🎉 Welcome back to Week 2 in the Book of Jonah!
You are doing a great job – keep on going! Our daily discussions out on Facebook have been wonderful! If you missed them – I hope you will join us this week. They are so helpful!
Here are the links to last week’s posts on the blog, in case you missed any of them:
Intro and Resources for Jonah Week 1
God’s Calling Feels Too Hard – Now What? (Based on Jonah 1 & 2)
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This Week’s Bible Reading Plan:
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This week’s Reflection & Discussion Questions
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Week 2
Jonah 2:1-3
Jonah 1:17 says that Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights, and then Jonah 2:1 begins, “Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the fish’s belly.” The Bible doesn’t tell us what Jonah was doing during those three days and nights, but it appears that his prayer didn’t begin until after three days and nights had passed!
Jonah clearly had many of the Psalms memorized, because much of his prayer is quoted from the Psalms. In today’s reading, we see references to Psalm 120:1, Psalm 88:6, and Psalm 42:7. While Jonah had rebelled and resisted God’s call, we still see great faith in his words as he declares from the belly of the fish that God had heard and answered his cry.
God was not done with Jonah. Jonah knew that it was God who cast him into the sea, not the seamen. God still had a plan to use him to bring a message of repentance to the Ninevites.
Have you ever rebelled or been resistant to God’s word? Are you believing any of the enemy’s lie that God can’t use you? Let’s break the power of that lie today. If you’ve been walking through a time of affliction and you relate to Jonah’s prayer, write a prayer below and cry out to the Lord in your distress.
Jonah 2:4-6
Jonah describes his experience so eloquently as he details how the waves closed over him, the deep surrounded him, and the weeds wrapped around his head. He describes “the roots of the mountains” and how he “went down to the land”. Yet, in all of this we cannot miss the level of faith that he had that God would rescue him and bring him out of the belly of the fish.
In verse 4, Jonah declares “…yet I shall look again upon your holy temple.” Despite the horrific experience of being tossed into the sea in the middle of a storm of supernatural proportions and being swallowed up by a giant fish, Jonah knew God would bring him out.
This is faith! Do you feel like the waves of life are crashing over you right now? Does it feel like the weeds of tribulation are wrapped around you pulling you further down until it seems like you can literally see the ocean floor of your troubles? Like Jonah do you feel as if the bars are closing around you like a prison cell and you wonder if you will ever be free?
Just like God rescued Jonah from the great fish, just like he rescued the 3 Hebrew men from the fiery furnace, just like he rescued Paul and Silas from prison, he will rescue you! When David was faced with what seemed like an impossible situation, it says in 1 Samuel 30:6 that he strengthened himself in the Lord his God.
What verse or passage of Scripture strengthens you when you are discouraged? Write it below and take extra time to meditate on it this week and strengthen yourself in the Lord your God and let faith grow in your heart that God is on your side, and he is your great deliverer!
Jonah 2:7-9
Just when he felt his life was fainting away, Jonah remembered the Lord and cried out to him. Not only was this a frightening experience for Jonah, but it had to have been extremely hot and uncomfortable in the belly of that great fish.
The Hebrew word for idols in this passage of scripture means emptiness or vapor. Indeed, following our ways and assuming we can escape God’s hand is empty thinking. Solomon warned us in Proverbs 3 to not lean on our own understanding, but to acknowledge God in all our ways. When we trust in the Lord with our whole heart and acknowledge him in all we do, he will direct our path
In the end, Jonah repented and purposed to fulfill what he had vowed to the Lord. He would take God’s message to the Ninevites. He ended his prayer with a victorious declaration, “Salvation belongs to the Lord!”
Perhaps you’re in the middle of a battle now. Jonah warned that when we pursue “vain emptiness” we forsake our hope of steadfast love. In other words, we are running from the very thing we need. We need God’s stable, unending love. He is our salvation. He will not lead us to destruction, but to hope and a future. You can trust him. He has the very best plans for you.
Have you ever been in a battle for your own will, only to surrender to God in the end? Did you, like Jonah, feel the joyous sense of liberation when you had finally submitted your will to God and purposed to do what he called you to do? Write about it below.
Jonah 2:10
God appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah after he was thrown into the sea. Jonah was in the belly of that fish for three days and nights, where he prayed, repented and thanked God. When he completed his prayer, God spoke to the fish and it vomited Jonah out on to dry ground.
It is so amazing to see God’s control over nature in the book of Jonah. So far, we have seen God control the wind, waves, storms and the great fish. In chapter four, we will also see God working through a plant, worm, an east wind and cloudless day. That’s our God. He is sovereign over all!
Not only do we see the tremendous hand of God in delivering Jonah from the belly of the great fish, but we also see a foreshadowing of Christ. Jesus said in Matthew 12:40, “For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”
Isn’t it beautiful the way all of scripture ties together? This is why it is so important to take the time to read all of the books of the Bible. Because our understanding of Jonah gives us a greater understanding of Jesus’ words in the book of Matthew.
God is in control. Just as He commands the seas, sets the stars in place, and brings the seasons in perfect rhythm, we can trust that He is sovereign over the details of our lives. Nature does not panic—it follows God’s timing. And we can too. Where in life do you need to stop striving and start trusting that God is in control, just as He is with creation?
Jonah 3:1-3
Though Jonah disobeyed God the first time, God gave him a second chance. Our God is truly a God of second chances! This time Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh. The city of Nineveh was an enormous city with huge walls that were over 100 feet high and so wide that three chariots could ride on them side-by-side. In verse three, we see that it took three days to get through this great city.
Surely it had to have been a little intimidating to visit such a great, imposing city and carry this message of God’s judgement to a nation that had terrorized your own people. Yet Jonah is ready now to boldly proclaim this prophecy and fulfill the word of the Lord.
Friends, if you feel that you have failed the Lord, remember that failure is a moment in our life, it is not what defines us. God does not relate to us according to our failures but according to his grace. Lamentations 3:22-23 says, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
This Week’s Verses of the Day:
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Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Here’s the Printable Bible Bookmark for Jonah.
☕️ 📖 ✍️ Now, let’s get started! Grab a cup of coffee or your favorite drink and open your Bible and SOAK it in! Be sure to leave at least 15-20 minutes for your reading each day.
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Have a wonderful week in God’s Word – I’ll see you back here on the blog this Friday as we go deeper into God’s Word together! Don’t forget to join me every weekday morning out on Facebook!
Keep walking with the King,
COURTNEY
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