Bullied Into the Belly of a Fish And More

"I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells." - Dr. Seuss

Now, who doesn't like nonsense, especially in stories that have no ending? A couple of years ago I watched a film that I hadn't seen in a long time and was excited to see it on one of those free movie apps.

Unfortunately, the movie ended 15 minutes too early, so I missed the ending.  I had no idea how the film ended, so I watched it again hoping to see the finish. And wouldn't you know it, the film stopped at the same end point as before. Yep, it ruined my day!

This week I was led to read the story of Jonah, a simple story that's famous with kids because it involves a whale. But, funny thing, the story doesn't really have an ending as to what happened with Jonah.

Nonsense, pure nonsense. How can a story in the Bible not have an ending? 

In case your unfamiliar with the story:

 

 The Lord asked Jonah to go minister to the people in Nineveh because God was unhappy with their behavior. Jonah fled the opposite way instead of having to minister to a bunch of wicked people.

 

³ But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the Lord. He went down to the port of Joppa, where he found a ship leaving for Tarshish. He bought a ticket and went on board, hoping to escape from the Lord by sailing to Tarshish.

 

Obviously Jonah made the wrong decision. You can't run from God, He's everywhere.

 

⁴ But the Lord hurled a powerful wind over the sea, causing a violent storm that threatened to break the ship apart.

 

At that moment when Jonah was awakened from a nap he was probably drawn into thinking, "Okay, I'm running from God, a storm is breaking out, I think I may have made a mistake." And the sailors on the ship were not too happy with Jonah either, they knew of his choosing to run from God.

 

¹⁵ Then the sailors picked Jonah up and threw him into the raging sea, and the storm stopped at once!

 Hmm, I wonder what happens next? Oh, yeah,

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.

 

Now Jonah was already a worshiper of God before he decided to run the opposite way. So Jonah spent the three days in the stomach of a giant whale praying to God and asking for forgiveness. But why did God keep him in that fish for 3 days? I find it ironic that when we go further in this story we are told it takes 3 full days to move through the entire city of Nineveh. Hmm, interesting isn't it?

  

I will let you dwell and ponder on that thought for awhile.

 

It is obvious that God knew Jonah well: He knew Jonah's thoughts, He knew his heart, He knew what made him tick. So, I believe God knew it would take Jonah 3 days confined in God's presence in a place where there was no escaping His presence.

 

God knows the number of hair follicles on our head. He knows our hearts, our desires, our thoughts, what makes us tick, what drives us crazy, He knows everything about us. God has a plan for each of our lives individually, and He knows what is needed to get us closer to Him.

 

In Jonah's case it took 3 days in a foul aired, stinky stomach of a fish. But God wasn't finished with him yet.

 

Jonah became mad at God when he saw what God did to the people of Nineveh, especially after he delivered God's message to them.

 

¹⁰ When God saw what they had done and how they had put a stop to their evil ways, he changed his mind and did not carry out the destruction he had threatened.

 

Jonah's 3 days in a fish did not change one thing, his anger. Ha! God still wasn't done.

⁵ Then Jonah went out to the east side of the city and made a shelter to sit under as he waited to see what would happen to the city. ⁶ And the Lord God arranged for a leafy plant to grow there, and soon it spread its broad leaves over Jonah’s head, shading him from the sun. This eased his discomfort, and Jonah was very grateful for the plant.

  

And the rest of the story, 

 

⁷ But God also arranged for a worm! The next morning at dawn the worm ate through the stem of the plant so that it withered away. ⁸ And as the sun grew hot, God arranged for a scorching east wind to blow on Jonah. The sun beat down on his head until he grew faint and wished to die. “Death is certainly better than living like this!” he exclaimed. ⁹ Then God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry because the plant died?”
“Yes,” Jonah retorted, “even angry enough to die!”
¹⁰ Then the Lord said, “You feel sorry about the plant, though you did nothing to put it there. It came quickly and died quickly. ¹¹ But Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness, not to mention all the animals. Shouldn’t I feel sorry for such a great city?

 

So, this is how the story of Jonah ends? Yes. What ever happened to Jonah we will never know.

I believe Jonah's heart was consumed with guilt, and hopefully changed to have the same compassion God had toward the people of Nineveh. 

Just like Jonah, our story continues on. 

 

Though we know where we end up eternally, we do not know each road that God takes us through. But we know its meant to change us. To purify us. To bring us closer to Him.

 

All scripture text comes from the Book of Jonah