Jonah Chapter 2 Summary

Jonah's prayer out of the depths and its answer.

Discussion Questions for Jonah, Chapter 2

  1. How many times does the author refer to Jonah going "down" in the first two chapters? What can we learn from this repetition?
  2. How does Jonah refer to the place where he is, in the belly of the fish? What does he do there? How can we apply this to times of distress in our lives?
  3. What was Jonah grateful for even before the fish deposited him on dry land? What does that say about his faith? To what extent is it possible to have faith and yet be disobedient?
  4. Why does Jonah mention the temple twice in his psalm? How important is the church where we gather for worship in our spirituality? Can we compare the church to Jonah's experience of the temple?
  5. What are some of the elements that go into praise? What helps us to praise God when we are in deep trouble?
  6. How does Jonah describe the God he is worshipping? In what ways have you known God in this way?
  7. How does Jonah address God in this psalm? What would these terms have reminded him of? In what ways do you address God and why?
  8. What would Jonah have sacrificed to God as he vowed (v. 9)? What kind of sacrifices do we bring to worship God?
  9. What might have given Jonah the confidence he had that God could and would rescue him? What aspects of God's character and promises help you when you are afraid of the future?
  10. When Jonah refers to salvation, what would he be thinking of? How is this belief affirmed in the New Testament? What does that tell us about Jesus and the salvation he gives?

Key Words/Phrase

Prayer — v. 1.

Characters

God, Jonah.

Strong Verse(s)

1, 7, 8, 9 (b).