Psalm 181 from Beyond Psalm 150
After disobeying God and running away from what he was supposed to do, we know that Jonah spends a three-day timeout in the belly of a large fish.
From this dire location, he prays. Jonah’s prayer is a poetic testimony of what he did and the disaster that followed because of his disobedience and being in the wrong place.
It’s worth pointing out that, even though Jonah is still in the belly of the fish, he first affirms that God heard him.
The wayward prophet then ends his prayer with the acknowledgment that God will save him.
I called because of my affliction to Yahweh.
Jonah 2:2–9 (WEB)
He answered me.
Out of the belly of Sheol I cried.
You heard my voice.
For you threw me into the depths,
in the heart of the seas.
The flood was all around me.
All your waves and your billows passed over me.
I said, ‘I have been banished from your sight;
yet I will look again toward your holy temple.’
The waters surrounded me,
even to the soul.
The deep was around me.
The weeds were wrapped around my head.
I went down to the bottoms of the mountains.
The earth barred me in forever:
yet have you brought up my life from the pit, Yahweh my God.
When my soul fainted within me, I remembered Yahweh.
My prayer came in to you, into your holy temple.
Those who regard lying vanities forsake their own mercy.
But I will sacrifice to you with the voice of thanksgiving.
I will pay that which I have vowed.
Salvation belongs to Yahweh.
Reflections on Jonah’s Testimony
Jonah didn’t seek God until it looked like he was about to die. Instead of running off in the opposite direction, what if he had prayed for courage when God first spoke to him and told him to go to Nineveh?
Instead, Jonah acted first and then prayed.
When have we acted on our own and then resorted to prayer to get us out of a jam?
Do we believe Yahweh will always rescue us from our folly? Should we?
May we always seek God first.
Explore the other psalms—sacred songs of praise, petition, and lament—scattered throughout the Bible in Peter’s book Beyond Psalm 150.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
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