Under the Sea

The OT tells us of God and His people. It is our Father revealing Himself to first the Jews and then to the rest of us through His Word.

Everything account of God interacting with the Israelites isn’t contained in scripture.

Jonah 1:17 NASB95

17 And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights.

So that is where we are:

Jonah 2:1 NASB95

1 Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the stomach of the fish,

One commentary I read said that an objection to Jonah was that he couldn’t have prayed while still in the stomach of the fish.

That’s like watching an Avengers movie and complaining that the physics of the Iron man suit don’t add up.

Jonah 2:1–10 NASB95

1 Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the stomach of the fish, 2 and he said, “I called out of my distress to the Lord, And He answered me. I cried for help from the depth of Sheol; You heard my voice. 3 “For You had cast me into the deep, Into the heart of the seas, And the current engulfed me. All Your breakers and billows passed over me. 4 “So I said, ‘I have been expelled from Your sight. Nevertheless I will look again toward Your holy temple.’ 5 “Water encompassed me to the point of death. The great deep engulfed me, Weeds were wrapped around my head. 6 “I descended to the roots of the mountains. The earth with its bars was around me forever, But You have brought up my life from the pit, O Lord my God. 7 “While I was fainting away, I remembered the Lord, And my prayer came to You, Into Your holy temple. 8 “Those who regard vain idols Forsake their faithfulness, 9 But I will sacrifice to You With the voice of thanksgiving. That which I have vowed I will pay. Salvation is from the Lord.” 10 Then the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah up onto the dry land.

The Main thing the Main thing

God heard his cry

In the midst of his disobedience, God heard his voice.

Romans 5:8 NASB95

8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

2. Jonah recognizes why he was in the mess he was in.

VS 3 states: For you had cast me into the deep.

God causes it.

God allows it.

God can deliver you through it.

The Word is full of accounts of God carrying His people through horrific things, and He can carry you through wherever you find yourself.

Jonah repents:

Jonah 2:9 NASB95

9 But I will sacrifice to You With the voice of thanksgiving. That which I have vowed I will pay. Salvation is from the Lord.”

Not like Jephthah’s vow.

Salvation came before repentance!

God doesn’t expect you to get cleaned up before you get saved!

When is too late to be saved?

From the perspective of the people on the boat, Jonah was lost.

They didn’t know what God did after the time Jonah disappeared from the surface.

You don’t know what happens between anyone and the Lord before they take their last breath.

Keep praying.

Keep obeying (Light and Salt)

When is it too late to be used by God?

Ephesians 2:10 NASB95

10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

You cannot perform His good works with a rebellious heart.

It was after Jonah’s repentance.

Jonah 2:10 NASB95

10 Then the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah up onto the dry land.

Jonah and Jesus

Matthew 12:40 NASB95

40 for just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

If you read this prayer, this Psalm of praise, you realize that although Jonah’s body was in the belly of the fish, his spirit was with the Lord.