|
O
|
ONCE he had been swallowed by a fish, ol’ Jonah demonstrated an amazing
amount of humility & eloquence. In desperation (and in faith), he actually
prayed to God for mercy – AFTER he was as good as dead. Who would have imagined
that there could have been any hope for Jonah? But, one thing can be said for
sure about that prophet: he didn't doubt God's power. He didn't always care too
much for God's priorities & methods, but he did believe in His mercy &
power.
Presumably it was only after all of the events of the book of Jonah
were concluded that Jonah sat down & recorded his story. Perhaps that means
that he did eventually come around to God's perspective on things. It is
interesting that in Jonah 2:2 we read that Jonah says that he cried "out
of the belly of hell" instead of "out of the fish's belly" (vs. 1).
Some think this statement and the phraseology of Jonah 2:6-7 may indicate that
Jonah literally died & was resurrected.
That could be, but it isn’t necessary, nor does it really matter. It
would make the comparison with the resurrection of Christ particularly strong
in Matthew 12:39 & 43. But, the most significant thing is simply that Jonah
prayed & God heard. Jonah prayed &
thereby survived. And, by the way, Jesus also prayed & thereby was
resurrected. Once more, the same can be true for everyone else too. Romans
10:13 says as much: "Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall
be saved," not just from physical death, but from spiritual & eternal
death too.
No comments:
Post a Comment