When the
“mariners” “cast” Jonah overboard from the ship
traveling to Joppa, the seas calmed, and the men offered “sacrifices”
and “made vows” unto “the LORD”. Jonah, however, was
“swallowed” by a “great fish” which God had
“prepared” for him, and after being in the digestive
system of the fish for “three days and nights”, Jonah
prayed. In chapter two and verse two of this prophesy, we see Jonah's
“cry” because of his “affliction” and how “the
LORD heard” him when he did. We read:
And said,
I cried by reason of my affliction unto the LORD,
and he
heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and
you heard my voice.
The
verse begins, “And said, I cried by reason of my affliction unto
the LORD,...” The writer began with the words, “And said”
or “spoke, uttered, promised, intended, avowed and avouched”, “I
cried” which means “called out, recited, proclaimed and
uttered a loud sound” “by reason of my affliction” which
is all one Hebrew word “tsarah” and means “straits,
distress, trouble, vexer, adversity, anguish, tribulation and rival”
“unto the LORD” or “Yehovah or Jehovah who is the
existing One and the proper name for the one true God”. Jonah
finally prayed when he was motivated by the “distress and
tribulation” caused by his disobedience.
The
verse goes on to say, “and he heard
me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and
you heard my voice.” The
writer continues, “and he heard me”
which refers to “the LORD answering, responding and uttering
tunefully”; “out of the belly”
or “body, abdomen and seat of hunger” “of
hell”
which is the Hebrew word “shĕ'owl”and
means
“underworld, grave, pit, place of no return, exile and extreme
degradation of sin” “cried I”
which refers to “Jonah shouting aloud”, “and
you heard”
which means “listened to, obeyed, perceived, were attentive to and
interested in” “my voice”
or “sound, noise, bleating, lowing, crackling cry, proclamation and
yell”. Jonah knew God was attentively listening to him when at last
he called out in his despair.
When
we consider the words in this verse, we enjoy the thought of “the
LORD” listening to Jonah's “cry” as though He was
waiting for it all the time. “The LORD” waited for Jonah
to find himself “in hell” and desperation before He
responded to Him. As we think about this, perhaps there are people
who are sitting in their own hopeless and despairing circumstances
who need to know “the LORD” Jesus is waiting to hear their
“cry” . When they reach the end of themselves and cry out to
God in extreme abandon, He is more than ready not only to listen, but
also to respond to them as He did unto Jonah.
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.
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