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Sunday Sermon Outline STUDIES IN THE BOOK OF JONAH- part 7
Chapter One, verse 17- after being thrown into the
sea, Jonah is swallowed by a large fish.
While it may appear that Jonah is dead, in fact, he is preserved from
physical death (drowning in the sea). The commend that he is in the fish three
days & three nights reminds us of the “sign” nature of this
event from Matt.12:39-41. While we believe
it was of the Lord to preserve Jonah, yet there are also reasons to believe
that Jonah could live for a period inside a great fish: Ø
The air passage in a sulfer-bottom
whale is 7 X 7 X 14 ft. Ø
There is an Aug., 1891 account of a sailor who was
washed overboard and discovered alive in a whale caught 2 days later Ø
Reports of an 86 ft. sperm whale that had a live 14
ft. shark in its stomach when brought on board. Yet, we must remember that the fish
is not the center of the story, rather Jonah
is! That Jonah (a
Hebrew- 1:9) is preserved through this ordeal suggests that he may be a type of the nation of for disobedience in the land. Such preservation may also be seen in such incidents as Daniel in the
lion’s den and the three Hebrew young men preserved through the fiery
furnace (Dan.3 & 6). Just as Jonah recovers to serve the
Lord, so serve the LORD- Jere.
Chapter 2, verse 1-if the prayer of Jonah is
carefully examined, it will reveal that the prayer is one that does not request deliverance, but rather one that states the
deliverance as having occurred. Note: vs. 6
“yet hast thou brought up my life” It is likely the prayer followed his deliverance in
vs. 10. It is descriptive of the
incident after it has happened.
Verse 1 does state that Jonah prayed “out of the
fish’s belly”—but that prayer is not necessarily the same words as in vs. 2-9. Chapter 2, verse 2- “mine affliction”-
Jonah is aware that he is being chastised. Such chastisement is expressive of the
Father’s love- see Heb. 12:6.
Chastisement is necessary to help the believer respond to the call of
service and obedience and administers God’s justice to His child. “belly of hell”- NIV has “depths of the
grave” since the Hebrew word, sheol may be translated as
grave. This second verse uses the Hebrew page 2 duplication for emphasis: “I
cried…and he heard me, I cried
…and thou heardest my voice.” Chapter 2, verse 3- the reason for Jonah crying to
the LORD is that the LORD has “cast me…
compassed me..” Note that all the
language is that of drowning and there is no mention of the fish in his prayer. Chapter 2, verse 4-“yet I will look again
toward thy holy temple”- The aid and help to those in need. Jonah is determined to seek the Lord despite
his banishment. Chapter 2, verse 5-6-
he describes the utter helplessness of his state as if he were in prison. Again, the language suggests being in the center of the earth in prison. Eph. 4:9 speaks of the “lower parts of
the earth” as the place Christ went to free those in Abraham’s
bosom. The language gives the thought of those in the OT
economy as going “down” at death, whereas, the NT now suggests the
death of the believer is to “ascend” to be with Christ- II
Cor.5:1-3 and Phil. 1:23. “thou hast brought up my life from corruption”- Jonah
states the final result of this chastisement; God delivers him from death. We are reminded of Acts 2:31 where similar
remarks are applied to Christ. Chapter 2, verse 7- in the midst of fainting and
despair, Jonah uses the ability to recall the LORD and His
goodness. The memory moved him to
prayer. This is a critical exercise
by believers that moves them to use scriptural truth to stabilize themselves in
the midst of confusion. See Psa. 42:4, 6, 63:6, 77:3,
11-12, 97:12, 119:52, 55, |