“But I will praise and thank You while I give sacrifices to you and I will keep my promises to You. Salvation comes from the Lord”
(Jonah 2:9 ncv).
Where was Jonah when he prayed this kind of prayer? Right in the stinking-smelling stomach of a big fish. Phew! Yet Jonah gave God thanks for his deliverance from the big fish by faith. God heard Jonah’s prayer. “Then the Lord spoke to the fish, and the fish threw up Jonah onto the dry land” (Jonah 2:10 ncv). God commanded Jonah to go to Nineveh. His mission was to warn the people of God’s soon-coming judgment upon the city. Jonah hated the people of Nineveh for their cruelty to the people of Israel in the past. He also knew God’s great mercy to any people who would repent of their sins.
Jonah decided to escape from doing God’s mission by hiding in a ship by going into opposite direction away from Nineveh. The storm came and hit the ship for a few days. Jonah was thrown into the sea to appease God. The great fish swallowed Jonah and he stayed in its belly for three days. Then Jonah prayed the prayer founded in Jonah 2:1-9. The great fish could not stand Jonah being in his belly for three days. Yuck! The great fish threw him out of its belly.
Who was Jonah and where was he from? Jonah was a prophet to the northern kingdom of Israel during the year of 760 B.C. He lived close to Galilee. Nineveh was about 500 miles northeast of Galilee. It would have taken Jonah several days to reach to Nineveh. Instead he got on a ship that would go to Spain and he didn’t make it. God gave Jonah the second chance to go to Nineveh to preach the warning judgment of God. What did the people do? Surprised! The king of Nineveh arose from his throne and announced to all 120,000 people of the city to fast and pray. The king encouraged everyone to turn from their evil way and from the violence in their lands. The people repented and God spared them from judgment. Wow! What a merciful God!
What can we learn from this? God is merciful. Like Peter said that God is not willing that any men should perish without Christ, but that all should come to repentance (2 Pet.3:9). This devotion tells us who God is. Doesn’t this make you appreciate God who is not willing to bring quick judgment? He gives men time to repent and change their ways. “Heavenly Father, we appreciate You.”
