness of man, whereas the sin-offering will look at the specific sins of man. In giving over this offering, it was picturing the surrendering of the life of the offeror wholly and completely to God, body and soul.

3 (con’t) at the door of the tabernacle of meeting before the Lord.

These words needs to be considered properly. First, there was probably somebody outside of the sanctuary itself who inspected all animals, even before they were brought in. However, the offering itself, once accepted, would then be offered, as it says, “at the door of the tent of meeting.

If you were awake during the giving of the details of the sanctuary, and in the details which described its construction, you might remember that I noted that the door and the altar are actually intricately connected. For example, in Exodus 40:6, it said –

Then you shall set the altar of the burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting.”

At that time, I noted that the altar was said to be “before the door of the tent of meeting” despite it having the laver between it and the actual tent. This placement of the altar of burnt offering answered to the placement of the altar of incense and the ark. Just as those were connected, so were the brazen altar and the door.

We then learned that this pictured the work of Christ where He said that He is the good Shepherd. The altar was where the animals were offered, picturing Christ our offering. With that offering, He becomes our Door by which we again have access to the Father. Therefore, presenting the offering at the door of the tent of meeting actually indicates it being offered at the altar which then allows symbolic access through the door. The connection between the two is inseparable.

In this offering, there is nothing secret or hidden. It is done openly and publically. This is how Christ died. It was in a way that all could see and witness. Any and all who passed by would know that an offering had been made as they watched the smoke ascend into heaven. So it was with Christ whose death became known to all. Luke 24:18 shows us that it was fully known throughout Jerusalem. In an ironic twist, the One whose life had been given was questioned if He knew anything about it –

Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, ‘Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?’” Luke 24:18

Then he shall put his hand on the head of the burnt offering,

The meaning of placing of the hands on the head of the animal is debated hotly, but the next clause explains why it is done. There is no need to go further, except to explain what the words in the clause signify. There is a perfect animal, one without reason – implying innocence, and it has been brought as a whole burnt offering to the Lord.

The people who bring it, do so for a reason. One does not mow a patch of sand, and one does not water plastic plants. The burnt offering is intended to appease the Lord. If the Lord needs to be appeased, it indicates that there is an offender who seeks that appeasement.

The person who places his hands on the animal then is acknowledging that this is HIS sacrifice. He is the offender, and it is his offering. He is asking that the offended will accept it in his place. The implication is that if it were not accepted, then his life is lost already, and would remain lost.

Further, it is implied that this sacrifice would be sufficient to accomplish the mission. However, as these sacrifices were made often, it could only mean that they merely pictured a more perfect offering which lay ahead of them. Thus it was an anticipatory offering until a final, perfect offering could be made.

*4 (fin) and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him.

The same word, ratsah, is used again here which was incorrectly translated as free-will offering in verse 3. The clause says, v’nirtsah lo l’kapher alav – “…and will be accepted to him to make atonement for him. The act of placing the hands on the head of the animal is what makes the transfer acceptable, and it is what then makes kaphar, or atonement, for the individual.


This word,
kaphar, comes from a root which means to cover. When Noah covered the ark with bitumen, the word was used. Thus, it figuratively means to cover over or expiate sin. In providing atonement, the Lord is granting mercy, and thus reconciliation is realized.

Although we are in the middle of a paragraph, this must be where we stop today, and so we will have to continue on with the rest of the chapter next week. The important thing to see so far is that the book of Leviticus begins with the need for an offering to satisfy God, and to restore us to a place of peace with Him.

We have already seen at the end of the book of Exodus that the Lord sanctified Israel by His presence. And yet, even with that understanding, the people of Israel were being told now that their sanctification was positional in His relation to them, but not complete in their relation to Him.

This is all the more evident by the fact that there are priests who were consecrated to minister to the Lord on their behalf. And it was even more evident because the priest had to be consecrated, and they needed to also participate in their own sacrifices before they could sacrifice for the people.

The more one looks into the law, into its requirements, and into what those requirements tell us, the more understanding there is that the law was and is wholly incapable of perfecting anyone. Only a perfect Person under the law could then transfer His perfection to the law-breakers.

And this is what Christ Jesus has done. We could simply cut and paste this thought to the end of every sermon we go through in the book of Leviticus. The law cannot perfect, but Christ can because He was (and is) perfect. It is not that the law is imperfect, but that those who are bound by it, with but one exception, are – in fact – imperfect. And so the law, and the book of Leviticus in particular shows us this.

The book begins with the notion of imperfection in man, and perfection in God. Who will bring the two together, and who will provide the needed imputation of righteousness? Thank God that the answer is found in the Lord Jesus Christ.

This is why the doctrines of men – of Judaizers and of works-based Catholics and of works-based protestants – these doctrines are so poisonous. They rob people of the grace of God which is found in Jesus Christ alone. When someone tells you they don’t eat pork, tell them, “That’s great.” But when someone tells you that you shouldn’t eat pork, “Call him heretic Herman” and have nothing more to do with him.

Jesus Christ embodies every single detail of this law which stands opposed to us. It never made a single person perfect. And so why on earth, God’s beautiful green earth, would you want to voluntarily place yourself back under this system designed specifically for one Man’s success and all others’ failure? Why?

We’re only four verses into Leviticus and already we see what the rabid, wicked, and heretical people of the world refuse to see. We need Jesus. Thank God for Jesus who embodies this law which stood opposed to us. Thank God for Jesus who stands in its place and offers us grace. Thank God for Jesus, for us the shining smile upon God’s face.

Closing Verse: “This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? Have you suffered so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain?” Galatians 3:2-4

Next Week: Leviticus 1:5-17 We started the chapter, and to its completion we will follow through… (The Burnt Offering, Part II) (2nd Leviticus Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you. He has a good plan and purpose for you. Even if you have a lifetime of sin heaped up behind you, He can wash it away and purify you completely and wholly. So follow Him and trust Him and He will do marvelous things for you and through you.

The Burnt Offering

Now the Lord called to Moses
Yes, He was relaying
And spoke to him
From the tabernacle of meeting, saying

Speak to the children of Israel
And say to them; let these words ring
When any one of you brings an offering to the Lord
You shall your offering bring

Of the livestock—
Of the herd and of the flock

If his offering is a burnt sacrifice of the herd
Let him offer a male without blemish; according to this word
He shall offer it of his own free will
At the door of the tabernacle of meeting before the Lord

Then he shall put his hand on the head
Of the burnt offering, this gesture he shall make
And it will be accepted
On his behalf for him to make atonement, for goodness sake

Lord God, how exciting it is to start Leviticus the book
And to ponder on the treasure hidden there
As we continue, help our eyes to carefully look
For Jesus in each word; surely He is revealed there

And be pleased as we continue to live in accord with Your word
Holding fast to the grace which is found in Christ Jesus
All glory we give to You, through Jesus our Lord
How can we hold back when so much He has done for us!

Hallelujah and Amen…

Jonah 2:1-4 (Out of the Belly of Sheol I Cried)

Jonah 2:1-4
Out of the Belly of Sheol I Cried

God gives us free will, and he allows us to exercise that free will even to our own detriment, but one thing that will never happen is that we will somehow thwart His will, His plans, and His purposes – both for ourselves and for those we are destined to influence.

This may seem contradictory, but it is not. God uses our choices, which He knew we would make, to accomplish His will and also to bring glory to Himself. We can’t use the “suicide” argument to say, see I’m going to beat God at His own game, because we’re making the incorrect assumption that we’re doing something that He didn’t expect. In the end, the only one who loses is us.

Jonah tried to get around God’s intent and purposes, but as we saw last week, God used nature and a group of Gentiles – men who didn’t know the One true God – to show him the error of his ways. If Jonah ended with chapter 1, we might assume that God’s plans hadn’t been accomplished.

In the same way, if the Bible ended with the Old Testament, then we could very well assume that the devil had won because paradise wasn’t restored and only the promise of a curse remained. But we know better. And so, when we’re done today, make sure to anticipate the rest of Chapter 2, and the final two chapters to see how God is vindicated in His intent and purpose for the Ninevites.

Likewise, Jesus Christ defeated the devil and brought about a great salvation for the souls of the world. The promise made at the very fall of man occurred exactly as it should. And yet, it was a promise which came about in a wholly unexpected way for the people who awaited their Messiah.

Text Verse: The waters flowed over my head;
I said, “I am cut off!”
55 I called on Your name, O Lord,
From the lowest pit.
56 You have heard my voice:
“Do not hide Your ear
From my sighing, from my cry for help.” Habakkuk 3:54-56

For Jonah, his deliverance was completely unexpected. It was not until he was in the belly of this fish that he realized things would work out as they should. I hope you’ll enjoy today’s sermon and that you’ll benefit from the amazing words Jonah passes on to us concerning his move from rebellion to repentance and obedience.

His prayer, like several other prayers in the Bible, is so beautiful and so heartfelt that it needs to be thought on and considered, not just read quickly and forgotten. Other prayers like this one are spoken by Hannah, David, Daniel, Nehemiah, Solomon, Hezekiah, Mary, etc. Each is recorded to give us insights into repentant, grateful, or petitioning hearts, and how God responds to them.

He placed these prayers in here for our benefit and we skip, or merely skim over, them at our own loss. Understanding what God responds to and why is of such great value in our walk with the Lord. Such treasures like Jonah’s prayer are to be found in His superior word. And so let’s turn to that precious word once again and… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. I Cried out to the Lord (verses 1 & 2)

We will be looking at what occurs before Jonah’s time in the belly of the fish, and yet the prayer is made from the fish’s belly. As most people consider that this was the sign which Jesus is referring to concerning Himself before the people of Israel, it is now, before we start looking at the verses, to determine if that is correct.

What is, in fact, the sign of Jonah? Is it that he was in the belly of the fish for 3 days and nights, or is it something else which hinges on the safe delivery of Jonah which necessitated the Lord’s intervention? The first thing to look at is that the Lord prepared a great fish to swallow him.

Secondly, there’s no doubt the account is true. Nowhere is it indicated that the story is merely allegorical. Jesus himself referenced it when referring to His own death and burial. There’s no reason why we should think He was citing this as allegory, or that He was merely accommodating His audience. He spoke as if it were a true account, because it is.

And because it says the Lord “prepared” a great fish, we know that it was appointed specifically for this moment in time to deliver him. Just as He appointed each step of David’s life to lead to, and continue him in the kingship, He appointed a fish for Jonah’s delivery. With God, all things are possible, and there is no problem with this account.

In the last sermon, we learned about the meaning of “three days and three nights” and how it can mean something less than 72 hours – indeed, it can mean much less. To demonstrate this from a different account in the gospels, we can go to that of the Transfiguration. First we’ll read the account from Matthew and then the same account from Luke –

“Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.” Matthew 17:1, 2

“Now it came to pass, about eight days after these sayings, that He took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray. As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening.” Luke 9:28, 29

In one account it says “after six days” and in the other it says “about eight days after” There’s no contradiction here. Matthew is speaking about a six day period followed by the day they went up the mountain. Luke is speaking about a seven day period from the previous account. This would have been “about eight days earlier.” In other words, a beginning and ending day with six in the middle.

We speak in exactly the same terms in English all the time based on who we’re talking to and the reference we’re using. We need not worry – the account of Jesus’ crucifixion and subsequent resurrection is clearly laid out in the Bible, and that information has been provided in the written notes of the last sermon.

Jesus rode the donkey into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday and He was crucified on a Friday. After this, He rose on a Sunday. The account is easily followed when properly laid out. And as I noted, thirteen times in the New Testament it says He rose on the third day. This is repeated in all four gospels, in Acts, and in 1 Corinthians.

Understanding this, the fourth point to determine is what is the sign Jesus is speaking about. On the surface, it appears that Matthew is saying that the sign of Jonah was that of him being in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights. After saying this, He said that He would be likewise in the belly of the earth.

In other words, the sign seems to be is His death and resurrection. But Luke leaves out the timeframe and the entire account of the fish. When he does this, he clears up the context – that the sign of Jonah is his preaching, and what that preaching stated… that destruction was decreed in 40 days. Looking at these verses in their proper light clearly shows that the preaching to the Ninevites was the sign. Here’s what Luke says –

“‘“And while the crowds were thickly gathered together, He began to say, “This is an evil generation. It seeks a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet. 30 For as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation. 31 The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here. 32 The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.”’” Luke 11:29-32

The sign is the preaching, which if rejected, would lead to destruction after 40 days. If we go back to Matthew and re-read what he presented there, we can see that Jesus does tell of His coming death and burial, but the sign is, like in Luke, the preaching in Nineveh. The resurrection bears witness to the truth of His preaching, which was to an already unbelieving people:

“‘“Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.”
39 But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here. 42 The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.”’” Matthew 12:39-41

Jesus’ words of the kingdom and of repentance to “this generation” are the ultimate sign of who He was. Other prophets spoke in the name of the Lord. On the other hand, Jesus spoke in His own name, under His own authority, and as the Son of the Father – “indeed a greater than Jonah is here.”

Can we substantiate this? Yes. He says at other times and under different contexts that He would be crucified and would rise on the third day as a confirmation of His words, such as in Matthew 26 –

“Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, that He said to His disciples, ‘You know that after two days is the Passover, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.’” Matthew 26:1, 2

His reference to Jonah in Matthew was only confirming that the time of His burial would be the same as Jonah’s time in the fish and that the resurrection would validate His words to the people. In other words, it is the preaching which is the sign of His office. As I said, unlike the prophets of old who spoke under the authority of the Lord, it is under His own authority, confirming that He is the Lord. When we get to chapter 3 of Jonah, we will read –

“And Jonah began to enter the city on the first day’s walk. Then he cried out and said, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!”” Jonah 3:4

Jonah spoke of destruction which was just 40 days away. This is the specific sign to Israel. This warning to repent or be overthrown turned out to be a day for a year, just as it was in the Old Testament. When Israel disobeyed in the wilderness, they were given a day for a year punishment for every day that the spies were gone. It was 40 days, and thus 40 years of punishment –

“According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, for each day you shall bear your guilt one year, namely forty years, and you shall know My rejection. 35 I the Lord have spoken this. I will surely do so to all this evil congregation who are gathered together against Me. In this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die.” Numbers 14:34, 35

In Ezekiel chapter 4, he was told to lay on his right side for 40 days signifying a day for a year of punishment for Judah. He was told the same for his left side, but for 390 days. It was a day for a year for the house of Israel. Together, they form the basis for the return of Israel in 1948. Jonah will call out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” The preaching is the sign that Jesus then references.

In 40 years, a day for a year, Israel would be destroyed and carried away exile. Forty years after Christ spoke to Israel, the nation was destroyed by the Romans – just as He said it would be in Matthew 23 –

“Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, 35 that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.36 Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.” Matthew 23:34-36

This may seem like a long introduction to verse 1, but it was necessary to dispel the incorrect assumption that the time in the belly of the fish was the sign to Nineveh, or that the time of Christ in the tomb was the sign to Israel. Rather, the word of God, spoken to Israel in fulfillment of Scripture, and under the full authority of the Lord, was the sign. The resurrection merely proved that.

Therefore, what we will look at today is confirmation of the truth that the word of the Lord is coming through Jonah. The word itself is the sign. Nothing is recorded that Nineveh even knew of Jonah’s time in the belly of the fish. But Jonah did, and so his word was full of the power of the Lord when he went to preach.

Then Jonah prayed

va’yitpalel yonah – “And prayed Jonah.” Jonah – again the name is given indicating that we are to think on its meaning, “Dove.” He has vacillated like the erratic flight of a dove between his calling to Nineveh and his flight to Tarshish. The reintroduction of his name is calling us to continue to consider the change in course which has occurred, and why it has come about.

God is moving Jonah through the drama, just as He is moving mankind through His plan of redemptive history. Jonah is merely used as a symbol of this. Right now, he is at the pivot point of his adventure, just as redemptive history was at its pivot point when Christ went to His cross and then to the grave, pictured by the events in Jonah now. Of these words, Joseph Benson says –

“Those devout thoughts and feelings which he had at that time, he afterward digested into the following prayer…” Joseph Benson

I’m not sure if he even caught his own pun, but being where Jonah is, the word “digested” fits perfectly. It is correct though that this was penned after the ordeal. It is not to be thought that he carried along ink, a pen, and parchment in order to chronicle his time in the belly of the fish.

This then is a sort of psalm of thanksgiving like one of David’s. After David’s many ordeals, he would often take the time to contemplate what occurred, and then put his thoughts into a marvelous psalm which is still cherished and adored by God’s people, even to this day.

