Jonah's Prayer

 

Jonah's Prayer:

Jonah And the Whale Story

Jonah Chapter 2 - King James Version of the Bible.

1 Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish's belly,

2  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. 

3  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.

4  Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple.

5  The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head.

6  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.

7  When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple.

8  They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.

9  But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed.  Salvation is of the LORD.

 10  And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.

 

IN THIS PRAYER:

1.  In verse 2, Jonah "owned" his affliction.  He didn't try to escape responsibility...2  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.

2.  In verse 4, Jonah knew where deliverance would come from...Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple.

3.  In verse 5, Jonah recognized the seriousness of his situation...The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head.

4.  In verse 6, Jonah remembered what God had done in the past...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.

5.  In verse 7, Jonah remembered God's promise and in desperation he cried out to God...When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple.

6.  In verse 9, Jonah renewed his covenant with God...But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed.  Salvation is of the LORD.

7.  In verse 10, God's deliverance came! ... And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.

Assistant Pastor: Dale Brewer 

Wednesday Evening Bible Study Handout 

To find out more about our Church [visit] lookupnlive.net

 

FROM THE EDITOR:

There are skeptics who don't believe a whale could swallow a person in the first place besides believing the person would live through an event such as this. But over time,  there have been a few folks who claimed to have been inside a whale's mouth.  

And, one anonymous article that began circulating in American newspapers, claims a man by the name of James Bartley (1870-1909) was off the Falkland Islands on a whaling expedition when his boat was attacked by a whale.

The story goes that he landed inside the mouth of the whale. The whale had been harpooned, and his peers caught and began skinning the whale for its meat not knowing Mr. Bartley was inside the whale.  They cut the man out of the whale's stomach.  It was said Mr. Bartley was inside the whale for 36 hours (1 1/2 days).  

It was told that his skin was bleached by the gastric juices and that he was blind for the rest of his life.  After his death 18 years later, his tombstone had these words on it - "James Bartley - a modern day Jonah".  

The facts of the story were investigated by Edward B. Davis - a historian who pointed out more than one inconsistencies.  For example, the British ship by the same name as the ship in the story called "The Star of the East" was not a whaling vessel.  And Mr. James Bartley's name was not listed on the crew list of this ship that could have been close to the Falklands around the time of the supposed incident. 

^{Furthermore, the wife of the Captain (Mrs. John Killam) wrote a letter claiming the sailor told a great sea yarn since she knew of no man being lost overboard while her husband was in the ship.  She claims to have been with her husband all the years he was in the ship (The Star of the East).}

^{Even though the question of truth or fiction to the story may not be solved, it has been reported that it is possible for a Sperm Whale to physically swallow a whole human.  After all, they are known to swallow giant squid whole.  But it is reported that if someone was swallowed whole by this type of whale, the person would be crushed, drowned or suffocated in the stomach of the whale.}

^{However, one interesting fact remains: whales cannot chew. Although squids may be crushed by the thick muscular walls of the whale's stomach that  doesn't mean a man would be crushed since men are not squids.  They are two different beings. The bible states, God prepared the fish Jonah was in.}

^{You can check out the story at wikipedia by clicking [here]...}