John Calvin Commentary Jonah 2

When Jonah says that he prayed from the bowels of the fish, he first shows with what courage of mind he was endowed. He had then put on a new heart; for when he was at liberty, he thought that he could in a way escape from God; he became a fugitive from the Lord. But now, while enclosed within narrow bounds, he begins to pray and of his own accord places himself in God’s presence.

This is a change worthy of being noticed, and from this we may learn how much it benefits us to be often drawn back, as it were, by cords, or to be held tied up with fetters, because when we are free, we wander here and there beyond all limits.

Jonah, when he was at liberty, became, as we have seen, rebellious; but now, finding himself restrained by the mighty hand of God, he receives a new mind and prays from the bowels of the fish. But how was it that he then directed his petitions to God, by whose hand he saw that he was so heavily pressed?

For God dealt with him most rigidly; Jonah was in a way doomed to eternal ruin. The bowels of the fish, as we shall see later, were indeed to him, as it were, hell or the grave. But in this state of despair, Jonah even gathered courage and was able to return directly to God.

It was a wonderful and almost incredible example of faith. Let us then learn to consider carefully what is said here, for when the Lord heavily afflicts us, it is then a legitimate and timely moment for prayer. But we know that most people lose heart and do not usually offer their prayers freely to God unless their minds are in a calm state; and yet God then especially invites us to himself when we are reduced to extreme circumstances.

Let us then remember this, which Jonah declares of himself—that he cried to God from hell itself. And, at the same time, he assures us that his prayer proceeded from true faith, for he does not simply say that he prayed to Jehovah, but he adds that he was his God; and he speaks with a serious and deeply reflective mind.

Though Jonah then was not only like one dead but also on the brink of destruction, yet he believed that God would be merciful if he fled to him. Thus, we see that Jonah did not pray at random, as hypocrites tend to take God’s name in their mouths when they are in distress, but he prayed in earnest, for he was persuaded that God would be favorable to him.

But we must remember that his prayer was not composed in the words which are related here; rather, Jonah, while in the bowels of the fish, dwelt on these thoughts in his mind. Therefore, he relates in this song how he thought and felt.

We shall see that he was then in a state of distraction, as our minds must necessarily be tossed here and there by temptations. For the servants of God do not gain the victory without great struggle. We must fight, and indeed strenuously, so that we may conquer.

Jonah then, in this song, shows that he was agitated with great trouble and hard struggles; yet this conviction was firmly fixed in his heart—that God was to be sought, and would not be sought in vain, as he is always ready to bring help to his people whenever they cry to him.

Then he says, I cried, when I had trouble, to Jehovah, and he answered me. Jonah no doubt now relates, after having emerged from the bowels of the fish, what had happened to him, and he gives thanks to the Lord. This verse then contains two parts—that Jonah in his trouble fled to God, and the latter part contains thanksgiving for having been miraculously delivered beyond what any human could have imagined.

I cried, he says, in my distress, to Jehovah; I cried out from the bowels of hell, thou hast heard my voice. Jonah, as we shall see later, directed his prayers to God not without great struggle; he contended with many difficulties. But however great the impediments in his way, he still persevered and did not cease from praying.

He now tells us that he had not prayed in vain; and, so that he might amplify the grace of God, he says, from the bowels of the grave. He mentioned distress (Latin: angustiam—straitness) in the first clause, but here he more clearly expresses how remarkable and extraordinary God's kindness had been, in that he came out safe from the bowels of the fish, which were like the bowels of the grave.

The Hebrew word שאול (shaul), derived from a word meaning corruption, is called the grave by the Hebrews, and the Latin translator has almost everywhere rendered it hell (Latin: infernum). And שאול (shaul) is also sometimes taken for hell, that is, the state of the reprobate, because they know that they are condemned by God.

It is, however, taken more frequently for the grave, and I am disposed to retain this sense—that the fish was like the grave. But he means that he was so shut up in the grave that there was no escape open to him.

What are the bowels of the grave? Even the inside or the deepest part of the grave itself. When Jonah was in this state, he says that he was heard by the Lord.

It may be proper to repeat again what I have already briefly mentioned—that Jonah, though under the heaviest trial, was not so oppressed as to prevent his petitions from coming forth to God. He prayed, as it were, from hell, and not simply prayed, for at the same time, he shows his vehemence and ardor by saying that he cried and cried aloud.

Distress, no doubt, extorted these urgent entreaties from Jonah. However this might have been, he did not howl, as the unbelieving are accustomed to do, who feel their own troubles and complain bitterly, and yet pour forth vain howlings. Jonah here shows himself to be different from them by saying that he cried and cried aloud to God.

