Jonah 2 (CEB)
1 Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish:
2 “I called out to the Lord in my distress, and he answered me.
From the belly of the underworld I cried out for help;
you have heard my voice.
3 You had cast me into the depths in the heart of the seas,
and the flood surrounds me.
All your strong waves and rushing water passed over me.
4 So I said, ‘I have been driven away from your sight.
Will I ever again look on your holy temple?
5 Waters have grasped me to the point of death;
the deep surrounds me.
Seaweed is wrapped around my head
6 at the base of the undersea mountains.
I have sunk down to the underworld;
its bars held me with no end in sight.
But you brought me out of the pit.’
7 When my endurance was weakening,
I remembered the Lord,
and my prayer came to you,
to your holy temple.
8 Those deceived by worthless things lose their chance for mercy.
9 But me, I will offer a sacrifice to you with a voice of thanks.
That which I have promised, I will pay.
Deliverance belongs to the Lord!”
10 Then the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto the dry land.
Trusting in God is the only way out of the pit.
Here are some questions for discussion:
1. Inside the fish, Jonah cannot change his circumstances, save himself, accomplish his mission, or determine what happens next. What happens spiritually when we lose our ability to control the outcome? How much of our faith is rooted in trusting God and how much is rooted in trying to make things turn out the way we think they should? Why can dependence feel so uncomfortable to us? Can vulnerability itself teach us something about discipleship?
2. While experiencing a taste of hell on earth — or at sea as it were — Jonah also found himself experiencing God’s unconditional love on earth as well. What does it mean to you to experience the struggles of earth while knowing that the Kingdom is at hand? That right beside the struggles of our day is our savior walking with us?
3. Consider the contrast between where Jonah began (fleeing from what God had commanded of him) and where he prays earnestly to God to rescue him. Even when we make poor choices our loving Father is with us and desires our salvation. How does experiencing God in this way lead Jonah to changing his course?
If you’d like to dig a little deeper, consider the following:
1. Almost everything in Jonah’s prayer focuses on what has happened to him, yet God’s concern extends far beyond Jonah. Can our faith become too individualistic? What happens when we understand salvation primarily as being about “me and God,” rather than also about God’s restoration of people, relationships, and communities? When our prayers become centered primarily on our own rescue, who—or what—might disappear from them?
2. Jonah was commanded to do something and in that he knew God’s plan for Jonah did not end in the fish, what does Jonah’s reaction to the situation say about his faith and trust in God?
3. In Jonah 2:4, Jonah looks toward God’s holy temple while praying from one of the least sacred-looking places imaginable. Compare this with John 4:21–24, where Jesus tells the Samaritan woman that worship will no longer be defined by one particular sacred location. What do Jonah and Jesus suggest about our tendency to associate God’s presence with particular buildings, institutions, leaders, or traditions? Could God already be present among people and communities whom Christians assume are “far from God”? How might recognizing this change our understanding of mission? Instead of entering another community asking, “How can we bring God to them?” what changes if we begin by asking, “Where is God already at work here?” How might that posture change the relationship between Christians and the people we hope to serve?
4. From the belly there is no reasonable assumption that he will live through this event, he has been swallowed whole as an aquatic hors d’oeuvres for this giant fish, yet Jonah knew exactly where to turn for salvation. Without pride, Jonah prays to God for what Jonah knows God can..and will do. He knew God put him there, how does that color his understanding of whether God will remove him from there?
For further contemplation, consider these prompts:
1. In Jonah 2:7, Jonah says, “As my life was ebbing away, I remembered the LORD.” Compare this with Luke 6:46, where Jesus asks, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I tell you?” What is the difference between remembering God and reorienting our lives toward God’s way? Can Jonah sincerely pray to God while still resisting what God asks of him? Can we sincerely worship Jesus while resisting his teachings about enemy-love, forgiveness, generosity, peacemaking, or inclusion? What parts of Jesus’ teachings are easiest for Christians to affirm but hardest for us to actually practice?
2. Hell has been described as both a literal and a figurative distance from God. Even alone under the sea Jonah knew that he was not so far from God that he couldn’t be heard. Have you been in a situation where you felt too far away from God? What brought you, or is bringing you, to realize that you aren’t that far away that God can’t hear you? How can we bring that spirit to those around us in need of His presence?