April 20, 2026

3 But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord.
Jonah 1:3

Jonah's Prayer
1 Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish, 2 saying,
“I called out to the Lord, out of my distress,
    and he answered me;
out of the belly of Sheol I cried,
    and you heard my voice.
3 For you cast me into the deep,
    into the heart of the seas,
    and the flood surrounded me;
all your breakers and your waves
    passed over me...

6 To the roots of the mountains I went down,
    to the land whose bars closed upon me forever.
Yet you brought up my life from the pit,
    O Lord my God...

9 But I with the voice of thanksgiving
    will sacrifice to you;
what I have vowed I will pay.
    Salvation belongs to the Lord!”
Jonah 2:1-3, 6, 9

Wow, that Jonah, a prophet from Galilee, pays his way aboard a ship to flee God!  He was so angry at the Nineveh people and how they blasphemed and trampled God.
Yet God chose this (sometimes we think) unlikely man to tell Nineveh to repent or be annihilated by the King of Kings.
Think of Nineveh like a large cosmopolitan city like New York, or London, or Paris.  It was huge and so prosperous.  Evil lured on every corner, and God had had enough.
So our man Jonah, a really important man - he prophesied after Elisha and was a contemporary of Micah,wasn’t having any of it.
Thus, the large fish swallows him up after he gets tossed from the ship because it’s going down if he stays in - so much drama!
Then, and here’s the part we can sit and ponder::  Jonah not only repents but writes a beautiful, stunning, image-filled poem.
Jonah KNOWS God.  His God, the one who he calls out to in his distress; while the floods surround him and the waters break over him, and weeds were wrapped around him, God brought him out of the pit.  Then, with a voice of thanksgiving, Jonah ends with: Salvation belongs to the Lord!
And with that, the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land.

[ EXAMINE ] the passage. At this point, answer some questions about the meaning of the text. Take time to reflect:
+ Is the main theme of the Book of Jonah God’s sovereignty over all people? So today, do we acknowledge this? If so, how; if not, why do we back away from God-filled conversations with others?

[ APPLY ] the passage to your own life:
+ Is there sin to confess or a next step to take? How has it gone since last time?
+ Do I often look out upon the world and see such evil and misery that I want to flee? Live in my own bubble of those who think like me, walk and talk like me?  Discuss.

[ PRAY ] through the passage and your application, and ask God to change your heart and your life.
(e.g., your family around the dinner table, a friend, co-worker or neighbor- for help join a community group at downtownhope.churchcenter.com/groups)
+ What is my next step?
+ We teach the story of Jonah to our children, but do we take the time to reflect on how we walk out our anger at the world and how so many folks attack our God?  Take time to write your own poem to God, honoring Him for what he has given you. You can then use your prayer time to let the Holy Spirit guide you to a person who is hurting and needs our Jesus.  Today would be a wonderful day to share the Gospel with them!