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The Heart of the Matter-Jonah 2:8-9

By Larry Kirk | April 24, 2007

Bob Kutchenburg, the former Miami Dolphin football player, once explained why he went to college and then ended up playing football. He said he was in a circus family, and his father and uncle worked in the circus as human cannon balls. One day they shot his uncle out of one of those cannons, and he missed the net. Kutchenburg said that’s when he said, “I think I’ll go to college.” Sometimes we can learn from someone else’s experience.

One of the purposes of stories like Jonah’s in the Scripture is that we would learn good lessons from these ancient stories. In 1 Corinthians 10:6-7, Paul says, “Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were.”

Paul says these Old Testament stories are examples, but that’s not all. He adds “to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things.” Notice that these examples are not designed just to get people to behave in certain ways. They are meant to teach us something about our hearts, what our hearts are made for, and how our hearts go astray. It’s interesting that when Paul says that these stories contain examples that address the issues of the heart, the first thing he mentions is idolatry. “Do not be idolaters, as some of them were.”

You may think idolatry has little to do with our everyday struggles, but the Bible says it is actually the controlling factor in a thousand life issues. We’re going to look at the issue of idolatry, because it is central to the story of the Bible, central to the story of Jonah, and central to our lives today.

In Jonah 2, at the end of Jonah’s prayer of thanksgiving, this statement stands out: “Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.” The statement stands out for several reasons.

First, this statement (including the verse that follows) comes at the literary mid-point of the book.

Second, it is also the central confession of faith that Jonah makes.

In the book of Jonah, three confessions of faith serve as milestones on Jonah’s journey. In the beginning, in Jonah 1:9, he “speaks to the sailors and says, ‘I am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land.’” At the end, in Jonah 4:2, he speaks to God, saying, “I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.” But here in the middle he speaks to us all and says, “Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs. But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from the Lord” (2:8-9).

Another reason the statement stands out is that this is the only maxim, or proverb, in the book that is stated as universal truth for all time and people. The rest of the book consists of Jonah’s story and the lessons that are implied or suggested in the story. But here Scripture states, for all who read, a lesson that we can take to heart. It’s always true, through all time, for all people, in every culture: “Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.”

If we think of idols as only statues that people in ancient times or in far-away places worship, none of this is going to mean much. But that would be a big mistake.

The Bible tells us that . . .

Idolatry Is an Issue for Us All

Because Idolatry Is an Issue of the H eart

The book of Jonah shows how a person who thinks of himself as a worshiper of the one true God can actually be an idolater at heart. That’s part of the irony of Jonah’s story.

Jonah calls himself a worshiper of the one true God. But at the beginning of the story we find him running from the God he claims to worship, surrounded by crew of sailors who worship false gods but who end up so awestruck by the true God’s power that they worship Him. At the end of the story Jonah goes to the great city of Nineveh. It is a city of idol worshipers who, when they hear his message, repent of their evil ways and humble themselves before God. Thus all the obvious idolaters end up in some way acknowledging God and, to some degree, experiencing His grace. But Jonah, who doesn’t look like an idolater on the outside, is revealed to be a person who actually worships and serves his own agenda, self-righteousness, and prejudices more than God. That’s the idolatry of the heart that endangers us all.

Jonah has a moment of spiritual clarity (2:8-9), but he doesn’t follow through on this clarity. In the end, even though he is shown grace, he never fully experiences or enjoys the grace that could be his. He still worships his own agenda, self-righteousness, and prejudice. He clings to the idols in his heart and forfeits an experience of grace he could have enjoyed.

Idolatry Is an Issue of the Heart Because God Wants

Not Just Outward Worship but Inward Worship

The Bible says the first and greatest commandment is this: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength” (Deuteronomy 6:5). What we are made for and what God wants from us is the loving response of our hearts to the reality of His goodness.

Even in the ancient world, when physical idols were common, the Bible spoke of inward idolatry. Ezekiel 14:4 says, “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: When any Israelite sets up idols in his heart and puts a wicked stumbling block before his face and then goes to a prophet, I the Lord will answer him myself in keeping with his great idolatry.” God here is warning people about the hypocrisy that pretends to seek His guidance while in reality setting up idols in the heart to which we give our highest loyalty and love. Note that these idols are not outward statues but inward desires and priorities.