In this verse his difficulties are set forth, for Jonah, to elaborate, refers to his condition. It was a great thing that he cried to God from the belly of the fish; but it was far more difficult for him to lift his mind in prayer when he knew or thought God was angry with him. For if he had been thrown into extreme hardships, he might still have called upon God; but as it came to his mind that all the evil he suffered was inflicted by God because he tried to shun His call, how was it possible for him to penetrate to heaven when such an obstacle stood in his way? Thus, we see the design of these words: But thou hadst cast me into the gulf, into the heart of the sea; the flood surrounded me, all thy billows and waves passed over me.

In short, Jonah shows here what dreadful temptations presented themselves to him while he was endeavoring to offer prayers. It first came to his mind that God was his most inveterate enemy. For Jonah did not then think of the sailors and others who had cast him into the sea; his mind was fixed on God. This is why he says, Thou, Lord, hadst cast me into the deep, into the heart of the sea; and then, Thy billows, Thy waves.

He does not here consider the nature of the sea; but, as I have already said, he focuses all his thoughts on God and acknowledges that he was dealing with Him. It is as though he said, “You Lord, in pursuing me, drive me away; but to You I come. You show by dreadful proofs that You are offended with me, yet I seek You. These terrors are so far from driving me away from You that now, subdued, as it were, by Your goads, I come willingly to You, for nowhere else is there for me any hope of deliverance.” Thus, we now see the significance of the contrast, when Jonah sets the terrible punishment he endured in opposition to his prayer.

In the first clause of this verse, Jonah confirms again what I have said: that when he sought to pray, not only was the door closed against him, but there were mountains, as it were, intervening, so that he could not breathe a prayer to God. For he did not so much think of the state in which he was; rather, he chiefly considered his own case, how he had provoked the wrath of God.

Hence he says, I have said, I am cast away from the sight of thine eyes. Some offer this unconvincing interpretation, that he had only been expelled from his own country, so that he might not behold the temple. But I have no doubt that Jonah tells us here that he suffered extreme agonies, as though every hope of pardon had been cut off from him: “What! Shall I still hope that God will be propitious? It is not to be hoped for.”

This, then, is the casting away of which he speaks, for it is said that God casts us away when he allows us no access to him. Therefore, Jonah thought that he was wholly alienated from God.

If anyone were to object and say that his faith must have then been extinct, the obvious answer is that in the struggle of faith there are internal conflicts; one thought is suggested, and then another of an opposite character meets it. Indeed, there would be no trial of our faith unless there were such internal conflicts. For when, with peaceful minds, we can feel assured that God is propitious to us, what is the trial of faith?

But when the flesh tells us that God is opposed to us and that there is no more hope of pardon, faith finally sets up its shield, repels this onset of temptation, and entertains hope of pardon. Whenever God for a time appears implacable, then faith is indeed tried.

Such, then, was the condition of Jonah. For, according to the judgment of the flesh, he thought that he was utterly cast away by God, so that he approached him in vain. Jonah, then, not yet having put off flesh and blood, could not immediately lay hold of the grace of God, but difficulties met him in his way.

The latter clause is differently explained by interpreters. Some take it negatively: “I shall no more look towards the temple of thy holiness.” But the words do not support this explanation. אך, ak, means in Hebrew, truly, nevertheless; and it also means certainly; and sometimes it is taken to express doubt, meaning “perhaps.”

Most commentators render the clause thus: “But I shall see the temple of thy holiness.” This is as though Jonah here reproved his own distrust, which he had just expressed (as is the case with the faithful, who immediately check themselves when they are tempted to entertain any doubt): “What! Do you then cast away hope, when God will still be reconciled to you if you will come to him?”

Therefore, interpreters think that it is a sort of correction, as though Jonah here changed his mind and retracted what he had previously accepted as a false principle derived from the judgment of the flesh.

He had said, then, that he had been cast away from the presence of the Lord. But now, according to these commentators, he repels that temptation: But I shall see thy holy temple; though I seem now to be rejected by you, you will at last receive me into favor.

We may, however, explain this clause, consistently with the former, in this way: “At least,” or “but, I would again see” (and so on), as an expression of a wish. The future tense, then, may be taken for the optative mood, as we know that the Hebrews are accustomed to use the future tense in this way, either when they pray or express a wish.

This meaning, then, best agrees with the passage: that Jonah, still doubting, prays, “At least, or, but, I would again, O Lord, see the temple of your holiness.”

But since the former explanation which I have mentioned is probable, I do not contend for this one.

However this may be, we find that Jonah did not wholly despair, though the judgment of the flesh would drive him to despair, for he immediately turned his address to God.

