Chapter 16
A Whale of an Experience
The Reading: Jonah 1:1 – 3:2
The Problem:
Jonah, the son of Amittai, a prophet of Israel, came from Gath-hepher, located in the territory of Zebulun (Joshua 19:13). He exercised his ministry very early in the reign of Jeroboam II, and lived during one of the most prosperous times in Israel’s history. Jonah was probably quite popular among the Israelites, because he prophesied of victory and the expansion of the ancient boundaries of the kingdom (2 Kings 14:25-27).
Jonah was in his comfort zone, fulfilling his ministry to his own people, when the Lord called him to leave home and go to the great heathen city of Ninevah and warn them to either repent or be judged by God. I can just hear Jonah saying, “Lord, I’d rather just stay here and try to minister to these stubborn Israelites. Even though they won’t listen to me, at least they are friendlier and I understand them. There are simply too many problems right here to be packing up and moving on to Ninevah.”
Nineveh was an evil city, the capital of the Assyrian Empire, and Israel’s greatest enemy of that time. The city had 120,000 inhabitants and was approximately 48 miles across. Speaking of Nineveh, the Lord said in Nahum 3:1, “Woe to the bloody city! It is all full of lies and robbery; the prey departeth not.” It wasn’t called “that bloody city” just because of the wars it started, but also for its cruelty to its captives. For example, one of their kings, Ashurnasirpal, made a habit of cutting off the hands, feet, noses and the ears of his captives and also put out their eyes and raised mounds of human heads. It wasn’t a safe place for a Jewish prophet to go, for the purpose of preaching a hard message.
And so, instead of going up to Ninevah as directed by the Lord, Jonah decided to travel 2200 miles west, in the opposite direction toward Tarshish in Spain. Jonah started his journey from a small seaport near Jerusalem called Joppa – which is known today as Jaffa. Interestingly, this was the same Joppa where St. Peter was staying about 900 years later, when the Lord called him to take the Gospel to the first Gentiles - the house of Cornelius (Acts 10, 5-48).
The Turning Point:
While out to sea, the ship that Jonah was on ran into a storm and it looked as if the ship would go down. The sailors were afraid, and each cried out to his own god. They hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them, but when that didn’t work, the sailors drew lots to find out who was responsible for their problems. The lot fell on Jonah, and Jonah realized that God’s hand was in the situation. So he told the sailors that their only chance of survival was to just throw him overboard.
The Miracle That Followed:
Now while Jonah was booking passage on that boat, God had chartered a great fish. So when the sailors finally threw him into the sea to calm the storm, the fish swallowed up Jonah.
Jonah repented. When you repent, you change from your direction back to God’s direction. Jonah did an about face, and made a mid-course correction. He promised to get back on track, obey God, and head for Nineveh. And God rescued him by commanding the fish to vomit Jonah up on the beach.
The Bottom Line:
God was determined to use Jonah for this mission. Even though Jonah’s heart was out of sync with God's heart for this undertaking, no one else would do. In the same way, when God has a special assignment for you, no one else will do.
Jonah prayed after the fish had swallowed him whole. Isn’t it sad that we sometimes wait until we’re desperate before we talk to God about a situation? That’s what Jonah did. But God was still willing to listen, even though it had been a while. God is like the father in the Prodigal Son story, patiently waiting for us to come to our senses and return to Him.
Jonah thought he was running from God, but God was with him all the time. If you ever feel the seaweed wrap around your face, and it seems that the floodwaters are starting to close in, look up! Even if it’s your own fault you’re at rock bottom, as it was with Jonah, reach out to God anyway. Fall at God’s feet and confess your sins. Change your habits and begin to do things His way. When you come to that place of complete obedience, you will see miracles. In this case, the miracle of deliverance followed the promise to obey.
