Jonah and the whale is a classic story of falling off the path God set for you. Jonah’s actions lead him to the exact end God envisioned for him. Despite Jonah’s actions, God continues to make sure Jonah is on the path toward religious service. It was Jonah who was told by God to go to Nineveh to speak against the great evil that was coming. However, Jonah displays a classic example of human arrogance since he does not decide to heed that advice. Here, Jonah shows disobedience and no respect whatsoever for the Lord. He chooses to go the way he wants to and focuses his energies on his own life.
Jonah wants to avoid God so he instead travels to Joppa and then heads towards Tarshish. He then begins to experience the repercussions of his actions. Here, he learns the literal and figurative power of the God he disobeyed. A great storm arises, threatening Jonah’s ship. The sailors attempt to lighten the load of their ship. The storm exemplifies God’s anger and frustration toward Jonah for not complying with His wishes. As the sailors try to unload more cargo and then offer sacrifices to God, their actions become futile and the storm proves impossible to stop.
The sailors toss Jonah into the water because it was the only way to calm the storm and allow the other sailors to live. This action pleases God and the storm ceases. A giant fish that many identify as a whale then swallows Jonah. He lives inside the whale for three days and three nights. Jonah prays to God in his frustration and says he will follow His commandments. God then forces the fish/whale to spit Jonah up. God tells Jonah again that it necessary for him to visit Nineveh and to speak the people who live there.
After he arrives in Nineveh, Jonah warns people that God will destroy their town will if they do not obey Him. The people of Nineveh comply. Even the king comes down from his throne to repent and to sit in dust while wearing a sackcloth. The rest of the city follows suit in sackcloths and dust. God witnesses their repentance and spares the city.
While the people of Nineveh learn their lessons, Jonah, however, does not. Angry, he mentions to God that he knew that God would spare the city since He is a merciful being. Jonah decides to leave the city and create a shelter for himself to see if God will destroy Nineveh or not. These actions exemplify not only Jonah’s stubborn arrogance but his continued disobedience of God.
Jonah is truly a creature of humanity. His inability to recognize God as a supreme being and his tendency to speak out against God demonstrate that his experience within the fish/whale did not teach him much reverence.
So, God decides to punish Jonah once more. God creates a plant to grow and shade Jonah from the sun. God then forces a worm to bite the plant, which causes the plant to perish. Faint and near death from the full heat of the sun, Jonah wants God to remove him from the world.
God tells Jonah that he should not be concerned about a mere plant when the 120,000 people within Nineveh were also at risk. Jonah 1-4 shows us how humans such as Jonah are capable of arrogance and stubbornness. God places Jonah in the whale and in the sun to remind Jonah of His power. This vengeful and angry God is far different from the merciful and patient one later portrayed in the New Testament.
Even though God seems to be merciful and patient to an extent by sparing Nineveh, there does not seem a way for Him to be any more patient with Jonah. Jonah simply does not understand God’s message or will. Jonah’s story serves as a warning to anyone who seeks to defy God and His will.
Despite the many lapsed Christians out there, it does not seem God’s wrath has occurred. However, we may wish to avoid interfering with God’s judgment in order to avoid experiencing what Jonah encountered. That being said, many of us believe in and follow a truly good God who has humanity’s best interests at heart.
About the author: Tommy Zimmer is a writer whose work has appeared online and in print. His work covers a variety of topics, including politics, economics, health and wellness, addiction and recovery, and the entertainment industry.
