Jonah was overcome by the waves of his own sin and he was, literally, thrown away. But in the Master’s hand, Jonah was restored to his position as a prophet of God and had great success preaching to the people in the great ancient city of Nineveh. I want us to focus in this study on chapter two.
These “waves” that have come over Jonah are his fault. Not all suffering is caused by sin. But Jonah’s suffering is caused by sin: by disobedience. Certainly the suffering that the sailors experienced and whoever owned that cargo that was thrown overboard also suffered because of Jonah’s sin.
THE BELLY OF THE FISH WAS A PLACE OF GOD’S GRACE:
Through the great fish, God saved Jonah from drowning in the sea. God could have allowed Jonah to die and Jonah would have gotten what he deserved for his disobedience. But God wants everyone to be saved so God kept Jonah safe from drowning by preparing this great fish to swallow Jonah and keep him safe.
Sometimes, the place of our suffering (like Joseph in prison) might just be the place we need to be in order to experience the grace of God. God is always present with us; He promises never to leave us or forsake us (Heb. 13:5-6). When we are in the middle of our waves, then, we might want to look around and see where and how God is with us. Before He pulls us out of the waves, how is He with us in the storm?
JONAH PRAYED UNDER THE WAVES:
Jonah did not blame God for his trials and Jonah did not turn his back on God because of his trials. Look over at 4:2 and see the description of God that Jonah understands. Jonah knows the nature of God.
Jonah prayed to the Lord “his” God. Jonah knew and understood that God was a “personal” God. He wants to be each person’s God, every person’s God. Jonah knew that and Jonah prayed to the Lord “his” God.
Then Jonah prayed “from the stomach of the fish.” David said in Psalm 139 that there was nowhere he could go where God was not available to see him, help him, or hear his prayers. Jonah feels that same assurance. He knows he can pray to God from the stomach of the fish. It does not matter how high your waves are or how deep you feel sunk into troubles, worries, and concerns. God is still available to hear your prayers and to extend a hand to help you wherever you are.
Another point we need to make is that in the middle of Jonah’s crisis, he finds hope and comfort in Scripture. I have counted perhaps as many as 16 different psalms that are quoted or alluded to in the eight verses (2-9) that comprise the essence of this chapter. Jonah was a prophet and as such, he would have been very familiar with the word of God, at least as far as it had been revealed up to that point. As we deal with the waves of life and the stress that inevitably comes with those waves, we should still spend time daily in the word of God.
Now, let’s take a look at Jonah’s prayer…
VERSE 2: Jonah calls his predicament “distress” and the “depth of Sheol.” But, he verbalizes his faith that God hears his cry, his prayer, despite the fact that he is in this mess, by his own choosing.
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VERSE 4: Jonah pictures that discipline as being “expelled” from God’s sight (the same verb is used of Adam and Eve being “driven” from the presence of God in Genesis 3:24). Yet, he will look toward God’s “holy temple.” That might be the temple in Jerusalem, the center of Israelite worship. Or he might be referring to God’s dwelling place in heaven as His temple. Either way, Jonah is turning his heart back to God. Before Jonah ever went to Joppa to take that ship to Tarshish, in his heart, he had already turned away from doing God’s will. Disobedience always starts in the heart.
VERSE 5: We get a picture of Jonah’s physical condition in the stomach of the fish as well as his fear of impending death. He felt that he might drown and he says that weeds were wrapped around his head.
VERSE 6: Jonah pictures his predicament as being at the “roots of the mountains,” closed up in an earthly prison, and in a pit. But, God brought His life up from the pit.
VERSE 7: He was not giving up hope but he was feeling the guilt of his own sinful choices: he was “fainting away.”
VERSE 8: Jonah lived at a time when the majority of his fellow Israelites were not faithful to God.
VERSE 9: Jonah would sacrifice to Jehovah God, even the sacrifice of singing praises in thanksgiving that God had not abandoned Jonah nor forsaken him.
Why? Because “salvation is from the Lord.” You and I made a vow when we were baptized into Christ that we would serve God through Jesus Christ and be faithful to Him. Let us not let the waves of life distract us and get our hearts and minds away from God.
GOD ANSWERS JONAH’S PRAYER (2:10):
God spoke to the fish and commanded the fish to throw Jonah up and Jonah obeyed God that time. If we have been disciplined by God through the waves of life, do we learn from our mistakes? Do we learn from that discipline? Jonah went and obeyed God after being given a second chance. Will we not learn from our mistakes?
When you feel overwhelmed by the waves of life, repent of any sins that may have caused the waves, pray for God’s presence in your life, and look to God’s holy temple for peace.
–Paul Holland
