“The word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh the great city, and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me.” But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. So he went down to Joppa, found a ship which was going to Tarshish, paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. And the Lord hurled a great wind on the sea and there was a great storm on the sea so that the ship was about to break up” (Jonah 1:1-4).
Jonah is most associated with the whale, or huge fish, depending on your translation. We can have a tendency to see the whale as a disciplinary measure toward Jonah. I would argue the whale is actual a sign of God’s mercy.
The account of Jonah starts very simple: God told Jonah to “Go to Nineveh” and “cry out against it.” God told Jonah exactly where to go and what to do. Despite direct contact from the Almighty Himself, Jonah decided to go in the opposite direction, instead boarding a ship headed to Tarshish. That was not the correct response.
God sent a storm that almost breaks up the ship. After some frantic actions, it is determined Jonah is the problem –he ends up in the sea.
Jonah finds himself alone, presumably with no life jacket or other means of floatation. All seems desperate, bleak, and hopeless. Jonah disobeyed God and suffered the consequences of his wrong action in what seems to be his end: drowning at sea.
God would have been well within His justice to let Jonah drown that day for disobedience to His command. Instead God shows Jonah mercy and sends a massive fish to swallow him and carry Jonah back to dry land.
“While I was fainting away, I remembered the Lord; and my prayer came to Thee, into Thy holy temple. Those who regard vain idols forsake their faithfulness, but I will sacrifice to Thee with the voice of thanksgiving. That which I have vowed I will pay. Salvation is from the Lord” (Jonah 2:7-9).
It is in that three day span inside the giant fish that we see the prayer of Jonah and can see the intent of God’s work with the storm and the fish. In God’s mercy, Jonah repents! God gave Jonah time and space to contemplate his wrong doing and Jonah comes to repentance.
This huge fish wasn’t the punishment. It was God showing mercy to Jonah by giving him time, opportunity and protection to think, pray and repent.
There are a few things we can glean from the short comings of Jonah. First and foremost is obedience to God. Listen carefully. If God puts a calling on you, follow through with it. Otherwise you risk storms in your future.
Try not to get flustered by the storms when you have them. Jonah sought mercy from God in the storm. That is an example for us—it is what we all need. Seek refuge from the storm in God.
Finally, take the time. Take the time to think about what God is communicating to you. Is the storm God’s vehicle to draw you to a position of repentance? .
It took Jonah three days of contemplation, alone and in isolation in the belly of a fish to come to repentance. Likewise, make appropriate time to be available to hear from God concerning your need for repentance toward Him.
Consider:
“Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way” (Psalms 139:23-24).
A healthy walk with Christ is marked by continual, on-going surrender and repentance.
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