Jonah in the Deep Jonah 2:3

Jonah was “cast” overboard by the men who sailed on the ship traveling to Joppa because he requested they do so and because they rowed to no avail to avoid it. As Jonah bobbed in the water, the LORD prepared a “great fish” which “swallowed” him up, and after dwelling in the fish for “three days and nights”, Jonah “cried out” to “the LORD” and “the LORD” heard him. In chapter two and verse three of this prophesy, Jonah's prayer continued as he talked about “the deep”. We read:

For you had cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas;

and the floods compassed me about: all your billows and your waves passed over me.

The verse begins, “For you had cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas;” The writer began with the words, “For you” which refers to “the LORD” “cast me” or “threw, hurled, flung or shed Jonah” “into the deep” which refers to “the depth or the deep sea”, “in the midst” or “inner part, heart and seat” “of the seas” which means “the great basin of water in which the great fish resided”. Jonah knew that it was actually “the LORD” who “cast him” into the middle of the “sea”.

The verse goes on to say, “and the floods compassed me about: all your billows and your waves passed over me.” The writer added, “And the floods” or “streams, rivers or underground streams” “compassed” which means “turned about, aside, back or towards, encircled, changed direction and brought around”: “me about all your billows” or “the LORD's waves or breaking seas” “and your waves” which means “heaps, springs and billows” “passed over me” which refers to “alienated, brought, carried, done, taken away and crossed or marched over Jonah”. As Jonah floated in the waters, the “rivers, floods and billows” “crossed and marched over” him.

When we meditate upon these words, we imagine what it was like for Jonah to be “floating” in the waters while billows, waves and “floods” surrounded him. It is interesting to note that Jonah recognized the true source of these “floods”. Many people blame their circumstances or situations on other people, places and times, when their attention should be directed to “the LORD”. Jesus Christ desires a relationship with every person in the world, and if it takes “billows, waves, floods and rivers” overcoming them, so be it. If we are being overwhelmed with our current state, perhaps we should turn our attention to the one who loves us more than any other can or will.

Next time we see Jonah describe what it was like to be in “the deep”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.