God told Jonah to go to the evil people of Nineveh to warn them that he was about to wipe them out. Pretty plain and simple, right? Get on a boat, head to Nineveh, warn them, and come home. Easy peezey.
Nope.
Jonah 1:3 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.
Jonah didn’t just disobey, he went as far in the opposite direction of Nineveh as he could! You know God wasn’t going to put up with that!
God stirred up a terrible storm and the sailors tossed Jonah out into the sea. Now the fun starts!
Jonah 1:17 Now the LORD had arranged for a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights.
Everybody always says whale, but the Bible doesn’t. The verse says great fish, so I think, hear me out now, it could have been a 40 foot goldfish. Okay, maybe not, but it is fun to think about, right? Anyway, Jonah is in the belly of Goldy, and that gives him time to think. He repents, and God forgives him. That doesn’t mean Jonah is getting off easy, though…
Jonah 2:10 Then the LORD ordered the fish to spit Jonah out onto the beach.
I’m honestly not sure if it was worse to go in or come out!
Can you imagine some poor fishermen were down on the beach, minding their own business, when a 40 foot long goldfish urps a guy up on the beach. He goes running to them covered in seaweed and fish parts, his hair and clothes are bleached out by the fish’s stomach acids, and he says: “You have 40 days before the Lord wipes you guys out.”
Well, it must have had some impact!
Jonah 3:5 The people of Nineveh believed God’s message, and from the greatest to the least, they declared a fast and put on burlap to show their sorrow.
Mission accomplished. The moral of the story is to obey God before he has to do something to get your attention. Jonah got a fish, who knows what God will use for me or you?
Today’s Readings: Jonah 1-4; 2 Timothy 2
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