In the New Testament Scriptures . . .

Idolatry Is a Sin of the Heart That Lies at the Root

of Other, More obvious, Sins

Ephesians 5:5: “For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person–such a man is an idolater–has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.”

Colossians 3:5: “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.”

Some scholars think “greed” here refers to sexual greed, because of the sins it is listed with. Other think it means greed for material things, because that is how the term is more commonly used. The word itself simply means “a desire to have more.” That doesn’t mean you can’t ask for seconds at the dinner table or a raise at the office. It does mean that if the desire for more isn’t placed under the control of Christ, and your devotion to God isn’t greater than your desire for more, that is idolatry.

Notice this: The Bible says there may be things in our lives that we may not call idolatry that are in fact idolatry in God’s eyes. And He is telling us so that we will see it that way also. It matters.

The book of 1 John contains 105 verses about living life in fellowship with Christ. All through these 105 verses it talks about various sins and temptations that break our fellowship with Christ, things such as love for this world, pride, lust, and hate. It also talks about the importance of faith and love for God and for people. It never uses the word “idol” or “idolatry” until the very end of the book.

Then, in 1 John 5:21, the final verse, as if to sum up the main issue, the underlying concern through all of this teaching on all of these different topics, it says, “Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.” In other words, even though the writer hasn’t mentioned idolatry in the entire letter, when he gets to the end he says the underlying sin in all of these issues and areas of life is really idolatry. So I can sum up the thrust of 105 verses about vital fellowship with Christ by simply saying this: “Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.”

The Bible does not consider idolatry to be one sin among many (and thus now very rare and found only among primitive people). Under all our sins and many other issues in our lives are idolatrous desires.

One of the most ancient Christian leaders and writers from the early days of the Christian church, after the apostles had died, was Tertullian. He was a lawyer in Rome who became a Christian in the year 193. One of his more famous writings is simply titled On Idolatry. In the opening words he says:

The principle crime of the human race, the highest guilt charged upon the world, the whole procuring cause of judgment, is idolatry. For although each individual sin retains its own proper feature, although it is destined to judgment under its own proper name also, yet they all fall under the general heading of idolatry.

He clarifies by saying:

All murder and adultery, for example are idolatry, for they arise because something is loved more than God–yet in turn, all idolatry is murder for it assaults God, and all idolatry is also adultery for it is unfaithfulness to God. Thus it comes to pass, that in idolatry all crimes are detected, and in all crimes idolatry.

David Powlison, a Christian psychologist, tells the story of counseling a man who habitually escaped life’s pressures with TV, food, video games, alcohol, pornography, antique collecting, sci-fi novels, and working out at the gym. He neglected his wife, was slack about his job, was evasive and deceitful in his communication with others, and just went through the motions at church. So the Christian counselor looked at this man’s life and wondered where to begin.

There were so many issues, some obviously sinful and some just questionable, that he wasn’t sure where to start. Then it struck him to begin with the Psalms. Not just one particular psalm but the book as a whole. Why? Because almost every psalm, in some way or other, portrays the Lord as our refuge in trouble. The psalms implicitly and explicitly rebuke taking refuge in anything less; they offer steadfast love and mercy; they spur us to know and obey God on all the battlefields of life.

The counselee had felt vaguely guilty for some of his bad behavior. But whenever he tried to change, his efforts were half-hearted and unsuccessful until he started reflecting on his life in light of the teaching of the Psalms. When he did that, God showed him he was not turning to Him as his refuge and strength but was actually turning to all these little gods of his own making. He was trying to find refuge from life’s challenges in them. He realized then that he had set up all these idols of refuge and comfort in his heart and that he went to them when he wanted comfort. As a result they ruled his life.

