God: The Gracious Evangelist

Introduction

Jonah 2:1–10 ESV

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. 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.’ 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. 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!” And the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land.

Word Biblical Commentary, Volume 31: Hosea–Jonah Form/Structure/Setting

What would be lacking if the psalm were not present in the book? Four things would be missed. (1) The partial change of heart experienced by Jonah that caused him to be willing to obey the command of God when it came to him a second time (3:1) would be left unexpressed. The psalm covers this ground especially via the vow (vv 9–10[8–9]). (2) The attention to Jonah’s lasting thankfulness at his rescue would be virtually eliminated. The psalm is the only element in the book which explicitly conveys his realization that to him personally Yahweh has shown the sort of mercy he will also show to Nineveh. (3) The nature of Jonah’s sojourn in the fish would be left unstated. The hearer/reader learns—albeit implicitly—that Jonah is in the fish thinking, learning, and alert, rather than unconscious or in agony, because of the psalm. The fact that he was well enough to pray this psalm (or possibly even to compose it; see below) says a considerable amount about his mental and physical state inside the fish. (4) A major theological thrust of the book would be weakened. As Landes argues, the psalm captures part of the essence of the book’s message: that Yahweh is a merciful God, a God of love who desires to forgive rather than punish (cf. 4:2). Through the psalm the wayward Jonah confesses Yahweh’s undeserved rescue. In contrast to the psalm, he cannot abide Yahweh’s undeserved rescue of the Ninevites. The psalm provides the focal statement of Yahweh’s concern for individuals in need of favor (cf. 4:11).

End of verse 9 is main point of the whole book