A Great Fish Swallows Jonah. Jonah 1:17 and Jonah 2:1-10
Jonah was a native of Gath-hepher in Zebulun. Some think that he was a contemporary and disciple of Elijah, and that he therefore lived about 850 B.C. He is the oldest of the prophets whose writings have come down to us. That the book is historical may be gathered from the references of our Lord in Mat_12:39-41 and Mat_16:4.
The narrative presents a most striking contrast between the long-suffering mercy of God and the hard indifference of a good man to the fate of a great Gentile city. Probably it indicates the dawn of a better era, when the Chosen People shall enter upon that long education, the results of which Paul tells us in Eph_2:19-22; Eph_3:1-8.
An Unwilling Prophet of the Merciful God
HIS PUNISHMENT, Jon_1:15-17
HIS PRAYER AND RESCUE, Jon_2:1-10
A GREAT FISH SWALLOWS JONAH
Now the LORD had prepared (appointed, destined) a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights. [Mat_12:40]
JONAH’S PRAYER
Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the stomach of the fish,
and said, “I called out of my trouble and distress to the LORD, And He answered me; Out of the belly of Sheol I cried for help, And You heard my voice. [Psa_120:1; Psa_130:1; Psa_142:1; Lam_3:55-58]
“For You cast me into the deep, Into the [deep] heart of the seas, And the currents surrounded and engulfed me; All Your breakers and billowing waves passed over me. [Psa_42:7]
“Then I said, ‘I have been cast out of Your sight. Nevertheless I will look again toward Your holy temple.’ [Psa_31:22]
“The waters surrounded me, to the point of death. The great deep engulfed me, Seaweed was wrapped around my head. [Psa_69:1; Lam_3:54]
“I descended to the [very] roots of the mountains. The earth with its bars closed behind me [bolting me in] forever, Yet You have brought up my life from the pit (death), O LORD my God.
“When my soul was fainting within me, I remembered the LORD, And my prayer came to You, Into Your holy temple.
“Those who regard and follow worthless idols Turn away from their [living source of] mercy and lovingkindness.
“But [as for me], I will sacrifice to You With the voice of thanksgiving; I shall pay that which I have vowed. Salvation is from the LORD!”
So the LORD commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah up onto the dry land.
A PRAYER FROM THE DEPTHS
The great fish was probably a whale-shark. He who sent the storm prepared the fish. Life is full of contrivances on the part of the great Lover of men. To plunge beneath the wave is to fall into His arms. More than once the body of a man has been found in the belly of a shark in the Mediterranean. Even those who hold that this story is an elaborate parable must admit that it is probably founded on such a fact. Our Lord’s endorsement of this book and incident is very emphatic, Mat_12:39-41.
The psalm which follows is very helpful to those who have brought themselves into the depths by their wrongdoing. God will hear such out of the depths of Sheol. When you think you are cast out of His sight forever, if you will look toward His holy temple, you will find that His love is gradually extricating you from the pit. To trust in your own efforts and expedients is to regard lying vanities and to forsake your own mercy. “Salvation is of the Lord.” All nature waits upon His word. The big sharks and the tiny minnows are alike at the behest of God for the help of man. Only “look again” to God, and then be sure to pay your vows when delivered!
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