• Sign in

• Home
• Write for World-Wide Bible Studies
• Sign in
• About
• Contact

Jonah 2 - Say Yer Prayers, Rabbit

Jonah's Prayer – God Listens
Jonah 2:1-2 Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish, saying, “I called out to the Lord, out of my distress, and he answered me; out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice. The poetic literary voice of the second chapter is as strikingly beautiful in form as it is spiritually and theologically deep. This chapter is Jonah’s prayer from within the belly of the sea creature. This is an excellent example of Godly prayer. We see the character of God revealed throughout the prayer. In stark contrast we see the imperfect character of God’s chosen servant, broken by God’s will, at last submitting in reverence His divine purpose. Jonah trusts the Lord to keep His vow and knows he must keep his own vow. We can have Jonah’s confidence that God will hear our cry when we earnestly seek Him with our whole heart (1 Chr 28:9) and have faith (Mt 21:21). In Jonah’s case, it was his faith in God’s character that got him into his desperate situation. He knew God is faithful to forgive a sinner who repents. Because of this he knew that if he preached repentance to Nineveh they could repent and God might not destroy them. Nineveh was the capitol of Assyria. The Assyrians were infamous for their brutality in war. They were an adversarial neighbor just to the northeast of Israel. There were frequent skirmishes between them. In this passage Jonah says he cried out from the belly of Sheol. Sheol is sometimes translated hell, as in the KJV. A careful study of this term shows it refers to the grave, burial, pit, or condition of death. Jonah 2:6 describes Sheol as a pit with bars that prevent exit. Most Old Testament references to Sheol suggest the spiritual element of the human being rests or sleeps after physical death. In spite of this condition, Jonah goes on to express belief in some future restoration to life (2:4).

Admission
Jonah 2:3-4 For you cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the flood surrounded me; all your waves and your billows passed over me. Then I said, ‘I am driven away from your sight; yet I shall again look upon your holy temple.’ Jonah recognized the finality of his death by drowning. Worse, he recognized he was being cast out of God’s sight. Being sent to his death meant separation from God. In spite of this, Jonah had faith he would again see God’s holy temple. Almost eight hundred years before Jesus told his disciples about resurrection, Jonah clearly understood the hope for resurrection. This passage also shows that Jonah believed in God’s mercy, that he would be forgiven for his failure to obey God’s command for him to go to Nineveh. Had Jonah’s faith been found lacking he would probably have perished at sea and we would not have his story with us today. Since his faith and God’s mercy are both real, Jonah was brought back from the verge of death. This was the reward for faith. The cost of faith was that Jonah would have to complete the task God had originally set before him. He must preach repentance to the evil and (in his mind at least) undeserving Ninevites and allow them the opportunity to receive God’s mercy. We all know someone who has hurt us. It is no small or simple matter to forgive those hurts. Jesus was beaten, spat upon, ridiculed, and made to carry his own cross. As he hung for our sins he looked out on the soldiers and asked God to forgive them. We are required for forgive those sin against us if we are to be forgiven by God (Mt 6:14). To forgive is the cross we must carry. Carrying this cross of forgiveness is an act of faith to be rewarded when our hope of resurrection is realized.

Submission
Jonah 2:5-7 The waters closed in over me to take my life; the deep surrounded me; weeds were wrapped about my head at the roots of the mountains. I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever; yet you brought up my life from the pit, O Lord my God. When my life was fainting away, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple. In the prayer Jonah recounts events. When we speak to God, we too can retell what has happened to us. God certainly knows every detail, yet in the telling it becomes something more like a shared experience. This manner of prayer acknowledges experiences and God’s role in them. Jonah tells us that when he was dying he thought of God. Even as he began to slip away from mortal life he called out to God who heard his plea. This should not be thought of as any sort of deathbed conversion. Jonah knew God. He was one of God’s appointed prophets. Jonah’s faith was not new. God hears the prayers of the faithful (Heb 5:7). As described earlier, Jonah had a very clear and specific hope for eventual resurrection. He understood God’s spiritual nature. Although the temple of Solomon housed the Ark of the Covenant, Jonah would have understood the real temple of God is heavenly, not earthly. He knew God could hear him from that place because it is a spiritual place and his prayer was prayed from his spirit.

Commitment
Jonah 2:8-9 Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love. But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the Lord!” This passage is the climax of Jonah’s prayer. God hates idolatry, but loves those who worship Him instead of idols (Ex 20:3-6). Jonah’s words accurately describe God’s view of idolatry. He is confessing God’s sovereignty. He then promises to thankfully sacrifice to God. The act of making a sacrifice is one of submission. God does not care about sacrifices made for show, but for what is given freely with a thankful heart. Jonah’s prayer expresses his understanding of this. Whatever we give for the sake of the kingdom of God must be given with a pure heart or it is vanity. Jonah is not promising to sacrifice an animal, he will sacrifice his prejudice and his own stubborn will to use his voice to preach God’s message in Nineveh. He vows to obey. God has the power to rescue to Jonah from the sea. God has the power to convict the hearts of the brutal Assyrians. Ultimately it is God alone who has the power to save us from our sins and bestow eternal life.

God Responds
Jonah 2:10 And the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land. Through his letter to the Philippians, Paul instructs us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling (Phil 2:12). Throughout Jonah’s prayer there is a sense of desperation and tension as Jonah comes face to face with eternity. He is humbled before an all-powerful God who holds life in his hand. Jonah’s faith was rewarded with a very unique form of salvation. Regardless of our situation, God is always faithful and true (Rev 19:11). There is nothing we can do to earn salvation (Eph 2:8-9), however when we become born again through the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit we will bear fruit in keeping with our salvation (Eph 2:10). Jonah was forgiven for his disobedience. He was given another opportunity to obey when he was expelled on dry land.

• Home
• Terms of Service
• Privacy
• Categories
• Writers' Guidelines
• Write for World-Wide Bible Studies
• Tag Cloud
• About
• Contact