Jonah 2:4-6

Looking toward God's holy temple -- Jonah 2:4-6: Jonah realized that he had left God's holy presence. He promised that he would look again toward God's holy temple and remember Him. Jonah said that God cast him out of His sight. He was only out of his sight from Jonah's point of view, not God's. "Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee." (Psalms 139:7-12)

Jonah felt banished from before the eyes of God. He said, "The waters compassed me about, even to the extinction of life; the abyss surrounded me, the seaweed was wrapped about my head." (Jonah 2:5) Jonah felt that his entire being was overwhelmed by the water. Jonah was in misery because he was outside of his element. When a Christian is outside of his element he can likewise expect torment. Jonah described his feelings saying, "I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O Lord my God." (Jonah 2:6) Jonah felt shut off from God and from the entire world.