seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Jonah 2:1 [a]From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. 2 He said:
“In my distress I called to the Lord,
and he answered me.
From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help,
and you listened to my cry.
3 You hurled me into the depths,
into the very heart of the seas,
and the currents swirled about me;
all your waves and breakers
swept over me.
4 I said, ‘I have been banished
from your sight;
yet I will look again
toward your holy temple.’
5 The engulfing waters threatened me,[b]
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, Lord my God,
brought my life up from the pit.
and he answered me.
From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help,
and you listened to my cry.
3 You hurled me into the depths,
into the very heart of the seas,
and the currents swirled about me;
all your waves and breakers
swept over me.
4 I said, ‘I have been banished
from your sight;
yet I will look again
toward your holy temple.’
5 The engulfing waters threatened me,[b]
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, Lord my God,
brought my life up from the pit.
7 “When my life was ebbing away,
I remembered you, Lord,
and my prayer rose to you,
to your holy temple.
I remembered you, Lord,
and my prayer rose to you,
to your holy temple.
8 “Those who cling to worthless idols
turn away from God’s love for them.
9 But I, with shouts of grateful praise,
will sacrifice to you.
What I have vowed I will make good.
I will say, ‘Salvation comes from the Lord.’”
turn away from God’s love for them.
9 But I, with shouts of grateful praise,
will sacrifice to you.
What I have vowed I will make good.
I will say, ‘Salvation comes from the Lord.’”
10 And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.
a. Jonah 2:1 In Hebrew texts 2:1 is numbered 1:17, and 2:1-10 is numbered 2:2-11.
b. Jonah 2:5 Or waters were at my throat
What a different story..... I can almost hear Jonah now.... "ok God.... that was seaweed I just took off my head.... I get it.... please God.... if you will get me out of here.... I'll do it... I'll do what you say."
This odd but appropriate commentary is from Bible.org.
Having preached the Book of Jonah over ten years ago, I find that my approach and emphasis have changed considerably. Previously, I spent considerable time attempting to document accounts of fish swallowing men who lived to tell about it. A look at the text quickly informs us that there is little emphasis on the great fish here, largely, I think, because the fish was obedient to his commission, while Jonah was not. Since the thrust of the book is to focus on the disobedience of Jonah and of the nation Israel, the fish is given few “column inches” of press. We may tend to dwell on the fish to help prove that this miracle could have taken place. We defeat our purpose in so doing, however. If there are documented instances of men being swallowed by fish, only to be recovered and to live, then what is described here is hardly a miracle at all. It is just one of those strange events which occur from time to time, but which should not be placed in the realm of the supernatural.
Neither is the issue of whether Jonah died the focus of the psalm. It is true that Jonah’s plight prototypes the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, but whether or not he died is not the primary issue. Personally, I do not think he died. I believe he was “as good as dead” until “saved” by the fish. In essence, Jonah is saying, “I was a goner, but God heard my prayer.”
Jonah’s “psalm” is a poetic description of his deliverance from drowning. A great fish is not only the divinely appointed means of deliverance, but also the place from which the psalm was composed. One can only imagine the thoughts which must have passed through Jonah’s mind as he came to grasp what had happened to him. As he sank below the surface of the water, Jonah knew that he was certain to drown. In his last conscious moments, he cried to the Lord for deliverance. Suddenly, everything went black. Perhaps the dark form of the approaching fish was noticed by the prophet. Then, there was a sense of motion, of being carried along. There may also have been the near birth-like experience of passing from the fish’s mouth into its stomach, probably through a very small opening. This could have served to extract any water from his lungs, something akin to artificial respiration.
As Jonah regained consciousness, imagine the horror of his first sensations: the feel of the stomach lining of the fish pressing about him; irritation of the acidic stomach juices of the fish beginning to bleach his skin; the foul smell of the place; the passing-through of the normal diet of the fish; the darkness of this place. In time, Jonah must have realized that this fish was not the means of his destruction, but the means of his deliverance. His prayer for deliverance had been heard by God. He was to live. His psalm, recorded in verses 2-9, was composed in the stomach of the fish and later recorded for our edification.
This is from the easy English site.
God heard Jonah’s cry for help as he sank in the water. Jonah now realised that God had caused the sailors to throw him into the sea.
The Jews believed that nobody in the world of the dead was able to worship God again. Death had cut them off from God. Jonah thought he could never again worship God in the Temple in Jerusalem.
The world of the dead was like a prison with many bars. Nobody could ever hope to escape. But God could bring Jonah back from the world of the dead. And he did.
I am not going to say it didn't happen. I'm not going to say it's not a poetic description of a near death dream that Jonah had when he was thrown off the boat. I have read how natural events have been used by God to get things done. Armies slept while David crept in and stood beside his enemy.... that was God. So it doesn't surprise me that God would use a big fish as a submarine. I've been in that kind of spot. It's a "Lord if you will do such and such.... I'll do anything". In the movies, in such a situation, I would get alone and say "Ok God.... I haven't been listening to you..... but if you get me out of here.... I'll do whatever you want"..... no witnesses.... but heartfelt at the moment....
I just thought about one of those stupid liberty mutual commercials..... a woman gets some financial advice about the purchase and she says "thanks Zoltar what can I do for you".... and Zoltar says "maybe you could free Zoltar..... " and the woman pushes a button.... the walls fall down and Zoltar rides off on a unicycle, saying "thanks lady" over his shoulder.
That's what comes close to what Jonah went through. Jonah still hasn't acknowledged God as his Savior. A lot of people are trying to figure out if Jonah really did slip into a big fish..... but the question they should be asking.... IMHO.... is "When the fish spit Jonah out on the shore.... was it because Jonah said he would follow God's instruction..... or was it because God needed Jonah alive to finish his mission.... and to finish his lesson?"
When Jonah fled.... God could have struck him down.... and picked another prophet to go to Ninevah. Why did God bring in a big unbelievable fish to make Jonah do what God had appointed him? God knows how the story turns out. God knows the stupid humans would use this story to discredit the whole book. So why save Jonah? Why have Jonah's story recorded?
