Useful Bible Studies > Jonah Commentary > chapter 2
Jonah was still drowning but now, he was also praying. He had turned his attention towards the temple, God’s house in Jerusalem. This was the place of prayer for people from all of Israel and even for foreigners (Isaiah 56:7).
There, God accepted sacrifices (the lives of animals); and so he made it possible for people to come to him in prayer, although they were guilty of wrong and evil acts (Deuteronomy 12:11; Leviticus 16:15-16). There, God was present in his glory, the splendid beauty of his wonderful name which declares to us his perfect character (Exodus 34:6-7).
Those were the thoughts that now filled Jonah’s mind – but, at the same time, his body was very close to death. In his physical situation, nothing whatever had changed. In fact, he was even closer to death: he was going deeper and deeper into the sea. It was as if he was descending into hell. For the first time, Jonah mentions the seaweed, the plants that grow at the bottom of the sea. The long, soft branches of those plants wrapped round Jonah’s head. It was as if the sea itself was holding on to Jonah, in order to hand him over to death and to hell. He describes the sea as an enemy that had surrounded him. He could have said that the devil himself had come to try to stop his prayers – but Jonah continued to pray.
Jonah knew the character of God (4:2) – and he knew that now, he could only depend on God. There was nothing that Jonah could do to save himself. In this terrible situation, Jonah could see clearly that only God could save (rescue) him (2:9).
Next part: God rescues Jonah from death (Jonah 2:6)
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