This particular opening parallels the opening words of Hannah’s song in 1 Samuel 2 where the same words are used, changing only the name from Hannah to Jonah. As far as the word “pray” here. It is palal, a different word than that stated in Chapter 1. This indicates a prayer to God. It can, and in this case does, include supplication as well as thanksgiving.

The words of supplication are hinted at throughout the prayer but are otherwise unrecorded, and the thanksgiving is explicit in response to the answering of the supplication. Further, the prayers of petition and supplication indicate the time during his time in the ocean. The prayer of thanksgiving is recorded as being during his time in the belly of the fish.

He came to understand that the fish was actually his deliverer. It was a pledge of delivery and life, not an instrument of final destruction. We know this because the construction of the Hebrew in verse 7 shows a delivery already accomplished instead of the expectation of it. Verse 9 also speaks of the surety of events coming later, even though he was still in the fish. Only after these things will he be released from its belly.

Now while there, Jonah uses his time wisely and prays.  Good job Jonah! At the bleakest time of his life, he sought the face of the Lord. This isn’t unusual and it’s the pattern that most people follow as they plod along through life.

How often do we try our very best to run from the Lord and His directives just like Jonah, but when things go south, the first thing we do is pray. What happens after the prayer is what’s even more important though. When things stabilize, are we going to go back to our old habits or are we going to recognize God’s hand in our deliverance and obey Him from that point on?

I have a friend who is, as he calls himself, “spiritual.” However, the last thing he wants is a relationship with God. Some time ago, I got an email – “Charlie, I need prayer. I have something wrong and the doctors want to do a scan on me next week.” The fear in his email was almost tangible. I told him I’d pray for him. A few days later, he got the “all clear” from the doctors and I’m sure that was the last God has heard from him since then.

I’ve seen the pattern many times in the past and have read a jillion accounts like it from people during war time or natural disaster. Think of 9/11!

In the end, the only thing that matters is if we’re going to follow through with praise after the prayers or if we’re going to be the dog who returns to his vomit. The Lord is there and He is not a dummy.

1 (con’t) to the Lord his God

el Yehovah elohav – “…unto Yehovah his God.” It is of note that the term “his God” is used. In the previous chapter, he had said –

“I am a Hebrew; and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” (verse 1:9)

After that, it said in verse 16 –

“Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice to the Lord and took vows.” (verse 1:16)

Despite having been thrown over, and even though the sailors had come to know Yehovah, Jonah was not abandoned by Him. He remained the God of Jonah. It is a continued picture of Israel. They may have been cast away from the Lord, but the Lord is still their God – He and no other.

And in picture, we also see Christ, who called out – “My God, My God, Why have You forsaken Me?” In His humanity He may have been forsaken while bearing the sin of man, but His God is still His God. A separation existed, but the relationship did not cease.

Just as the prodigal son had come to his senses and returned to his father, Jonah likewise now returns to his God. The pattern is given for us to learn from. Israel is Israel, and they are the people of the Lord, whether they are in exile or in a restored relationship.

1 (con’t) from the fish’s belly.

mi’me-ah ha’dagah – “from  inward parts [of] the fish.” As I said, the prayer comes from the belly of the fish. He understood that the fish was, in fact, his deliverer. This is the second and last time that the me-eh, or internal inward parts, are mentioned in Jonah, and it is also the last time they are mentioned in the Bible.

The word, in fact, means “inward parts,” but it has two other uses as well. It is used as a metaphor for the heart, spirit, and emotions of a person, or even of God. And thirdly, it is used to speak of the reproductive organs of either a male or a female. In Ruth 1, it is used when speaking of the womb of Naomi.

This is the only time it is used of a creature, and so the use of the word is not without significance. The fish is the deliverer, and thus is a symbol of Christ. There is Jesus the Man, and there is Christ of God. And so each aspect of this word is seen. There are the literal inward parts; there is the emotion of what has occurred in the Lord through the work of Christ, and there is the new life which issues from the work of the Deliverer – there in the womb of life.

This is not a stretch. Jonah, typical of Jesus, will acknowledge that he was in the pit, meaning death, just as Jesus was. And so all of what is occurring to Jonah is given to us to understand the greater work of Christ. As he also is a picture of the Jewish people, the same three concepts can also be applied to them.

The emotions of their plight, the new birth they receive in Christ – all of it is tied up in what happens to Jonah. One word, carefully placed into the account, is given to show us so very much of what is going on in redemptive history.

As a curiosity for you, the word “fish” in verse 1:17 was dag, a male fish. Here in verse 2:1 it is dagah, a female fish. The speculation on the reason for this is almost endless. Some is so fanciful that it is absurd. One guy named Iz-khakis said that –

“Jonah was first swallowed by a male fish, and that because he did not pray in it, he was vomited up and swallowed by a female one, in which his situation was more confined, and that from this circumstance he was driven to prayer.” (from John Lange).

It may be stupid, but other people just count it up to a scribal error which is just as stupid. The Lord put this in the word for a reason, just as He did with gender discords elsewhere in the Bible. The book of Ruth has several. Therefore, there must be something which is being relayed to us about what has happened to Jonah.

In the Bible, wisdom is personified as a female. Instruction, or torah, is feminine as well. Therefore, the belly of the fish is being personified as a place of wisdom and instruction. And this is so. Jonah is said to have prayed “out of the fish’s belly” after his death in the sea. The fish is now equated to the place where knowledge is being conveyed concerning the process of redemption.

This seems logical, because the next time that the word “fish” is used, it will again be in the masculine. The fish that swallowed him is the same fish that will vomit him out – a male fish. But the belly of the fish here is being equated with knowledge concerning God’s redemptive workings.

Before we depart this verse, let us look at one final treasure. Jonah is said to have prayed out of the fish’s belly. It is in his true Deliverer – meaning the Lord – that he has found comfort. And it is to Him that he gives his words of prayer and thanksgiving.

What would seem like an odd place to praise God, becomes rather the place to praise God. And there is a lesson here which is confirmed by the actions of Paul and Silas after they were beaten by the magistrates in Philippi and then thrown into prison –

“But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.” Acts 16:25

The place where one is, and the situation that one finds himself in, is the place to pray to and praise the Lord. There is every reason to believe the miraculous account of Jonah, even to the last detail. And there is no reason to assume that “out of the belly of the fish” meant that he praised him, not after being in the belly of the fish, but while being in the belly of the fish.

And he said:

va’yomer – “And said.” The words which are recorded in this prayer follow very closely after the words of portions of several psalms. Because of this, liberal scholars immediately dismiss the account as fiction, and they point to is as a later writing which was simply attributed to the prophet Jonah.

There is no more reason to assume that, than there is that the words of the psalms merely match the thoughts and expressions of Jonah. He was a prophet of Israel, and he would have been well aware of the words of the psalms which were already written. The psalms which came later then would have built upon his words now.

Concerning the already written psalms, his mind would be filled with them, just as ours are when we face trials or triumphs. How many countless people, while pondering their plight have uttered the words, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” And how many people, having seen the majesty of God’s handiwork, then proclaimed, “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised.”

When I left to go around the US in 2010, my father wrote me a letter. It was obviously a moving time in his life, and so in it, he made several references to Scripture – something I had never seen him do before. Why liberal scholars are so gross in their analysis of the Bible is beyond me, but the word “peanutheaditis” quickly comes to mind. Jonah’s state of mind called for the word of God which was already instilled in him. And so, in turn, his words utter forth that same precious word.

His words of the next verses follow a pattern which is divided into three separate parts. Each part has a danger followed by a deliverance, or a set need and its accompanying help. Each builds upon the next to a crescendo of spiritual emotion issuing forth in praise. And each goes from hope to deliverance to thanksgiving.

As we go through this prayer, we have to not make the fundamental mistake of almost every scholar and commentary available. They almost unanimously equate the following words with the time while in the belly of the fish. This is in-cor-rect.

Verse 1 shows us that the prayer is made from the belly of the fish, and therefore it is the place of deliverance and safety, not the place of distress and affliction. In other words, the words from the fish’s belly reflect his condition before entering, not after. This is the place of wisdom and instruction which followed after the ordeal. The time in the sea equates to Jesus’ time on the cross.

2 (con’t) “I cried out to the Lord because of my affliction,

qarati mits-a-rah li el Yehovah – “I cried out of the affliction to me unto Yehovah.” Jonah’s life was given up for dead. His affliction was so great that there was no option left but to call out to the Lord. His strength had failed and he could not save himself. In like manner, Christ cried out in His tsarah, or affliction –

“Be not far from Me,
For trouble is near;
For there is none to help.” Psalm 22:11

2 (con’t) And He answered me.

va’yaa-neni – “And He answered me.” The same word is used by Jesus concerning God’s having answered the cry of His affliction –

“Save Me from the lion’s mouth
And from the horns of the wild oxen!
You have answered Me.” Psalm 22:21

Each step, we are seeing insights into the trial of Christ, and the relief from that trial. For Jonah now, the words acknowledge that in his affliction, the Lord answered him. At the time of the cry, he didn’t know it, only later. Thus he reverts back to his plight once again with the words…

2 (con’t) “Out of the belly of Sheol I cried,

mi’beten sheol shivati – “from womb [of] Sheol I cried.” These words explain what his affliction is. He wasn’t afflicted with boils, nor was he afflicted by enemies. Rather, he was afflicted with death itself. It says that he cried out from Sheol. Sheol is variously translated as “the pit,” “the grave,” and even “hell.” It is the place of the dead.

It is a moot point to speculate as to whether Jonah literally died, or if he is calling out as psalmists did, reflecting that their lives were otherwise ended without the Lord’s immediate intervention. If Jonah actually died in the sea, the fish swallowing him could have resuscitated him.

If so, he would make an exact picture of Christ. If not, and if he was only at the gates of death with no hope but death, it doesn’t change the situation for him at all. I say this because it is quite fashionable to hear people dogmatically state and argue that Jonah died. It is silly to go to such extremes.

The word used in this clause for “cried” is not the same as at the beginning of the verse. This word is shava. It is not just a simple calling out, but a cry for help. It comes from a primitive root meaning to be free, but it is used only causatively and reflexively.

It is calling out for freedom from plight and thus for help. There was a need which could not be met in any other possible way, and so he cried out for help. This clause is prophetically fulfilled in Christ as is evidenced from the words of the 30th Psalm –

“O Lord, You brought my soul up from the grave;
You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.” Psalm 30:3

The teaching which says that what occurred with Jonah was a literal death and resurrection as an advanced sign to Israel that the Messiah would die and then resurrect in fulfillment of the picture is false. The Jews of Jesus’ time were not expecting the death and resurrection of their Messiah, and the Jews of today are not expecting it of the messiah they believe will deliver them. David’s words of Psalm 86:13 say –

“For great is Your mercy toward me,
And You have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.”

Nobody claims that David was actually dead and then came back to life. It was understood that the symbolism speaks of a person who has been delivered from a violent mob that otherwise would have sent him to Sheol. It is perfectly in line with what Jonah is saying in his prayer.

Other passages in the Old Testament make the same claim as well, Isaiah for example. So to try to link the “sign of Jonah” to a prior understanding of a resurrection is false. Only after Christ’s work do we come to realize that the symbolism in Jonah points to death and resurrection.

2 (con’t) And You heard my voice.

shamata qoli – “…heard my voice” There is no “and” at the beginning of this clause in the Hebrew. Thus, it sets it off with a striking tone of contrast. There was a cry from the belly of hell itself, and yet, even from there his voice was heard. Whatever Jonah thought about fleeing from the Lord, he found that the words of the psalm are literally true –

“Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.” Psalm 139:7, 8

Even in the pit of Sheol itself, the Lord is available. Even death cannot separate us from our Creator. Several psalms closely match the words of this verse. One is the 18th Psalm which was written by David, and which Jonah would have been aware of. They each point to a prophetic fulfillment in Christ –

“The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me;
The snares of death confronted me.

In my distress I called upon the Lord,
And cried out to my God;
He heard my voice from His temple,
And my cry came before Him, even to His ears.” Psalm 18:5, 6

The 120th Psalm also closely matches Jonah’s words –

“In my distress I cried to the Lord,
And He heard me.” Psalm 120:1

As we move on, verse 3, like verse 5 and part of verse 6, will provide us with a vivid description of the danger and distress which surrounded Jonah. It thus details the circumstances which lead up to the words of verse 2.

Where can we find relief from the storm?
The waves rage and the breakers crash all around
Relieve us, O God, take away the harm
Lest the waters overwhelm and we are drowned

You are our hope, You – O Lord our God
There is no other; our eyes are on You
Save us from this ocean, so deep and so broad
This is our cry; grant us life anew

And we will bring You offerings of thanks and praise
We will come into Your temple; hearts of joy filling us
Grant us life anew; grant us eternal days
We call out for salvation; we call out for Jesus

II. Hope in the Lord (verses 3 & 4)

For You cast me into the deep,

va’tash-likeni metsulah – “And You had cast me into the deep.” The word for “cast” here is not the same as that used several times in chapter 1 which was translated as “threw.” The sailors had thrown Jonah in the sea, but it is the Lord who had cast him into the deep. They were but the instrumental cause of Jonah’s sentence, the Lord was, however, the Principle cause.

Surprisingly, the word for “deep” here was first used concerning the Egyptians who were cast into the depths of the Red Sea –

“Pharaoh’s chariots and his army He has cast into the sea;
His chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea.
The depths have covered them;
They sank to the bottom like a stone.” Exodus 15:4, 5

It is then something that Jonah must have considered. His fate was the same as those who came against Israel itself. Thus, his deliverance is one of mercy, not because it was deserved. We are learning from the account through the choice of the words, that all are under the same sentence because of sin, but the Lord demonstrates mercy upon whom He will show mercy.

The words of this clause reflect the same state which David faced, and thus which prophetically look forward to what Christ Himself faced –

“I sink in deep mire,
Where there is no standing;
I have come into deep waters,
Where the floods overflow me.” Psalm 69:2

3 (con’t) Into the heart of the seas,

bilvav yammim – “Into heart seas.” The heart, in this sense, is metaphorically the midst or center, just as we use it today. He was on a vessel in the open seas, and he was cast out into those seas. To him, there was no more hope of swimming to the west than there was to the east. And should he have gone south, it would have made no difference than if he had chosen north. In all directions, there was but water; only water.

To be left alone to die in such a state has got to be one of the most horrific deaths imaginable. The immensity of the open waters is beyond overwhelming. And possibly worse, there’s a greater uncertainty in the ocean. In the ocean, your legs simply dangle into the vast void…

“Tempting anything in sight,
for a nibble or a bite.”

Jonah knew his time was up as he floundered in the great empty waste of the sea.

3 (con’t) And the floods surrounded me;

v’nahar yeso-veveni – “And river compassed about me.” The river of the sea is its current. In the Mediterranean Sea, it sets from west to east. It then reaches the coast of Syria and turns north. Even if he were to be carried back towards his beloved home, he would still most likely be swept north before reaching there. He was surrounded and without hope in the midst of the sea. The words of this clause and the previous one look to the work of Christ prevailing over both the seas and the rivers –

“But My faithfulness and My mercy shall be with him,
And in My name his horn shall be exalted.
25 Also I will set his hand over the sea,
And his right hand over the rivers.
26 He shall cry to Me, ‘You are my Father,
My God, and the rock of my salvation.’” Psalm 89:24-26

3 (con’t) All Your billows and Your waves passed over me.

kal mish-barekha v’galekha alay abaru – “…all your breakers and your waves over me passed.” As Jonah struggled to survive, the force of the ocean was too much. The mishbar, or breakers, are the waves which fold over themselves and descend in heavy billows of white foam. The force of them will easily push a swimmer under. The word comes from shavar, meaning “to break.”

