The Book of Jonah

CHAPTER BY CHAPTER VERSE BY VERSE BIBLE STUDY
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JONAH STUDY #2 [Jonah 2:1 - 2:10] 

NOTE: You remember from chapter one that God had told Jonah to go to Nineveh and preach to them to change their evil ways, and how Jonah disobeyed God because he did not want Nineveh saved. Jonah knew that God was going to use Nineveh to punish Israel through taking Israel into bondage. Jonah tried to run from God, and was willing to sacrifice himself (mistakenly, of course) thus causing God to have him to be thrown into the raging sea, drowning, and be swallowed by a Divinely prepared great fish. Now we pick it up in chapter two with Jonah's prayer to the Lord from not only the fishes belly, but from the place that his soul briefly went.

CHAPTER 2

Jonah 2:1-10:

1 Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish's belly*1,

Explanations from above verse: *1 belly = Innards, digestive tract. This should silence those who suppose that Jonah was held alive above water in the fish's mouth. Now while Jonah's body was indeed inside the stomach of the fish, we will see below in verses 3-6 that Jonah did in fact die and his soul went to 'Hell' (which is 'shoel' in the Hebrew. See note in verse two below on 'Hell' )

Belly: Hebrew word #4578 me`ah; the internal organs, the inward parts, the bowels, the intestines, the belly

2 And said, I cried*1 by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard*2 me; out of the belly*3 of hell*4 cried I, and thou heardest*5 my voice.

Explanations from above verse: *1 cried = Cried out in distress. *2 heard = Answered. Hebrew word 'anah,' not the same Hebrew word translated to 'heardest' in the next clause. *3 out of the belly = Hebrew word #990 beten: Used of the depth of Sheol (figurative) *4 hell = Hebrew word # 7585: Sheol (sheh-ole'); Hades or the world of the dead (as if a subterranean retreat), including its accessories and inmates. (See note below). *5 heardest = Gavest heed to. Hebrew word 'shama,' not the same Hebrew word translated to 'heard' in the preceding clause.

NOTE: There is a great and common misconception as to the concept of 'Hell'. Hell, as it is taught in mainstream Christianity today does not exist, nor will it ever exist as they teach it.

The idea of a place set aside by God of eternal torment, pain, and suffering, is the vain imaginations of the false teachers/preachers in the corrupted church systems of late, designed to "scare people strait;" as also is the mythical place called Purgatory, which is itself nothing more than a Pagan doctrine grafted into a certain Christian denomination from Pagan Babylonia. The doctrine of Purgatory and prayers for the dead are futile attempts to nullify binding personal accountability and the finality of Almighty God's instructions and judgements. There is the thousand year period of teaching called the Millennium where those who did not have a chance at the truth will be taught, but this is not a second chance; there are not any second chances [Rev 20:4-6].

When we speak of Hell we are really speaking of the death of a soul, which is the second death in the Lake of Fire [Rev 20:12-15], this Lake after receiving it's condemned inhabitants is promptly dried up and disappears as though it had never existed [Rev 21:1-8], just as those souls who are sent into it are blotted out, never to be remembered again. That is the eternal punishment, to never be anymore - forever. How the lie got started about Hell one could only imagine, for certainly it wasn't spawn by a True Christian; what True Christian, knowing the love of God, could possibly believe that God created certain souls to eventually spend the eternity in some supernatural concentration camp?!? And what an evil reward they make Heaven out to be for us as we would watch for an eternity, the torment of our loved ones who did not overcome. In the New Testament there are three Greek words that have been translated 'Hell' in the English Bible:

• One is 'Gehenna' which was the burning garbage dump outside of Jerusalem.
• The second is 'Hades' which is the equivalent to the Hebrew 'Shoel' which was where Jonah went. This 'Hades' and 'Shoel' are the grave, not the grave site or place of the corpse, but the state of death and the holding place of the soul for judgment.
• The third Greek word translated Hell is 'Tartaroo' and it is the holding place of the Fallen Angels who are doomed. This word 'Tartaroo' is used only one time in the Bible [2nd Peter 2:4].

The Hebrew word 'Shoel' is used 65 times in the Old Testament and while it's meaning is the same, it is translated into the English word:

• Grave; 31 times.
• Pit; 3 times.
• Hell; 31 times.

3 For thou hadst cast me*1into the deep, in the midst*2 of the seas; and the floods*3 compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me*4.

Explanations from above verse: *1 hadst cast = Did cast me. *2 in the midst = In the heart. *3 floods = Tides of water. *4 billows and thy waves passed over me = I am submerged. 

4 Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple.

Explanations from above verse: Jonah prays to God with hope.

5 The waters compassed me about*1, even to the soul*2: the depth*3 closed me round about*4, the weeds*5 were wrapped about my head.