For those who murmur against God, on the contrary, speak in the third person, turning themselves, as it were, away from him. But Jonah here sets God before his eyes: I have been cast away, he says, from the sight of thine eyes. He does not remonstrate here with God, but shows that he was still seeking God, though he thought that he was cast far away.

Then he adds, I would at least see again the temple of thy holiness. And by speaking of the temple, he no doubt set the temple before him as an encouragement to his faith. As, then, he had been cast away, he gathers everything that might serve to raise up and confirm his hope.

He had indeed been circumcised, he had been a worshipper of God from his childhood, he had been educated in the Law, and he had exercised himself in offering sacrifices: under the name of temple he now briefly includes all these things.

Thus we see that he encouraged himself to entertain good hope in his extreme necessity.

And this is a useful admonition. For when every access to God seems closed against us, nothing is more useful than to recall to mind that he has adopted us from our very infancy, that he has also testified his favor by many tokens, especially that he has called us by his Gospel into fellowship with his only-begotten Son, who is life and salvation; and then, that he has confirmed his favor both by Baptism and the Supper.

When, therefore, these things come to our minds, we may be able by faith to break through all impediments.

Let us go on—

Here, Jonah relates in many words how many things had happened to him, which were designed to overwhelm his mind with terror, drive him far from God, and take away every desire for prayer. But we must always bear in mind what we have already stated—that he had to do with God; and this we ought to consider well. The case was the same with David, when he says in Psalm 39:9, ‘You have yet done it;’ for, after complaining about his enemies, he turned his mind to God: “What then do I do? What do I gain by these complaints? For men alone do not trouble me; You, God,” he says, “have done this.” So it was with Jonah; he always set before himself the wrath of God, for he knew that such a calamity had not happened to him except on account of his sins.

He therefore says that he was beset by waters, and then, that he was surrounded by the deep; but finally he adds, that God made his life to ascend, etc. All these circumstances tend to show that Jonah could not have lifted his mind to God except through an extraordinary miracle, as his life was oppressed in so many ways.

When he says that ‘he was beset with waters even to the soul,’ I understand this to mean to the peril of his life; for other explanations seem cold and forced. And the Hebrews say that to be pressed to the soul is to be in danger of one’s life; just as the Latins, meaning the same thing, say that the heart, or the inner parts, or the bowels, are wounded.

So also in this place the same thing is meant: ‘The waters beset me even to the soul,’ and then, ‘the abyss surrounds me.’ Some render סוף (suph) as sedge, others as seaweed, others as bulrush; but the sense amounts to the same thing. No doubt סוף (suph) is a species of sedge, and some think that the Red Sea was so named because it is full of sedges or bulrushes. They also think that bulrushes are so named because they soon putrefy.

But what Jonah means is certain: that weed enveloped his head, or that weed grew around his head. To refer this to the head of the fish, as some do, is improper. Jonah speaks metaphorically when he says that he was entangled in the sedge, since there is no hope when anyone is rolled in the sedge at the bottom of the sea. Indeed, how can he escape from drowning who is thus held, as it were, tied up? It is then to be understood metaphorically, for Jonah meant that he was so sunk that he could not swim, except through the ineffable power of God.

In the same sense he says, ‘I descended to the roots of the mountains.’ But he speaks of promontories, which were near the sea; as though he had said that he was not cast into the middle of the sea, but that he had sunk so as to be fixed in the deep under the roots of mountains. All these things have the same design, which was to show that no deliverance could be hoped for, unless God stretched forth his hand from heaven, and indeed in a new and incredible manner.

He says that ‘the earth with its bars was around him.’ By this kind of speaking, he means that he was so shut up, as if the whole earth had been like a door. We know what sort of bars those of the earth are when we ascribe bars to it; for when any door is fastened with bolts, we know how small a portion it is. But when we suppose the earth itself to be like a door, what kind of things must the bolts be? It is then the same as if Jonah had said that he was so hindered from the vital light, as if the earth had been set against him to prevent his coming out to behold the sun—the earth, then, ‘was set against me, and that forever.’

He afterwards comes to thanksgiving: ‘And You, Jehovah, my God, have made my life ascend from the grave.’ Jonah, after giving a long description to show that he was not put to death just once, but that he had been overwhelmed with many and various deaths, now adds his gratitude to the Lord for having delivered him: ‘You,’ he says, ‘have made my life ascend from the grave, O Jehovah.’

He again confirms what I have said before—that he did not pour out empty prayers, but that he prayed with earnest feeling and in faith; for he would not have called him his God unless he was persuaded of his paternal love, so as to be able to expect from him a certain salvation.

