Jonah 2:1-5

Jonah 2:1 (KJV)

Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish's belly,

 

This is the first time in the book of Jonah that it is recorded he prayed.  While he was attempting to escape from the Lord, he did everything he could to avoid the presence of the Lord.  If he would have prayed before this, then his conscience would have brought him face to face with his rebellion so he refrained from prayer.  Now that he has come to his senses, he begins to realize that he is still alive inside a great fish so he therefore begins to call upon the Lord out of the belly of the fish.  He was probably happy to be alive at this point and maybe realized that God was in charge of this situation.

 

Jonah 2:2 (KJV)

And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice.

 

Jonah had called unto the Lord in his affliction.  He was swallowed by the great fish and began it pray in his time of adversity.  Another lesson here, if we learn to pray before we get in to situations it may save us a lot of heartache.  Jonah was very confident that even in his time of affliction that the Lord heard his prayer because he mentions it twice that the Lord heard him.  When he was in the belly of the fish, he no doubt thought that this fish was going to be his grave.  He looked around and thought that he was now seeing the end of his life and the belly of the fish would be his grave.  He had been in a state of dread knowing that he was in a state of rebellion against God.

 

Jonah 2:3 (KJV)

For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me.

 

Jonah knew that even though it was the mariners who physically hurled him overboard, it was God who orchestrated that move.  Jonah recounts to the Lord that he knows it was Him that caused him to be cast into the raging seas.  He counts the waves as big as if they were floods which could cover a land.  Psalm 93:3 (KJV) The floods have lifted up, O LORD, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their waves. He states that the waves had passed over him along with the billows which were surging waves created by a violent wind such as hurricane force winds.  Both of them had covered him and he could have drowned except the great fish which God prepared saved him from a watery grave.  Psalm 42:7 (KJV)   Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me.  I am sure that Jonah remembered this psalm which so aptly described his present condition.

 

Jonah 2:4 (KJV)

Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple.

 

Many times when we are in times of adversity we may feel that we are somehow out of the sight of God which, of course, it is not true.  When we are in a time of rebellion which leads to adversity, we may sometimes feel we are all alone in our situation.  No doubt that is how Jonah felt when he realized that he was now paying the price for his rebellion against God.  Even in times of great adversity, the Holy Spirit who indwells us causes us to have a glimmer of hope, even in the worst of times.  Jonah was confident that even though he was in a time of affliction that the Lord would preserve him so that he would once again be able to look toward the temple of God or even visit it.  Psalm 31:22 (KJV)   For I said in my haste, I am cut off from before thine eyes: nevertheless thou heardest the voice of my supplications when I cried unto thee.  Jonah no doubt took this psalm to heart also.  Jonah may have also had in mind that God was in His heavenly Temple.  Habakkuk 2:20 (KJV)   But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.

 

Jonah 2:5 (KJV)

The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head.

 

Jonah states that the water had compassed him about, that is, the waters surrounded him as he did not have any land to stand on and the raging waves were all about him.  He states that it was even to his soul which means he thought that his end had come once he experienced those raging waves.  When he was cast into the sea, it appears as though he sunk into the water as the depth closed about him and when he went down, he went into seaweed which would grow at the bottom of the sea.  He must have plunged down deep into the sea when he was first hurled overboard and in the deep part of the sea is where the great fish snatched him up.

Back