Real or Styrofoam

 

Tales are told to entertain; true stories are conveyed to reveal value.

The story of Jonah and the big fish is one that makes you think.  Our natural human reaction is that it comes across as a nice story.  Many of us have heard it in Sunday School and then made a corresponding craft about it out of a Styrofoam plate, like the one above.  Sadly, I feel many of us feel it has no merit nowadays.

The story of Jonah is important.  Jesus thought so. He believed it to be true and said so in the Bible.  It has all the great elements of a compelling story: adventure, conflict, forgiveness, repentance, mercy, and a giant monster of a fish. 

At the crux of this big fish story we have a guy, Jonah, who God Himself told to go to Nineveh and tell them to repent from their evil ways.  Jonah, who was a prophet back in Bible Times, had a good reason to be afraid because God told to go to a city renowned for its killing and wickedness. Nineveh had a reputation for not taking kindly to other people's advice. 

Since Jonah was afraid, like most of us would have been, he took a ship in the opposite direction.  Then God forced him to take a timeout and think about his disobedience, by putting a tempestuous storm in his path.  When the crew discovered Jonah was at fault it was decided by all concerned to throw him overboard, so the storm would cease.  As he landed in the waves the storm subsided, then a great fish came and swallowed Jonah. 

Allow me to pause for a moment, for this begs a very important question. Yes or No, was Jonah really swallowed by a great fish? 

This answer matters because either this story is fiction or truth.  As stated earlier, Jesus believed this story to be true.  There is also evidence throughout history that certain large fish have swallowed animals as big as humans.  Yes, being swallowed whole be a giant fish would be miraculous, but it’s possible.

According to the Bible this great fish was one that God had prepared ahead of time to swallow Jonah.  Many believe it was a whale, however I think it matters more if such a fish could exist. In my opinion, God created the world in six days therefore He certainly could create a specifically designed fish large enough to swallow a man whole in its belly and sustain him for three days. 

 

Ok back to the story… To be swallowed by a giant fish must have been beyond terrifying for Jonah or any human being to experience.  It definitely had to be one of those moments that was impossible to describe unless you were there.

Subsequently God was just getting Jonah’s attention, not punishing him by sending the enormous fish to swallow him.  He was utilizing his own GPS- God’s Positioning System.  Dark, wet, alone and scared out of his mind, poor Jonah had time to think and pray about his predicament. Then, God caused the fish to vomit him onto dry land.  Ironically very close to Nineveh.

So, picture this, a man who smells awful, covered with rashes, missing hair and probably without clothes, yet now feeling motivated to reconsider his actions   Consequently, it says in the Bible that the Lord came a second time and told Jonah to “arise, go to Nineveh and cry out against it. This time I  am imagining that Jonah was in no mood to disobey. So, Jonah arose and made the three day walk.  When he got there this is what he said, “Yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown."

Short but highly effective, Nineveh knew God meant business.  Therefore they repented turning from their wickedness causing God to forgive them and not utterly destroy them.  However, in the end Jonah grows bitter because God showed mercy. Poor Jonah, he could accept God’s forgiveness for his short comings, but he didn’t like to extend God’s forgiveness to others he felt deserved to pay for their mistakes. Sadly, we all are like this from time to time.

The point of all this is two things. First, when God says arise and GO you better, because far too often we take God’s instructions as advice.  Second, when God does something truly amazing It should be believed because our God is capable of such things. 

What is your status concerning Jonah’s fish story: real or Styrofoam?

Swavel