The gal, or waves, comes from the word galal, meaning “to roll.” These would be the waves which would lift him on high and then drop him to their base, thus they are said, like the breakers, to pass over him. The same words are used in the 42nd Psalm –

“Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterfalls;
All Your waves and billows have gone over me.” Psalm 42:7

The swelling ocean of death which Christ faced was an overwhelming flood which carried Him down, and yet with it was carried the sin of man which is what brought Him to that calamitous state in the first place. He was willing to enter the sea of chaos and confusion in order to bring us safely to the shore of harmony, peace, and contentment. This was His confidence, just as the confident words of verse 4 were experienced by Jonah. In the next words, there is seen faith which triumphs over despondency…

Then I said, ‘I have been cast out of Your sight;

va’ani amari nigrashti mi-neged enekha – “And I, I said I have been cast from before Your eyes.” The words here are remarkably similar to those in the 31st Psalm –

“For I said in my haste,
‘I am cut off from before Your eyes’” Psalm 31:22

To be cast out from before the eyes of the Lord is to be cast out of His favor. Jonah had been so cast to teach him a lesson. Christ had been so cast to save the souls of men. Jonah was cast into the sea of water, and Christ into the sea of chaos and death. Both acknowledged their plight, but they also knew that it was not to be the end. Jonah was given relief and a new chance at life in the form of a fish; Christ was raised by the power of God to eternal life…

*4 (fin) Yet I will look again toward Your holy temple.’

akh osiph l’habit el hekal qad-shekha – “Yet, again I will look toward temple Your holy.” The word he uses here, akh, is an adverb which means “surely.” It is a word intended to emphasize that which follows it, and is in contrast to that which precedes it. Understanding that, we can look at the two clauses again.

“And I said, I have been cast from before your eyes – SURELY – again I will look toward Your holy temple.”

Here in verse 4, between verses of doom, there is a glimmer of hope, even a certainty of it. He was a prophet and knew his commission. He also knew that God had a plan which he was to carry out. When he says, “Yet I will look again toward Your holy temple” there’s no reason to assume he was speaking of the resurrection or heaven.

Rather, he has made the logical deduction that because the Lord had sent the storm, and because the sailor’s lot pointed to him, God still intended to use him. There in the belly of the fish, clarity of the situation came through.

The same is true with Christ. He knew God’s plan, He faithfully carried it out, and He understood that He would again enter heaven’s holy temple upon completion of His mission. Jonah’s words are confident, and they are filled with a sense of anticipation. They are mirrored by the words of the 5th Psalm which ultimately point to the greater work of Christ –

“But as for me, I will come into Your house in the multitude of Your mercy;
In fear of You I will worship toward Your holy temple.” Psalm 5:7

How often do we find ourselves in exactly the same position? When everything is chaos around us and it seems as if our heads are under water, we still have moments of clarity where we remember that God really is in control and that He has a plan and a purpose that we haven’t fully pieced together.

Just this week, the son of a girl I went to school with was murdered. And yet, she was able to write the following to all who see here Facebook page –

“I am devastated with the loss I am experiencing. I am numb! My faith in Jesus Christ is sustaining me and my Mom.”

Though she is surrounded by waves of anguish, she still retains clarity of thought because of the Lord. Christ has gone before us, and so we can be assured that what He has promised will come to pass. Let our hearts not be troubled in this world which is often filled with chaos and confusion.

Closing Verse: “In my distress I called upon the Lord,
And cried out to my God;
He heard my voice from His temple,
And my cry came before Him, even to His ears.” Psalm 18:6

Next Week: Jonah 2:5-10 There’s only one way back to God, so climb aboard… (Salvation is of the Lord) (6th Jonah Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you. He has a good plan and purpose for you. Even if a deep ocean rages against you and is ready to swallow you up, He can send delivery to you in the most remarkable of ways. So follow Him and trust Him and He will do marvelous things for you and through you.

Out of the Belly of Sheol

Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God
From the fish’s belly; a place quite odd

And he said:
“I cried out to the Lord because of my affliction
And He answered me
“Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, hoping for fish-belly eviction
And You heard my voice, here in the depths of the sea

For You cast me into the deep
Into the heart of the seas where I was cast
And the floods surrounded me, as if me to keep
All Your billows and Your waves over me passed

Then I said, ‘I have been cast out of Your sight
Yet I will look again toward Your holy temple’
You shall relieve me from this plight

Lord God, we have all been caught in the sea of sin
The breakers and the waves have surrounded us
Surely, there seemed no hope; we were done in
And yet, Praise God! You sent Your Son Jesus

We thank You, O God for the ending of all strife
We thank You for Christ Jesus who has granted us new life

Hallelujah and Amen…

Jonah 1:13-17 (The Sea Ceased From its Raging)

Jonah 1:13-17
The Sea Ceased from its Raging

The verses in Jonah today will show us, once again, a truth which permeates the Bible. It is that God is pleased with obedience to His word, and that such obedience is displayed in acts of faith. Jonah is being used to make several pictures simultaneously. He is being used to picture Israel, obstinate and contrary to the will of God until the point that all hope is lost.

He is also being used to picture the Person and work of Christ. As with all pictures, there will be things that don’t perfectly match, and so the underlying truths need to be looked for, rather than an obvious one-to-one comparison. If everything were exact comparisons, then we would simply be reading the story of Jesus.

But as in all such passages of the Bible, there is the type and then there is the Anti-type. The types are used to make pictures which lead us to the greater Anti-type. Such was the case with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, David, and a great host of others. And such is the case with Jonah.

Today’s verses are somewhat similar to what happened to Joseph when he was cast into the pit by his brothers. That account pictured Christ in a particular way. In a like manner, Jonah will be cast into the sea. From that act, there will be a resulting action. And connected to that is the premise that man is saved by faith. This is seen in our text verse for today –

Text Verse: “But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe.” Romans 3:21-22

Who is it that goes away from today’s passage in safety and gratitude to God? Who is it that God responded to because of their act of faith? The answer is obvious, but there is more than just the surface story. Rather, there is a lot of depth and marvelous detail in these five verses.

How can it be that the death of one can be the salvation of many? It is a theme which permeates the Bible and which is seen once again in these verses, and so let’s jump right into them. It’s all to be found in His superior word. And so let’s turn to that precious word once again and… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised

I. You, O Lord, Have Done as it Pleased You (verses 13-16)

13 Nevertheless the men rowed hard to return to land,

va’yakhteru ha’anashim l’hashiv el ha’yabashah – “and dug down the men to return unto the dry land.” The verse begins with “And” in the Hebrew, but English translations normally choose contrasting words such as “however,” “nevertheless,” “even so,” “but,” or “instead.”

There is a reason for this. The word translated as “rowed hard,” khatar, is a word which indicates “to dig.” This is the last of just 8 times that it is seen in Scripture. It comes from a primitive root which indicates “to force a passage, as by burglary.”

This is the only time in the Bible that it is used in this sense. All seven other times, it is translated as to dig, such as through a wall in order to break through it, or even to dig into the pit of hell itself (Amos 9:2). From this, we can see that these men literally dug deep into the water, in order to make headway.

Their sails were of no use to them, and so they resorted to brute force in order to find safe harbor. The choice of the word provides us with the mental image of these men literally trying to dig through the walls of the waves, as if trying to break out of the tempestuous prison they are in, and into safety.

It gives the sense of really working hard on their part. The Hebrew is active and alive. It is for this reason that many translations begin the verse with a contrasting word like “But” in order to set off the words of Jonah from the last verse which said –

“Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will become calm for you. For I know that this great tempest is because of me.”

What we are viewing then is a group of people to whom have been explained the means by which they can be saved from the raging tempest, and yet who are adamant to save their wayward passenger, even at the possible expense of their own lives.

In other words, a complete contrast is being shown us between Jonah who has fled from the Lord in order to not bring a saving message to the entire city of Nineveh, and to these pagans who are willing to risk their own lives for the sake of a single, guilty, man. The contrast is stark and it is striking.

13 (con’t) but they could not, for the sea continued to grow more tempestuous against them.

v’lo yakolu ki ha’yam holek v’soer alehem – “…and no do they could, for the sea worked and was whirling against them.” The same term that was used in verse 11 is again used here as the sea continued to work and whirl into an even more tempestuous rage. It grew more and more, and no matter what they did, it was a futile effort for them.

Quite often in our own lives, the seas work against us, and it seems that the harder we fight against them, the more the waves mount up against us. In such cases, it could be that we are not living in accord with the word. These men have been told what will save them, but they have a conflict between their moral stand and what the spoken word has revealed.

In Israel, the Lord mandated the death penalty for certain infractions of the law. The people were not given the choice as to whether they could carry out the penalty or not. For example, in Exodus 22 we read these words –

“You shall not permit a sorceress to live.
19 “Whoever lies with an animal shall surely be put to death.
20 “He who sacrifices to any god, except to the Lord only, he shall be utterly destroyed.” Exodus 22:18-20

If those laws stood today, would we follow through with the punishment? Obviously not. Nor did Israel. They found that extenuating circumstances, degrading morality, and outright rebellion against the Lord was more suitable to their tastes than obedience to His word.

Israel faced their own storms of trials and judgment for not adhering to the word of the Lord, and these men – despite doing what is noble – will continue to face the waves until they obey the Lord’s word.

On the other hand, this also doesn’t necessarily mean that when such trials come, that we’re being disobedient towards the Lord. We can, in fact, have storms while being completely obedient to Him. Instead of trying to make it to a safe harbor on our own, we need to evaluate our lives and align them with the word. If that is already the case, then we need to come to the Lord with our burden and ask Him to carry us through it.

14 Therefore they cried out to the Lord and said,

va’yiqreu el Yehovah va’yomeru – “And cried out to Yehovah and said.” The words make it apparent that they honestly believe Jonah’s words, and that it is Yehovah who has sent the storm against them. As Jonah previously explained to them, He is the God of heaven who made the sea and the dry land.

They have come to accept this as it was spoken to them, and thus they possess the knowledge that because He is the Creator, He is also the One who controls the creation. And so they no longer cry out, every man to his own god, as in verse 5. Rather, they collectively cry out to the true God.

The raging of the winds and the billowing of the waves are caused by Him, and therefore Jonah’s other words must then also be true. Jonah has brought this plight upon them. In order for it to end, he must be cast over the side of the ship…

14 (con’t) “We pray, O Lord, please do not let us perish for this man’s life,

annah Yehovah al na novedah b’nephesh ha’ish hazzeh – “We beg of you, Yehovah, no we pray perish for soul the man this.” If we step back for a second and look at Jonah as a type of Israel as a whole, compared to the pagans here and elsewhere in the story, we can see the strong and obvious contrast between them. There is the stubbornness of Israel, but the complete willingness of the Gentiles to accept the word of the Lord, to do what is right, and to acknowledge the sovereignty of God.

These Gentiles have been given only a small insight into the nature of the Lord, and yet now, they call out to Him by name, yielding themselves completely and wholly to Him.

In their cry, they use a word which is rather rare in Scripture, annah, it being seen just 13 times. It is a contraction of two other words, ahava, meaning “love,” and na, meaning “please.” In essence, “I beg of you.” It is a begging which would come from the soul of the man in a deep and heartfelt petition.

The word is directed to Yehovah, understanding that He alone can grant the petition which has been made. This is the only time that it is used by someone outside of the covenant line of the people of Israel. Despite being pagans, their cry to Yehovah is heartfelt and it is sincere.

The petition is for the sake of their own lives being granted to them for complying with the spoken word against Jonah which will result in the taking his life. What is known to them is that in the taking of another’s life, their lives would thus, under normal circumstances, be forfeit. Though pagans, and outside of the covenant line who lived under the Law of Moses, the memory of what was spoken to their ancestor Noah remained with them –

“Whoever sheds man’s blood,
By man his blood shall be shed;
For in the image of God
He made man. “ Genesis 9:6

Understanding the consequences of this, they beg now for mercy…

14 (con’t) and do not charge us with innocent blood;

v’al titen alenu dam naqiy – “and not lay on us blood innocent.” The adjective naqiy, or innocent, was first used in Genesis 24:41. This is the last time it will be used in the Bible. It indicates being blameless, exempted, or free from guilt. Here we see a foreshadowing of the work of Christ. Pilate washed his hands and declared Christ innocent as is seen in Matthew 27:24 –

“When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a tumult was rising, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, ‘I am innocent of the blood of this just Person. You see to it.’”

They see Jonah’s blood as innocent, and yet they understand that he must die in order for them to live. The passage looks back to Genesis, indicating that they still intuitively understood the words of the Lord to Noah. Guilt is reckoned to anyone who would shed man’s blood. However, the circumstances of their situation called out that they not be charged in this case. And so it also looks forward to Christ who takes away the guilt through His death. Albert Barnes precisely states the situation of these men –

“And lay not upon us innocent blood – innocent as to them, although, as to this thing, guilty before God, and yet, as to God also, more innocent, they would think, than they. For, strange as this was, one disobedience, their whole life, they now knew, was disobedience to God; His life was but one act in a life of obedience. If God so punishes one sin of the holy (1 Peter 4:18), ‘where shall the ungodly and sinner appear?’ Terrible to the awakened conscience are God’s chastenings on some (as it seems) single offence of those whom He loves.” Albert Barnes

Though Christ Jesus never sinned, it was reckoned to Him as if He did. To these men, they saw Jonah as innocent towards them, even if counted guilty before God. In the imputation of our guilt to Christ, and His righteousness imputed to us, we see how the perfect Christ corresponds directly to the guilty Jonah. This is how the Lord saw it in both instances, and therefore, His will must be yielded to. This is next explicitly stated…

14 (con’t) for You, O Lord, have done as it pleased You.”

ki attah Yehovah kaasher khaphats-ta asita – “For You, Yehovah, as pleasing to You, You have done.” The words are robust and impressive. They acknowledge that everything has been according to the will of the Lord. The storm arising, the casting of the lots, the words of Jonah concerning what had to happen to him… all of it is as has been directed by the Lord. This word, khaphets, is the same word found in Isaiah 53:10 – “It pleased the Lord to bruise Him.” We are seeing the work of Christ in type and picture.

In the Hebrew, the actions are described with three simple words, and yet they form a profession of faith as great as any found anywhere else, “As is pleasing to You, so You have done.” Their words are reflective of the words of the psalmist who was certainly, like each of them had become, a man of faith –

“For I know that the Lord is great,
And our Lord is above all gods.
Whatever the Lord pleases He does,
In heaven and in earth,
In the seas and in all deep places.” Psalm 135:5, 6

Because the Lord is sovereign, we have but two choices, yield to His will, or buck against it to our own harm and shame. The sailors having become men of faith, conformed their actions according to His will. Again, the words of Jonah are given to show us the stark contrast between Israel and the Gentile people of the world. Contrast their actions to those of Manasseh the King of Judah who would live only a short time later –

“Moreover Manasseh shed very much innocent blood, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another, besides his sin by which he made Judah sin, in doing evil in the sight of the Lord.” 2 Kings 21:16

In the account of Jonah, pagans had concern over a single life, but Manasseh, shed innocent blood without a second thought. In the New Testament, we continue to see a contrast. Not only was Jonah innocent in their eyes, even more, he was a prophet of the Lord.

They risked their lives to save him, and when they finally had no remedy, they begged for pardon from the guilt of his blood. Jesus speaks out the contrast between their actions towards the Lord’s prophet and those of the people of Jerusalem –

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing! 35 See! Your house is left to you desolate; and assuredly, I say to you, you shall not see Me until the time comes when you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’” Luke 13:34, 35

While we’re talking about the guilt of innocent blood, I might as well bring up our own guilt. For 44 years, we have been swimming in a pool of blood, to the tune of almost 60 million lives murdered through abortion. The guilt of this nation, and especially the democrat party of the United States, reeks to heaven.

May God help us to open our eyes to see and to turn from what we are doing. I pray that the new leaders of our nation will do everything they can to end all funding to these devils, and to overturn the horrifying and ungodly law which has made us ripe for God’s judgment.

15 So they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea,

Va’yisū eth yonah v’tilu-hu el ha’yam – “And they lifted up Jonah and cast him forth into the sea.” For the fourth and last time in the book of Jonah, and also for the last time in the Bible, the word tul or “hurl” is used. It was used in verse 4 when the Lord hurled the great wind upon them. It was again used when the sailors hurled their cargo overboard, and then it was used by Jonah to tell those same sailors what they were to do with him – hurl him over. Now all the hurling at sea is over. The reluctant sailors took the necessary action and the matter was resolved.

We must ask why it is so specific concerning lifting Jonah up. In verse 12, Jonah specifically told the sailors to lift him up and cast him into the sea. Why didn’t he just say “Cast me into the sea.”? In verse 5, it doesn’t say they lifted up the cargo and cast it into the sea. It just says they cast it into the sea. It is because a picture is being made for us. In fulfillment of verse 12 Jesus said in the following in John 12 –

“And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.” John 12:32

And in fulfillment of this verse, we read this in Isaiah 52, using the same word, nasah, as is found here in Jonah –

“See, my servant will act wisely; he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.” Isaiah 52:13

We are being given a prophecy and a fulfillment of the prophecy, right before our eyes. Each word is revealing the work of Christ.

