Wednesday Devo
Scripture:
Jonah 1:17-2:10
17 Now the Lord had arranged for a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights.
2 Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from inside the fish. 2 He said,
“I cried out to the Lord in my great trouble, and he answered me. I called to you from the land of the dead, and Lord, you heard me! 3 You threw me into the ocean depths, and I sank down to the heart of the sea. The mighty waters engulfed me; I was buried beneath your wild and stormy waves. 4 Then I said, ‘O Lord, you have driven me from your presence. Yet I will look once more toward your holy Temple.’
5 “I sank beneath the waves, and the waters closed over me. Seaweed wrapped itself around my head. 6 I sank down to the very roots of the mountains. I was imprisoned in the earth, whose gates lock shut forever. But you, O Lord my God, snatched me from the jaws of death! 7 As my life was slipping away, I remembered the Lord. And my earnest prayer went out to you in your holy Temple. 8 Those who worship false gods turn their backs on all God’s mercies. 9 But I will offer sacrifices to you with songs of praise, and I will fulfill all my vows. For my salvation comes from the Lord alone.”
10 Then the Lord ordered the fish to spit Jonah out onto the beach.
17 Now the Lord had arranged for a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights.
2 Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from inside the fish. 2 He said,
“I cried out to the Lord in my great trouble, and he answered me. I called to you from the land of the dead, and Lord, you heard me! 3 You threw me into the ocean depths, and I sank down to the heart of the sea. The mighty waters engulfed me; I was buried beneath your wild and stormy waves. 4 Then I said, ‘O Lord, you have driven me from your presence. Yet I will look once more toward your holy Temple.’
5 “I sank beneath the waves, and the waters closed over me. Seaweed wrapped itself around my head. 6 I sank down to the very roots of the mountains. I was imprisoned in the earth, whose gates lock shut forever. But you, O Lord my God, snatched me from the jaws of death! 7 As my life was slipping away, I remembered the Lord. And my earnest prayer went out to you in your holy Temple. 8 Those who worship false gods turn their backs on all God’s mercies. 9 But I will offer sacrifices to you with songs of praise, and I will fulfill all my vows. For my salvation comes from the Lord alone.”
10 Then the Lord ordered the fish to spit Jonah out onto the beach.
Commentary:
2:2–9 Jonah’s prayer is not a request to be saved from the fish but is thanksgiving for being saved by the fish. Verse 2 summarizes the prayer: Jonah called for help and God answered. Verses 3–6a expand on Jonah’s call for help; vv. 6b–10 expand on God’s answer.
2:2 Sheol refers to the realm of the dead, which one would enter by going through a gate made of “bars” (see v. 6 and Job 17:16; 38:17; Ps. 9:13). Jonah did not literally pray from Sheol but describes his near-death experience (see Ps. 30:2–3).
2:3–4 you cast me. Though it was the sailors who had hurled Jonah into the sea (1:15), he knows that God was working sovereignly through them, and so he can say that God cast him into the sea. Look upon, or “look toward,” refers to the ancient practice of praying toward the temple (see 2:7; 1 Kings 8:30, 35, 38, 42; Dan. 6:10).
2:6 I went down (see notes on 1:3; 1:4–5). Jonah’s descent to death is almost complete as he reaches the roots of the mountains at the bottom of the seas, where the gates of Sheol are located. Since the bars refer to the gates of Sheol (see note on 2:2), the land refers to the realm of the dead (see Ps. 63:9; Ezek. 26:20; 32:18, 24), as does pit (see Job 33:22–24; Ps. 49:9; 103:4). you brought. Jonah had done nothing to deserve being rescued; his salvation was by grace alone.
2:6 Jonah’s rescue from death prefigures the resurrection of Christ from the dead (Matt. 12:40).
Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 1688–1689.
2:2 Sheol refers to the realm of the dead, which one would enter by going through a gate made of “bars” (see v. 6 and Job 17:16; 38:17; Ps. 9:13). Jonah did not literally pray from Sheol but describes his near-death experience (see Ps. 30:2–3).
2:3–4 you cast me. Though it was the sailors who had hurled Jonah into the sea (1:15), he knows that God was working sovereignly through them, and so he can say that God cast him into the sea. Look upon, or “look toward,” refers to the ancient practice of praying toward the temple (see 2:7; 1 Kings 8:30, 35, 38, 42; Dan. 6:10).
2:6 I went down (see notes on 1:3; 1:4–5). Jonah’s descent to death is almost complete as he reaches the roots of the mountains at the bottom of the seas, where the gates of Sheol are located. Since the bars refer to the gates of Sheol (see note on 2:2), the land refers to the realm of the dead (see Ps. 63:9; Ezek. 26:20; 32:18, 24), as does pit (see Job 33:22–24; Ps. 49:9; 103:4). you brought. Jonah had done nothing to deserve being rescued; his salvation was by grace alone.
2:6 Jonah’s rescue from death prefigures the resurrection of Christ from the dead (Matt. 12:40).
Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 1688–1689.
Questions:
Jonah spent three days in darkness before he finally surrendered. But the moment his prayer ended, the fish released him onto dry land. That means while Jonah felt abandoned and stuck, God was already moving the rescue into place.
- Are there any areas of your life that currently feel heavy, uncertain, or like you’re running out of hope?
- Jonah’s rescue also wasn’t clean or glamorous... he was vomited onto the beach. Sometimes God’s help comes through uncomfortable places like accountability, counseling, confession, or community. What would it look like for you to lean into community instead of isolating yourself?
Prayer Topics:
- Ask God to help you trust that even when you feel: stuck, isolated, or hopeless in the darkness, He is actively moving behind the scenes to orchestrate your rescue and redirection.
- Pray for the courage to lean into uncomfortable spaces like community, accountability, and counseling, rather than isolating yourself.
- Thank God that His deliverance doesn't have to look glamorous to be effective, and praise Him for using messy, or humbling, ways to bring you back to Him.
This Week's City 7:
Try to commit to memory!
5. Why do I follow Jesus? I follow Jesus because Jesus rose from the dead proving that He is the way, the truth and the life.
(Matthew 7:24-27; John 14:6)
(Matthew 7:24-27; John 14:6)
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