Jonah 2:10 and paragraph summary

Jonah 2:10 and paragraph summary

2:10 - Then the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah up onto the dry land.

God responds to Jonah's prayer by preserving him and bringing him to dry land. It is not specified where; some people suggest it may have been Joppa, where Jonah first started on his sea journey. It probably wasn't near Nineveh as that trip would have taken the fish out of the Mediterranean sea, around Africa, (both salt water bodies) and up the Tigris/Euphrates river systems (fresh water rivers) in order to dump Jonah at Nineveh's doorstep.

Since the next verse echoes 1:2, it is most likely that Jonah would have been vomited up on the eastern side of the Mediterranean sea and has the same journey to Nineveh ahead of him.

Chapter 2 Notes and Summary

The nation of Israel acted in this same manner when the Lord would bring discipline into their lives. They would turn from their ways only when sufficient pressure was brought by external sources; God's blessing them with peace and prosperity did not turn their hearts to Him in gratitude but rather emboldened them to take Him for granted.

Because God promised to never forsake His chosen people Israel, the nation knew that they could do as they wished and God would always be there. But God is jealous for His people and so brings them back to Him, just as He does with Jonah.

A strange dichotomy exists in the northern kingdom's mindset: They recognize that the Lord is the only living god, but they continue to seek after false gods. Jonah's mindset is similar: The Lord is the only living God and is able to conform all things to His will, but I will fight against it anyways.

Chapter 2 boiled down to a sentence: Salvation is from the Lord.