In 1831, someone noticed for the first time that Jupiter had a big red spot on it. Eventually they figured out that it was a giant storm, like a hurricane. No one knows how long it’s been there or how long it will continue… it just keeps raging on. Anyone who has been in a storm on the sea knows that every minute is like an eternity.

Eventually though, all storms do end. Some lose steam as they come onto land. Some storms fade out from cross winds. Some storms die out from temperature drops. And some storms end because the Lord’s wrath is appeased. The men nasah, or lifted up Jonah. In Isaiah 52, it says the Lord Jesus would likewise be nasah, or lifted, up…

15 (con’t) and the sea ceased from its raging.

va’yaamod ha’yam mizapo – “and stood the sea from her anger.” The word amad means “to stand.” It is used here in the same manner as we use the word in English. The storm “stood” still or ceased. And so you get the mental impression of activity. The storm was as if crouched down, raging and blowing all around the sailors, but as the word of the Lord was obeyed, the storm stood, as if at attention, and the raging ended.

Again, in the sudden cessation of the storm, we have a parallel to the crucifixion of Christ. Although it was darkness and not a storm which the writers describe, it lasted during the ordeal, and ended when the life ended, pictured by Jonah’s being cast into the sea –

“‘“Now it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. 45 Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two. 46 And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’” Having said this, He breathed His last.”’” Luke 23:44-46

In Jonah’s being cast from among the living, the storm ceased, and that anger of the storm was over. In the casting of the life of Christ from among the living, the pall of darkness likewise ceased, and the anger of God at the sin of man was quieted and appeased.

The raging sea of God’s wrath had ended, and peace was restored. The prediction of Jonah was realized among these sailors of faith, and the promises of Scripture, even from the time of the fall of man itself, are likewise realized among those who, by faith, cast their sins at the foot of Calvary’s cross.

God’s wrath is on the opposite side of the coin of God’s mercy. When, by faith, the sailors threw Jonah in, His mercy could finally be realized. In the same way, when Jesus woke up and exercised His power, the storm on the Sea of Galilee ended. A mere rebuke from His breath and all was calm –

“But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. 27 So the men marveled, saying, ‘Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?’” Matthew 8:26-27

And then going back to the account from Acts, the ship Paul was on wasn’t saved. It was destroyed on a shoal as the waves beat it to pieces, but all of the people on board were saved. Because of Paul’s faithful witness, the Bible says God graciously granted the lives of all who were aboard. Again and again the Bible demonstrates the power of faith.

How we conduct ourselves now affects everyone we come in contact with – even if we only cross their paths for a moment. A good question to ask as we drive and lose our temper, as we shop and don’t find what we want, as we impatiently wait on hold for the technician is, “How will what I do affect my Christian testimony in their lives?” If we remember His presence in all we do, we should have no fear, frustration, or fret. He is in control and is tending to our every need. As we live our lives, we can repeat the proverb…

“When you lie down, you will not be afraid;
Yes, you will lie down and your sleep will be sweet.” Proverbs 3:24

16 Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly,

va’yire-ū ha’anashim yirah gedolah eth Yehovah – “And feared the men, afraid whoppingly, Yehovah.” What may be the stupidest commentary ever penned on this verse, the Geneva Bible says, “They were touched with a certain repentance of their past life, and began to worship the true God by whom they saw themselves as wonderfully delivered. But this was done for fear, and not from a pure heart and affection, neither according to God’s word.”

The fear referred to here, is given as a contrast to the fear that they previously held. This exact same phrase, word for word, was used in verse 10 with but a slight difference. In verse 10, they had just heard Jonah’s words that he was a Hebrew who feared Yehovah, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.

Now, their fear is still directed to Yehovah, but instead of it being vague and uncertain – a fear which leads to death, it is a fear whose object is Yehovah, the God of Jonah; the Creator – it is a fear that leads to life. Further it was wholly in accord with God’s word as given to them by Jonah.

The Geneva commentary could not be more wrong. The Bible is giving us this contrast for a specific reason, and it’s not to assume that there was no change in these Gentiles, but rather a complete and total change.

The fear of Yehovah, we are told, is the beginning of wisdom. They have started on their journey through the fear of Yehovah, with a pure heart and a directed affection.

This brings us back to the word yayin or “wine” which is related to the name Yonah, or Jonah, which we evaluated at the start of this adventure. As we saw, vineyards represent the cultural side of humanity. There are various vineyards which are various cultures. Vineyards produce grapes, or cultural expressions, and these are mixed together through a mashing process to produce wine.

In the Bible, wine then symbolizes the merging together of these expressions into a result. The thing that ought to happen can happen, symbolized by wine. It is as if an act of reasoning is occurring, and an intended result is realized. It is as if we are “seeing wisdom as wine drawn from the grapes of observations and deductions” (Abarim).

Like a dove, Jonah’s adventure so far has vacillated, but in the course of events, the minds of the people are changed, and the redemptive process of God is revealed. Jonah is being equated with what his name means, “Dove.” But the root of his name, and the variations of it, are being drawn together by God to tell us a story.

Just as Jonah was the means by which these Gentiles have come to know and fear Yehovah, so Jesus as the fulfillment of the picture, is the means by which the Gentile world, once on the raging sea of chaos, is brought to the peaceful waters of rest in the knowledge of the true God.

The sailors had seen the marvelous power of the Lord as it worked in relation to Jonah. The disciples with Jesus, and the men aboard the ship with Paul, had seen the marvelous power of the Lord as it worked in relation to Christ and the message of Christ. In each circumstance, the words of the psalmist are fulfilled –

Fire and hail, snow and clouds;
Stormy wind, fulfilling His word; Psalm 148:8

In order to effect His word in the lives of others, He even uses the elements to do His bidding and to fulfill His word.

16 (con’t) and offered a sacrifice to the Lord

v’yizbekhu zebakh l’Yehovah – “…and they sacrificed (a) sacrifice to Yehovah,” What the sacrifice was is not said, and thus it is not important what it was. Scholars argue over this as if they were standing there and watching the events unfold. Some argue that they had live animals on board and used them as sacrifices. Some argue that they had already thrown their cargo over and so this wouldn’t be possible.

It is all vain and useless conjecture. In the Bible, the zebakh, or “sacrifice” is not limited to animals. They very well may have sacrificed animals, but it could be a meal offering, a sacrifice of joy, a sacrifice of a contrite and broken heart, a sacrifice of righteousness, or a sacrifice of thanksgiving. The word zebakh is used to describe all of these in Scripture.

Whatever they chose to sacrifice, it was to the Lord and not to the false gods they once prayed to. They had, in essence, come to the foot of the cross, there to worship the true Lord of all.

16 (con’t) and took vows.

va’yider-ū nedarim – “and vowed vows.” The sacrifices were made as “right now” offerings to Yehovah. They were directed to him with hearts of contrition, in joy, with thanksgiving, and as a righteous oblation to Him. The vows were made as future conduct towards Him.

They were intended to bind them to the Lord from that point on, and to live for Him as much as could be expected from men apart from the law, but who lived under His grace. The man in the foxhole facing death will inevitably make vows to God. How many will he later act on?

I once listened to a man who was in WWII. He saw a another man ordered to move forward and take out a machine gun nest. The guy charged forward and was shot almost immediately. As he lay there dying, he recited the words of the 23rd Psalm.

The man in the foxhole asked the Lord to give him the same type of faith, and he made a promise to God that if he survived, he would dedicate his life to the Lord. When he arrived back in Texas, he planted numerous churches. But even after tirelessly working throughout his remaining years, he felt he had not done enough in repayment to the Lord. He made a vow and he kept it.

It’s an important lesson for each of us. We need to remember to fulfill our vows when we make them. This theme is repeated throughout the Bible and is something God expects of us –

“Make vows to the LORD your God, and pay them;” Psalm 76:11

Were the book to end with at this point, we could look at the story in one of two ways – that God’s plans were thwarted towards the Ninevites because Jonah was cast over and died. Or we could look at it as God’s plans were actually directed all along at those who sailed with Jonah; bringing them to salvation in the Lord.

However, we need not speculate because this is not the end of the story. Instead, God’s plan wasn’t only for the men on the ship, but for those in Nineveh as well. In the Hebrew text, Jonah Chapter 1 ends with verse 16. Verse 17 actually starts Chapter 2.

How the oceans rage, and the winds blow so strong
There is no way for us to safely reach the shore
When will come relief? This tempest will last how long?
When will the waves die down, to threaten us no more?

It is as if God’s wrath rests upon us, as we sail on
Is there no way for the sea to be calm and still once again
Has God abandoned us, is all hope gone
Is this our sad destiny, and the fate of all men?

No! For in one mighty act the seas have quieted and are still
When the Lord was cast into the turbulent sea
In His death, Christ Jesus has fulfilled God’s will
And brought us once again to a place of peace and tranquility

II. The Deliverer (verse 17)

17 Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah.

vay-man Yehovah dag gadol livloa eth yonah – “And had appointed Yehovah fish whopping to swallow Jonah.” There is a lot about this verse which is misunderstood, or often mistranslated. First, the word here translated as “had prepared” is manah. It means “to count.” Thus the fish has been “appointed,” not “prepared.”

Using “prepared” is misleading and gives the sense of an act of creation. Rather, God has created, and he has appointed his creation to act at certain counts, or times, in order to meet His needs. He employs His created agents to do His bidding at His will.

Secondly, the “great fish” here is incorrectly translated in the New Testament by some versions as “whale.” This is unjustifiable and it is incorrect. The Hebrew word is dag. It indicates a prolific beast; one that greatly multiplies, as is seen in fish, not in mammals.

Great studies have been done on this, which, if you want to learn more just go browse the internet. This was probably a sea-dog or a type of shark which is found in the Mediterranean Sea. In fact, the scholar Keil notes the following –

“…in the year 1758 a sailor fell overboard from a frigate, in very stormy weather, into the Mediterranean Sea, and was immediately taken into the jaws of a sea-dog (carcharias), and disappeared. The captain, however, ordered a gun, which was standing on the deck, to be discharged at the shark, and the cannon-ball struck it, so that it vomited up again the sailor that it had swallowed, who was then taken up alive, and very little hurt, into the boat that had been lowered for his rescue.”

Jonah really was cast over the side, and a great fish really did swallow him whole. There is no reason to assume that in order to arrive at the Anti-type, Christ, that the Lord would merely use an allegory to make his point. Rather, he used a real person, with real circumstances, to point us to the true fulfillment of what is now only pictured.

The casting of Jonah over the side was symbolic of his death, and thus a picture of the death of the Lord. The calming of the sea was then a picture of the calming of the wrath against man which was realized in Christ’s death.

The swallowing of Jonah by the great fish, is not as most scholars claim a picture of his death, but of his deliverer from his state of death. Just as Christ died on the cross and was then entombed, Jonah was swallowed by the fish after what could be considered his death. This will be seen in the coming chapter.

*17 (fin)And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

vay’hi yonah bime ha’dag sheloshah yamim u-sheloshah lelowt – “And was Jonah in the belly the fish three days and three nights.” What is the greatest tragedy of all, and which has led to innumerable and incorrect rabbit trails concerning the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, the words here are reflective of the Hebrew way of reckoning time. This in no way signifies complete days and nights of 24-hour duration, or thus a period of 72 hours. For example, in Esther 4:16, we read –

“Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!” Esther 4:16

In Esther 5:1, we then read this –

“Now it happened on the third day that Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the king’s palace, across from the king’s house, while the king sat on his royal throne in the royal house, facing the entrance of the house.” Esther 5:1

It was the third day from the proclamation, not the fourth or even the fifth day from it. From the first page of the Bible onward, Hebrew has no single word to express what we would consider a natural day. The time here can express one whole day and a part of the other two. We do this in our own language as well.

I might say that I will be out of town for three days, when I leave on Monday afternoon and return on Wednesday morning. I was, in fact, gone for three days, just not for three full days. I also might say, “I have worked for ten days, day and night, in order to finish this project.” This does not mean that I worked the entire time, but that the entire time was consumed with my work.

This is how Hebrew time is reckoned in the Bible. It is no different than how the Bible records such things and the Jewish audience of Matthew would understand this. The same account in Luke concerning Christ’s time in the tomb reads differently from Matthew because it’s given to a different audience. This becomes important in correctly identifying the time and day that Christ was crucified, and the time and day that He arose.

Thirteen times in the New Testament it says that He rose “on the third day.” As He rose on a Sunday, the simplest way to resolve this is to count back from the third day. Sunday (1); Saturday (2); Friday (3). However, though more complicated, this timeline is confirmed through a proper study of the gospel records and which I will include at the end of the written sermon which is available on-line. At no charge too.

Understanding this, Jonah’s time in the belly of the fish could have been less than 72 hours, and yet still fulfilling the required sense of the Hebrew reckoning of time. What is important, again, is the type and the Anti-type. All of which points to Christ.

Everything about the narrative is giving us clues of other things – the work of Christ, the bringing in of Gentiles to the Lord by mercy, grace, and faith, the stubbornness of Israel against the Lord and the willingness of the Gentiles to receive Him. Redemptive history is being revealed to us in a marvelous snapshot.

It is as if a tribunal has been held. The ship becomes the courtroom, the sailors become the jury, the raging winds and the storm are the accusers, the Lord’s prophet is the accused, the sea is the instrument and pit of death, the fish is the deliverer from death and the womb of life, and behind it all is the hand of the Lord, directing the story.

If you’re a Jew or a Gentile, a male or a female – if you’re a businessman or a drug addict, a prostitute or a housewife – no matter what your race, creed, or culture, you will also face a trial as an accused. You can face it alone, or you can face it with one who has already stood in your place, willing to take your sentence upon Himself. The sailors found this out. They were given the word of the Lord – “Pick me up and throw me into the sea.”

For a time, they strived to save themselves, digging hard into the waves in order to return to the shore. It is works-based salvation, and it only will lead to a greater rage from God. But they finally yielded to His word, and they came to the cross where the Innocent was to die for the guilty. They called out, “O Lord, please do not let us perish for this Man’s life, and do not charge us with innocent blood.” All men will be charged, but the question is, “Will it be in our own guilt, or in Christ’s righteousness?” Only He is innocent.
Their final words were, “For You, O Lord, have done as it pleased You.” Only in the death of Christ is God pleased. Only He satisfied the works of the law perfectly, and only His death could cease the raging of the sea of disobedience and death which has worked and whirled against man for countless ages. Only He; only He.

Now the choice is Yours. The sea has ceased from its raging for all who call out to Him. But you must call, and you must receive. Call on Christ today, and be reconciled to Your heavenly Father through His shed blood. God loves you and wants to have a relationship with you. He sent a fish to save Jonah; He sent the completed work of Christ Jesus to save you!

Closing Verse: “He sent from above, He took me;
He drew me out of many waters.” Psalm 18:16

Next Week: Jonah 2:1-4 Yes, from out of the place where after he had died… (Out of the Belly of Sheol I Cried) (5th Jonah Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you. He has a good plan and purpose for you. Even if a deep ocean rages against you and is ready to swallow you up, He can send delivery to you in the most remarkable of ways. So follow Him and trust Him and He will do marvelous things for you and through you.

Peace from the Storm

Nevertheless, hard the men rowed
To return to land; their efforts almost furious
But they could not, as the events clearly showed
For the sea continued to grow against them more tempestuous

Therefore they cried out to the LORD and said
“O LORD, please do not let us perish for this man’s life, we pray
And do not charge us with innocent blood when he is dead
For You, O LORD, have done as it pleased You here today

So they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea
And the sea ceased from its raging completely

Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly
Surely they quivered and shook
And offered a sacrifice to the LORD
And also vows they took

Now the LORD had prepared a great fish, Jonah to swallow
And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights
There in the great fish’s belly he did wallow

Lord God, it is we who have strayed from You
We have gone about our own way, without a care
And yet, ever faithful and true
You sent Jesus, in order that us You might spare

He was cast in to the pit of death so that we might live
What kind of love have You shown towards us!
What a marvelous Gift to us You did give
When You sent Your beloved Son, our Lord Jesus

Now by our faith in Him, we are reconciled to You
And we are spared from being sent to the very pit of hell
And so we give You all of our praise, yes all that is due
For, our Lord Jesus has done everything so well

Hear our praise, and our voices full of thanksgiving
We have passed from the grip of death to the land of the living

Hallelujah and Amen…

————————————————–

Below is all the information you need to properly discern when Christ was crucified and when He arose.

