The Book of Jonah. Pt. 4
Good morning Dear Readers and blessings to all of you.
May our wonderful God continue to open all of our eyes so that we may behold wondrous things in His word.
Tonight, we will move in to the 2nd chapter of this book. The last verse of chapter 1 leads us right into chapter 2.
Paul also comments in the texts below, upon the interval of time when Jesus died and when He arose from the dead. Jesus first descended into the lower parts of the earth and when He arose, He led captivity captive. That is, Christ took every single Old Testament saint who died trusting God for salvation, to heaven with Him when He ascended.
Remember Matthew 28 tells us that after the resurrection of Christ, the graves were opened and many saints appeared to those who lived during that time. That is part of leading captivity captive. Jesus freed them in order to take them to heaven.
Matthew 27:50-53 Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.
And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;
And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,
And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.
Ephesians 4:7-10 But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.
Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.
(Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?
He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)
May our wonderful God continue to open all of our eyes so that we may behold wondrous things in His word.
Tonight, we will move in to the 2nd chapter of this book. The last verse of chapter 1 leads us right into chapter 2.
JONAH 1:17 17 Now the LORD
had prepared a great fish to swallow
up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Some of the words in this text are of interest to us. The word "prepared" means to make an allocation or
assign something; to prepare or make ready;
The words "Swallow up" is like swallowing something down with
eagerness. It is used to describe famished men finding food to eat. It means to consume or to destroy.
The word "great" is often associated with
ancient wrestling. It has the idea of having great strength with powerful torque or twisting force. The word "great" is used 7 times in this book of Jonah; There is a
What type of sea creature swallowed Jonah?
Matthew 12:40 "For
as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall
the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the
earth."
The Greek word translated "whale" means a sea monster, a
huge fish or whale. The word translated "belly" means a hollow, gaping cavity.
This is also one of the texts where Jesus Christ certifies the historicity of Jonah and the events that happened.
There has been much speculation about what kind of creature could do something like swallowing a man whole. The fact remains, that God was pleased not to tell us a lot of detail about the creature because it is incidental to the story.
There are some examples of sea creatures that I would like to share for your consideration. It may prove helpful to see that there are many creatures today that could have done what is described in the book of Jonah.
There are some examples of sea creatures that I would like to share for your consideration. It may prove helpful to see that there are many creatures today that could have done what is described in the book of Jonah.
MODERN
EXAMPLES OF LARGE SEA CREATURES
A Sperm whale has been known to swallow
large porpoises and sharks whole. Sperm
whales have a huge head—up to one-third the length of the body.
Blue whales are enormous in
size compared to other mammals. The blue whale is probably the largest animal
that has ever lived, reaching a length of nearly 100 ft and a weight of 180 metric tons. Its heart is as big as a Volkswagen
beetle and its body is larger and heavier than any known dinosaur. The blue
whale makes the loudest sound (over 150 decibels) of any animal, and can be
heard over thousands of kilometers across entire oceans.
Sulphur bottom whales &
whale sharks.
Neither
one has any teeth. Both feed by opening
their enormous mouths, submerging the lower jaw and rushing through water at high speeds.
They both strain out the water and eat what is left. One Sulphur bottom whale
caught near Cape Cod in 1933 was over 100
ft. long, and its mouth opening was about 12 ft wide. Both of these
creatures have an air storage chamber
in their heads often as big as 7 ft by 7 ft by 14 ft long.
The
point is that the Lord controlled the fish that swallowed His wayward prophet. The creature then did the bidding of its Creator! God can and does control His creation and He exercised His sovereign control over whatever creature it was that He used to deal with Jonah.
One example of God's control over created things is when Jesus Christ demonstrated control over aquatic life. On several occasions Jesus told His disciples to cast their nets again, even though they had fished all night and caught nothing. The result was a miraculous catch of fish.
In the text below, Jesus commands a fish to come to Peter with a coin in its mouth to pay their taxes.
One example of God's control over created things is when Jesus Christ demonstrated control over aquatic life. On several occasions Jesus told His disciples to cast their nets again, even though they had fished all night and caught nothing. The result was a miraculous catch of fish.
