9.
Jonah felt as if he were in the belly of hell. The extremely expressive language and explanation which Jonah gives of his condition shows that he felt completely enclosed. He was in the heart of the seas. Floods of water surrounded him. The surging and constant activity of the water around and about him, as it had its effect on the fish, made him feel all the more desolate. Jonah 2:3.
Faith and a hope in the Lord are able to conqueror all circumstances, regardless of how dismal and seemingly hopeless they are. Jonah, looking at his multiplied problems felt deserted of the Lord. A condition of, out of sight out of mind. Life’s difficulties can seem so great in our lives that we feel forsaken of the Lord and alone. However, Jonah had not given up. He anticipated that somehow he would once again look toward the holy temple of the Lord. He expected to be delivered and to live again. Jonah 2:4 We find that other Old Testament saints had the same blessed hope of life after death. For instance, we have Job. He knew that with a resurrected body, he would see God. Job 19:26.
David is another who gave testimony of his hope in resurrection. Ps. 17:15 Though David’s situation was not the same as Jonah. There was certainly a commonality of the emotions and the manner in which they are expressed. David, the waters have come in unto his soul. He found himself mired in the depths of mud. He too, found that he was over whelmed by the floods of deep waters. While Jonah’s problems were actual, David’s were symbolical. Nonetheless, they were problems and trials which were overwhelming to him. No Christian is exempt from times of testing and difficulties, but we have the promises of the Word in which we may trust. Many afflictions but deliverance assured in the midst of them all. Ps. 34:19.
DOWN, once again we emphasize the direction of the travel of Jonah as he ran from the Lord. He has now lost all independence and is totally at the mercy of the Lord. He found himself to be at the depths of the sea, at the very base of the mountains. He was well aware of his situation and realized that if the Lord did not deliver him, he would be eternally imprisoned. For all practical purposes he was dead. Yet, he possessed a hope of deliverance. He trusted in the Lord not to allow him to enter into mortification and the corruption of his flesh. Jonah 2:6 His words predict the power of resurrection demonstrated in the Lord Jesus Christ. David’s words were a Messianic prophecy when He cried out, you will not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Ps. 16:10 There was not one iota of deterioration in either the body of Jonah, or of the Lord Jesus. The power of the Lord maintained their bodies in perfect condition during their ordeal.