What day of the week Christ was crucified? We know for certain that he rode into Jerusalem on a donkey on Sunday, 6 April 0032. This is based on dating from the prophecy of Daniel 9:24-27 and the exemplary work of Sir Robert Anderson.

However, people will still try to find a reason why the crucifixion wasn’t on Friday, 11 April 0032. There are a couple reasons why this is disputed, each which certainly results from misunderstanding of biblical terminology. The first is a fear that what’s stated in Matthew 12:40 would mean an error in what Jesus said. The second results from a perceived conflict between the gospel accounts in Matthew, Mark, and Luke and that of John.

In the first disputed reason, Jesus is quoted by Matthew as saying, “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” Matthew 12:40

The resurrection certainly occurred on a Sunday and only the most extreme cases dispute this – and they do it without justification. Some folks fear that because He rose on a Sunday and it was “3 days and 3 nights” that Jesus was in the tomb then it was either Wednesday or Thursday that He must have gone to the cross. It’s important to note that this verse is from Matthew and is directed to the Jewish people – Jesus as King. Hebrew idioms would have been understood and not needed any clarification or verbal amending. To the audience Matthew was writing to any part of a day is considered to be inclusive of the whole day. It’s no different than terminology we use today. If I arrive in Florida on a plane at 11:30 pm on 11 April, during a later conversation I would still say I was in Florida on that day. The biblical pattern of “evening and morning” being a day goes back to the first chapter of the Bible and includes an entire day – regardless of what part of a day one is referring to.

The same verse, as recorded in Luke says, “As the crowds increased, Jesus said, “This is a wicked generation. It asks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah. For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation.”  Luke 11:29, 30 In this instance, Luke was not writing to only Jewish people, but predominately to non-Jewish people – Jesus as the Son of Man. Therefore, the terminology is amended to avoid confusion. This occurs many times in the gospels and therefore the addressees (or the background of the writers themselves) need to be identified to understand proper terminology.

The second issue to be resolved is that some scholars claim that John “appears” to place the crucifixion on a different date than the other writers. Because of this, an attempt to insert some second type of Passover meal is made. This supposedly helps the Bible out of an apparent problem. However, no such meal is identified in the Bible – at any time. Nor is it necessary to make something erroneous like this up. The Bible identifies the timing of the entire Passion Week, dispelling the problem. The terminology for “Preparation Day” used in all four gospel accounts absolutely clears this up and will be noted below.

Here’s what you need to know:

Paul plainly states that the Feast of Firstfruits is a picture of the resurrection:

“But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.”  1 Corinthians 15:20

The feast of Firstfruits was a Sunday according to Leviticus 23:15 – “From the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, count off seven full weeks.” Note: the Sabbath is a Saturday. We don’t need to go any further there to know this is correct and that Christ rose on a Sunday.

Here is the math from the gospel accounts. It’s all there in black and white and very easy to look up –

**“Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.”  John 12:1 This would have been a Sabbath day (Saturday.)

**“The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem.”  John 12:12 This would have been 5 days before the Passover, meaning Sunday (Palm Sunday) as the Passover would have started Thursday night at sundown and run until Friday night at sundown (remember biblical days start at sundown).

The account couldn’t be clearer that the next day after the Passover was a Sabbath. This is indicated several times. Some people have attempted to use the terminology in John (it was a “high day” or a “special Sabbath”) to indicate that it could have been a day other than a Saturday. Special Sabbaths are specified in Leviticus and don’t necessarily fall on Saturdays. However, the term “Sabbath” as used in the other gospel accounts is indicating a Saturday. There is no indication, anywhere, that there were two Sabbaths in a row on this particular week. In fact, such an analysis does an injustice to the reading of the text. Therefore, the special Sabbath occurred on a regular Sabbath day (Saturday).
From this we can give the entire week’s schedule (refer to the cited verses in your own Bible to familiarize yourself with what’s being said) –

Sabbath 6 before // John 12:1 – …six days before the Passover.  Bethany/Lazarus.

Sunday 5 before // John 12:12 & Mark 11:10 – The next day…  Palm Sunday/Riding the donkey.

Monday 4 before //  Mark 11:12 Now on the next day… Jesus cursed the fig tree.

Tuesday 3 before //  Mark 11:20 Now in the morning… The withered fig is identified.

Wednesday 2 before // The gospels are silent on what occurred on this day.

Thursday 1 before – Passover starts at Sundown //Mark 14:1 After two days it was the Passover… (this is the first timing mentioned since Mark 11:20 which was Tuesday).

Note:  Pay special attention to the fact that in the following accounts Mark is using Jewish time (sunset to sunset and John is using Roman time) –

Mark 14:12 – “Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread when they killed the Passover Lamb.”

John 13:1 – “Now before the Feast of the Passover….”  Meal, Washing of Feet, Gethsemane.

***Christ crucified this same 24 hour period, but it was obviously after the final night at Gethsemane and then the illegal trial.  Mark is speaking of this event from sundown, John is speaking of it on Roman time (this is obvious because they use different terminology for the same meal where Judas left to betray the Lord… can’t miss this point and get it right.)

6 days before – Saturday

5 days before – Sunday

4 days before – Monday

3 days before – Tuesday

2 days before – Wednesday

1 day before – Thursday

The Day – Friday

The problem with people believing that John was speaking of a different day (as mentioned above) is that they miss the fact that the terminology for the day is different based on the author. To clear up any misunderstanding between the synoptic gospels and the Gospel of John, one needs only to compare the uses for the term “Preparation Day.” Once one does this, there are no discrepancies in the accounts –

Matthew 27:62 – “The next day, the one after the Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate.” This was the day after the crucifixion. Matthew says it is the day “after Preparation Day.”

Mark 15:42 – “It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached…” This is the day of the crucifixion. Mark says “It was Preparation Day.”

Luke 23:5 – “It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin.” This is the day of the crucifixion. Luke says “It was Preparation Day.”

John 19:14 – “Now it was Preparation Day of the Passover.” This is the day of the crucifixion. John says “It was Preparation Day.”

Based on the biblical evidence, there is

  • No discrepancy between any of the accounts.
  • Jesus was crucified on a Friday.
  • Jesus rose on a Sunday.

As a final note, the Bible says 13 times that He was raised “on” the third day.  This is mentioned by Jesus himself as well as the apostles. Therefore, it must have been Friday that Christ was crucified.

——————————————————————–

Please don’t believe (as some have claimed) that Christ rode the donkey into Jerusalem on a Saturday instead of a Sunday. This would have been the Sabbath. If He did, He would have violated the law –

“Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you.”  Deuteronomy 5:12-14

There is no need to make the assertion it was a Saturday unless you simply wanted to finagle the dating. There is also no biblical provision for an exemption to the commandment prohibiting working a donkey. As stated above, the work of Sir Robert Anderson in the 1800s clearly demonstrates that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on 6 April 0032. This can be validated in other ways and is the correct year and month for the Lord’s crucifixion.

The biblical evidence is quite clear and without ambiguity or total uncertainty…Jesus Christ was crucified as the Passover Lamb on Friday, 11 April 0032 and was resurrected to eternal life on Sunday 13 April 0032.

He now offers eternal life to all who call on Him by faith. Have you accepted His offer of peace?

 

 

Jonah 1:4-6 (Arise! Call on Your God)

Jonah 1:4-6
Arise! Call on Your God

One thing that is universal in people is the reaction to total disaster. It doesn’t matter how completely someone says they don’t believe in God, it doesn’t matter how rebellious someone is, and titles like “atheist” or “agnostic” mean nothing when disaster hits. The first thing people do when facing true calamity is to cry out “O God.”

The hardened sailors of Jonah’s ship were no different. As soon as the real trouble started, they immediately called out to their gods, implying that they accept the premise of a higher power, whether they have the concept of Him right or not. And from the words spoken to Jonah by the captain of this voyage in today’s verses, we know that he knows there is one God above all gods.

And so does everyone else. However, being people as we are, we usually don’t give God the time of day unless we need something from Him. And the greater the need, the more accurately and precisely we tend to call on Him. David had a time in his life when he was in great distress. Actually he had lots of such times. In those moments,  he knew exactly where to turn for relief…

Text Verse: “In my distress I called upon the Lord,
And cried out to my God;
He heard my voice from His temple,
And my cry entered His ears.” 2 Samuel 22:7

Being merciful and gracious, He responded to David every time he called, but how much more pleased do you think the Lord was when David would come to Him without needing a thing. He did this also, and surely the Lord found great pleasure in it. So much so that David was known as a man after God’s own heart.

We too tend to call on the Lord in times of distress, and He is there to respond. But we too should be willing to reach out to Him even when there is no distress. And further, we should be willing to be obedient to Him from the start and avoid the times of distress which will inevitably result from failing to do so.

Jonah is a great example for us to learn this. He didn’t obey, and the times of distress came heavily upon him and those he was with. They had no light of God, and they had no ability to call on Him as He expects. It was up to Jonah alone to make things right. They seemed to figure this out quickly, and they went below the deck of the ship to get things corrected.

This is what is seen in today’s verses. It is what we will take a peek at now. The Lord has given us where to go to figure these things out. It is to be found in His superior word. And so let’s turn to that precious word once again and… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. A Mighty Tempest on the Sea (verse 4)

But the Lord sent out a great wind on the sea,

va’Yehovah hetil ruakh gedolah el ha’yam – “And Yehovah hurled wind whopping into the sea.” Verse 3 began with “And arose Jonah…” He had taken his action, and he had done his part to escape his duties. This verse now begins with, “And Yehovah hurled…” It is time for the Lord to accomplish His work, and to deal with the matter accordingly.

The word translated here as “sent” is tul. It means to cast or throw, as if one is hurling a spear. The word is used just fourteen times in the Bible, and four of them – more than any other book – are found in the little book of Jonah. It will be used in the next verse when the sailors throw the cargo overboard.

Such is the magnificence of this wind. It would have been cast upon the vessel suddenly and with great force. The 147th Psalm speaks of Yehovah’s power over the elements in this manner –

“He causes His wind to blow, and the waters flow.” Psalm 147:18

In order to understand what is going on, one must understand what the sea represents in the Bible. It is a place of chaos and confusion. On numerous times, it is equated to restless masses of people- groups and societies. It is a place of lawlessness where people are without God and His order and harmony. This is reflected, for example, in the book of Isaiah –

“But the wicked are like the troubled sea,
When it cannot rest,
Whose waters cast up mire and dirt.
21 There is no peace,”
Says my God, “for the wicked.”’” Isaiah 57:20, 21

In the work of the Lord, the people are brought out of this disorder and into the harmony provided by Him. Again, to Isaiah –

“Then you shall see and become radiant,
And your heart shall swell with joy;
Because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you…” Isaiah 60:5

In Revelation, the great whore is said to sit on “many waters,” meaning the gathering of the waters into a sea. There, the symbolism is explicitly explained –

“The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues.” Revelation 17:5

It is because the sea represents such chaos of the people, without God and without harmony, that we read what it will be like when all things are restored –

“Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea.” Revelation 21:1

The word for “sea” here in Jonah is yam, and it is speaking specifically about the Mediterranean, or “great sea.” The word yam, though, is also used to indicate the direction “west.” This is seen, for example, in Genesis 13:14 which says –

“And the Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: “Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are—northward, southward, eastward, and westward…”

There the word for “westward” is yammah, and thus it is indicating towards the sea. And so we have a picture being developed. Man was cast east out of Eden. The tabernacle points west. The Most Holy Place where the Lord dwells is to the far west. And so the sea being westward, and also representing nations without God, shows man’s futile attempts at false religion in returning to God.

The Great Whore of Revelation sits upon this confusion and directs the masses according to her perverse agenda. It is into this sea that Jonah has gone in order to head away from the Lord, and so the Lord has hurled His wind upon the waters to redirect the situation.

Every detail is being selected by the Lord to show us an ongoing picture of the redemption of man. Jonah has left the land of Israel which is set apart by God. Instead of going to where he was supposed to go in order to bring restoration to those who are separate and apart from God, he heads west into the great sea. How can the people whom God is calling to repentance do so when Jonah has gone into the sea, picturing the world which is already in chaos, confusion, and rebellion against the Lord?

And that now brings in another need for us to meet. We are to understand what the wind pictures in the Bible. The word is ruakh, and it is the same word which is translated as “spirit” and “breath.” For example, in Genesis 1:2, the word ruakh is used when speaking of the Spirit of God –

“The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.”

There was chaos and confusion, and the Spirit of God was there to bring it into order and harmony. Thus, the wind, or spirit, in the Bible symbolizes the presence and power of God, both positive and negative in how it is directed and used. For example, the wind can be negative in causing scattering and destruction, and it can also be positive in the changes it effects.

As the wind blows from an unseen source, in it there is a symbolic a type of relationship between the divine and the created. Jesus speaks of exactly this in John 3. As you listen, remember that to the Hebrew mind, the word “wind” and “spirit” were the same, and so they would carry a dual meaning to the ears of Nicodemus –

“‘“Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” John 3:5-8

The different directions from which winds come can add to the meaning of the wind itself. Together they will combine to form a picture of what God is doing. This is seen, for example, in the east wind. It is a wind of destruction and calamity. The east wind is what blighted the crops in Pharaoh’s dreams in Genesis. It is also what brought the plague of locusts upon the land of Egypt, and the wind which in Exodus divided the waters of the Red Sea. In Jeremiah, and many other places, the east wind is one of power and destruction –

“I will scatter them as with an east wind before the enemy;
I will show them the back and not the face
In the day of their calamity” Jeremiah 18:17

In fact, the east wind itself will be used in this way in Chapter 4 of Jonah. Wind also symbolizes doctrine – both correct and false doctrine. The spirit of God directs proper doctrine, but man directs false doctrine. Paul speaks of this in Ephesians 4:14 –

“…that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting…”

In addition to this, wind symbolizes that which is temporary and vain. In the 78th Psalm, it is used to show that which is temporary –

“For He remembered that they were but flesh,
A breath that passes away and does not come again.” Psalm 78:39

Isaiah shows that the wind symbolizes that which is vain –

“Indeed they are all worthless;
Their works are nothing;
Their molded images are wind and confusion.” Isaiah 41:29

The Lord is now sending His wind upon the sea of chaos in order to cause confusion which is then intended to restore order. It is a marvelous picture which is being developed for us to pay heed to and understand.

4 (con’t) and there was a mighty tempest on the sea,

vay’hi sa’ar gadowl b’yam – “…and there was a tempest whopping on the sea.” The word “mighty” here is the same as that of the wind in the previous clause – gadol, meaning “great” or “mighty.” The mighty wind was the source of the mighty tempest. This word “tempest” is sa’ar. It is a tempest, even like a hurricane. It is the same type of storm that Paul was caught in towards the end of the book of Acts. In Acts 27, this is recorded –

“When the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their desire, putting out to sea, they sailed close by Crete. 14 But not long after, a tempestuous head wind arose, called Euroclydon. 15 So when the ship was caught, and could not head into the wind, we let her drive.” Acts 27:13-15

The Lord caused both of these men to endure such a great storm in order to effect His purposes. In the case of the wind, it is from the Lord, but in the case of the tempest, it indicates the presence of the Lord – for good or for ill.

The whirlwind which took Elijah to heaven was described by this same word. He was there, safe and secure in the presence of the Lord as he was raptured to heaven. The whirlwind from which the Lord spoke to Job is also this same word. The Lord was there in the whirlwind, speaking to Job about the glory He alone possesses. In Jeremiah, the same word is used several times to indicate the terrifying presence of the destructive power of the Lord –

“Behold, a whirlwind of the Lord has gone forth in fury—
A violent whirlwind!
It will fall violently on the head of the wicked.
20 The anger of the Lord will not turn back
Until He has executed and performed the thoughts of His heart.
In the latter days you will understand it perfectly.” Jeremiah 23:19

In the theophany of the Lord to Ezekiel, He is within the great tempest itself once again –

“Then I looked, and behold, a whirlwind was coming out of the north, a great cloud with raging fire engulfing itself; and brightness was all around it and radiating out of its midst like the color of amber, out of the midst of the fire. Also from within it came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance: they had the likeness of a man. Each one had four faces, and each one had four wings. Their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the soles of calves’ feet. They sparkled like the color of burnished bronze. The hands of a man were under their wings on their four sides; and each of the four had faces and wings. Their wings touched one another. The creatures did not turn when they went, but each one went straight forward.” Ezekiel 1:4-9

Citing these many references is not a superfluous thing to do. Rather, by understanding a broader picture of such a tempest, we can grasp what is being relayed to us in the book of Jonah. The wind of the Lord has been directed towards Jonah. From it has come the tempest of the Lord. Jonah could not flee from Him at all, but instead, he was caught up in His awesome presence!

