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Jonah 2

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Verses 1-10, “Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the fish’s belly. And he said: “I cried out to the Lord because of my affliction, And He answered me. “Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, And You heard my voice. For You cast me into the deep, Into the heart of the seas, And the floods surrounded me; All Your billows and Your waves passed over me. Then I said, ‘I have been cast out of Your sight; Yet I will look again toward Your holy temple.’ The waters surrounded me, even to my soul; The deep closed around me; Weeds were wrapped around my head. I went down to the moorings of the mountains; The earth with its bars closed behind me forever; Yet You have brought up my life from the pit, O Lord, my God. “When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord; And my prayer went up to You, Into Your holy temple. “Those who regard worthless idols Forsake their own Mercy. But I will sacrifice to You With the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay what I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord.” So the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.”

Even though Jonah was rebellious and disobedient, the Lord still spared his life. Rather then letting him drown after being thrown off the ship, God prepared a big fish to swallow him up. Talk about the mercy and grace of God. It's hard to know exactly what Jonah was thinking, but maybe at the time, being swallowed by the fish seemed worse than drowning. God's plan for us doesn't always feel good to our flesh. But He wants us to walk in it nonetheless. Being in a fish's belly certainly got Jonah to turn his attention to the same God he was running away from. If we had the ability to avoid all discomfort in our walks, we probably would...but we also wouldn't end up where God wants us to be. We don't know how long it took, but Jonah eventually surrendered to God, knowing it was Him who cast him into the sea in the first place. But from Jonah's prayer, we can see that he realized he'd been cast from God's sight, which was totally unbearable. Once Jonah's heart and mind were back on track, God caused the fish to vomit him out onto dry land.

The Lord has shown us all mercy and spared our lives by sending His Son to pay the price for our sins. But rather than worshipping Him and giving the credit that is due, we turn to useless idols and forsake our mercy, which is a gift. We cannot be the kind of people who make meaningless vows to honor God when we are in distress, then forget Him as soon as we've escaped our troubles. Jonah got just a glimpse of what it would be like to be in Sheol, separated from God, and it was too much to bear. Imagine what an eternity in hell is going to be like for those who will not surrender to God. They will experience His fury and wrath without end, knowing that God is just and they only have themselves to blame. We all have the same choice to make...everlasting punishment or everlasting life. God's desire is that we would surrender to Him and enter the Promised Land.

Deuteronomy 30:15‭-‬20, “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess. But if your heart turns away so that you do not hear, and are drawn away, and worship other gods and serve them, I announce to you today that you shall surely perish; you shall not prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to go in and possess. I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”

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