John Calvin Commentary Jonah 2:1-2

"Then Jonah prayed unto Jehovah his God out of the fish`s belly. And he said, I called by reason of mine affliction unto Jehovah, And he answered me; Out of the belly of Sheol cried I, [And] thou heardest my voice." — Jonah 2:1-2 (ASV)

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.