Jonah's prayer: the Lord's answer
2:1 Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the stomach of the fish
The Hebrew word for “stomach” is מְעֵי (miai), meaning the bodily stomach. Jonah will make three prayers in this chapter. They are not listed in chronological order.
The Hebrew word for “fish” is הַדָּגָֽה (ha-dagah) with a definite article. The definite article emphasizes that this was a specially created fish by God. It is not the Hebrew word תַּנִּין (tannin), which usually is translated as whale, dinosaur, or sea monster, as in Genesis 1:21. God created the תַּנִּין (tannin) on day five of creation. Often, liberals will teach children “Jonah and the whale” as a story, instead of “Jonah and the specially created fish” as a real historical event, because they want to avoid the miracle of the resurrection of Jonah from the dead. This is bias, as they must spiritualize the text to reach this conclusion. The Hebrew text clearly teaches that Jonah died and was resurrected.
2:2 and said, “I called out to the Lord from my distress, and he answered me; from the belly of Sheol I cried out for help, and you heard my prayer.
The Hebrew word for “belly” is a different Hebrew word than מְעֵי (miai). It is the Hebrew word בָּ֫טֶן (beten), which means the womb of שְׁא֛וֹל (Sheol).
Sheol was the Old Testament place of the dead. The righteous saints (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Lazarus, etc.) formally dwelt in Paradise, or Abraham’s Bosom. After the resurrection of Jesus they were all transported to heaven. Any believer who dies today goes to heaven to be with the Lord.
The unrighteous saints lived in Gehenna, or hell. They will remain in hell until the Great White Throne Judgment. After the end of the Millennial Kingdom, all of the unrighteous saints will be judged at the Great White Throne Judgment. They will all be found guilty. They will all be transported into the Lake of Fire for eternity.
The fallen angels who left their estates and intermarried with human women before the flood are currently dwelling in Tartarus. Tartarus is a lifetime prison. There is no escape or parole. These fallen angels will be judged at the Great White Throne Judgment, found guilty, and thrown into the Lake of Fire forever.
There are some demons who have sinned and they are being kept temporarily in the Abyss. When Jesus drove the demons out of the pigs at Gerasene, they begged Him not to send them to the Abyss. Some of the most evil demons will be released from the Abyss during the Great Tribulation. The Abyss is like a temporary jail sentence for demons.
Jonah committed the sin unto death when he disobeyed God. God appointed a fish to swallow Jonah. Jonah died, but since he was a believer, he was sent to Paradise. Once in Paradise, he prayed for a second chance to go and give God’s message to Nineveh.
2:3 You threw me into the deep waters, into the middle of the sea; the ocean current engulfed me; all the mighty waves you sent swept over me.
Notice that Jehovah “threw” Jonah into the deep waters. The Hebrew word is שָׁלַך (shalak), meaning to cast or hurl, such as a modern baseball player. Jonah was bobbing up and down in the ocean, because the waves were being swept over him.
2:4 I thought I had been banished from your sight, that I would never again see your holy temple!
Jonah thought that he would die and never see the temple in Jerusalem again. The Hebrew word for “holy” is קֹ֫דֶשׁ (kodesh), meaning a person, place, or thing which is set apart for special use by God. The temple was holy, because the sacrifices pointed to Christ. The tabernacle pattern was a copy of the throne room of heaven. The temple copied the tabernacle pattern, so it was a visual object lesson of how one could approach a holy God in His holy throne room. Subjects of a kingdom had to bring their king a nice gift before they approached His throne and ask for a request. If the king held out his scepter, then he would listen to the request. If he did not hold out his scepter, then the subject would be executed. An example of this pagan practice was found in the Book of Esther. The price to approach God's holy throne was the blood of his innocent Son. If an unbeliever comes to God without this belief in the atonement of Christ, then he will be executed at the Great White Throne Judgment.
The people, places, and things of the satanic world system are “unholy” and used to advance the satanic world system. Some examples of unholy things are politics, religion, education, entertainment, and even many local churches. Every thought, word, action, and object on this earth can be used to glorify God or to glorify Satan. Time was created so that one could use the seconds of his life to glorify God, but the total depravity of man spends most of the hours of his day building up the satanic world system. Mastery of Bible doctrine helps one to use their time more wisely and more effectively for the kingdom of God.