He saw his life in light of the teaching of the Psalms, that what he was doing for refuge and relief from the stress was turning to all these habits and sins, and it changed the way he looked at his life and his problems. A new desire for a life of faith and for a fuller, more genuine experience of the grace of God began to grow in his heart. God, who had seemed far away and foggy at the beginning, became close and personal as he began to deal with the idolatry of his heart and rely on the Lord’s grace and presence. What happened is that as he dealt with the idolatry of his heart, he began to successfully change the bad behaviors in his life (Powlison, Seeing with New Eyes, pp. 142-43).

What would you think of a man who married a woman and promised her his life-long love, but who let that love die down into nothing more than polite courtesy. He was continually pursuing and falling in love with other women. He would never cross the line into physical adultery and sexual intimacy but would be head over heels in lust with, emotionally wrapped up in and preoccupied with, one woman after another. Yes, his physical restraint was good but not good enough to make up for his emotional infidelity. It wouldn’t be enough to make the marriage anything like a good marriage or his relationship with his wife a sweet and strong relationship.

So what if you don’t have at statue of Buddha, Baal, of Vishnu in your yard or even a plastic Jesus on the dashboard of your car? The absence of outward idols means very little if God is not first in the affections of your heart. Idolatry is an issue of the heart.

Because Idolatry Is an Issue of the Heart,

We Must Look Beneath the Surface of Our Lives

The book of Jonah, like so much of the Bible, is designed to make you think. How is it that a man who knows who God is, considers himself a believer in the true God, and prides himself on not being like the pagans who worship false gods ends up both disobedient to God and so angry at Him that he wants to die? The answer is that Jonah, who has little sympathy for the idolatry in the world, has very little mastery over the idolatry in his own heart.

Jonah did what we too often do. He took his own idea of what ought to be, set it up in his heart, then used it to judge God. If God told him to do what he did not want to do, he said, “No.” If God did what he did not approve, he got angry. Jonah’s agenda and comfort and wishes and desires became a little nest of idols. His story makes you think of the irony of what was going on. But the Bible’s purpose is not to leave us shaking our heads at Jonah but rather looking more deeply at ourselves.

It’s Good to Look Beneath the Surface

“For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).

I’ve known Christians who have acted as if it were a sign of weakness to look very deeply inside their hearts to discern their thoughts, attitudes, motives, and intentions. But it is not weakness; it’s wisdom. And it is not optional; it is essential for a follower of Christ.

Christianity is not just about controlling outward behavior. It’s not just about avoiding sin. It’s about enthroning Christ as Lord and living the adventure of a relationship with Him. It’s a relationship in which you find your life in Him as you obey His leading. Through faith in Him, who loved you and died for you, your life is redeemed from the inside out and forever. His love and His presence in you free you from the bondage of false gods, so that you are motivated, by your love for the real God, to listen to His voice and live for His kingdom. Those are all issues of the heart.

Our primary purpose as parents is not to control our children’s behavior. We have to be concerned about behavior; there is no question about that. We don’t want our children to disobey God and hurt themselves or others. But our primary focus has to be our children’s’ motivations. We are not behaviorist. We are followers of Jesus Christ. That means we deal in issues of the heart, where motivation is crucial and love for God essential.

Proverbs 20:5 says, “The purposes of a man’s heart are deep waters, but a man of understanding draws them out.” Are you a person of understanding who is drawing out the purposes of your heart so that you can deal with inward idolatries?

How can you know if you wrestle with inward idolatry? Here’s a test. Breathe on a mirror and see if you leave a fog. If you do, you wrestle with idolatry. Take your pulse; if you have one, you wrestle with idolatry.

How Can You Know Where You Wrestle with Idolatry?

The story of Jonah helps us think about that question too.

Look at your temptations. God gives a command, and the Scripture says, “But Jonah ran away from the Lord” (1:3).

If, when you know God’s way, you still want to go your own way, that’s a good place to look beneath the surface and see if there’s an idol in your heart. If you are sleeping with someone you are not married to, or divorcing someone with whom you should be reconciled, or hating someone you should forgive, or lying to clients in order to make money, or pampering yourself when you ought to be serving the cause of Christ, and you look beneath the surface as to why you are doing those things, you will often discover an inward idol beneath the outward sin. There likely will be some desire, some mistaken idea of what you think you need, that you are clinging to and allowing to rule your life.