‘You, then, Jehovah, my God,’ he says. He does not say, ‘You have delivered me,’ but, ‘You have brought forth my life from the grave.’ Then Jonah, brought to life again, testifies here that he was not only delivered by God’s aid from the greatest danger, but that he had, by a kind of resurrection, been raised from the dead. This is the meaning of this way of speaking, when he says that his life had been brought forth from the grave, or from corruption itself.

Here Jonah encompasses in one verse what he had previously said—that he had been distressed with the most severe troubles, but that he had not yet been so dejected in his mind that he had no prospect of God’s favor to encourage him to pray. He indeed first confesses that he had suffered some kind of fainting and had been harassed by anxious and perplexing thoughts, so that he was not able by his own efforts to free himself.

Regarding the word עטף, otheph, it means in Hebrew to hide or to cover; but in Niphal and Hithpael (the conjugation in which it is found here) it signifies to fail; but its former meaning could still be suitably retained here. Then it would be, ‘My soul hid or rolled up itself,’ as it is in Psalm 102:1, ‘The prayer of the afflicted, when he rolled up himself in his distress.’ Those who render it as ‘he multiplied prayers’ have no basis for their interpretation.

Therefore, I have no doubt that Jonah here means either that he had been overcome by a swoon, or that he had been so perplexed that he was unable, without a violent struggle, to raise his mind to God. However it may have been, he intended by this word to express the anxiety of his mind.

So, when we are tossed about by various thoughts and remain, so to speak, bound up in a hopeless condition, then our soul may be said to roll or to fold up itself within us. Therefore, when the soul rolls up itself, all of a man's thoughts in perplexity recoil upon him.

We may indeed seek to unburden ourselves while we toss about various purposes, but whatever we strive to turn away from ourselves soon comes back upon our own head; thus our soul recoils upon us. We now perceive what Jonah meant by this clause, When my soul infolded itself, or failed within me, I remembered, he says, Jehovah. From this we learn that Jonah did not become a conqueror without the greatest difficulties, not until his soul, as we have said, had fainted: this is one thing.

Then we also learn that he was not so oppressed with distresses that he did not at length seek God by prayer. Jonah therefore retained this truth: that God was to be sought, however severely and sharply God treated him for a time, for the remembering of which Jonah speaks proceeded from faith.

The ungodly also remember Jehovah, but they dread him, for they regard him as a judge. Whenever God is mentioned, they expect nothing but destruction; but Jonah applied the remembrance of God for another purpose: as a solace to ease his cares and anxieties.

For it immediately follows, that his prayer had penetrated to God, or entered before Him. We then see that Jonah so remembered his God that by faith he knew God would be propitious to him, and from this came his disposition to pray.

But by saying that his prayer entered His temple, Jonah no doubt alludes to a custom under the Law, for the Jews were accustomed to turn towards the temple whenever they prayed; nor was this a superstitious ceremony, for we know that they were instructed in the doctrine that invited them to the sanctuary and the ark of the covenant.

Since, then, this was the custom under the Law, Jonah says that his prayer entered the temple of God. For that was a visible symbol through which the Jews could understand that God was near to them; not that they, by a false imagination, bound God to external signs, but because they knew that these aids had not been given to them in vain.

So then, Jonah not only remembered his God but also called to mind the signs and symbols in which he had exercised his faith throughout the whole course of his life, as we have just said. For those who view him as referring to heaven depart entirely from what the Prophet meant.

We indeed know that the temple sometimes means heaven, but this sense does not suit this place. Thus, Jonah meant that though he was far away from the temple, God was still near to him.

For he had not ceased to pray to that God who had revealed Himself by the Law which He gave, and who had expressed His will to be worshipped at Jerusalem. God had also been pleased to appoint the ark as the symbol of His presence, so that the Jews might, with an assured faith, call upon Him, and that they might not doubt that He dwelt in their midst, since He had His visible habitation there.

Prayer:

Grant, Almighty God, that as You have once given us such evidence of Your infinite power in Your servant Jonah, whose mind, when he was almost sunk down into hell, You yet raised up to Yourself, and had so supported with firm constancy that he did not cease to pray and to call on You—O grant that in the trials by which we must be daily exercised, we may raise our minds upward to You, and never cease to think that You are near us. And grant that when the signs of Your wrath appear, and when our sins thrust themselves before our eyes to drive us to despair, may we still constantly struggle and never surrender the hope of Your mercy, until, having finished all our contests, we may at length freely and fully give thanks to You, and praise Your infinite goodness, such as we daily experience, so that being conducted through continual trials, we may at last come into that blessed rest which is laid up for us in heaven, through Christ one Lord. Amen.