IN THE DEEP The great fish Prayer: Jonah reflects on the past Prayer: Jonah describes his situation Prayer: Jonah remembers the Lord Prayer: Jonah makes his promises Back on dry land
THE GREAT FISH But the L ORD provided a large fish to swallow up Jonah; and Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights . (Jonah 1:17)
GENESIS 1:21
THE PRODIGAL SON
T.S. ELIOT We shall not cease from exploration & the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we started & know the place for the first time. Through the unknown, remembered gate When the last of earth left to discover Is that which was the beginning… Little Gidding, Four Quartets
PSALM 124:1-5 If it had not been the L ORD who was on our side — let Israel now say — if it had not been the L ORD who was on our side, when our enemies attacked us, then they would have swallowed us up alive, when their anger was kindled against us; then the flood would have swept us away, the torrent would have gone over us; then over us would have gone the raging waters .
JEREMIAH 51:34 ‘King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon has devoured me, he has crushed me; he has made me an empty vessel, he has swallowed me like a monster; he has filled his belly with my delicacies, he has spewed me out .’
TO SUM UP….. Jonah is exiled from land, from ship & from people He is in the depths & out of his depths He is not yet “at himself” He is not in charge Before he passes onwards he must first pass inwards
TO SUM UP….. Jonah has to face himself Something in Jonah has to give Something in Jonah has to die The prophet must reclaim his vocation He must reconnect with God.
JONAH’S BASIC QUESTIONS Who am I? (Identity) Where am I going? (Direction) What shapes the way I look at life? (Outlook)
EXAMPLE OF SAUL Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. (Acts 9:8)
PRAYER: JONAH REFLECTS ON THE PAST Then Jonah prayed to the L ORD his God from the belly of the fish, saying, ‘I called to the L ORD out of my distress, and he answered me; out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice. You cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the flood surrounded me; all your waves and your billows passed over me. (Jonah 2:1-3)
THE PRAYER OF HEZEKIAH I said: In the noontide of my days I must depart; I am consigned to the gates of Sheol for the rest of my years. I said, I shall not see the LORD in the land of the living; I shall look upon mortals no more among the inhabitants of the world.
THE PRAYER OF HEZEKIAH Surely it was for my welfare that I had great bitterness; but you have held back my life from the pit of destruction, for you have cast all my sins behind your back. For Sheol cannot thank you, death cannot praise you; those who go down to the Pit cannot hope for your faithfulness. (Isaiah 38:10-11, 17-18)
THE PRAYER OF JONAH “I called to the Lord out of my distress, & he answered me; out of the belly of Sheol I cried, & you heard my voice. You cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, & the flood surrounded me….” (Jonah 2:1-2).
PRAYER: JONAH DESCRIBES HIS SITUATION Then I said, “I am driven away from your sight; how shall I look again upon your holy temple?” The waters closed in over me; the deep surrounded me; weeds were wrapped around my head at the roots of the mountains. I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me for ever; yet you brought up my life from the Pit, O LORD my God. (Jonah 2:4-6)
THE PRAYER OF SOLOMON Have regard to your servant’s prayer and his plea, O LORD my God, heeding the cry and the prayer that your servant prays to you today; that your eyes may be open night and day towards this house, the place of which you said, “My name shall be there”, that you may heed the prayer that your servant prays towards this place. Hear the plea of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray towards this place; O hear in heaven your dwelling-place; heed and forgive. (1 Kings 8:28-30)
SHEOL A stark contrast: The mountains of the deep The mountain of the Temple of the Lord
PRAYER: JONAH REMEMBERS THE LORD As my life was ebbing away, I remembered the LORD; and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple. Those who worship vain idols forsake their true loyalty. (Jonah 2:7-8)
THE PRAYER OF DAVID For the waves of death encompassed me, the torrents of perdition assailed me; the cords of Sheol entangled me, the snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called upon the LORD; to my God I called. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry came to his ears. (2 Samuel 22:5-7)
PRAYER: JONAH MAKES HIS PROMISES But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Deliverance belongs to the LORD!’ (Jonah 2:9)
BACK ON DRY LAND Then the LORD spoke to the fish, and it spewed Jonah out upon the dry land. (Jonah 2:10)
THE HOUND OF HEAVEN I fled Him, down the nights & down the days; I fled Him, down the arches of the years; I fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways Of my own mind; & in the midst of tears I hid from Him….
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