He was doggedly pursued and then surrounded by the presence of the Lord in order to bring harmony and order out of chaos and confusion. In the pages of this book, we are given front row seats into the very heart of God’s redemptive plans for man.

Each aspect of this story is passing before our eyes to show us what God is up to and how it points to the greater work of Christ on behalf of the people of the world. The wind which has come is powerful and it has purpose. In the psalms, there is a beautiful parallel to what will be next mentioned in our on-going narrative…

“Fear took hold of them there,
And pain, as of a woman in birth pangs,
As when You break the ships of Tarshish
With an east wind.” Psalm 48:6, 7

4 (con’t) so that the ship was about to be broken up.

v’ha’oniyah khishevah l’hishaver – “…and the ship thought it should be broken.” The language here is vivid. It is as if the ship senses its own danger as it rose and fell among the great waves, and as it was blown and shattered by the terrifying winds. This was so much so, that it thought it was breaking apart. The ship considers itself, and then it considers the power of God’s tempest, and it sees in itself nothing but weakness in the comparison.

The margin notes of the Hebrew text indicates that the term “broken up” is also used in a graphic personification of the ship. It is as if the ship itself was a living thing which surrounded and protected the sailors – it has feelings, it has hopes, and it has fears. But these were all to end with its destruction. The same word is used of the people of Israel in Jeremiah 14:17 –

“Therefore you shall say this word to them:
‘Let my eyes flow with tears night and day,
And let them not cease;
For the virgin daughter of my people
Has been broken with a mighty stroke, with a very severe blow.”

The place of security within the sea of chaos was itself to be overwhelmed by the chaos which surrounded it. The sailors were certain to look beyond themselves for relief, or they were to look to their fate in resignation, but they could not look to their own efforts to save them.

This is what happened to Paul in Acts 27. The tempest was so powerful that they had to undergird the ship with cables so that it would not break at the seams. Eventually, the ship was grounded on a shoal and broken to pieces, but all on the ship survived.

Jonah is on a ship of Tarshish, and the wind has come against it, just as the winds described by the psalmist I quoted earlier noted that the winds came against the ships of Tarshish. The Bible is asking us to make these connections so that we can then understand the greater picture of what is occurring.

That psalm is specifically one which speaks of the glory of God in Zion. In the psalm it says that according to God’s name, so is His praise, even to the ends of the earth. How can God’s name be praised unto the ends of the earth unless His people proclaim it.

This is what Jonah has been asked to do, and this is what he has fled from. His actions have caused the wind and the tempest, and those things have brought the ship of Tarshish to the very edge of destruction. The souls of the men must have been terrified of the works of the Lord, though they don’t yet know Him. It is, again, reflective of the words of the psalmist –

“Those who go down to the sea in ships,
Who do business on great waters,
24 They see the works of the Lord,
And His wonders in the deep.
25 For He commands and raises the stormy wind,
Which lifts up the waves of the sea.
26 They mount up to the heavens,
They go down again to the depths;
Their soul melts because of trouble.” Psalm 107:23-25

As we consider Jonah’s situation, we cannot overlook that in Matthew 8, something similar occurs. We are being shown in Jonah a taste of the greater ministry of the Lord. The account details what happened to the disciples as they accompanied Jesus –

Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him. 24 And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep. 25 Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!”
26 But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. 27 So the men marveled, saying, “Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?” Matthew 8:23-27

In the case of Jonah, the Lord was directing his movements back to where they should be. In the case of the disciples, He was directing their eyes to understand the nature of the Person who had accompanied them in their trip across the Sea of Galilee.

We’ve all been directed by the elements at one time or another. When I lived in Japan, one summer I went swimming in the Mitake River. There’s a slow moving pond toward the beginning of the river that’s a well-known place for swimming.

However, if you aren’t careful, you can get pulled into the faster moving area and taken down through very steep rapids before you even realize it. This happened to me and it’s the closest I ever came to death.

It should have been a wakeup call to me, but it was another 10 years before I realized the gift I’d been given that day. Unfortunately, just a few weeks after my incident, another young person drowned. How the Lord works in our lives is, at times, rather mysterious.

We need to be attentive to these things and think on where the Lord is steering us. Will Jonah respond to the call? Will those with him also respond? And when the Lord sends the wind and the whirlwind into your life, will you turn back from the wayward journey you are on?

A great wind upon the sea
Stirring up chaos and uncertainty
This is how it appeared it would always be
Life seemed to be no more than absurdity

The ship of life tossed about, no direction known
It appeared that all would be lost
We looked for help, but none to us was shown
What will it take, how high is the cost?

When all seemed hopeless, help finally came
There upon the hill a quieting of the sea
Upon the hill a cross, and on it One with no blame
The help has come, the waves are still; there is hope for you and me

II. But Jonah (verse 5)

Then the mariners were afraid;

va’yire-u ha’malakhim – “And were afraid the mariners.” The term malakhim, or “sailors,” is a plural noun which is the same as the noun melakh, or “salt.” In other words, they are “the salts,” and thus “mariners.” We use the same terminology concerning our sailors today. The word is used just four times in the Bible, three times in Ezekiel, and the final time here.

These men of the sea, experienced and knowledgeable concerning its power and ways, understood that this was a dire situation that they were in. Their efforts to save the ship would be futile. The fear they felt is reflective of the fear of the mariners who conducted Paul to Rome. We know this, because Paul had to quell their fears with his words of encouragement –

“But after long abstinence from food, then Paul stood in the midst of them and said, “Men, you should have listened to me, and not have sailed from Crete and incurred this disaster and loss. 22 And now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. 23 For there stood by me this night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve, 24 saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar; and indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you.’ 25 Therefore take heart, men, for I believe God that it will be just as it was told me. 26 However, we must run aground on a certain island.” Acts 27:21-26

5 (con’t) and every man cried out to his god,

va’yizaqu ish elohav – “…and cried every man unto his god.” The word zaaq, or “cry,” comes from a primitive root which means “to shriek” as if from anguish or danger. They perceived their danger, and so they cry out to their gods.

In Shakespeare’s The Tempest, when things got to this point, the play follows the same pattern as these men now – “All lost! to prayers! to prayers, all lost!” The sailors were probably from various locations, and so each had his own god whom he worshipped.

Each called on the god he believed in, hoping for relief from the plight. It was in a state of ignorance that they had received Jonah who had offended the true God. It is in this same state of ignorance of the true God that they now call out for help, calling on whatever god they had come to know.

As we will see, their gods were ineffectual. There is only one God who answers prayer, and He answers it according to His own wisdom and for His own purposes. In another exciting time in Israel’s history, the people were confused about where prayers should be directed. Elijah came to remove their confusion –

“So they took the bull which was given them, and they prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even till noon, saying, “O Baal, hear us!” But there was no voice; no one answered. Then they leaped about the altar which they had made.
27 And so it was, at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, “Cry aloud, for he is a god; either he is meditating, or he is busy, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened.” 28 So they cried aloud, and cut themselves, as was their custom, with knives and lances, until the blood gushed out on them. 29 And when midday was past, they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice. But there was no voice; no one answered, no one paid attention.” 1 Kings 18:25-29

After their failure, Elijah came forward and had his sacrifice prepared. After dousing it in water three times, we read the outcome of his prayer –

“And it came to pass, at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, “Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word. 37 Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that You are the Lord God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again.”

38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. 39 Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, “The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God!” 1 Kings 18:36-39

Will these men of the sea come to the same realization that the wayward people of Israel did? Stay tuned for the exciting details as the book continues on.

5 (con’t) and threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten the load.

va’yatilu eth ha’kelim asher ba’oniyah el ha’yam l’haqel me-alehem – “and hurled the wares that in the ship into the sea to lighten of.” Even after crying out to their gods, no one paid attention. The psalmist, so long ago, spoke about the nature of the true God in contrast to the gods of the nations. He is in control, but they have no power –

“But our God is in heaven;
He does whatever He pleases.
Their idols are silver and gold,
The work of men’s hands.
They have mouths, but they do not speak;
Eyes they have, but they do not see;
They have ears, but they do not hear;
Noses they have, but they do not smell;
They have hands, but they do not handle;
Feet they have, but they do not walk;
Nor do they mutter through their throat.
Those who make them are like them;
So is everyone who trusts in them.” Psalm 115:3-8

I used to have Buddha’s all around my house. Some people practice Feng Shui hoping it will give them proper chi, other people look for enlightenment through yoga or transcendental meditation, or in some other crazy way. In the end these things move us further from God, they don’t bring Him near.

Back on the ship, because the sailor’s prayers were ineffective, they next take action once again by hurling their wares into the sea. It is the same word that was used in verse 4 when the Lord hurled the great wind into the sea. You can see the contrast – the Lord hurls a wind into the sea so that the ship was about to be broken up, and they hurl their precious cargo into that same sea in order to keep the ship from breaking up.

There is a marvelous parallelism between the two. The Lord sends from His hand a wind of correction, while the men attempt to save themselves by the work of their hands. Their gods had failed them, and so they believe they must work their way to salvation.

The word, qalal, which is translated as “lighten” is found three times in 2 Chronicles 10. The people of Israel had come to Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, and they had asked for relief from the heavy load that his father had imposed on them. He uses the same word in his answer –

“Then the young men who had grown up with him spoke to him, saying, “Thus you should speak to the people who have spoken to you, saying, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you make it lighter on us’—thus you shall say to them: ‘My little finger shall be thicker than my father’s waist! 11 And now, whereas my father put a heavy yoke on you, I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scourges!’” 2 Chronicles 10:10, 11

The mariners are trying to lighten their load in order to ease the burden they bear in order to be saved. But they do not yet know the Lord who is the only One who can actually accomplish this –

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

The picture we are to see is that these men carry a burden they are not even aware of. Until they meet the Lord, the burden will remain and the whirlwind will continue to wreak its terrifying havoc upon them.

And again, as has happened, and as will continue to happen, parallels from this account in Jonah run deep in the New Testament. Just as they threw cargo over to lighten the load on the ship, the mariners on the ship that Paul was on did the same thing when they were caught in the storm –

“And because we were exceedingly tempest-tossed, the next day they lightened the ship. On the third day we threw the ship’s tackle overboard with our own hands.” Acts 27:14-19

Later in the same account, they threw over the precious cargo of wheat which they had kept on board in order to further lighten the ship. There was great loss, but it was in hopes of gaining life. However, their actions were of faith in the promises of God as relayed to them by Paul. The actions of the men in this account in Jonah are that of works, not faith, in order to be saved.

5 (con’t) But Jonah had gone down into the lowest parts of the ship,

v’yonah yarad el yarkete ha’sephinah – “And Jonah was gone down into the recesses [of] the ship.” The words show the complete contrast of Jonah to those who were working with all their might to save themselves. He knew that he could not save himself. He was out of favor with the Lord, and there was no reason to do anything but sleep.

And so he went down into the recesses of the ship. It is the furthest place he could go in order to hide from the anger of the Lord, and he simply, and uncaringly, fell asleep. Interestingly, the word sephinah, translated as “ship” here, is a different word than that mentioned above. It is found only this once in the entire Bible.

It comes from the word saphan which mean covered or paneled. That comes from a primitive root meaning to “hide by covering” such as roofing a house. In essence, the words are relaying, “But Jonah had gone down into the lowest parts of the covered vessel.”

He was hiding in the ship from the Lord, but the Lord had followed him. He felt he was safe and he reveled in uncaring self-security. He was living up to the dual meaning of his name. He was called to bring a message of repentance, and thus hoped-for peace to one group of people, but he had so far only vexed those he was with.

5 (con’t) had lain down, and was fast asleep.

va’yishkav va’yeradamand lay and was fast asleep.” The Greek translation of the Old Testament says, “…was asleep and snoring.” The word in Hebrew is radam. It is a word used just 7 times in the Bible and it gives the idea of being in a dead sleep. It comes from a primitive root which indicates to stun, or stupefy. It is what happened to Daniel when he had exceedingly fearful visions.

In these words then is a contrast to the personified awakened state of the ship in verse 4. The ship was animated to fear through the terrifying rush of the storm upon it because of Jonah’s flight. At the same time, Jonah was fast asleep, even to a deadened state because of it.

When you’re on a ship, the lowest parts are the best place to sleep because they don’t bounce as much. That and towards the back of the boat. This is where the captain normally sleeps. Just as Jonah was fast asleep in the hold of the ship in the middle of the great storm, the words of Matthew tell us about Jesus during the storm on the Sea of Galilee. It says in Matthew 8:24 –

“And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep.” Matthew 8:24

He was able to sleep because He knew who He was, what His role was, and that there was no need to fear. Today, when we get anxious about things, we tend to forget that He has it all under control, and instead, we toss and turn just like a ship on the ocean. But if we can really trust the Lord and His word,  then the storms of life are nothing compared to the peace and calm He provides. They’re His storms and it’s His peace. We simply need to choose which we’re going to think on and which to rest in.

Here we are, sore afraid
As we cry out in our helpless state
Praying that the tempestuous winds will be stayed
Praying for a deliverance so great

The works of our hands cannot save us
Nothing we do can bring us to the place of safety
But up on the hill we see our Lord Jesus
As His body hangs lifeless, there upon the tree

Shine Your light on us O God
Let the light of Christ illuminate our souls
Hear our praises as to You we applaud
And as the sound of the heavenly music rolls.

Praise be to You, O matchless King!
Be honored, O Lord, as to You our voices sing!

III. Arise, Call on Your God! (verse 6)

So the captain came to him, and said to him,

va’yiqrav elav rav ha’khovel va’yomer lo – “And came near unto, great the pilot and said to him”

The words translated as “captain” are rav ha’khovel, or “the great pilot.” The khovel is only mentioned five times in the Bible, four in Ezekiel and once here. It is an active participle which comes from a word that gives the sense of handling ropes, and thus it is a sailor. With the adjective rav, or “great” attached to it, the captain or chief pilot is indicated. He is the chief of those who work with ropes.

As the Hebrew society did not frequent the seas, their nautical terminology is rather obscure, but the intent can be drawn out. The malakhim or, “salts,” mentioned earlier would be a general term for seafaring men. The word now is used more specifically to define steersmen or top-men. It is the chief of this class that comes down into the recesses of the ship and addresses Jonah…

6 (con’t) “What do you mean, sleeper?

mah lekha nirdam – “What to, O sleeper?” In his address to Jonah, his words use the same term for sleep as before. In other words, “How can you be in such a dead sleep?” It is as if he is utterly befuddled by the situation. And so even more, it is asking what kind of affliction Jonah suffers from – “What is the matter with you that you’re in such a dead sleep?”

There is terror on every side, and Jonah is down below sleeping like a baby. He seems to wonder if he has any conscience or any fear at all. “Are you completely deadened to heaven’s mercies?”

Thus, the Hebrew prophet who was sent to the greatest Gentile nation on earth in order to rebuke them of their sin is, in turn, rebuked by a pagan shipmaster who has come to wake him up out of his spiritual lethargy, symbolized by his deep slumber in the flesh.

The contrasts are astounding, and the picture in relation to Israel as a people is astonishing. And so even more, the picture of the dead church of today is all the more relevant.

6 (con’t) Arise, call on your God;

Qum qera el elohekha – “Arise call on your God.” What seems to be implied here is that they knew there was something particular about Jonah. Verse 10 will say, “For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them.” It doesn’t say when he told them this, but it could be that it was before this time.

They had been unsuccessful in crying out to their gods, they had been unsuccessful in their attempts to save themselves through the work of their hands, and now they were left with but one option. If this person was fleeing his God, and if his God was so powerful that He could cause such a violent storm, then that God might still be near enough to save them from the storm, and willing to do so as well. It is with this thought in mind that we come to the final words of our verses today…

*6 (fin) perhaps your God will consider us, so that we may not perish.”

Ulay yitashet ha’elohim lanu v’lo noved – “…if so be will shine the God to us that not do we perish.” It is a clause rich in its words. First, the Hebrew does not say simply “God” as in the KJV – “…if so be that God will think upon us.” Nor does it say “your God” as is translated here by the NKJV. Instead it says, “the God.”

As with all people, there is a fundamental understanding that there is one supreme God. They have called on their lesser “gods,” and there has been no response. Jonah is now being asked to call on his God, in hopes that “the God” will respond to his call.

This is the intent of the captain, and it is clearly laid out by the term ha’elohim, or “the God.” It is an unmistakable point which is being conveyed in the specific wording of the passage.