2:5 Water engulfed me up to my neck; the deep ocean surrounded me; seaweed was wrapped around my head.
Jonah drowned in the sea. He sank to the bottom of the sea. When he was at the bottom of the sea, the seaweed from the bottom floor wrapped around his head.
2:6 I went down to the very bottoms of the mountains; the gates of the netherworld barred me in forever; but you brought me up from the Pit, O Lord, my God.
How did Jonah know that there were mountains at the bottom of the sea without the modern scuba equipment of today?
The Hebrew word for “netherworld” is הָאָ֛רֶץ (ha-eretz), meaning the earth. There is a definite article, meaning that Jonah sunk down to the mountains and the earth at the bottom of the ocean. When a person sinks to the very bottom of the ocean, he is dead.
The Hebrew word for “forever” is לְעוֹלָ֑ם (la-olam), meaning “to the long time,” Jonah was at the bottom of the ocean for a long time.
The Hebrew word for “pit” is שָׁ֫חַת (shachat). It is the same word used in Psalm 16:10, “You will not abandon me to Sheol; you will not allow your faithful follower to see the Pit.” After Jesus was crucified, He would not be abandoned in Sheol, because He will be raised from the dead.
The physical body of Jonah went to the mountains of the earth which were at the bottom of the sea. His dead body stayed at the bottom of the ocean for a long time. His soul went to Sheol, which was the place of the dead. Sheol can mean either the grave or the underworld. In either instance, the person must be dead. Then, God raised Jonah from the dead and brought him out of Paradise. In Jonah’s day, so far as we know, men had no means to explore the sea floor, yet Jonah somehow knew that mountains had “roots” extending deep into the earth’s crust. In fact, this may even be another way of referring to his descent into “hell.”
2:7 When my life was ebbing away, I called out to the Lord, and my prayer came to your holy temple.
The Hebrew word for “ebbing” is עָטַף (ataf), meaning to weaken or be overwhelmed. As Jonah was about to die he prayed. Jonah’s first prayer was when he was bobbing in the water. He prayed a second time while he was drowning. He prayed a third time from Paradise.
2:8 Those who worship worthless idols forfeit the mercy that could be theirs.
The Hebrew word for “worthless” is הָ֫בֶל (habel), meaning emptiness or vanity. The Hebrew word for “idols” is שָׁוְא (shua), meaning deceptive ones or lying ones. Therefore, “worthless idols” means empty deceiving ones who lie.
The Hebrew word for “mercy” is חָ֫סֶד (cheesed, meaning covenant loyalty. God is ready to make an unconditional, faithful covenant with Assyria. If they repent, meaning to change their attitudes about God, then He will not destroy them.
Jonah will go to Nineveh and tell the Assyrians that the worship of these empty and deceptive ones will cause them to forfeit the mercy which God has extended to them. God will, sometime in the future, kill 185,000 of their soldiers who attack Jerusalem. This was the Assyrians' last chance of salvation before their extinction.
The divine viewpoint is that God seems to give evil nations one last chance before He exterminates them. For example, God spoke to Cain Himself. Noah was sent to warn the pre-flood world. Angels were sent to warn Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham could have warned the Canaanites since God revealed to Abraham that they would be given 400 more years to repent. Moses was sent to warn Egypt. The prophets were sent to warn Israel and Judah. Daniel was sent to warn Babylon and Persia. John the Baptist and Jesus were sent to warn Israel. Paul was sent to warn the Gentiles. The two great witnesses, 144,000 Jewish witnesses, and angels flying in the air proclaiming the gospel will all be sent to warn the Christ-rejecters during the Great Tribulation.
2:9 But as for me, I promise to offer a sacrifice to you with a public declaration of praise; I will surely do what I have promised. Salvation belongs to the Lord!”
The Hebrew word for “salvation” is יְשׁוּעָה (Yeshua), which is the Hebrew name for Jesus. His name means “Jehovah is salvation.” The English word “belongs” is not in the text. The Hebrew word for “to the Lord” is לַיהוָֽה (la-Jehovah), meaning “to Jehovah.” Both of these Hebrew words are contract, meaning that they are two nouns placed next to each other, meaning that they are the same thing. Literally the message to Nineveh is “Jesus is Jehovah.”
