◄ Jonah 2:8 ►
Those who cling to worthless idols forsake His loving devotion.
Study Bible
Those who cling to worthless idols
This phrase begins with a stark warning against idolatry. In the Hebrew text, the word for "idols" is "הַבְלֵי" (hăḇ·lê), which can also mean "vanities" or "emptiness." This suggests that idols are not just false gods but are inherently empty and devoid of true power or substance. Historically, the Israelites were surrounded by nations that worshipped a plethora of gods, each represented by physical idols. The phrase serves as a reminder of the futility of such practices, emphasizing that these idols cannot save or provide true hope. In a broader spiritual context, this can be seen as a call to examine modern "idols"—anything that takes the place of God in one's life, such as wealth, power, or even personal relationships.

forsake His loving devotion
The Hebrew word for "loving devotion" is "חֶסֶד" (ḥeseḏ), which is often translated as "steadfast love," "mercy," or "covenant loyalty." This word is rich with meaning, encapsulating God's unwavering commitment to His people. The use of "forsake" here implies a deliberate turning away from something precious and life-giving. In the context of Jonah, who is praying from the belly of the fish, this phrase underscores the tragic irony of abandoning the one true source of love and mercy for something that is ultimately worthless. Historically, the Israelites experienced God's "חֶסֶד" through His covenant with them, a relationship marked by His faithfulness despite their frequent unfaithfulness. This serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of remaining faithful to God, who is the source of all true love and mercy.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Jonah
A prophet of God who initially fled from God's command to go to Nineveh, resulting in his being swallowed by a great fish.

2. Nineveh
The city to which Jonah was originally commanded to go and prophesy against due to its wickedness.

3. The Great Fish
The creature appointed by God to swallow Jonah, providing him a place of reflection and repentance.

4. The Sea
Represents the chaos and turmoil Jonah faced as a result of his disobedience.

5. God's Loving Devotion (Hebrew: "chesed")
The steadfast love and mercy of God, which Jonah acknowledges is forsaken by those who pursue idols.
Teaching Points
The Danger of Idolatry
Idolatry is not just the worship of physical idols but can include anything that takes the place of God in our hearts. Reflect on what modern "idols" might be present in your life.

Forsaking God's Love
Pursuing idols leads to a forsaking of God's "chesed" or loving devotion. Consider how prioritizing other things over God might cause you to miss out on His steadfast love.

Repentance and Reflection
Jonah's time in the belly of the fish was a period of reflection and repentance. Take time to reflect on areas where you may need to turn back to God.

God's Mercy and Grace
Despite Jonah's initial disobedience, God provided a way for him to return. Trust in God's mercy and grace to restore you when you stray.

The Call to Obedience
Jonah's account reminds us of the importance of obedience to God's call. Evaluate how you respond to God's directives in your life.
Bible Study Questions
1. What are some "worthless idols" in today's world that might tempt us to forsake God's loving devotion?

2. How does Jonah's experience in the belly of the fish illustrate the process of repentance and returning to God?

3. In what ways can we ensure that we are prioritizing God's "chesed" over the distractions of life?

4. How do the additional scriptures related to idolatry deepen our understanding of Jonah 2:8?

5. Reflect on a time when you experienced God's mercy after turning away from Him. How did that experience change your relationship with God?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Exodus 20:3-4
The commandment against idolatry, emphasizing the importance of worshiping God alone.

Psalm 31:6
A declaration of trust in God over worthless idols, paralleling Jonah's realization.

Romans 1:21-23
Describes the folly of exchanging the glory of God for images, similar to Jonah's acknowledgment of the futility of idols.

1 John 5:21
A New Testament exhortation to keep oneself from idols, reinforcing the timelessness of this warning.

Matthew 6:24
Jesus' teaching on serving two masters, highlighting the impossibility of serving both God and idols.
Sermons
Lying VanitiesW. Hay Aitken, M. A.Jonah 2:8
Lying VanitiesG.T. Coster Jonah 2:8
The Sin and Folly of Observing Lying VanitiesW. M'Culloch.Jonah 2:8
The Value of SuperstitionsJonah 2:8
In the Deep and Mighty WatersS. S. ChronicleJonah 2:1-9
Jonah in the SeaS. C. Burn.Jonah 2:1-9
Jonah the Penitent SuppliantJ. O. Keen, D. D.Jonah 2:1-9
Jonah's PrayerA. Raleigh, D. D.Jonah 2:1-9
More of Thanksgiving Beneath the WatersChristian HeraldJonah 2:1-9
The Conflict Between Despair and FaithGeorge Hutcheson.Jonah 2:1-9
The Conflict of Faith and SenseHugh Martin, M. A.Jonah 2:1-9
The Imprisonment of JonahJames Clyde.Jonah 2:1-9
The Prayer of JonahThomas Bissland, M. A.Jonah 2:1-9
The Prophet's PrayerJohn Broad.Jonah 2:1-9
The Return to GodT. T. Carter.Jonah 2:1-9
Triumph, ThanksgivingW.G. Blaikie Jonah 2:2-10
Deliverance Waiting on the Assured Hope of itJ.E. Henry Jonah 2:5-10
People
Jonah
Places
Joppa
Topics
FALSE, Forfeit, Forsake, Gods, Grace, Hope, Idols, Loyalty, Lying, Mercy, Observe, Observing, Pay, Regard, Theirs, Vain, Vanities, Worshippers, Worthless
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Jonah 2:8