Next, the captain says the word ashath. It is a verb which means “to shine.” It is translated here as “think.” Other versions say “notice us,” “pay attention to us,” “be concerned about us,” or “have compassion on us,” This word, ashath, comes from a primitive root which means “to be sleek” and thus glossy and hence through the idea of polishing to shine.

It is used only one other time in the Bible, in Jeremiah 5:28, where it is translated as either sleek or shine. There is no reason to assume that it should be any differently here. In other words, the captain says, “Perhaps the God will shine on us.” When God shines on someone, it means that He illuminates their thinking, shows them favor, and restores them to a propitious place of peace and harmony between Himself and that person.

By shining the light, everything is made manifest by the light. Despite being in a real storm in the sea of chaos, and despite being under physical harm, there is a spiritual connotation that is being drawn out, even by this pagan captain. There is disharmony between them and God which needs to be rectified.

Though they don’t know of the gospel, they do know that there is a need for the gospel. The light of the gospel message is the only way to make things which are indecent appear as they really are. Once the truth of the gospel shines on the deeds of wickedness, they are exposed and can be compared to that which is right, holy, and proper.

From that knowledge, they can then do what is needed with that light to come to a right relationship with God. Paul says exactly this to us in the book of Ephesians. It very well could be that he was pondering this verse from Jonah at some point and came to this conclusion –

“And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. 13 But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. 14 Therefore He says:
Awake, you who sleep,
Arise from the dead,
And Christ will give you light.” Ephesians 5:11-14

The captain says to the one who is sleeping as if dead, “Arise from the dead O sleeper! Perhaps the God will shine on us, that we might not perish.” It is the internal call of the lost human soul for the knowledge of God found in the face of Jesus Christ.

Just as the cock’s crow began the recovery of Peter from his spiritual slumber, the call of this pagan shipmaster to Jonah is the beginning of his own spiritual recovery. And once again, the symbolism from Jonah echoes through time and is found again in the voices of the apostles which cry out to Jesus…

Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!” Matthew 8:25

At this point, they didn’t understand who Jesus was or the power He held in His grasp, but they knew enough to see that they were incapable of handling the situation, just like those on Jonah’s ship. In desperation, they called out to the last One who may be able to do something to keep them from drowning.

This is exactly what happens again and again in our own lives. We wait until things are so completely botched up that there is simply nowhere else to turn.

Whether in our own lives, or whether in the state of the nations, there is a time when it will be too late and the boards will rupture from the storms which press on every side. Let’s hope that like the ancient mariners of Jonah’s time, and of the time when the apostles were in the boat with Jesus, that each individual and each nation will make the best of the bad situation before it’s simply too late.

If you are still in a spiritually deadened sleep where the light of Christ has not yet shown through to call you into His marvelous kingdom, I would hope that today would be the day you get that fixed. All people know instinctively that there is a God, one true God, who is there above the storms of life. But we will go to the furthest recesses of the world to escape from Him.

Let us not be so hard hearted that we would hide ourselves from Him, but instead, Awake you who sleep. Arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light. Call on Him today and receive the radiance of God’s love and forgiveness for you, direct from the foot of the cross of Calvary.

Closing Verse: For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), 10 finding out what is acceptable to the Lord.” Ephesians 5:8-10

Next Week: Jonah 1:7-12 What is Jonah nuts? He just said quite plainly… (Pick Me Up and Throw Me Into the Sea) (3rd Jonah sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you. He has a good plan and purpose for you. Even if a deep ocean rages against you and is ready to swallow you up, He can send delivery to you in the most remarkable of ways. So follow Him and trust Him and He will do marvelous things for you and through you.

Arise! Call on Your God

But the LORD sent out a great wind on the sea
And there was on the sea a tempest mighty
So that the ship was about to be broken up thoroughly
Such was the power of the wind from the Almighty

Then the mariners were afraid, even sorely
And every man cried out to his god
And threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea
To lighten the load, the precious cargo gathered from abroad

But Jonah had gone down, without a peep
Into the lowest parts of the ship
Had lain down, and was fast asleep
He was enjoying a nap while on this trip

So the captain came to him, and to him said
“What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, call on your God
Perhaps your God will consider us as we sail ahead
So that we may not perish on this ocean so broad

Lord, can we hide from Your presence?
Could we attempt to secret ourselves away from You?
Instead, we should draw near and enjoy the pleasance
We know it is what You would have us to do

Help us, Lord, to be faithful to Your call upon our lives
And to never attempt to run from doing what is right
When Your call comes, yes the moment it arrives
May we be found to answer, and be pleasing in Your sight

Surely in this You will be happy with us
As we follow obediently, in the steps of our Lord Jesus

Hallelujah and Amen…

Exodus 40:17-38 (The Lord in Their Midst)

Exodus 40:17-38
The Lord in Their Midst

Today is our last set of verses in the book of Exodus. This is our 105th sermon for the book as well. It has been an amazing adventure and the perfection of God’s word has been seen in countless different ways during our trip through it.

We have learned history, there have been innumerable moral lessons which have been presented to us, there have been prophetic pictures of things to come, and there has been an astonishing array of symbolism of Christ and His word revealed in every passage we’ve looked at.

These verses reveal the completion of an amazing journey which began when Moses ascended Sinai in Exodus 25. It has been an extraordinary 39 sermons since he was first told that the Lord was going to build a sanctuary to dwell in, there in the midst of Israel.

He immediately began to give details of what was to come, and as He did, He was revealing hidden pictures of the glory that those things only symbolized… Christ! Christ was being described in the minutest detail. His Person, His work, His word, His grace and mercy, His judgment, and His purifying glory.

And one picture which was being presented is now realized in His church. The tabernacle where the Lord would dwell was simply a picture of the church, the people of God, which is being built into a greater and more perfect temple for Him to dwell. Paul tells us this in out text verse of the day –

Text Verse: “Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.” Ephesians 2:19-22

Moses, who has been a marvelous type of Christ on numerous occasions, will erect the tabernacle in today’s passage, and the Lord will move into His dwelling. When He does, the refulgency of God will shine forth in such a dazzling display that it will be impossible to approach near.

Now imagine what it will be like when God’s people are glorified, and Christ comes to dwell among us for all eternity. The glories which lie ahead for the people of God make all of the distasteful trials of this world seem like they never happened. There is a hope which lies ahead for the faithful in Christ which will supersede anything we can possibly imagine.

Personally, I can’t wait for the day. And may that day be soon. Mere hints of what lies ahead will close out the book of Exodus for us. What a joy this book has been as the Lord has unfurled countless treasures concerning Himself and His marvelous plan of redemption.

We have this final passage to go. A passage which is a wonderful part of His superior word. And so let’s turn to that precious word once again and… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. Setting up the Tabernacle and the Most Holy Place (verses 17-21)

17 And it came to pass in the first month of the second year, on the first day of the month, that the tabernacle was raised up.

As according to verse 2 of this chapter, the words are fulfilled now. It was on the day of the new year, when the first year of freedom turned to the next according to the redemptive calendar which was given to Moses by the Lord, that the tabernacle was raised up.

It is exactly 345 days after departing from Egypt and 300 days since arriving at Sinai that the instructions were carried out. It is now the year 2515AM, or “in the year of the world.

For the time spent on the actual work of the tabernacle, the eighty days that Moses was on the mountain have to be deducted. Also, the giving of the law itself, and any intervals between these events needs to be deducted as well. In all, the work was fully accomplished in about one half of a year. With it having been approved by Moses, it would now be assembled in a single day…

18 So Moses raised up the tabernacle, fastened its sockets, set up its boards, put in its bars, and raised up its pillars.

There is dispute among scholars as to whether the word “fastened” is correct or not concerning the sockets. Various translations say, “put in place,” “set down,” “laid,” and “installed.” The word is nathan, from where our modern name Nathan comes from. It means to “give” or “put.”

The bases were extremely heavy, but some scholars think they were still not heavy enough to support the weight without tipping over. Therefore, they speculate that they were wedge-shaped, and they were actually partially buried in the ground. Whether this is the case or not, the tabernacle, once joined as a unit and secured with cords and pegs, would be one sturdy structure.

19 And he spread out the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering of the tent on top of it, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

This would have certainly been the most difficult part of the entire operation. If you’ve ever worked with tents, you know this. But these people had been tent-dwellers for countless generations and could take down and put up their tents in a most trouble-free manner. Even today, the Bedouins move their large tents, breaking them down and setting them up, with little trouble.

The verse here shows, and even highlights, the great distinction between the two separate units. There is the tabernacle, and then there is the tent over the tabernacle. One covers over the other, and in almost all instances, the title “the tent of meeting” is used rather than “the tabernacle of meeting.” The tabernacle was raised, and then the tent which comprised both the ram skins dyed red and then the outer covering of the skins of sea animals was placed over the tabernacle.

20 He took the Testimony and put it into the ark, inserted the poles through the rings of the ark, and put the mercy seat on top of the ark.

This verse should rightfully say, “He had taken the Testimony and put it into the ark.” The two tablets of the Ten Commandments, meaning the Testimony, were placed in there when Moses came down from the mountain. This is recorded in Deuteronomy 10:5. The only other explanation is that Deuteronomy 10 was referring to this time. If so, then the Ten Commandments were left outside of the ark for quite some duration of time. This is unlikely.

Either way, the rest of the Ark was probably not assembled until now. It is at this time that the Testimony would be covered with the mercy seat and the poles were placed on the ark. Out of all 20 translations that I look at for these sermons, only the NKJV says that he “inserted the poles through the rings of the ark.”

The Hebrew never mentions the rings, and so their translation is more of an explanatory paraphrase. Unfortunately, they didn’t italicize those words, and so it must be considered a bad translation of this verse, even though it is a correct idea. As this is God’s word, precision should be made in matters like this.

21 And he brought the ark into the tabernacle, hung up the veil of the covering, and partitioned off the ark of the Testimony, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

This would have been the last time that the Israelite people would have seen the ark for many, many hundreds of years. From this moment on, the ark was never to be seen by anyone except the high priest, and that only once a year. However, during the time of the movement of the tabernacle, it would also be seen by the priests designated to cover it before it was transported from place to place. This is recorded in Numbers 4:5.

Other than these exceptions, the ark was to forever remain behind the veil, showing the people that there was a fracture, or divide, between them and the Lord. The veil, with its cherubim woven into it, was to remind them that man had been cast out of Eden and could not enter the Lord’s presence, except through a mediator. What a profound and sobering picture of the work of Christ whose coming and whose ministry was as of yet unknown to them.

What is surprising is that even to this day, the Jews don’t get it. They are in the process of making a new veil for the coming temple in Jerusalem. On that veil will be cherubim like those of old. They are willingly demonstrating that they have no access to God and to His paradise which is prepared for those who come to Him through Christ.

Thank God for Jesus Christ who rent the veil through His work. Thank God for Jesus Christ who restores to us the intimate fellowship which was lost to man at the very first moments of his long and weary existence on this earth.

The Most Holy Place, where the Lord does dwell
The place where all of His goodness is known
We had lost access to that place for a long, long spell
But hints of how to return us there have been shown

There in the place where peace is to be found
Where the Lord resides, and from where shines His glory
A marvelous place where joy does abound
Is revealed to us in the gospel story

Entering through the veil, the torn body of the Lord
And placing our sins at the foot of the cross of Calvary
We have full access, yes peace is restored
This is what God has done through Christ for you and for me

II. Setting up the Holy Place (verses 22-28)

22 He put the table in the tabernacle of meeting, on the north side of the tabernacle, outside the veil;

With the veil set, the attention is next turned to the Holy Place of the tabernacle. The first item to be placed there is the table of showbread. The Tabernacle points to the west with its entrance at the east. This then means that the north side is on the right. There the table was to be placed.

As a correction here, the Hebrew says, “And he put the table in the tent of meeting on the north side of the tabernacle.” Two different words are used – tent and tabernacle. But the translators erringly overlook this and call it the tabernacle both times.

In another sad state, but one which is too often repeated, one scholar incorrectly commented on this verse concerning the placement of this table, and from that it was repeated by others. The comment was that until this point, there were no instructions given for where this table would be placed. Here is what the Pulpit Commentary states –

“No direction had been given upon this point, but Moses probably knew the right position from the pattern which he had seen upon the mount.”

This is what happens, one person says something, and then it becomes accepted without checking. In fact, the placement for this table was noted when it was first mentioned in Exodus 26 –

“You shall set the table outside the veil, and the lampstand across from the table on the side of the tabernacle toward the south; and you shall put the table on the north side.” Exodus 26:35

When reading commentaries, never allow your brain to squiggle until you first check to see if the commentary is correct. If such an obvious error is possible with such a simple thing as this, imagine how much more important it is to check on doctrinal matters which can affect your entire walk with Christ, and even the matter of your salvation!

23 and he set the bread in order upon it before the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

This is the “bread of the Presence,” or the “bread of the Faces” as it literally is translated in Exodus 25:30. According to Leviticus 26, it was to be set in two rows, six loves to a row.

Because the instructions for this are given afterwards in Leviticus, it shows that the book of Leviticus is not necessarily a chronological record of what was instructed. Instead, it is a compilation of what the Lord commanded which was then placed in the order as divinely inspired by the Lord.

24 He put the lampstand in the tabernacle of meeting, across from the table, on the south side of the tabernacle;

The lampstand is the next item set in the Holy Place within the tent of meeting. It will be on the left as one enters to minister. Its arrangement was to be so that it was over against the table so that the light would shine to the north and illuminate the table.

25 and he lit the lamps before the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

In this verse is a Hebraism that is translated in one of two ways. The words are va’yaal ha’nerot. Some translators say, “And he set up the lamps.” Others say, “And he lit the lamps.” Only Young’s Literal Translation gives a direct rendering of the Hebrew. He says, “And he causeth the lamps to go up.” It isn’t that he set up the lamps, it is that he lit them, thus making the light go up before the Lord. The Holy Place was illuminated through this work of Moses.

It should be noted here that it is Moses who is doing these duties. He certainly had help with the setting up of the tabernacle and the tent and each piece of furniture, but he is the one to oversee the entire process. Aaron is not mentioned as having done any of these things because he is not yet ordained to do them.

Only Moses is set apart to be the one in charge of the duties at this point. This will end in just a few days, when the rite of ordination is complete, but until then, it is his responsibility to ensure that each step is carried out. And as the process continues, we read again that he accomplishes the task “as the Lord commanded.” He is being a faithful steward of the tasks that he is charged with.

26 He put the gold altar in the tabernacle of meeting in front of the veil;

This is the altar of incense, now called “the gold altar.” This is to distinguish it from the brazen altar which will be outside of the tent. It’s placement is just before the veil which would put it half way between the table and the menorah.

There before the veil, the smoke and smell of the incense would be the only thing to pass through the veil and into the Most Holy place each day. It signifies that the prayers of the people, through the Lord’s designated representative, would be received by God there in His dwelling place.

27 and he burned sweet incense on it, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

The incense would be lit and burned twice each day at the same times that the menorah was tended to. Again, this was a duty only authorized for the priests, and so once again, it says “as the Lord had commanded Moses.” It is a note that despite the fact that Moses was not the selected and ordained high priest, he was given the command to accomplish these tasks until Aaron and his sons were properly installed.

It is also worthy of note, once again, that the incense is called “sweet” or “fragrant.” The reason why this is so important is because not just any incense could be presented before the Lord. In just a few more chapters, and in just a few days from this very moment that Moses is working, two sons of Aaron will present unauthorized incense before the Lord, and they will be consumed by fire for their irreverence.

As this incense pictures acceptable prayers to God, the profane incense pictures unacceptable prayers to God. For us to mix our prayers with those of unbelievers, acknowledging their prayers as acceptable before the Lord, is a deed worthy of death.

We are not to pray with people of other religions as if we are praying to the same God. It is a direct affront to Him when we do this. There is one God, there is one Mediator between God and man, and there can be no fellowship between light and darkness.

28 He hung up the screen at the door of the tabernacle.

This hanging is the covering of the entranceway into the Holy Place. It was visible to the people from outside of the Tent of Meeting and anyone who was curious could watch the ministering priest go through this entryway, but their peering eyes could see no further than this.

