Jonah Devo - Day 3

Tuesday, July 19, 2011 - Day 3

*Read Jonah 1:17 – 2:10 - Praying in the Deep

Let’s break this prayer down…
• Verse 2 is a general statement about where he was at. Jonah equates the collective experience from the time he was cast into the water to the time he was swallowed by the fish as being in the ‘belly of Sheol.’ Sheol means grave. Jonah was certain he would die.
• Verse 3 begins the sequence of events. Jonah recollects being cast into the sea. We know it was the sailors who threw Jonah into the sea but here Jonah says, “For you [God] cast me into the deep.” Jonah says that because he knew that God was working sovereignly through the sailors so he can say that God cast him into the sea. He was in deep water and the waves were pushing him under.
• Verse 4. Jonah, at this point, feels he is so far from God that he cannot ever return.
• Verse 5. At this point Jonah is sinking in the ocean. The seaweed is wrapped around him.
• Verse 6. Jonah has reached the base of the mountain. He is at the bottom of the ocean. He feels he has sunk as low as he can go in his life at this point.
• Verse 7 is when things really start to change for Jonah. Up until this time Jonah has let his pride build up a wall between himself and God. On top of that Jonah’s rejection of God’s plan was so great that he was brought to the point of death before he was willing to repent. We see this wall in verse 4 when Jonah says, “I have been banished from your sight.” This doesn’t mean that God doesn’t know what Jonah is doing or that He doesn’t care. It couldn’t be any further from the truth; God was watching Jonah very closely. Jonah is saying his banishment has to do with his ability to be connected to God. Jonah could not come to God in prayer until his heart was free from sin. “If I had cherished sin in my heart, The Lord would not have listened” - Ps. 66.18. The same is true for us when we refuse to repent and ask for forgiveness of our sin, we are unable to connect ourselves to God.
When Jonah was about to die, “fainting away” to death (v. 2:7), his heart reflects a true desire of repentance. As a result, he was not only saved physically from the discipline, but he was also restored to fellowship so that his prayers could reach God (v. 2:7). For us as well, we have to recognize our sin and have a true desire to be rid of it and we are restored to fellowship. This does not mean that the sin has stopped yet or that the discipline has stopped, but we are able to pray to God, because our heart is now right.

Questions:
1. Do you think God was punishing (disciplining) Jonah when he had him swallowed by the great fish or was it an act of love (deliverance)?

2. Do you think Jonah got what he deserved?

3. What did Jonah do from inside the fish? (see Jonah 2:1)

4. Describe the emotions expressed in the first part of Jonah’s prayer. (Jonah 2:2-6) What words or images stand out to you?

5. How does Jonah’s perspective change at the end of the prayer?

6. What “worthless idols” do you think Jonah is referring to? (see Jonah 2:8)

7. When and how is Jonah’s rescue completed? What reasons can you think of for why God would rescue Jonah?


Other things to explore...
Read Matthew 12:39-41, How was Jonah’s experience used by Christ?
The prayer of Jonah is rooted in Psalms; many phrases are “borrowed” from passages in that book.
See Psalm 107:17-32 for a poem story similar to the content of Jonah.

Take away...
“When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, Lord...” (Jonah 2:7) Let’s not take God for granted and only turn to him when we are in the midst of a tough time. Connect with God in prayer during good and bad times, and you will have a stronger spiritual life.

Prayer Starter

Today's prayer will be a bit different. Read Jonah 2:2-10 as a prayer. Read it out loud if that helps. As you are reading the words aloud, try to think of them as your words in a conversation with God. So you can make this prayer your own, allow images of the people and situations you encountered yesterday - and you expect to encounter today - to flow through your thoughts as you read this prayer. When you are done reading, spend a little time listening for what God is saying to you before you close your prayer.


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Location:Chicago