Jonah\u2019s experience, in the belly of the fish, was documented for the benefit and instruction of the after-church of Jesus Christ. The prophet recorded how he felt, thought and cried in the throes of his affliction and how the Lord heard him. Jonah also reveals \u2018my soul fainted within me\u2019. This is strange language to the ears of many of us. What does it mean when a man\u2019s soul faints within him? Would you know what to do if it happened to you?<\/p>\n
Faint<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n
The Bible words rendered \u2018faint\u2019 or \u2018fainted\u2019 have physical and metaphorical meanings. Physically it can be used for exhaustion or weariness from over-exertion or lack of food and water. Figuratively it can mean depression or despondency brought on by deep loss or sadness. Spiritually it applies to remorse for sin, sorrow in guilt and the fear of just deserts. It is a discouragement of heart that drains and exhausts the soul when judgment and fear grip our mind.<\/p>\n
Subdued<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n
In the belly of the fish Jonah is convicted and subdued by the Lord when faced with his sinful rebellion. He has no more strength to resist nor will to run. He has been halted in his flight from the face of God, overcome with guilt at his foolishness and shamed with his attitude and ingratitude towards God. Then, when it seemed Jonah\u2019s exhausted soul might fall, never again to rise, the prophet remembered God\u2019s power and goodness.<\/p>\n
Jonah\u2019s faith<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n
We are again reminded Jonah had faith in Christ. As an Old Testament believer he looked to God\u2019s covenant promises to Abraham and David. He saw the Messiah by faith in the types and symbols of mercy delivered to the ancient Jews under Moses. Jonah knew the gospel promises of grace and here in this critical moment of soul-distress he \u2018remembered the Lord\u2019. When troubles seem to shut out hope God grants repentance and faith revives. Remembering the Lord is remembering His works of mercy and His promises in Christ.<\/p>\n
Confession<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n
Jonah\u2019s soul was revived by this recollection and his prayer is a petition for forgiveness, an appeal for deliverance and an offering of thanksgiving. It sped from the whale\u2019s belly to the throne of grace. God in heaven heard it because it was tendered with an eye to Christ\u2019s sacrifice and death, bound up in the typology of the temple. Jonah had personally \u2018observed lying vanities\u2019. He was the man who had rejected God by giving place to the urges of carnal sense and reason. This was Jonah\u2019s acknowledgment of sin and prayer for forgiveness.<\/p>\n
Serving with gratitude<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n
It was also an appeal characterised by faith and attended with a pledge of re-dedication. Jonah promised \u2018I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed\u2019. Jonah\u2019s offering was \u2018a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God\u2019 and well-pleasing in His sight because Jonah looked to the precious blood of God\u2019s own Son. Perhaps Jonah foresaw an opportunity to bring an offering again at the temple and vowed to do so should he be enabled. Perhaps it is his willingness to go now to Nineveh.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Salvation\u2019s source<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n Jonah\u2019s simple declaration \u2018Salvation is of the LORD\u2019 is both a statement of confidence and a testimony of experience. It has adorned many sermons and encapsulates the gospel of God\u2019s grace. The form of the word used for salvation is expansive and incorporates every kind of salvation and deliverance. Jonah affirmed the gracious source of all salvation. Whether we think of Jonah\u2019s physical location in the great fish, or more broadly deliverance from the trials of life, the snares of sin, or our eternal redemption, the statement holds good. \u2018Salvation is of the LORD\u2019.<\/p>\n On solid ground<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n No sooner had the humbled prophet made his confession than the Lord spoke to the fish and instructed it to spew Jonah onto dry land. The location is not specified and not important. Jonah had been heard and God answered. For three days and three nights Jonah typified death in the belly of the whale and signified the death and burial of the Lord Jesus Christ. The whale could hold Jonah no longer than God allowed. Nor could death and the grave hold our Saviour.<\/p>\n A lasting sign<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n This astonishing miracle of Jonah\u2019s deliverance from the belly of the whale signalled our Saviour\u2019s own detention in the heart of the earth for the salvation of His people. It has strengthened faith and encouraged fainting souls ever since. Jonah\u2019s history reveals the wonderful mystery of Jesus Christ\u2019s incarnation and humiliation for us. To paraphrase Robert Hawker in verse:<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span>\u2019Twas for us, and our salvation,<\/p>\n Thou didst condescend to lay,<\/p>\n In the grave until the morning,<\/p>\n Of Thy resurrection day.<\/p>\n Amen.<\/p>\n