Life Applications and Lessons from Jonah Chapter Two
Last week we started our journey looking at the story of Jonah and found so many life lessons we could apply to our lives. Let’s look at some of the life applications and lessons from Jonah chapter two this week.
I love hearing from people on these lessons. Here are a few lessons the Lord shared with people through our study in the first chapter of Jonah.
- Jerralea shared – “It cost Jonah money to get on that ship and flee from the presence of the Lord! What does it cost us to run from God in our lives? It might be monetary … it might be more. It’s best to immediately obey!” (So true!!!)
- Joanne – “The men on the ship felt sorry having to throw Jonah overboard, yet Jonah did not feel badly for putting them in that position due to his actions. Disobedience will diminish our ability to have compassion on others.” (I had not thought about that.)
- Teresa shared a lesson from her pastor with me. We will see this play out a lot later in Jonah, but it is powerful! Her pastor said, “Jonah wants grace for himself and judgment for his enemies!”
Keep sharing the lessons the Lord points out to you. We can never exhaust God’s Word!
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Summary of the Book of Jonah Chapter Two
Chapter two begins with Jonah in the belly of a fish because he was running from God’s call. Can you imagine? This caused Jonah to do some pretty heavy soul searching.
As human nature would have it, when he was in distress, he called out to the Lord. The Lord answered him by having the fish vomit him onto dry land.
Jonah 2:1
“Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish:”
Jonah 2:1
- It doesn’t matter where you are, you can always pray. Jonah’s prayer was sincere and heartfelt.
- It clearly says he prayed to the Lord his God. Jonah had a personal relationship with the Lord.
- Even when we have a personal relationship with the Lord, it is easy to fall into rebellion. It is especially easy when our emotions get involved.
Jonah 2:2
“I called to the Lord in my distress, and He answered me.
I cried out for help from deep inside Sheol; You heard my voice.”
Jonah 2:2
We tend to call out to the Lord more in the hard times of life than we do in the easier times.
I always refer to this as our sin cycle. The Lord wants to bless us, but many times when He does, we get a prideful attitude and go our own way.
The good news is that we do not exhaust God’s love! He continues to love us and guide us back to the right path. What a blessing!
Jonah 2:4
“And I said, ‘I have been banished from Your sight,
yet I will look once more toward Your holy temple.’”
Jonah 2:4
This is exactly what Jonah thought he wanted in chapter one – to be away from the Lord.
“Jonah got up to flee to Tarshish from the Lord’s Presence. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. He paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the Lord’s Presence.” Jonah 1:3
- Jonah tried to get away from the Lord’s Presence. Now that he was “away” from the Lord, he prayed for the Lord’s help.
- Sin and rebellion always looks better starting out. That is one of Satan’s tactics to get us to disobey the Lord. Then when we are in the midst of it, the truth comes out. This usually always results in regret and heartache.
- Will we ever be able to recognize this before we go our own way?
Jonah 2:6
I sank to the foundations of the mountains, the earth’s gates shut behind me forever! Then You raised my life from the pit, Lord my God!
Jonah 2:6
- The belly of the great fish was Jonah’s “salvation.” The Lord used it to keep him from drowning in the midst of the sea.
- We don’t always see it at the time, but many times the things we think are bad are really rescuing us from something worse.
- While Jonah was in the fish’s belly, the Lord was working on Jonah’s heart.
- Jonah’s experience is a good example of growing spiritually in the fish’s belly. We may not be inside of a huge fish, but we still tend to grow spiritually in our own deep waters.
Jonah 2:9
“…but as for me, I will sacrifice to You with a voice of thanksgiving.
I will fulfill what I have vowed. Salvation belongs to the Lord.”
Jonah 2:9
- Jonah would end up making a sacrifice of his own will by fulfilling the Lord’s will. He would share the Lord with his enemies.
- We need to be sure that when we make a vow to the Lord in the hard times, we fulfill it in the good times too.
Please join me as we read more of this Old Testament story next week. Please share your insights on these scriptures as well. There is so much to learn from Jonah’s story!
Join me next week as we take a look as Jonah’s story continues with chapter three. Sign up below to receive them directly to your email address.
Life Applications and Lessons Resources
If you are trying to get started with a daily Bible plan, see Simple Bible Study Ideas for Spiritual Growth. I hope these tips will help you like they have helped me.
These are a few of my favorite Bible study resources:
- She Reads Truth Bible
- Composition Notebook
- Black Pens – These are fine point and work well in Bibles.
Fun Gift Idea of Biblical Life Lessons
If you have joined me recently, these daily life applications from the Bible are examples of some of the comments I am writing in the Bibles I am giving to my grandchildren when they graduate from high school.
Click here to see the post where I explain this eternal gift idea. I want to give them great hope and all the resources I can to use in today’s world! May they always know God’s promises are true!
Related Posts
1 – Life Applications and Lessons from Ruth Chapter 1
2 – Life Applications and Lessons from Ruth Chapter 2
3 – Life Applications and Lessons from Ruth Chapter 3
4 – Life Applications and Lessons from Ruth Chapter 4
5 – Life Applications and Lessons from Jonah chapter 3
As we read His Word each day, I pray that we will see how It applies to us. Let’s seek His instruction and put it into action.
Please share any encouragement and lessons you learned this week as you read the Word of God. I would love to hear your thoughts.
Until next time…
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“From one Man He has made every nationality to live over the whole earth and has determined their appointed times and the boundaries of where they live.” Acts 17:26
(New Testament in the Holy Bible)
Wow – the insights those 3 followers had
This>>”we still tend to grow spiritually in our own deep waters.” Caught my eye, because it’s so true. What a wonderful message. Pausing to reflect today.
Visiting today from Joanne’s
Thank you so much! I’m loving these lessons in the book of Jonah!