The Bible

 

Jonah 2

Study

   

1 Then Jonah prayed unto Jehovah his God out of the fish's belly.

2 And he said, I called by reason of mine affliction unto Jehovah, And he answered me; Out of the belly of Sheol cried I, [And] thou heardest my voice.

3 For thou didst cast me into the depth, in the heart of the seas, And the flood was round about me; All thy waves and thy billows passed over me.

4 And I said, I am cast out from before thine eyes; Yet I will look again toward thy holy temple.

5 The waters compassed me about, even to the soul; The deep was round about me; The weeds were wrapped about my head.

6 I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; The earth with its bars [closed] upon me for ever: Yet hast thou brought up my life from the pit, O Jehovah my God.

7 When my soul fainted within me, I remembered Jehovah; And my prayer came in unto thee, into thy holy temple.

8 They that regard lying vanities Forsake their own mercy.

9 But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that which I have vowed. Salvation is of Jehovah.

10 And Jehovah spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.

   

Commentary

 

Exploring the Meaning of Jonah 2

By New Christian Bible Study Staff

In Jonah 2:1-10, Jonah is trapped in the belly of the great fish. He prays for salvation, and in the end, after this terrible trial, he is vomited forth onto dry land.

Before a new church -- either a state of good and truth with a group of people, or a new state of good an truth in ourselves - can come into existence, a period of temptation, of struggle, must occur. During this time a remnant of good and truth from prior states, will be preserved. This happens to us. When we really don't want to do something that we know we should do, we get into a state of spiritual temptation. That's what this chapter is about.

In Arcana Coelestia 756, it says: "In Jonah, 'The waters closed around me, even to my soul, the deep surrounded me. Here... 'the waters' and 'the deep' stand for the full extent of temptation.

This chapter also prophesies, or foreshadows, the combats that Jesus Christ would have with the hells, and his most grievous temptations at the time. The “three days and nights during which Jonah was in the bowels of the fish,” signify the entire duration of the combat with the hells.

In the New Testament, in Matthew 12:39-41, there's a reference back to this story:

"No sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and will condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah. And now One greater than Jonah is here.

For us, then... what? When we've turned away from the Lord, and we're in "the belly of the fish" - in temptations, struggles, combats, and everything looks pretty hopeless - then if we really pray, and seek the Lord's help, he can help us.

Here's a link to an interesting (audio) sermon on this chapter, by Rev. Todd Beiswenger.

Here, too, is a link to Rev. McCurdy's study guide for the Book of Jonah, which is available for free as a .pdf, for your use.