Deep Trouble, Deeper Trust, and Deepest Prayer

Brief recap of Jonah chapter 1: Jonah's disobedience and the resulting storm.Introduction to Jonah chapter 2: Jonah’s prayer from inside the fish.

Ch. 1:17) All Aboard the Big Fish Express!

The Bible Knowledge Commentary (b. The Praise By Jonah (2:1–9))

The Sailors

1:4 Crisis on the sea

1:14 Prayer to Yahweh

1:15b Deliverance from the storm

1:16Sacrifice and vows offered to God

The Prophet

2:3–6a Crisis in the sea

2:2, 7 Prayer to Yahweh

2:6b Deliverance from drowning

2:9 Sacrifice and vows offered to God

vv. 1-3) Jonah’s Desperation

[1] Jonah prays in the bell of the fish.

[Emphasize the setting] Jonah’s prayer comes from a place of extreme distress.

He prays to the Lord his God.

God never stopped being Jonah’s God, even when Jonah was at his quite literally lowest point.

We always have access to God, even in the belly of the fish. We have access to God even in our rebellion.

[Example: a kingdom]

[2] Jonah cries out to the Lord in his distress, and God hears him.

[Emphasize the need to call on God in times of trouble]

Jonah cries out to the Lord.

We can cry out when we are being afflicted or persecuted.

We can cry out when we are experiencing self affliction too! like Jonah.

I wonder in what way did God answer him?

I believe because Jonah’s prayer uses many phrases and figures of speech from the PS. This actually shows us that he was a man of God’s Word; having it hidden in his heart. Because there was no Bible or candle in the fish’s belly.

Psalm 18:6 NKJV

6 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 42:7 NKJV

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

Psalm 31:22 NKJV

22 For I said in my haste, “I am cut off from before Your eyes”; Nevertheless You heard the voice of my supplications When I cried out to You.

[Sheol] the place of the dead, and the Jews considered it to be a place of darkness and dust. All dead people descended there and no one returned from it. There was this idea that no one could worship YHWH there:

Psalm 6:5 NKJV

5 For in death there is no remembrance of You; In the grave who will give You thanks?

Belly of the fish compared to the grave. Jonah was imprisoned, and is fearful of not being heard… God could hear him.

There is probably a point that could be made between being in the belly of the ship and the belly of the fish.

[3] Jonah acknowledges God’s hand in his circumstances.

God cast Jonah into the deep. Into the heart of the sea. Jonah was surrounded on every side.

Jonah realized that it wasn’t the sailors who cast him into the sea—it was God. Jonah saw that he had never been out of the hand’s of god, though he tried to run from God.

Psalm 139:7–12 NKJV

7 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? 8 If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. 9 If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 10 Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me. 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,” Even the night shall be light about me; 12 Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, But the night shines as the day; The darkness and the light are both alike to You.

Remember you choose your actions but not your consequences.

Reflect on recognizing God’s sovereignty even in dire situations.

vv. 4-6) Jonah’s Recognition of God’s Sovereignty

[4] Jonah’s greatest pain was not the calamity he was facing, it wasn’t being in the belly of the fish, but his separation from God—his was feeling that he was cast out of God’s sight.

Yet, even in the belly of the fish, he turned his heart towards God and His temple.

[Times in your life were you feel abandoned]

[Times in your life where you tried to abandoned God]

[5] The waters surrounded Jonah, threatening his life.

Physically afflicted and Spiritually afflicted too.

Waters surrounded, deep closed, weeds wrapped.

[Symbolism of water and chaos in the Bible]

Psalm 77:16 NKJV

16 The waters saw You, O God; The waters saw You, they were afraid; The depths also trembled.

[6] Jonah remembers God’s deliverance, acknowledging His power.

I agree with most scholars that this expression, “bars of the earth” is associated with Sheol. The concept of the time was that Sheol was probably a underworld city of sorts with locked gates (Isa 38:10; Ps 9:14; Job 38:17; Matt 16:18).

Jonah probably thought that once the dead soul entered through the gates of Sheol, and once the gates were barred behind him, the soul could not escape.

[Highlight the imagery of sinking to the depths and being brought up by God]

[Emphasize the turning point in Jonah’s prayer: from despair to hope]

vv. 7-9) Jonah’s Repentance and Promise

[7] Jonah’s prayer reaches God as he remembers the Lord.

[Discuss the importance of remembrance in prayer and repentance]

[8] Jonah reflects on the futility of idolatry.

[Discuss what idols might represent in our own lives and the importance of true worship]

There is so much folly in trust ing worthless idols. This provides a dark background against what God is doing here for Jonah, with bestowing upon him grace.

[9] Jonah promises to sacrifice and pay what he has vowed, acknowledging salvation comes from the Lord.

At one time or another, Jonah had probably said what we all have said: “Lord, I’ll do what ever You want me to do.” Well now Jonah realized fully that he must stop resisting God and he should pay his vows to God.

[Discuss the elements of true repentance: confession, promise of change, and acknowledgment of God’s saving power]

Jonah understand salvation is of the Lord. He also knew it in the big picture; that salvation is not of a nation or a race or a language, or not of man at all. No, salvation is of the Lord.

I believe this chapter ends with Jonah’s clear repentance:

Jonah proclaimed his fear of the LORD and he was honest about his sin and rebellion, no longer covering it up (Jonah 1:9).

Jonah allowed himself to be cast into the sea (Jonah 1:12).

Jonah began to pray; he called out to God during the three days and three nights in the belly of the fish (Jonah 2:2, 2:4, and 2:7).

Jonah had a new heart of gratitude (Jonah 2:9).

Jonah renewed the commitment to his vow (Jonah 2:9).

Jonah gave glory to God in all of this (Jonah 2:9).

I believe that what we see is that repentance is more than a one-time event. Though it begins at one time, it must continue and mature.

Repentance is an event but also a process.

v. 10) God’s Response and Deliverance

Verse 10: The Lord commands the fish, and it vomits Jonah onto dry land.

[Emphasize God’s control over nature and His response to genuine repentance]

The Lord spoke to the fish, and the fish knows its creators voice… Why don’t we?

Sometimes we don’t have much of a choice about how we will be delivered. Jonah would probably have preferred a different method…

[Highlight the theme of deliverance and new beginnings]

Doesn’t mean Jonah isn’t suffering the consequences of his rebellion…

It is commonly though that Jonah was vomited out on the shores of Nineveh—but we are not told that this was the case, especially because Nineveh was 375 miles from the Mediterranean Sea.

If Jonah didn’t walk to Nineveh, that is one miraculous projection of vomit!

Conclusion

Recap of the main points:

Jonah’s troubles, recognition of his need to trust God, the need for prayer and repentance, and God’s deliverance.

Application: Encouragement to cry out to God in times of trouble, recognize His power, repent sincerely, and trust in His deliverance.

Final thought: Jonah’s prayer in the depths serves as a powerful reminder of God’s mercy and the transformative power of repentance.