Thursday 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:
2:6 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).
2:8–9 Those who pay regard to vain idols refers to the pagan sailors, who prayed each to his own god (1:5), but it is also a message to Jonah’s idolatrous fellow Israelites. Ironically, these sailors ended up experiencing God’s steadfast love, while Jonah ended up in the sea. Sacrifice … vowed recalls the actions of the sailors (1:16), whom Jonah is now like. Salvation belongs to the LORD is Jonah’s confession that God is the sovereign source of salvation, though the rest of the story will show that Jonah believes God is free to save any, as long as they are “us” and not “them” (see 4:1–4).
Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 1688–1689.
2:6 Jonah’s rescue from death prefigures the resurrection of Christ from the dead (Matt. 12:40).
2:8–9 Those who pay regard to vain idols refers to the pagan sailors, who prayed each to his own god (1:5), but it is also a message to Jonah’s idolatrous fellow Israelites. Ironically, these sailors ended up experiencing God’s steadfast love, while Jonah ended up in the sea. Sacrifice … vowed recalls the actions of the sailors (1:16), whom Jonah is now like. Salvation belongs to the LORD is Jonah’s confession that God is the sovereign source of salvation, though the rest of the story will show that Jonah believes God is free to save any, as long as they are “us” and not “them” (see 4:1–4).
Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 1688–1689.
Questions:
One of the enemy’s greatest weapons is shame. Shame convinces us that we’ve gone too far, failed too badly, or hidden too much to come back to God. But the Gospel tells a different story. God redeemed people like John Newton, a former slave trader who later wrote “Amazing Grace,” and He continues rescuing broken people today.
- What hidden struggle, compromise, or failure are you afraid to bring into the light? Where is shame trying to keep you stuck or silent?
- Jonah ends his prayer by declaring, “Salvation comes from the Lord alone.” The Hebrew word points us toward the name Yeshua, Jesus! How does looking at the cross remind you that no person is beyond the reach of God’s grace?
Prayer Topics:
- Ask God to break the power of shame in your life. No failure, compromise, or hidden struggle is too great for His grace to redeem and bring into the light.
- Pray for the humility and vulnerability to expose your hidden struggles to God and trusted community, resisting the enemy's lie that you are stuck or beyond help.
- Thank God for the cross of Jesus, celebrating that our salvation comes from Him alone and that His grace is powerful enough to rescue and restore.
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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