The Holy Place where there is the Bread of life
The Holy Place where the Light of life shines so bright
The Holy place where prayers are raised to end all strife
There in the Holy Place the Lord came to cure our hopeless plight

His perfect life was ended so that we could live
His light was covered over so that we could shine
For us to His Father His prayers He did give
And to the world He has given His marvelous sign

Look to the cross and to our Bread of life
Look to the cross for the Light of the world
Pray through the One who has ended the strife
And give glory to the Lord who has His banner unfurled

III. Setting up the Courtyard and its Furniture (verses 29-33)

29 And he put the altar of burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, and offered upon it the burnt offering and the grain offering, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

The altar of burnt offering is connected directly to the door of the tabernacle in this verse. There is no connecting preposition in the Hebrew. Without this altar, there could be no access. One cannot minister to the Lord until he first offers to the Lord. Thus Moses has the altar placed in direct line with the entrance way and then it next notes that he made his offering, just as the Lord commanded.

30 He set the laver between the tabernacle of meeting and the altar, and put water there for washing;

Despite the altar of burnt offering being connected to the door, this laver is still placed between the altar and the tent of meeting. The general speculation is that it was placed just off to the south side so that the priests would not have to go around it, but this is unstated in the Bible. Its purpose has been described already, washing. But the Lord once again states it and further defines it…

31 and Moses, Aaron, and his sons would wash their hands and their feet with water from it.

The tense of the verb is frequentative. In other words, it indicates that washing took place at any given time. At this time, Moses would be the one to wash. When Aaron and his sons were installed, Moses would no longer perform priestly functions and he would no longer wash, but Aaron and his sons would. The verse simply explains the placement and use of the laver.

32 Whenever they went into the tabernacle of meeting, and when they came near the altar, they washed,

The importance of the laver is seen in the exceptional amount of explanation given for it. So far, we have reviewed all of the furniture to be used in the sanctuary, and only this one piece has gotten so much detail concerning its use. If you don’t remember the symbolism of the laver, or if you didn’t see that sermon, you should go review. In short, it signifies our on-going sanctification which preeminently comes from knowing and adhering to the words of Scripture.

If you wonder how the Lord feels about the time you spend in the word, all you need to do is look at the amount of detail that He is giving us now as to the use of the laver. He wants you in it day and night. If you’re not filling yourself with the word, you are filling yourself with something else, probably something completely non-productive in regards to your relationship with the Lord.

32 (con’t) as the Lord had commanded Moses.

This is the last of eight times that this is said of Moses’ adherence to the duties he was prescribed. If you add in his supervision of the work of the people from the previous chapter, it is a full 18 times that the obedience of Moses is highlighted, just as the Lord commanded. With each step of the process, the Bible meticulously notes the adherence to what the Lord had previously spoken.

It is an especially poignant note for us to consider, because the word of the Lord to Moses is exactly the same word from the Lord which is recorded for us. Whether in part or in whole, when we receive the word of the Lord, our obedience to it, and our adherence to it is being gauged.

Moses was told, “Do this,” and the Bible then records, “Moses did this as commanded.” We are told, “Do this,” and when we stand before the Lord, the record will either read, “He did this,” or “He didn’t do this.” An eternity of rewards can be very easily lost in the purifying fire of the Lord’s judgment, simply because we failed to heed. Let’s not let that happen to us!

33 And he raised up the court all around the tabernacle and the altar,

The court around the tabernacle stretched out for about 150 feet on the north and south, and it was about 75 feet across on the west and on the east. In all then, it was approximately one half the size of a football field. It wasn’t just a court, but actually an enclosure. The tabernacle would have sat inside of it.

Flavius Josephus states that the tabernacle was placed in the middle of the court (Antiq. III 6, 3), but most photos or depictions you see have centered and all the way to the back of the courtyard. From a pictorial aspect, what Josephus says makes more sense. The placement of the ark, the very heart of the entire edifice would be there in the center of the sanctuary.

33 (con’t) and hung up the screen of the court gate.

This is the last detail mentioned for the entire sanctuary. It is the screen by which access into the court itself was obtained. As this is shown to clearly picture Christ – the Way, the Truth, and the Life – it is fitting that it is the last item mentioned. It is a note that in order to get through all of the other objects, and to the very throne of the Lord, one must come through Christ. There is no end-around for the people of the world. It is either Jesus, or one is left without access. Thank God for Jesus Christ!

33 (con’t) So Moses finished the work.

va’kal moshe eth ha’melakah – The words are simple and without any fanfare, “And finished Moses the work.” He was given a task, and he saw it through to its completion. The sanctuary was now complete in every detail.

As a note before we go on, the details of lighting lamps, burning incense, burning offerings, and washing with the laver – and so on – all of these details were certainly done after this final verse, but they were mentioned before to show that those functions were accomplished in accord with the use of the respective item.

Further, though the anointing of these items for their consecration isn’t mentioned until Leviticus 8, it is probable that it was accomplished directly after the final setting up of the sanctuary and as the week-long ordination of Aaron began.

It is I who consecrates Israel
It is by My glory that this is so
And it is I who can consecrate You as well
To you My holiness I will show

For those who call out from Egypt’s chains
I will respond and break them free
Nothing of the previous bondage now remains
For those who have been released by Me

I am the Lord who sanctifies His people
It is by My glory that this is so
So let them sing their praises from under the steeple
They are mine; let the world know

*IV. The Cloud and the Glory (verses 34-38)

34 Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.

The sign of the Lord’s approval of all that has taken place, and of His entry into His new residence is now given in a stunning display. The cloud which had led them from the Red Sea all the way to Mt. Sinai, and which had rested upon either Sinai, or Moses’ tent when he went to meet the Lord there, now enveloped the tent of meeting.

And from within the tabernacle, the glory of the Lord dazzlingly radiated out, filling the entire temple. The promise to dwell in the midst of Israel had now come to its realization.

Regardless of the actual timing of the events concerning the anointing of the tabernacle and all of the furniture, and also the timing of Aaron’s consecration, the temporary nature of the Levitical priesthood is made perfectly obvious by the placement of this final passage at the end of the book of Exodus instead of within the book of Leviticus. In Exodus 29, the Lord said these words to Moses –

This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of meeting before the Lord, where I will meet you to speak with you. 43 And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by My glory.” Exodus 29:42, 43

At that time, I explained that the words “the tabernacle” were inserted by the translators. All it says is, v’niqdash bikbodi – “…and I will sanctify by My glory.” The question then was, “What will the Lord sanctify by His glory?” Of 20 English translations, the options were – “the place,” “it,” “the tabernacle,” “that place,” “the tent,” and “the altar.” Does anyone remember which was correct?

The answer was, “None of those.” Rather, the only entity mentioned in the verse was “the children of Israel.” It is Israel who is sanctified by the presence of the Lord. The proof of this was that His glory filled the tent of meeting.

The Lord had told them after their sin of the golden calf that He would not dwell in their midst. Through the mediation of Moses, the Lord agreed that He would dwell in their midst. Now, with the sanctuary complete, the promise is realized. He has come to dwell in their midst, and Israel as a people is sanctified by His glory.

During their exile, this was the very promise made to Israel through Ezekiel. He told them that a time was coming when He would be with them and once again sanctify them by His glory –

“My tabernacle also shall be with them; indeed I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 28 The nations also will know that I, the Lord, sanctify Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.” Ezekiel 37:27-28

But that never happened after the exile. There is no record of the presence of the Lord filling the second temple. The time is yet future to them even now, and it is connected not to this covenant, mediated by Aaron. Instead, it is connected to the covenant which is mediated by the Messiah to come as was promised through Jeremiah the prophet.

This marvelous truth is hinted at now in the placement of this passage in Exodus, not Leviticus. Even before the consecration of Aaron and his sons, while still under the mediation of Moses, the glory of the Lord fills the temple. This law administered by Moses, even after his death, was thus only temporary until the time of it being superseded by what it only pointed to, the better and more perfect covenant found in Christ Jesus.

35 And Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting, because the cloud rested above it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.

What this seems to imply is that Moses, in fact, attempted to enter the tent of meeting, just as he had done when he met with the Lord in the previous tent of meeting outside the camp. However, the brilliant splendor of Yehovah was so radiant and marvelous that he could not. It was beyond his ability to do so. What a sign to all of the people of the marvelous workings of the Lord on their behalf!

Verses 34 and 35 are repeated in what occurred at the building of Solomon’s temple in Jerusalem. In 1 Kings 8, we read this –

“And it came to pass, when the priests came out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the Lord, 11 so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.” 1 Kings 8:10, 11

But notice the main difference between the two. In Exodus, it says that Moses was not able to enter. In 1 Kings, it says that the priests could not continue ministering. It is not the ministration of the priests that brings the Lord’s presence near, nor is it the law of Moses, which is still not complete – many more laws are coming.

Rather, the glory of the Lord coming among the people to sanctify them precedes the Aaronic priesthood, and it is also precedes the full giving of the Law of Moses. Therefore, neither of these things can be considered necessary for the coming of the Lord to dwell among His people.

Rather, the things which have been erected are what brought it to pass, and these things are merely types and shadows, as we have seen, of the coming Christ. As Christ is the fulfillment of them all, then it is the Lord Jesus in whom the glory of the Lord dwells in its full and resplendent glory.

If we would just pay heed to the details, even of seemingly obscure events in the Lord’s word, we would know where to put our trust, our hope, and our attentive eyes.

36 Whenever the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle, the children of Israel would go onward in all their journeys.

At some point, the magnificent glory which filled the entire tabernacle retreated into the Most Holy Place and was to be found only there above the mercy seat and between the cherubim as was promised to Moses in chapter 25.

However, the cloud of glory remained above the tabernacle. It no longer moved from Sinai to tent and back to Sinai. Instead, it remained there above the tabernacle at all times until it was time to move. Only in this instance would the cloud move. And when it did, the people were expected to break camp and follow.

37 But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not journey till the day that it was taken up.

This verse is more fully explained in Numbers 9. The people remained where they were and only moved when directed –

“So it was, when the cloud remained only from evening until morning: when the cloud was taken up in the morning, then they would journey; whether by day or by night, whenever the cloud was taken up, they would journey. 22 Whether it was two days, a month, or a year that the cloud remained above the tabernacle, the children of Israel would remain encamped and not journey; but when it was taken up, they would journey.” Numbers 9:21, 22

It was solely by the direction of the Lord that the people moved. His plan was being executed, and His timing would prevail in having all things turn out as He had determined from the very beginning.

*38 For the cloud of the Lord was above the tabernacle by day, and fire was over it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.

The cloud of glory had two distinct aspects. One was a covering cloud during the day, the other was the appearance of fire by night. This is not to be taken allegorically, but rather it is exactly what the people saw, and thus it was always visible to them.

With the presence of the cloud above the tabernacle, and in in full sight of all of the people, they would never again have to ask the question, “Is the Lord among us or not?” It would be evident to all that he was. It adds a touch of security to the obedient heart, but Israel is not known for its obedience. And therefore, it also adds a note of dread, and that assured judgment lies ahead for them.

We don’t even need to turn the pages to guess this, the Lord has said as much concerning the stiff-necked demeanor of the people. And yet, because of the faithful mediation of Moses, they have received the granting of their desires. They are now truly and inextricably the people of God, with all of the associated positives and negatives that this includes.

The positives will stem from their faithfulness to Him, and the negatives will stem from their rebellion against Him. The Lord is unchanging, and this the people will find out.

The chapter and the book close out with this final verse. The people became enslaved to Pharaoh at the beginning of the book, and they had now become servants of the Lord at its ending. Whereas the book of Genesis spanned well over 2000 years of human history, Exodus spanned less than 100.

After this, the next three books combined will span less than 40. The Lord chose His line of people, they had come to the point of their redemption, and now they will come to be refined as His people in order to enter the Land of Promise.

Unfortunately, the refinement of a people is not congenital. Each generation must heed the lessons of the past, or they too will fall under the expected punishments of the Lord. Israel failed to teach their children and they were twice exiled.

By God’s mighty hand alone, they have been returned once again to the Land of Promise. However, this time instead of being refined in advance of their arrival, they will be refined only afterwards. It will be a terrifying lesson as their numbers are whittled down through the process, but there will be an end to that refinement, and a time of great glory lies ahead for them yet again.

The cloud and fire is promised once again to the people of God who dwell in Jerusalem of the future. Isaiah tells us of the marvel that the people will behold –

“And it shall come to pass that he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy—everyone who is recorded among the living in Jerusalem. When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and purged the blood of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning, then the Lord will create above every dwelling place of Mount Zion, and above her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night. For over all the glory there will be a covering. And there will be a tabernacle for shade in the daytime from the heat, for a place of refuge, and for a shelter from storm and rain.” Isaiah 4:3-6

Again, this passage from Isaiah is not to be allegorized. It is to be taken as a literal manifestation signifying the presence of the Lord over Jerusalem during the millennial period. It will be the time which occurs only after He has “washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion.”

That day cannot be far off. The time of Israel’s exile is ended, the time of the falling away by the church has surely come close to reaching its climax, and the just punishment upon the nations of the world is close at hand.

The Lord led Israel by cloud, and He leads His church by His written word. We fail to pay heed at our own peril. In His magnificent, superior word there is a promise of great and marvelous things which lie ahead for the redeemed of the Lord. Let us hold fast to these promises and not lose heart as we await their sure coming. The Lord of glory is there, and He is willing to accept all who come to Him by faith. Let us not fail to heed the call when it is made. And let us not fail to seek Him while He may be found.

Closing Verse: “But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. 24 And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. 25 Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there). 26 And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it. 27 But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.” Revelation 21:22-27

Next Week: Jonah 1:1-3 With this new series you will never be bored! (From the Presence of the Lord) (1st Jonah Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you. He has a good plan and purpose for you. Even if a deep ocean lies ahead of You, He can part the waters and lead you through it on dry ground. So follow Him and trust Him and He will do marvelous things for you and through you.

The Lord in Their Midst

And it came to pass
In the first month of the second year
On the first day of the month, that the tabernacle was raised up
To this command Moses did adhere

So Moses raised up the tabernacle
Fastened its sockets, set up its boards too
Put in its bars, and raised up its pillars
As he was instructed, so he did do

And he spread out the tent
Over the tabernacle
And put the covering of the tent on top of it
As the LORD had commanded Moses, so he did tackle

He took the Testimony and put it into the ark
Inserted the poles through the ark’s rings
And put the mercy seat on top of the ark
He followed through with each of these things

And he brought the ark into the tabernacle
Hung up the veil of the covering
And partitioned off the ark of the Testimony
As the LORD had commanded Moses, so he did this thing

He put the table in the tabernacle of meeting
On the north side of the tabernacle, as the Lord did tell
Outside the veil; its place of seating
And he set the bread in order upon it as well

It was there before the LORD
As the LORD had commanded Moses
According to His word

He put the lampstand
In the tabernacle of meeting, this job he did tackle
Across from the table
On the south side of the tabernacle

And he lit the lamps before the LORD
As the LORD had commanded Moses
According to His word

He put the gold altar
In the tabernacle of meeting
In front of the veil
This, the place of its seating

And he burned sweet incense on it
As the LORD had commanded Moses
As the Lord did submit

He hung up the screen at the door
Of the tabernacle, and then he continued to do more

And he put the altar of burnt offering
Before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting
And offered upon it the burnt offering and the grain offering
As the LORD had commanded Moses; the task he was completing

He set the laver
Between the tabernacle of meeting and the altar
And put water there for washing
In attention to this duty he did not falter

And Moses, Aaron, and his sons
Would wash their hands and their feet with water from it
These people only; they the only ones

Whenever they went into the tabernacle of meeting
And when they came near the altar too
They washed
As the LORD had commanded Moses to do

And he raised up the court
All around the tabernacle and the altar; this duty he did not shirk
And hung up the screen of the court gate
So Moses finished the work

Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting
Surely this was a marvelous sight
And the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle
The tabernacle was completed just right

And Moses was not able
To enter the tabernacle of meeting even if he willed
Because the cloud rested above it
And the glory of the LORD the tabernacle filled

Whenever the cloud was taken up
From above the tabernacle moving forward
The children of Israel
Would go in all their journeys onward

But if the cloud was not taken up
Then they did not journey
Till the day that it was taken up
They waited for it to move; they waited obediently

For the cloud of the LORD, this marvelous sight
Was above the tabernacle by day
And fire was over it by night
In all of the house of Israel’s sight, throughout all their journeys
It guided them as they went on their way

Lord God, thank you for this wonderful book
Exodus! What a marvel to have studied it
Into every detail possible we took a look
And to You our thanks and praise we now submit!

Hallelujah to Christ our Lord!
Hallelujah for Exodus, a marvelous part of Your superior word!

Hallelujah and Amen…