Jonah 1:17. Now the Lord had arranged for a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights.
I’m guessing you’ve heard the story of Jonah and the whale before. Our verse above doesn’t say “whale,” it says “great fish.” But this word in Hebrew (the language it was written in) can really mean any kind of large sea creature, including a whale or a really big fish.
Do you remember how Jonah ended up inside of a great big fish?
God had told the prophet Jonah to go to the wicked city of Nineveh to warn them that God would soon judge them for their sin. But Jonah did NOT want to go to Nineveh. Not because he was afraid of them, but because he hated them. Jonah didn’t want the Ninevites to hear God’s word and possibly repent. He just wanted God to destroy them with a giant fire ball from Heaven or something.
So what did Jonah do? He ran away from God in the opposite direct as Nineveh. But you can’t actually run away from God can you? God is everywhere. And God controls all the animals, even the big fish in the Mediterranean Sea – Now the Lord had arranged for a great fish to swallow Jonah.
Many scientists believe that the animal that swallowed Jonah was most likely a sperm whale. There are lots of large fish, such as the whale shark, that could easily get a person into their mouth. The whale shark lives in the Mediterranean Sea and has a four-foot wide mouth. But it has a very narrow throat that likely could not swallow a whole person.
But the sperm whale is notorious for interacting with people and hurting them. The sperm whale lives in the Mediterranean Sea, and it has a mouth and throat large enough to easily swallow a person. Sperm whales have been cut open to reveal that they swallowed whole sharks and giant squids. Even though they have 50 teeth, they don’t chew; they just swallow their prey whole. The Bible also says that the fish (or whale) vomited Jonah out. Well guess what. The sperm whale is known for its vomiting (but I’ll leave that for another day).
Why was Jonah swallowed by this great fish (or whale)? Because he tried to run away from his mission. I don’t know about you, but I’m sure glad Jesus did not run away from his mission. Unlike Jonah, Jesus loves the people he was sent to – you, me, and the whole world. After being inside of a fish’s belly for three days, I’m sure Jonah looked pretty scary. But Jesus came to us as a baby, one of the least scary things ever. Why? So that we would know that God didn’t send him to judge us for our sins, but to forgive us of our sins.
Jonah and Jesus do have something very important in common. Jesus said that just like Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days, he too would be in the grave for three days after he was crucified. And just like Jonah was vomited out by the great fish, Jesus would leave the grave to be raised from the dead. The people of Nineveh had to listen to Jonah when he came to tell them about their sin against God. And we have to listen to Jesus. Jesus is the one preaching to us, are you listening to him?
Questions: Have you ever thought about running away from God? Are you glad that Jesus didn’t run away from us, but instead he came to us at Christmas to live, die, and rise from the dead for us so that we might be forgiven and live forever?
TLICfamily 