1 From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God.

1. Why did Jonah pray? Why do we wait until we are in a desperate condition to pray?

On the boat when the storm was raging, Jonah was unwilling to pray. He had been running away from God, hiding in the depths of the ship, fleeing from God’s presence. Now he was in a desperate situation, and so he finally turned to God in supplication. But isn’t this true of all of us? Why is it that we wait until we’re desperate before we go to God in prayer? Praying is not something we should only do when we are in trouble. We should have a daily encounter with God – a time of love and communion with our Redeemer. By daily meeting with the Lord, we may not avoid difficult times, but our faith will be stronger and our trust in his providence with be greater when we do face turmoil. God has created us body, soul, and spirit. Let us not neglect our spiritual side. We need to allow God to spiritually nourish us every day.

2 He said: "In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me. From the depths of the grave I called for help, and you listened to my cry.

2. Have you ever felt like you were calling God "from the depths of the grave"? How do you think Jonah knew God heard his cry? How do you know when God hears your cry?

Some commentators think Jonah is praying a known psalm of his day. This certainly is a possibility, but notice the sense of personal involvement in his recalling of this prayer. He starts off by narrating, "In my distress, I called to the Lord, and he answered me," using the third person imperfect – "he answered me." But then as he recalls that dark time, the impersonal "he" turns toward the more personal "you" as he switches to the second person perfect, "From the depths of the grave I called for help, and you listened to my cry," It seems to me he is recalling his prayer of desperation. Such a prayer would not be soon forgotten.

As we learned from 2 Kings, Jonah was an important prophet who helped guide Jeroboam through a successful coastal campaign. He had been led by God before, and he must have realized that God would hear his prayer. Jonah was neither a pagan nor a wicked person. He was a prophet of God who had made a bad decision. He was a lot like you and me. We may serve God, but there are times when we are disobedient and try to fight God’s plan for our life. When Jonah was faced with imminent death, he could call on his years of experience when he knew God listened to his prayers and heard his cries. He had the assurance in his heart that even now God would hear him. If we have seen God move in our own lives, we should have that same assurance. If God has been there for us in the past, he will once again hear us and be there for us in any danger or peril we may be facing.

3 You hurled me into the deep, into the very heart of the seas, and the currents swirled about me; all your waves and breakers swept over me.

3. Can you identify with Jonah’s feeling of waves and breakers sweeping over him? What were the waves and breakers which hurled you into the deep of despair?

Although Jonah was enveloped by waves and breakers of water, I think his real despair comes from the floods and billows of gloom that are crashing into his soul. He has been disobedient and fled from God’s presence. He now realizes how foolish his actions have been. Now Jonah faces suffering and death. But I think he is also overwhelmed with the feelings of his own sinfulness. How could he, a prophet of God, turn his back on his Creator? There may be times when we are facing waves and breakers of despair. It is easy to just want to give up, but Jonah begins to remember the times past when God was with him.

4 I said, ‘I have been banished from your sight; yet I will look again toward your holy temple.’

4. How can Jonah confidently say he will look again toward God’s holy temple? Have there been times in your life when you missed being in God’s house? How did you feel?

He remembers all those times when he was in God’s house – how God was blessing him and how he felt God’ presence and comfort. When our mind is filled with thoughts of torment, it is easy to forget about God’s past blessings on us. But Jonah remembers, and he makes a bold statement – that he will look again toward the holy temple. When we are in agony, that’s when we need to look again toward God’s house. Too often when we are discouraged, we neglect attendance in church, but it is there that we will be renewed and refreshed. It is there that we will once again experience God’s forgiveness and help. It is there that we will be with others that love and care for us. So Jonah looks again toward the holy temple. If you are facing storms in your life, look again toward God’s house. You will find strength and healing and assurance.

5 The engulfing waters threatened me, the deep surrounded me; seaweed was wrapped around my head.

6 To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever. But you brought my life up from the pit, O Lord my God.

5. What 5 phrases does Jonah use to describe his enveloping despair? Write some phrases you would use to describe times when you were in deep despair.

Jonah gives us five metaphors of his feelings of hopelessness. They are: 1. the engulfing waters threatened me, 2. the deep surrounded me, 3. seaweed was wrapped around my head, 4. to the roots of the mountain I sank down, and 5. the earth barred me in forever. Have you ever felt that way – threatened, surrounded, your head enveloped, sinking, and barred in? In spite of his suffering, as we will see from the next verse, he still was able to cling to hope. We have all faced times when we felt problems were swirling about us, when we felt the situation was beyond our control, and when we felt circumstances threatening to drown us in our sorrow.

7 "When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, Lord, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple.

6. How close to death do you think Jonah was? How do you think he could survive inside of a great fish?

Jonah senses that his life is ebbing away. As Keil explains, "The waters of the sea girt him round about, reaching even to the soul, so that it appeared to be all over with his life." So what does Jonah do? He doesn’t give up. His prayer rises up to God. And something truly miraculous happens. He survives this ordeal which seems impossible to survive.

We don’t know exactly how God provided for his safety, but we do know that there are examples of others who have survived a similar incarceration. Harrison in his highly regarded Introduction to the Old Testament reports of a seaman in the late 1920’s found inside a whale in the vicinity of the Falkland Islands. He had been inside the fish three days and was found unconscious but alive.

Somehow God allowed Jonah to survive. He wasn’t through with Jonah’s ministry yet. No matter what you are facing, remember, God is not through with you yet. Allow your prayer to rise up to God. He hears the cries of his afflicted, and he will come to your rescue.

8 "Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.

9 But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from the Lord."

7. Have you ever made a vow of desperation to God when you were in trouble? Did you follow through afterwards and carry it out?

Jonah makes a vow to God. This may have been a vow out of desperation, but Jonah kept his vow later. How many people have faced life-threatening situations and made a vow to God only to break it later after the danger had been removed. God allowed these events to happen to Jonah so that he would be willing to be obedient. And Jonah was obedient. He was faithful to his vow. Have you made promises to God that you have broken? It is not too late to keep those vows. It is not too late to return to those promises even though they may have been made years ago. God is very loving and forgiving and very patient with us.

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

8. God miraculously delivered Jonah from sure death. Describe ways he may have delivered you throughout the years.

Miraculously the fish deposits Jonah on dry ground and his life is spared. As Cyril wrote, "The whale is again impelled by a certain divine and secret power of God, being moved to that which seems good to Him." As I look back over the many years I have been on this planet, I recall many times when God has delivered me out of difficult circumstances. He was faithful to Jonah; he was faithful to me; he will be faithful to you.

Footnotes:

This study on Jonah 2:1-10 © 1998 by David Humpal. All rights reserved.

All scriptures unless otherwise noted are from the New International Version © 1971, Zondervan Bible Publishers

Question are based on both the New International Version and the King James Version

Keil and Delitzsch: Commentary on the Old Testament, vol. 10, Minor Prophets pg. 402, Hendrickson Publishers

Harrison: Introduction to the Old Testament pg. 907 © 1969, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company

Cyril: Quoted in Keil and Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament, vol. 10, Minor Prophets, pg. 404, Hendrickson Publishing