The Faithful Way

Jonah’s Prayer and Deliverance (2:1-10)

In the Hebrew version (Tanach), chapter 1 verse 17 (of the English version) is chapter 2 verse 1 (of the Hebrew version).  So, the Hebrew includes all the story around the fish experience in one chapter (ch. 2).  Therefore, the English versification in chapter two is off by one verse.  I explain this in order to make the point that we will consider the last verse of chapter one as part of our discussion tonight.

 

READ Jonah 2

 

However, if you follow the Hebrew verbs in outline, the sense of this poem gets clear.  This poem is presented in past tense as Jonah is recounting the events, which transpired inside the fish.  The word inside the quotes is my translation of the primary verb in each line of this poetry.

 

1. God “appoints” the fish.
2. Jonah “prays” from inside the fish.
3. Jonah “cries out” for help (again, the same “cry out” we see when Jonah was instructed to “preach to” the Ninevites and when the sailors “cried out” to their gods).
4. Jehovah is now the actor as he “hurls” Jonah into the sea.  Notice how it wasn’t the sailors who hurled Jonah, but God who hurls him.
   1. The waters are now the actor as they “swirled around” him.
   2. Jonah says, “I have been banished”.  Note the parallelism between how he has been banished from God’s eyes, and how he will one day see God’s Holy Temple again.
   3. The waters “engulf” him to the verge of death.
   4. Jonah “sank”, but God “lifted”.
   5. Jonah commits to “sacrifice” only to God and not worthless idols.  Compare this against the sailors response to God in chapter one.  They too “sacrificed” and “vowed vows” to God.
   6. Jonah “remembered” God and his prayer “rose”.
   7. Jonah “thanks” God and “vows” again.  Notice the end of verse 10 says, “Salvation is from the Lord”.  The Hebrew word for Jesus, “Yeshua,” comes from this verb. “Yeshuatah la’Adonai”.
   8. Finally, Jonah is literally “vomited” onto the dry land by the fish.  Yuk.

 

Typically, the premise in Psalms is that the sufferer is presumed innocent; we get a sense of an injustice wrought on a righteous man.

 

READ Psalm 3 as an example of this type of approach in the Psalms.

 

On the other hand, in Jonah’s case, we get a clear understanding of Jonah’s guilt rather than his innocence.  Yet, the Lord saves him all the same.  In this sense, we see chapter two as a Messianic chapter, foreshadowing what Jesus would do (vs. 10-Hebrew, vs. 9-English).

 

Can you point to a personal experience where you were wrong, yet the Lord saved you despite yourself?

 

Each line in verse 9 speaks something about the LORD’s salvation for the Christian today.  What can we say about our salvation?

 

Jonah 2:9

 

“But I will sacrifice to You” _____________________________________________

 

“With the voice of thanksgiving” ________________________________________

 

“That which I have vowed I will pay (‘make peace’)” ___________________________

 

“Salvation is from the LORD” ___________________________________________

 

Notice, however, the striking dissonance in this poem.

1. This prayer of Jonah could be viewed as a caricature.  Why?
2. Jonah is at the brink of death crying out to the Lord, yet he is the one who volunteered the information for the sailors to throw him overboard.  This is a typical irony in Jonah.
3. The Lord is the one who cast Jonah into the sea in the first place; yet although it seems like a tragic and inexplicable sequence of events in Jonah’s experience, the message is clear that God is in control of every step.  Even the waves belong to the Lord.
4. While at first he refused to “call out” to Nineveh, now he is the one calling out to God and making grandiose promises to fulfill his vow to God.  Yet, as we know, there is no true change of heart on Jonah’s part.
5. On one hand, while he did not worship false idols and only worshipped Jehovah, on the other hand he was arrogant enough to attempt a thwart of God’s plan.  Jonah views himself as being loyal.
6. It seems Jonah’s lesson is not that he was wrong in his disobedience, rather he seems to learn that fighting against God’s will is simply fruitless.
7. Finally, even the fish cannot stomach Jonah’s self-righteousness and false piety.

 

This prayer is part of the satire (of a prophet) as it parodies the elements of true prayer.  Jonah seems to be a great example of self-contented materialism.

 

Contrast Jonah’s prayer with what you know of true prayer:

 

Jonah	True prayer
False pretense
Ulterior motivation
Feigned obedience
“Playing off” on God as if he was loyal
Materialistic (getting or not getting what he wanted out of God)
Self-righteousness & False Piety

 

 

 

What are the lessons of Jonah in chapter 2?