SO, JONAH COULD FIT AFTER ALL

Tuesday, February 02, 2010

So they cried out to the LORD, “Oh, please, LORD, don’t let us die on account of this man! Don’t hold us guilty of shedding innocent blood. After all, you, LORD, have done just as you pleased.” So they picked Jonah up and threw him into the sea, and the sea stopped raging. The men feared the LORD greatly, and earnestly vowed to offer lavish sacrifices to the LORD.

The LORD sent a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights. Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the stomach of the fish.
Jonah 1:14-2:1 NET

No, it did not have to be a whale. The historical account says it was a big fish. But it is clear fish can get pretty big. It is also clear a human being could fit inside one with room to spare or room to breathe. God could certainly have had the great fish provide the needed air.

So, why this children’s story? Actually, we are all children. It is for all of us. If we are honest, we marvel at such an account. And what a scientific possibility! Think of the huge fish’s agility and mobility and leak-proof compartment for Jonah; more like a tiny apartment.

The usual point of the story as told is that even though a man may run from God, God can still arrange events to get his will done while creating an important value lesson beyond compare. Jonah cried out to the LORD from the depths, quite literally, and God heard him. Actually, God had everything nicely under control all along. He knew how Jonah would rebel and run from the command of the LORD to proclaim repentance to lost people. God was preparing the remedy for Jonah’s own repentance all along with circumstances, people, weather, and even a frightening creature of the great deep.

The most important point of the story is how Jesus used it during his mission. People wanted a sign from Jesus to prove his claims as the Son of God. Jesus responded by telling them the only sign they would get in this twisted and sinful generation was the sign of Jonah the prophet. Just as Jonah was in the stomach of the great fish three days and three nights, so also the Son of God would be in the depths of the earth (a figure for the grave) just as long. As Jonah was regurgitated onto the shore, so also the Son of God was resurrected from the grave. Jesus went as low as God could send his only Son to demonstrate not just the might of his power, but the fullest possible extent of the love of God for us.

Christ died for our sins and rose again so that all who flee to him for forgiveness will receive it. They will also receive release from the fear of death or anything else this world can throw at us. Along with that comes a sure and certain hope from our God of all love and grace of our own resurrection in the not that distant future. After all, God is capable of such things and he has promised to do it. It has already been arranged.