In the belly of the great fish, in the midst of his trouble, Jonah prayed. Prayer is a cry to God from a needy soul. True prayer is a privilege of grace inspired by the Holy Ghost. Jonah had likely abandoned prayer while fleeing the presence of the Lord. Now, in his moment of need, he returned humbly and penitently to seek mercy at the throne of grace. In this we see the faithfulness of the Lord and His wisdom in dealing with His wayward people.<\/p>\n
Guilt free, but humbled<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n
It is a truth of scripture that the Lord\u2019s redeemed people will never be punished for their sins. The \u2018chastisement of our peace\u2019 was upon our Saviour Jesus on the cross. He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, and \u2018by one offering\u2019 has \u2018perfected for ever them that are sanctified\u2019. However, this fact does not mitigate the hurt caused by sin or reverse the effects of disobedience in the lives of God\u2019s elect people in this world.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Grace that overcomes<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n The impulse of our flesh is constantly towards sin and, like Jonah, all of us readily succumb to the temptations of this world when the Lord\u2019s protective hand is removed and nature\u2019s weakness goes unchecked. Jonah sought to flee from the presence of the Lord by taking a ship to Tarshish. He was disobedient to the command of the Lord and that was his fault. Sin brings its consequences. Nevertheless, the Lord will not lose one of His own.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n God is faithful<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n Despite Jonah\u2019s fellowship with the Lord being broken the Lord remained faithful to Jonah. God arranged for His wayward son to return, first, by sending a storm; then, inducing the ship\u2019s captain to be rid of Jonah out of the vessel; then, by preparing a great fish to swallow the prophet. Trapped inside the fish\u2019s body Jonah was carried to the depths of the sea. He did not die but remained conscious, becoming aware both of his physical predicament while reflecting on his spiritual state.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n A prayer in despair<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n Jonah\u2019s prayer makes up the bulk of this chapter. It conveys the bodily distress he endured and the spiritual parallels these provoked. The prayer relates Jonah\u2019s experience in the whale\u2019s belly. He draws upon his actual descent into the depths of the sea, his awareness of being trapped and helpless within the fish. He applies this to his recovered sense of the Lord\u2019s mercy and ultimately his soul-dependence upon Christ, to whom he looked, typified by the temple.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n A glimpse of hell<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n The depths of the sea, the flood that covered, the prison bars, the weed wrapped around the prophet\u2019s head together provoke a fearful picture of the grave and of hell. Jonah calls this \u2018the belly of hell\u2019 being convinced \u2018the earth with her bars was about me for ever\u2019. This graphic description ought to fill every sinner with a deep sense of foreboding as to what conscious, eternal separation from God in hell will involve.<\/p>\n The sign of Jonah<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n Though Jonah fled from the presence of God, God did not flee from the presence of Jonah. He did not leave His servant in this hellish place but heard him, saw him and came to him. Jonah testifies, God \u2018brought up my life from corruption\u2019. So, too, the Lord Jesus, our Saviour came to where His people were to take our place. He was confined, like Jonah, \u2018three days and three nights in the heart of the earth\u2019. Though He suffered and died in our place He also was preserved from corruption and raised again to life.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Substitution<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n Jonah was delivered from the belly of hell and freed from the depths of judgment. Like Jonah, the Lord Jesus descended into the depths for His church. He bore our judgment in our place then ascended victorious over death, hell and the grave. Jonah\u2019s experience is a type and a sign given by God to point us to the Saviour Jesus Christ.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Follow the example<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n Jonah exemplifies every quickened sinner. Being conscious of his need and plight Jonah cried from the depths of his distress. He offered up prayer to the Lord who heard him and delivered him according to His grace. May we follow Jonah in our own times of distress, thus proving the Lord to be faithful still.<\/p>\n Amen.<\/p>\n