Explanations from above verse: *1 compassed me about = Surrounded me. *2 even to the soul = Even for my life. Soul is the Hebrew word 'Nephesh' and means life. It is like our present day saying: "The ship went down with 300 souls on board." *3 depth = An abyss. *4 closed me round about = surrounded me. *5 weeds = Seaweed.

6 I went down to the bottoms*1of the mountains; the earth with her bars*2 was*3 about me*4 for ever*5: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption*6, O LORD my God.

Explanations from above verse: *1 bottoms = Roots. *2 earth with her bars = 'Shoel,' a land without return, (under) world. Jonah now dead and separated from his body, was spiritually in a place of holding. *3 was = Substitute the word 'were.' You will notice that Jonah has written this all in the past tense, all the verbs (action words) are in the past tense, not the present ie: "didist, fainted, cried. . ." Jonah remembered his rapid thoughts as he was dying and wrote them down later after being resurrected. *4 about me = Around me. *5 for ever = Eternally, or so Jonah thought at the time. *6 yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption = Brought me back to life. What this is saying is that Jonahs life would be restored to his body, in other words, Jonahs body would not (at this time) die and decompose. Below is a Psalm that looks forward prophetically to Jesus Christ's body not being left to decompose in the tomb. Jesus' body was transfigured and taken up to Heaven with Him, but Jonah, while not remaining dead now, would someday die and his body would corrupt (decompose) back to dust whence it came.

The below scripture is only supplied here so you can get a feel for the value of the word 'corruption.' Below, the 'Holy One' referred to is the Christ to come, and the word 'hell' used, is our word 'Shoel.' This verse is also quoted a thousand years later in [Acts 2:27], speaking of course, about the Messiah Jesus Christ:

Ps 16:10
10 For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. (KJV)

7 When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple.

Explanations from above verse: When Jonah's life fainted away (died) he prayed to the Lord and the Lord heard him from Heaven.

8 They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.

Explanations from above verse: Those that follow false gods or false religions condemn their own souls because of it.

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.

Explanations from above verse: But Jonah will worship, praise, and offer sacrifices to the Lord God Jehovah. Jonah also states in this verse that he will pay on a vow he made to God, what this vow was is not written, but as we will see in the next chapter, Jonah goes to Nineveh as the Lord had instructed him the first time.

Perhaps Jonah, while physically dead, saw in the spirit, the entire plan of God, and vowed to God that if given another chance, he would obey God's wishes regarding the Ninevites. This however is only speculation, as we weren't there, and the vow isn't written of. But we do know that in the next verse below, Jonah will be spit out resurrected alive on the beach, and that he will go on to preach God's command unto the Ninevites. We also know that because of Jonah's message from God, the Ninevites repent and go on to take the house of Israel captive, just as Jonah had feared from the first.

Jonah learned the hard way to obey God, we can learn from his error and save ourselves much grief and hardship. That is the reason that God saw to it that all these events were recorded and available to us in the Bible, so that we can learn of God and His will for us. However, those who don't read the Written word have no idea what God expects of, and promises to them except maybe what they hear in the churches of today, which sadly, have allowed themselves to become corrupted with false doctrines from satan that run counter to what God's Written Word, The Bible teaches.

Think it not a remarkable thing or a blasphemy that I say that the twentieth Century Christian church is corrupted; study from your Bible, learn what God says, and then compare God's Word with the superimposed 'traditions of men' in the churches, which make void the very Word of God. And besides, Almighty God Himself prophesied through the Prophets and Apostles, both in the Old testament and the New testament that this corruption would come about in the end times; and if you believe God's Word to be true then there should be no room for surprise in heart because I say the churches are corrupted, for it is not I that say it, but the Word of God says it:

2 Tim 4:3-4
3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. (KJV)

Jer 23:24-32
24 Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD.
25 I have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed.
26 How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart;
27 Which think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbour, as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal.
28 The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the LORD.
29 Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?
30 Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that steal my words every one from his neighbour.
31 Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that use their tongues, and say, He saith.
32 Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the LORD, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the LORD. (KJV)

10 And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land. (KJV)

Explanations from above verse: Jonah is resurrected alive onto the dry land, and in the next chapter we see that he goes about doing as God had told him to, thus through Jonah's warning, Nineveh repented of it's sins. In this we have another 'type' of Christ in Jonah. Just as Jonah died and was in the innards of the fish, being resurrected three days later.

Approximately 716 years later, Jesus will be crucified, die, go into the innards of the tomb three days, and be resurrected. And as Jonah's resurrection allowed him to bring God's warning to Nineveh, whereby 120,000 people were saved [Jonah 4:11], so also did the resurrection of Christ and His defeating of death make way for the salvation of all that hear Him. Hear Him and believe upon Him that is. God bless you.

End of chapter 2

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