Idols in the heart deceive us. We think that we need something that we will not get or keep if we do God’s will. We begin to think that there is something other than God, different than God, in addition to God that we must have. We legitimize our idols by calling them needs, and then we give in to temptation to keep them, because that’s the worship that idols demand.

So look at your life. Ask, “Why is it that this particular temptation has become so persistently difficult for me to face? What is it that has become so important to me that it makes me especially vulnerable to this temptation and sin?”

Look at your emotions. In Jonah 4:1-3, God shows compassion, and the Scripture says, “But Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry.” Why? Jonah’s emotions revealed the strength of his misplaced loyalty and love.

The circumstances that God sovereignly brought into Jonah’s life brought to the surface the idols of self-righteousness, pride, and self-centeredness that were buried in his heart, and Jonah was angry.

We feel most strongly about the things we care about most. Our strongest feelings reveal our deepest loves. So if you want to know what you love the most, look at where you feel the most.

Look at your life and ask, “Why do I feel so strongly about the things I feel so strongly about? Why is it that I’m so angry or worried or depressed? What is it that I think I must have in order to be satisfied and joyful about life? What is it that has become so important to me that the fear of not achieving it, or keeping it, makes so angry, fearful, worried, or depressed?” We need to ask these questions. We need to look at our hearts.

Sometimes we act as if the choices we make, the things we end up doing, just happen, as if we could dump out all that goes on in our lives like a bag of marbles. Say we look at all these things, and see we got mad on Thursday, were really down on Friday, told a lie to the boss on Monday, and then all through Tuesday were irritable. We may assume all these things are just unconnected marbles in the bag of life, as if one could say, “Here’s one sin, here’s another one, here’s a third.”

But the Bible says all the ways we act and react, the choices we make and the sins we commit, are connected. These things don’t just happen. The Bible uses the image of a tree and its fruits. Whatever the fruit is, it is connected to the roots of the tree. The fruit doesn’t just happen.

So look at your heart. “Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.” Don’t forfeit any of the grace that could be yours. If your idols, whatever they are, keep you from ever coming to Christ, you forfeit the grace that could save your soul. If you are a Christian and have let false gods drive and twist your life, you will find the only power they have is the power to cost you the grace that could be yours to enjoy.

Christ died on the cross for our sins and rose again from the dead so that even the worst idolaters, who have foolishly worshiped themselves, their own wills, and a hundred other gods of their own creation, could be reconciled to the one true God and live in a relationship of love and trust with Him. He offers Himself to you. He offers you His perfect love. You don’t have to earn it. You can’t earn it. You just have to receive it by turning to Him as your Savior and trusting Him as your Lord.

Because of what Jesus has done for you, you can trust Him, love Him, and live for Him. Do it. Let go of your idols. Don’t cling to them. Build your life on a love relationship with Christ.

I want to acknowledge that through out this series of messages I drew freely from several sources. First the book, Salvation Through Judgment And Mercy: The Gospel According to Jonah (Gospel According to the Old Testament) by Bryan D. Estelle (Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing) This is one installment of the very helpful series The Gospel According To the Old Testament D.A. Carson says that “one of the most urgent needs of the church is to grasp how the many parts of the Bible fit together to make one story-line that culminates in Jesus Christ…(and) this series of books goes a long way to meeting that need”. Sinclair Ferguson was quoted as saying “at last a series on the Old Testament designed to provide reliable exposition, biblical theology, and a focus on Christ”. O Palmer Robertson’s little book on Jonah, Jonah: A Study In Compassion, published by Banner of Truth, also proved especially helpful. While preaching this series I also listened to sermons on Jonah by Dr. Tim Keller and Mark Driscoll. Their sermons often suggested helpful ideas which were adapted to fit my approach and my congregation’s needs. Both of their sermon series are available through their web sites at www.redeemer.com and www.marshill.org respectively.

Topics: Jonah |

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