INTRODUCTION:  The amazing story of Jonah and whale has been a favorite of children and a target of Bible-deniers. We hold that God’s word is true in all its details and have no problem believing that God prepared a great fish that could swallow a man and spit him up still alive three days later. The messages of this story are many. God holds his man responsible for the commands he has received. We also see God as the God of mercy. Even though Nineveh had been marked for immediate destruction, God turns from this judgment when the people of Nineveh turn from their sins. We see this in Jeremiah 4:1, which states, “If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the LORD, return unto me: and if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of my sight, then shalt thou not remove.” We need to always be ready to repent of our sins and seek the mercy of God.

1. THE PRAYER OF JONAH (Jonah 2:1-10)
1. The Place of Jonah’s Prayer (Jonah 2:1-2)
1. Out of the fish’s belly (Jonah 2:1)
2. Out of the belly of hell (Jonah 2:2)
1. Jonah cried because of his affliction
2. Jonah cried unto the Lord
3. The Lord heard his voice
3. Recently, many true Bible-believers have taught that Jonah literally went to hell while his body was in the belly of the great fish. The argument comes from the statement of this verse and from the wording of Matthew 12:40 – “For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” They argue that since Jesus was dead when He was in the heart of the earth, then Jonah must have also been dead, especially since the word “as” is used in the verse. And, since he refers to himself as in the “belly of hell” in Jonah 2:2, this must be where his soul went when he died. Of course, this creates problems as to how a man of God could die, go to hell, and then resurrect to obey the original call of God to preach to Nineveh. But those who teach this are definitely trying to be biblical by taking “hell” in a literal sense in Jonah. Some have even accused those who teach that this reference is figurative as denying scripture. However, what follows is seven reasons for accepting the reference to hell in Jonah 2:2 as a figurative reference and not the actual place of hell. This means that Jonah was not referring to going to hell in an actual sense, but he was comparing the level of suffering he experienced in the belly of the whale as being like hell. As you can see, these proofs are based on faith in the very words of scripture.
1. The figurative use of hell is common in the English language. The Webster New World Dictionary has this as the third definition of hell: “any place or condition of evil, pain, disorder, cruelty, etc.”
2. The figurative use of hell is used in other scriptures. James 3:6 states, “And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.” We understand that literal fire does not come up from hell to set the tongue on fire so we can say evil things. God often uses figures of speech in the Bible.
3. The prayer of Jonah uses figurative language in his prayer. He states that “the earth with her bars was about me for ever” (Jonah 2:6). Some point to this as proof that Jonah was in the heart of the earth. However, this verse also states that he was there “for ever.” Yet, scripture clearly states that he was there for three days. The “for ever” refers to his state in a typical sense. In type, he did go to hell. But in type, he was also there forever. He experienced what it was to be totally separated from God in hell. But he experienced this without actually going there.
4. The book of Jonah locates Jonah as being in the fish’s belly for three days and three nights (Jonah 1:17). If he was in the belly of the fish, he could not literally be in hell.
5. Jesus Christ places Jonah in the belly of the whale for three days and three nights. “For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:40). The comparison between Jonah and Jesus is important. What part of Christ was in the heart of the earth? It was His soul (Psalm 16:10). His body was in the tomb on the surface of the earth. The heart of something is its center. Now, if the soul of Christ was in the heart of the earth and Jonah was in the belly of the whale as Christ was in the heart of the earth, then it follows that it was the soul of Jonah that was in the belly of the whale.
6. “Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish’s belly” (Jonah 2:1). The body cannot pray without the presence of the soul. Therefore, Jonah’s soul had to be in the belly of the fish.
7. The “fish’s belly” (Jonah 2:1) is parallel in grammatical structure to “the belly of hell” (Jonah 2:2). The two verses make up one sentence. Therefore, they both refer to the same place. The belly of the fish was a hell for Jonah. It was just not the literal place of hell.
2. The Cause of Jonah’s Prayer (Jonah 2:3-6)
1. Cast into the deep (Jonah 2:3)
2. Cast out of the sight of God (Jonah 2:4)
1. Jonah had fled from the presence of God (Jonah 1:3, 10)
2. Jonah determines again to look toward God’s holy temple
3. Compassed about by the waters (Jonah 2:5)
1. Even to the soul
2. Closed about in the depth
3. Weeds wrapped about his head
4. Brought down to the bottoms of the mountains (Jonah 2:6)
1. The bars of the earth about him forever
2. Yet brought up from corruption
3. The Power of Jonah’s Prayer (Jonah 2:7-9)
1. He responded to the fainting of his soul (Jonah 2:7a)
2. He remembered the Lord (Jonah 2:7b)
3. His prayer came into the holy temple (Jonah 2:7c)
4. He recognized the uselessness of rebellion (Jonah 2:8)
1. They observe lying vanities (Psalm 31:6)
2. They forsake their own mercy. They oppose themselves (Acts 18:6; 2 Timothy 2:25)
5. He came with the voice of thanksgiving (Jonah 2:9a)
6. He promised to pay his vows (Jonah 2:9b)
7. He declared salvation to be of the Lord (Jonah 2:9c)
4. The Results of Jonah’s Prayer (Jonah 2:10)
1. The Lord spoke to the fish
2. The fish vomited Jonah up on dry land
2. THE PREACHING OF JONAH (Jonah 3:1-4)
1. The Call of Jonah (Jonah 3:1-2)
1. By the word of the Lord (Jonah 3:1)
2. The second time (Jonah 3:1)
3. The same message (Jonah 3:2; compare Jonah 1:2)
1. Arise
2. Go
3. Preach – he must preach the preaching that God bids him to preach (Jeremiah 1:17; Ezekiel 2:6-8)
2. The Obedience of Jonah (Jonah 3:3)
1. He arose
2. He went to Nineveh
3. He went to Nineveh
4. Three days journey [This is discussed in the notes on Jonah chapter one. See under verse two.]
3. The Message of Jonah (Jonah 3:4)
1. A time: in forty days
2. An event: Nineveh shall be overthrown
3. THE REPENTANCE OF NINEVEH (Jonah 3:5-10)
1. The People Believe the Message (Jonah 3:5)
1. The people of Nineveh believed God
2. They proclaimed a fast
3. They put on sackcloth
1. From the greatest
2. To the least
2. The People Repent of their Sins (Jonah 3:6-8)
1. The repentance of the king of Nineveh (Jonah 3:6)
1. He arose from his throne
2. He laid aside his royal robe
3. He put on sackcloth and ashes
2. The proclamation of a fast (Jonah 3:7-8)
1. By decree of the king and nobles (Jonah 3:7)
2. That none should eat or drink (Jonah 3:7)
3. That all should be covered with sackcloth (Jonah 3:8)
4. That all should cry mightily to the Lord (Jonah 3:8)
5. That all should turn from their evil ways (Jonah 3:8)
3. The People Hope in God’s Mercy (Jonah 3:9; Psalm 33:18; Psalm 147:11)
4. The Lord Forgave the People (Jonah 3:10)
1. God saw their repentance
2. God repented of His intended judgment

CONCLUSION: While there is life, there is still hope that God will see our repentance and will forgive and restore. We see forgiveness with the people of Nineveh. We see forgiveness and restoration with the prophet Jonah. Truly, we can hope in His mercy.