2:10 Then the Lord commanded the fish and it disgorged Jonah on dry land.
Jonah, the rebellious prophet, finally entered the city of Nineveh by the vomit of a fish.
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Kids Homeschooling Lesson
Beginner's Prayer (Mature children should pray their own prayer): Dear Father in heaven, I praise your name for _____________. I thank you for sending the Lord Jesus Christ to die on the cross for my sins. I also thank you for __________. I silently confess my sins to you, such as ___________. Please help me to understand and apply the entire counsel of the Word of God at the deepest level. Please help me to obey my parents. Please protect my family and myself from the evil one. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
Learning Objective: Students are to learn how to self-study the entire counsel of the Word of God at the deepest level.
2:1 Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the stomach of the fish.
דָּגָה
ἰχθύς
piscis
Hebrew=dagah, Greek=ichthus, Latin=piscis
Fill-in-the-blank
2:1 Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the stomach of the ________________.
2:2 and said, “I called out to the LORD from my distress, and he answered me; from the belly of ______________ I cried out for help, and you heard my prayer.
2:3 You threw me into the deep waters, into the middle of the sea; the ocean current _______________ me; all the mighty waves you sent swept over me.
2:4 I thought I had been banished from your sight, that I would never again see your holy ________________!
2:5 Water engulfed me up to my neck; the deep ocean surrounded me; ___________________ was wrapped around my head.
2:6 I went down to the very bottoms of the mountains; the gates of the netherworld barred me in ____________________; but you brought me up from the Pit, O LORD, my God.
2:7 When my life was ___________ away, I called out to the LORD, and my prayer came to your holy temple.
2:8 Those who worship worthless __________ forfeit the mercy that could be theirs.
2:9 But as for me, I promise to offer a sacrifice to you with a public declaration of praise; I will surely do what I have promised. ___________________ belongs to the LORD!”
2:10 Then the LORD commanded the fish and it _______________ Jonah on dry land.
True or False
1. Jonah prayed from the stomach of the whale.
2. God sent Jonah to hell for disobeying him.
3. The ocean water swallowed up Jonah.
4. Jonah thought that he would never see the temple of God again.
5. Jonah lived inside of the belly of the whale.
6. Jonah's soul went to Paradise, the place of the Old Testament saints who died.
7. Jonah's life was ebbing away.
8. The people in Nineveh were worshiping idols, which are metal, stone, and wooded images of demons.
9. Jonah will teach the people in Nineveh about the one true God.
10. Jonah did not obey God, but the fish did.
Scholar's Homework
11. In your own words, write a one sentence summary for each verse.
12. Create a ten question fill-in-the-blank test for this chapter.
13. Create a thinking map for this chapter.
14. Write a one page commentary for this chapter.
15. Memorize the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin vocabulary words for this chapter.
16 Memorize the most important verse or verses of this chapter.
17. What is the difference between a Qal perfect and Qal imperfect verb?*
18. Present a thirty second oral presentation on what you learned from this chapter.
True or False Answers
1. False. Jonah prayed from the belly of the fish. Skeptics like to fool little children on this issue in order to deny the resurrection.
2. False. God sent Jonah to Sheol. In The Old Testament, there were four compartments of Sheol. Hell was the place for unbelievers who died on earth. Paradise (or Abraham's Bosom) was the place for believers who died on earth. Tartarus was the place for demons who intermarried with women in Genesis 6. Abyss is a temporary holding place for evil demons.
3. True.
4. True.
5. False. Jonah drowned in the water, because seaweed at the bottom of the ocean was wrapped around his head.
6. True.
7. True. He died.
8. True.
9. True.
10. True. The animal world recognizes its Creator, but often man will not.
*Hebrew Grammar
A qal perfect verb is a completed action or past-tense verb. 75% of all Hebrew verbs are Qal perfect, because most of the Old Testament is looking back at past events.
A Qal imperfect verb is an incomplete action, such as a present tense or future tense verb. Old Testament prophecies are usually written in the Qal imperfect tense, since they are predicting a future event. Over 25% of the Bible is prophecy. The Bible is the only book in the world which can predict the future with a 100% success rate.
At nine years old, study Latin grammar.
At ten years old, study Hebrew grammar.
At eleven years old, study Greek grammar.