Deeper Reflection
ANYONE HEARING THE STORY OF JONAH FOR THE FIRST time would expect Jonah to surely be a goner after being thrown overboard. But there is a surprising twist: he did not die! A fish swallowed Jonah, not to digest Jonah but to deliver him. The story did not specify what kind of fish this was or how Jonah survived inside it. That was not the author’s point.⁶⁸ Rather, the focus was that the LORD provided or appointed the fish (v.17). Just as the LORD sovereignly hurled the storm at the sailors (Jon 1:4), so He now orchestrated Jonah’s way of escape.Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights. In ancient Near Eastern mythology, this was the time required to journey to the underworld.⁶⁹ It is clear that Jonah very nearly died (vv.5-7)! The ancient Israelites believed that Sheol (v.2) was where wicked people would remain after death while they awaited final judgment – it was a place of complete separation from God (v.4).⁷⁰The word “yet” or “but” indicates the stunning rescue that God wrought in Jonah’s life. Yet Jonah was brought back from the pit (v.6) – God graciously allowed him to start over. Yet Jonah, who ran away from the presence of the LORD, could return to the temple where the LORD’s presence dwelt (v.4). Filled with gratitude, Jonah responded the way the sailors did earlier – sacrificing to God and fulfilling his vows. His personal thanksgiving psalm climaxes in one of the central theological declarations of the entire book – “Salvation belongs to the LORD” (v.9)! 

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⁶⁸ Stuart, Hosea-Jonah, 474. ⁶⁹ Wiseman, Alexander, and Waltke, Obadiah, Jonah, and Micah, 123. ¹⁸ Ibid., 125.