Bible Lesson: Miracles Of The Old
Testament: Jonah Delivered From The Great Fish.
Occasion: Repentance Brings
Deliverance.
Location: Mediterranean Sea.
Bible Text:
Jonah 2:1-10 KJV
1 Then Jonah prayed unto The Lord
his God out of the fish's belly,
2 And said, I cried by reason of
mine affliction unto The Lord, and He heard me; out of the belly of
hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice.
3 For thou hadst cast me into the
deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about:
all thy billows and thy waves passed over me.
4 Then I said, I am cast out of thy
sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple.
5 The waters compassed me about,
even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were
wrapped about my head.
6 I went down to the bottoms of the
mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet hast
thou brought up my life from corruption, O Lord my God.
7 When my soul fainted within me I
remembered The Lord: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy
temple.
8 They that observe lying vanities
forsake their own mercy.
9 But I will sacrifice unto thee
with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed.
Salvation is of The Lord.
10 And The Lord spake unto the fish,
and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.
Jonah 2:1-3 KJV
1 Then Jonah prayed unto The Lord
his God out of the fish's belly,
2 And said, I cried by reason of
mine affliction unto The Lord...”
3 For thou hadst cast me into the
deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about:
all thy billows and thy waves passed over me.
Job 5:17 KJV
Behold, happy is the man whom God
correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of
The Almighty:
Psalm 119:67 KJV
Before I was afflicted I went
astray: but now have I kept thy word.
Lamentations 3:22,23 KJV
22 It is of The Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not.
23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.
Hebrews 12:11 KJV
Now no chastening for the present
seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it
yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are
exercised thereby.
God did not only
love the people of Nineveh, the sailors on board the ship, but He
deeply loved Jonah as well, and because He did, He stopped the
prophet from merely going his own way, which would have lead to not
only death, but hell as well!
Those who go to
hell, go there by cutting the umbilical cord to eternal life, by
their own hand. All who go there have committed the unpardonable sin
of severing any calling, correction and help from the hand of The
Living God.
Jonah, knew he
had sinned against God, he repented and prayed to The
Lord of all creation.
Jonah 2:2 KJV
“... and He heard me; out of
the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice.
Psalm 65:2 KJV
O thou that hearest prayer, unto
thee shall all flesh come.
Jonah
2:4-7 KJV
4 Then I said, I am cast out of
thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple.
5 The waters compassed me about,
even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were
wrapped about my head.
6 I went down to the bottoms of
the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet
hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O Lord my God.
7 When my soul fainted within me
I remembered The Lord: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine
holy temple.
The loving correction of The Lord, brought Jonah to repentance and
prayer.
I John 1:5-10
KJV
5 This then is
the message which we have heard of Him, and declare unto you, that
God is Light, and in Him is no darkness at all.
6 If we say
that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and
do not
The Truth:
7 But if we
walk in The Light, as He is in The Light, we have fellowship one with
another, and
The Blood Of
Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.
8 If we say
that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and The Truth is not in
us.
9 If we confess
our sins, He is Faithful and Just to forgive us our sins, and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10 If we say
that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His Word is not in
us.
Jonah's
confession:
Jonah 2:8,9 KJV
8 They that observe lying
vanities forsake their own mercy.
9 But I will sacrifice unto thee
with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed.
Salvation is of The Lord.
Jonah 2:8,9 NLT
8 Those who worship false gods turn their backs on all God’s
mercies.
9 But I will offer sacrifices to you with songs of praise, and I
will fulfill all my vows.
What Jonah had vowed, was to be a servant of God. He had failed, he
confessed, that those who refuse to serve The Living God “ turn
their backs on all God’s mercies,” something the prophet no
longer wished to do!
God heard, and God answered his prayer.
Jonah 2:10 KJV
And The Lord spake unto the fish,
and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.
Now what was the result of Jonah's re-dedication?
Jonah 3:1-10 KJV
1 And The Word Of The Lord came unto Jonah the second time,
saying,
2 Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the
preaching that I bid thee.
3 So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to The Word Of
The Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days'
journey.
4 And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he
cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.
5 So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast,
and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of
them.
6 For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his
throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with
sackcloth, and sat in ashes.
7 And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh
by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor
beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink
water:
8 But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry
mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way,
and from the violence that is in their hands.
9 Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from His
fierce anger, that we perish not?
10 And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way;
and God repented of the evil, that He had said that He would do unto
them; and He did it not.
One hundred and twenty thousand people (Jonah 4:11) , repented and
turned to The Lord, and their sins were forgiven, and their judgment
withheld.
What lessons for us today!
II Chronicles 7:14 KJV
If My people, which are called by My name, shall humble
themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked
ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and
will heal their land.