     1055   God, grace and mercy
     1165   God, unique
     5864   futility
     5979   waste
     8748   false religion

Jonah 2:1-9

     8609   prayer, as praise and thanksgiving

Library
Salvation of the Lord
By salvation here we do not merely understand the special salvation which Jonah received from death; for according to Dr. Gill, there is something so special in the original, in the word salvation having one more letter than it usually has, when it only refers to some temporary deliverance, that we can only understand it here as relating to the great work of the salvation of the soul which endureth for ever. That "salvation is of the Lord," I shall this morning try to show as best I can. First, I …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 3: 1857

The Fainting Soul Revived
WHEN man was first made, there was no fear of his forgetting God for it was his highest privilege and delight to have communion with his Maker. "The Lord God walked in the garden in the cool of the day," and Adam was privileged to hold fellowship with God, closer, perhaps, than even the angels had in heaven. But the spell of that sacred harmony was rudely broken by man's disobedience and his dreadful fall. Ever since our first parent tasted of the forbidden fruit, which brought death into our world, …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 62: 1916

The Soul.
Man as we behold him is not all there is of man. He is a wonderful being. He stands in the highest order of God's creation. He Is A Compound. Man was created a physical and spiritual organism. He possesses an animal and a spiritual life. Thus he is connected with two worlds. The physical creation is termed the "outward man," and the spiritual, the "inward man." "For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day." 2 Cor. 4:16. "For we know …
Charles Ebert Orr—The Gospel Day

An Address to a Soul So Overwhelmed with a Sense of the Greatness of Its Sins, that it Dares not Apply Itself to Christ with Any
1-4. The case described at large.--5. As it frequently occurs.--6. Granting all that the dejected soul charges on itself.--7. The invitations and promises of Christ give hope.--8. The reader urged, under all his burdens and fears, to an humble application to him. Which is accordingly exemplified in the concluding Reflection and Prayer. 1. I have now done with those unhappy creatures who despise the Gospel, and with those who neglect it. With pleasure do I now turn myself to those who will hear me …
Philip Doddridge—The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul

The Sovereignty of God in Salvation
"O the depths of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are His judgements, and His ways past finding out" (Rom. 11:33). "Salvation is of the LORD" (Jonah 2:9); but the Lord does not save all. Why not? He does save some; then if He saves some, why not others? Is it because they are too sinful and depraved? No; for the Apostle wrote, "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief" (1 …
Arthur W. Pink—The Sovereignty of God

Whether the Fire of Hell is Beneath the Earth?
Objection 1: It would seem that this fire is not beneath the earth. For it is said of the damned (Job 18:18), "And God shall remove him out of the globe [Douay: 'world']." Therefore the fire whereby the damned will be punished is not beneath the earth but outside the globe. Objection 2: Further, nothing violent or accidental can be everlasting. But this fire will be in hell for ever. Therefore it will be there, not by force but naturally. Now fire cannot be under the earth save by violence. Therefore …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

The Revelation of the Old Testament in Writing.
"Then I said, I will not speak any more in His Name. But His word was in my heart as a burning fire, shut up in my bones: and I was weary with forbearing, but I could not."--Jer. xx. 9. Altho the miracles performed for and in the midst of Israel created a glorious life-center in the midst of the heathen world, yet they did not constitute a Holy Scripture; for this can not be created except God speak to man, even to His people Israel. "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in times …
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

But Though Prayer is Properly Confined to Vows and Supplications...
But though prayer is properly confined to vows and supplications, yet so strong is the affinity between petition and thanksgiving, that both may be conveniently comprehended under one name. For the forms which Paul enumerates (1 Tim. 2:1) fall under the first member of this division. By prayer and supplication we pour out our desires before God, asking as well those things which tend to promote his glory and display his name, as the benefits which contribute to our advantage. By thanksgiving we duly …
John Calvin—Of Prayer--A Perpetual Exercise of Faith

God's Sovereignty and Prayer
"If we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us" (1 John 5:14). Throughout this book it has been our chief aim to exalt the Creator and abase the creature. The well-nigh universal tendency now, is to magnify man and dishonour and degrade God. On every hand it will be found that, when spiritual things are under discussion, the human side and element is pressed and stressed, and the Divine side, if not altogether ignored, is relegated to the background. This holds true of very much of the …
Arthur W. Pink—The Sovereignty of God

The Pilgrim's Progress
FROM THIS WORLD TO THAT WHICH IS TO COME. THE SECOND PART. DELIVERED UNDER THE SIMILITUDE OF A DREAM. WHEREIN IS SET FORTH THE MANNER OF THE SETTING OUT OF CHRISTIAN'S WIFE AND CHILDREN, THEIR DANGEROUS JOURNEY, AND SAFE ARRIVAL AT THE DESIRED COUNTRY. By JOHN BUNYAN. 'I have used similitudes.'--Hosea 12:10. London: Printed for Nathaniel Ponder, at the Peacock in the Poultry, near the Church, 1684. THE AUTHOR'S WAY OF SENDING FORTH HIS SECOND PART OF THE PILGRIM. Go now, my little book, to every …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Jonah
The book of Jonah is, in some ways, the greatest in the Old Testament: there is no other which so bravely claims the whole world for the love of God, or presents its noble lessons with so winning or subtle an art. Jonah, a Hebrew prophet, is divinely commanded to preach to Nineveh, the capital of the great Assyrian empire of his day. To escape the unwelcome task of preaching to a heathen people, he takes ship for the distant west, only to be overtaken by a storm, and thrown into the sea, when, by …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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