Sitting in a Fish

Last Sunday, Jason and I taught our Sunday school class about challenges and what happens when we rise to overcome them in comparison to when we let them overtake us. We talked about a lot of great examples in the Bible, including David, Noah, Moses, Samson, Jonah, Shad. Meesh. & Abed. (I had to shorten them because I don't know the spelling off the top of my head, ha!), Esther, Esau, etc. It was a great lesson and a lot of fun to discuss, but today I started thinking a little more about Jonah and how we as believers have more in common with him than we might think. At some point in our lives, we all end up sitting in a fish.

If you have never read through the chapter of Jonah, I encourage you to do so. I never really paid much attention to it when I was growing up, because I knew the general point of the story and I went to church with a kid named Jonah. I knew all I needed to, right? ;)

I'll try to give a brief summary of the book while pointing out a few key things that jumped out at me.

Chapter 1 starts out with the Word of God coming to Jonah and telling him to go to Ninevah, a city filled with wickedness. When this happened, Jonah ran away to a boat to go to Tarshish. When I read this, I really laugh out loud, because he tries to run away from God! Jonah probably thought, "I'm gonna pull a quick one on this guy... we'll see if He can make me go to Ninevah! Ha! I'll just hide on this boat and go to a different city." Can someone please explain to me how Jonah can escape from God... the all-knowing, all-powerful, all-seeing God?! He knows how many hairs are on our heads, so how could he possibly lose sight of a man? Anyway, moving on....

God knew where Jonah went and he caused a great storm while Jonah was on the sea. Instead of helping the other sailors manage the boat, Jonah goes below deck to take a nap. Isn't this just like us sometimes? When the waters get a little choppy, we go below deck and pretend nothing is happening or try to ignore it. Craziness. The sailors finally figure out that Jonah is the reason for the storm. He accepts responsibility and finally convinces them to throw him overboard to save themselves. The seas calm, but Jonah is in the water... at this point, he has probably accepted the fact that he's going to drown. However, verse 17 says:
17 But the LORD provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights.
I think that verse is pretty interesting. God provides a fish to swallow Jonah. If I were Jonah, I'd probably be thinking, "gee, thanks... this is great... so much better than drowning" ;). Instead of just saving Jonah, God sends a fish to swallow him, which doesn't make the situation a whole lot better, but it does save his life. Why? Because God still loves him and has a plan for his life.

Here's where Sunday school got a little interesting. We talked about the fish. What kind of fish was it? A whale is what I always imagined... kinda like Pinnochio in the whale, making a fire while he had a (sometimes) dry tongue to sit on with his raft, looking out of the blowhole wishing he were back home. I really doubt this is the case with Jonah. I think he was in a large fish, which is what all the translations I've read say... maybe just large enough for Jonah to fit inside... with all of the digestive acids, other fish (maybe?), and putrid-smelling.. stuff. Blech. He was probably pretty miserable. Chapter 2 goes to to tell us about Jonah calling to God, thanking Him for saving his life and vowing to obey God's wishes should he be released from the fish. So God commands the fish to vomit Jonah onto dry land after 3 days and 3 nights.

A second time, God commands Jonah to go into Ninevah and proclaim His message - Ninevah will be destroyed in 40 days because of their wickedness! I imagine Jonah was probably "proclaiming" this message halfheartedly, because he probably didn't expect anything good to happen because of it. God had different plans. They all believed what Jonah said. They declared a "fast" and put on sackcloth, which was worn as a sign of mourning or penitence. Even the king of Ninevah got the message and issued a decree:
"Do not let any man or beast, herd or flock, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish."
God saw that the people had changed, so He had compassion on them and did not destroy the city. Well, Jonah saw this and became angry. He wanted them to be destroyed regardless of what changes they made or what they said.

Jonah goes on to tell God "I know that you're a gracious and compassionate God, which is why I ran away the first time", which means he knew God would have mercy on Ninevah. Then he says "Now, O LORD, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live." Hahaha... what a drama queen! He wants to die, because God used him to save a huge city that he wanted to be destroyed! God then asks him, "Have you any right to be angry?" Do we? Just something to think about the next time God uses us in an unexpected or unfavorable (in our opinion) way. I just can't get over the fact that God spared Jonah's life and used him to save a huge city and now Jonah is pouting about it or throwing a tantrum like a 3 year old boy who doesn't want to eat his peas.

Next, Jonah goes to a place east of the city to sit and see what happens to the city (is he still hoping for destruction?). God provides him with a vine for shade, which Jonah is very happy about. The next day, God provides a worm to chew up the vine and it withers. When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah's head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, "It would be better for me to die than to live."

Then God said to Jonah, "Do you have a right to be angry about the vine?" "I do," he said. "I am angry enough to die." But the LORD said, "You have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?"

This is where the book of Jonah ends, leaving us with some pretty deep stuff to think over and questions to ask ourselves. Would we react the same way? Do we sometimes act like we're entitled to certain things from God? Of course, He's forgiving, merciful, compassionate, etc., but I'd like to think I'd react differently than Jonah! Or would we act the same? What do you think?

I won't say much more about it, because I'd like to get someone else's opinion. I just wanted to retell the story and hopefully refresh some people's memories :). I hope you get a chance to read through the book yourself and come away with something new from it. I also hope that if we ever feel a Jonah tantrum brewing in us that we'll recognize it and be able to squish it instead of dwelling in our own selfishness. After all, God does know better than us, right? ;)

Have a good day!