Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. (Jonah 1:17)
Things may have looked better for the merchant sailors after they threw Jonah into the sea; however, it was a very different story for Jonah. The fact that he was even in that situation was because of his own stubbornness, apathy, and rebellion, not just in refusing to go to Nineveh but also in refusing to pray for God’s forgiveness while still aboard the ship. Perhaps Jonah figured God wanted him dead anyway, so he just stopped trying.
Of course, God already knew all this would happen; He was one step ahead of Jonah at every turn. In His infinite mercy, God did not leave Jonah to drown in the stormy sea. Although His method of saving may seem unconventional and inconvenient, God knew Jonah needed a little inconvenience in his life.
The word fish could designate any kind of sea-dwelling creature, including a whale, which Matthew 12:40 states more specifically. The Bible tells us that this fish was great and prepared by the Lord specifically to swallow Jonah. This great fish was God’s instrument of deliverance for Jonah. Despite the discomfort that he could feel in the stomach of the fish, Jonah’s life was secure. God’s plan was not for Jonah to die in the sea but for him to preach repentance to the Ninevites.
Then Jonah spent three very silent, lonely days and nights in the belly of that “great fish.” Finally, after that, Jonah surrendered:
Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish’s belly, (Jonah 2:1)
While he was on board the ship, Jonah refused to pray to the Lord when the sailors urged him to do so; he preferred to die in the ocean rather than turn to the Lord. Now, however, Jonah humbled himself before God and prayed. We can see from they way he prayed just how terrible the experience was for Jonah.
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. 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. (2:2-3)
Jonah described his experience as similar to being in hell, in this case, meaning not the literal place called Hell, but rather the “deep”, the “grave”, or “the pit.” He likened the fish’s belly to the realm of the dead. Truly, Jonah felt miserable being there. He went on to say in later verses:
The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head. I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: (2:5-6a)
However, we see that all of this discomfort, fear, and anxiety turned Jonah’s heart back to the Lord. Jonah finally came to a point so deep that all he could do was look up to the Lord and repent:
Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple. (2:4)
Jonah acknowledged again his need for God, and he prayed as he had never prayed before, knowing that God would hear his prayer:
When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple. (2:7)
Then Jonah admitted that he had sought his own desires and had turned his back on God’s mercies for him and that in doing so, he had been lying to himself:
They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy. (2:8)
Jonah ended his prayer with two things: Praise to God for His deliverance, and a commitment to now obey God and to keep his word to the Lord:
…yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O LORD my God. (2:6b)
But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD. (2:9)
Amen and amen. Truer words were never spoken than “Salvation is of the LORD.” Throughout these two chapters, the Lord was at work. When Jonah disobeyed Him, God sent a great storm on the sea to frustrate Jonah’s plan. When the sailors cast lots to determine the guilty party, the Lord intervened to ensure the lot fell on Jonah. He also delivered the sailors from the storm by quieting the sea for them after they threw Jonah into the sea.
Here, the Lord delivered Jonah from drowning, not only in the sea but also in despair, by causing a great fish to swallow him. Therefore, Jonah boldly declared “Salvation is of the LORD.”