Jonah Ch.2

Praise the LORD family! This is the day that the LORD has made and we shall be glad and rejoice in it. Father, we ask that You open our hearts to receive Your Word with meekness and understanding in the name of Jesus, Amen.

Today, we'll be sharing from Jonah chapter 2. Previously, we saw that Jonah had to be thrown out of the ship in order for the storm to stop. After, he was thrown into the water, there was a fish that the LORD God had prepared to swallow him and he spent three nights and three days in the belly of the fish (Jonah 1:17).

During this time, Jonah was praying to the LORD and I encourage you to check out these verses in your Bibles.

This account also shows us that this would not be the first time that God would command fish to obey and do His will. In Matthew 17: 27, we see Jesus ask Simon Peter to collect taxes for the both of them from the mouth of a fish. If fish, storms and the sea listen to God's word and obey Him, then how much more you and I?

In 1 Samuel 15:22, the LORD God tells us that obedience of our hearts and actions to His Word is better than sacrifice. Jonah thought he could serve God according to his terms and we shall see more of this in the upcoming chapters.

While Jonah was in the fish's belly crying out to God in prayer, God had already heard him. This story is a depiction of God's mercy (he did not permit Jonah to drown because of disobedience) and that God is closest to us when we are in difficult circumstances even when we may not realize it.

Psalm 23:4 says, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff they comfort me."

Prayer brought Jonah's deliverance out of the belly of the fish which I believe made him realize that indeed God's mercy and presence were always with him despite his disobedience to God's instructions.

Jonah 2:10 NKJV reads,

"So the LORD spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land."

Hallelujah, Amen.

TO BE CONTINUED...