In the text below, Jesus commands a fish to come to Peter with a coin in its mouth to pay their taxes.
MATTHEW 17:24-27 24 And when
they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came
to Peter, and said, Doth not your master pay tribute? 25 He saith, Yes. And when he was come into the house,
Jesus prevented him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the
kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of
strangers? 26 Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith
unto him, Then are the children free. 27 Notwithstanding,
lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up
the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt
find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee.
Did Jonah really die?
There has also been much speculation about this and we must be careful not to go beyond what the text clearly says to us.
The traditional view is that Jonah somehow did a lot of soul searching during those 3 days & nights in the whale's belly and fully repented of his sin and prayed to God for deliverance.
Is it even possible for someone to live inside a whale that long? What we know is that all the food that fish and whales catch, are eaten and digested.
Notice that the Lord Jesus Christ tells us that Jonah spent 3 days and nights in the belly of the whale. We must remember that Jesus said Jonah's experience in the whale was for a sign of His own death, burial and resurrection. A type of Christ in the Old Testament is always accurate in the picture or preview of Christ that it provides.
Jonah would have to die in order for this to be an accurate type of Christ.
When Jonah was swallowed, he did not get swept into an air cavity. He was, according to the text, swallowed into the belly of the creature. He would have been subjected to the digestive processes of that particular animal in the stomach full of water and digestive acids. He would have died by drowning either in the creature's belly or when he was thrown overboard.
The traditional view is that Jonah somehow did a lot of soul searching during those 3 days & nights in the whale's belly and fully repented of his sin and prayed to God for deliverance.
Is it even possible for someone to live inside a whale that long? What we know is that all the food that fish and whales catch, are eaten and digested.
Notice that the Lord Jesus Christ tells us that Jonah spent 3 days and nights in the belly of the whale. We must remember that Jesus said Jonah's experience in the whale was for a sign of His own death, burial and resurrection. A type of Christ in the Old Testament is always accurate in the picture or preview of Christ that it provides.
Jonah would have to die in order for this to be an accurate type of Christ.
When Jonah was swallowed, he did not get swept into an air cavity. He was, according to the text, swallowed into the belly of the creature. He would have been subjected to the digestive processes of that particular animal in the stomach full of water and digestive acids. He would have died by drowning either in the creature's belly or when he was thrown overboard.
Jonah's prayer communicates clear images of drowning at sea.
The language in this text makes it clear that the wayward prophet died by drowning when the creature swallowed him whole. A whale especially would have scooped up other things like seaweed, as it fed. It also makes clear that the creature swallowed up Jonah.
Since Jonah was cited by Christ as a picture of His death, burial and resurrection, we must assume for the type to be accurate, that Jonah did die. Otherwise, he could not be an accurate preview of Christ dying on the cross, and being buried and dead for 3 days, before He rose from the dead. God chose not to tell us exactly when Jonah died.
The place Jonah called "hell" is often called Sheol and in the New Testament it was called Abraham's bosom.
When Jesus died, He took His place in Abraham's bosom, preaching the word, until the day of His resurrection. The Apostle Peter tells us about this truth. While He was in Abraham's bosom, the Lord Jesus preached specifically to those people who did not believe the preaching of Noah.
1 Peter 3:18-20 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he
might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the
Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits
in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the
longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing,
wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.
He was afflicted. He saw himself in hell. He was in the
depths of the sea. Water was all around him and over him. Jonah described seaweed being entangled about his head. He said that he went down to the
bottom.
The language in this text makes it clear that the wayward prophet died by drowning when the creature swallowed him whole. A whale especially would have scooped up other things like seaweed, as it fed. It also makes clear that the creature swallowed up Jonah.
Since Jonah was cited by Christ as a picture of His death, burial and resurrection, we must assume for the type to be accurate, that Jonah did die. Otherwise, he could not be an accurate preview of Christ dying on the cross, and being buried and dead for 3 days, before He rose from the dead. God chose not to tell us exactly when Jonah died.
This was the resting place for those who placed their
trust in Jehovah. There was another "compartment" for those who
did not trust Jehovah and it was a place where they were tormented. I would
suggest reading Luke 16:19-31 for the full text on this subject.
When Jesus died, He took His place in Abraham's bosom, preaching the word, until the day of His resurrection. The Apostle Peter tells us about this truth. While He was in Abraham's bosom, the Lord Jesus preached specifically to those people who did not believe the preaching of Noah.
Abraham's bosom was that unseen place where the souls of
the dead resided, until Christ's resurrection. At the resurrection of
Jesus, those people became part of the first fruit offering of
Christ. Thus, today that place is empty or was incorporated into the other section where the fires are.
Since the resurrection of Christ, the souls of those who are born again and die, are absent from their bodies and present with the Lord in heaven. The Apostle Paul says that the death of a believer is like "falling asleep" in Christ.
Since the resurrection of Christ, the souls of those who are born again and die, are absent from their bodies and present with the Lord in heaven. The Apostle Paul says that the death of a believer is like "falling asleep" in Christ.
Paul also comments in the texts below, upon the interval of time when Jesus died and when He arose from the dead. Jesus first descended into the lower parts of the earth and when He arose, He led captivity captive. That is, Christ took every single Old Testament saint who died trusting God for salvation, to heaven with Him when He ascended.
Remember Matthew 28 tells us that after the resurrection of Christ, the graves were opened and many saints appeared to those who lived during that time. That is part of leading captivity captive. Jesus freed them in order to take them to heaven.
Matthew 27:50-53 Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.
And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;
And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,
And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.
Ephesians 4:7-10 But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.
Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.
(Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?
He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)
1 Corinthians 15:20-23 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them
that slept.
For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.
For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.
Waves engulfed Jonah’s head. Water totally surrounded him. Near Greece, the Mediterranean sea is about 16,000 ft deep. Seaweed was wrapped & tangled around his head. His reference to the earths’ bars are speaking of the entrance to the underworld—symbols of death. The belly of hell seems to compare with Abraham's bosom in Luke 16.
JONAH 1:17-2:1"Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish's belly,"
Jonah 2:3-6 "And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice."
Jonah 2:3-6 "And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice."
"For
thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods
compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me."
"The
waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about,
the weeds were wrapped about my head."
"I
went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me
for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O LORD my
God."
Jonah demonstrated faith in Jehovah.
In spite of enduring death by drowning, Jonah had faith and he prayed earnestly. It seems as if he was at the point of death while praying, but his confidence emerged and he was assured that his prayers were heard by Jehovah. Jonah had faith, confidence and hope in the resurrection of the dead.
JONAH 2:6: yet hast thou brought up
my life from corruption, O LORD my God
Jonah had hope of worshipping in Jehovah's temple.
JONAH 2:7"When my soul fainted
within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine
holy temple."
Jonah had hope in the salvation of Jehovah.
JONAH 2:8"But I will sacrifice
unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed.
Salvation is of the LORD
Points to Ponder....
- Jonah’s faith compelled him to tell mariners to cast him into the sea.
- Jonah was cut off from the land of the living, and drowned in the process.
- Jonah's prayer showed his faith in Jehovah.
This is an amazing narrative. It is full of the miraculous. I think that we must consider that the poisonous attitude Jonah had is very offensive to God. Jonah had a clear calling but he ran from God. We must examine ourselves and make sure that our priority is God first.
Jonah was swallowed up. Jonah died from drowning and was swallowed into the belly of some large creature in a deep ocean.
Jonah is cited by Jesus Christ as a real historical person and the events took place as the scripture tells us. Jesus also cited Jonah as a sign for the death, burial and resurrection of Christ.
Jonah is cited by Jesus Christ as a real historical person and the events took place as the scripture tells us. Jesus also cited Jonah as a sign for the death, burial and resurrection of Christ.
Next time, we will pick up where we left off to see what Jehovah would do next and how Jonah would respond.
Bob
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