Tag: fish vomit
Belly of the Whale!
Scripture reading for September 17th: Jonah 1-4
Have you ever consciously tried to avoid obedience to God? Jonah was a prophet of the Lord who was given orders by God to go and preach to the city of Nineveh. Now Nineveh was the capital of Assyria, the super-power of Jonah’s time. It is said that they impaled people on stakes and piled up heads in great pillars to spread fear and boast of their power.
God is moved by wickedness and cruelty towards the poor and oppressed! (Jonah 1:2) He has promised retribution for these sins. But God does not judge or pour out wrath without first giving warning and an opportunity to escape. He takes no pleasure in the death of anyone! (Ezekiel 33:11)
Jonah was sent on a mission of mercy to a wicked people. He chose not to obey and boarded a ship going in the opposite direction! During the course of the journey, God sent a great wind to buffet the ship. The wind obeyed the Lord when Jonah wouldn’t! The sailors cast lots to find out the one causing the trouble and the lot fell to Jonah! Jonah told the men he was running from the Lord. He told them to throw him overboard and the sea would calm down. They obeyed and the sea was calm!
As Jonah sank down into the sea, God appointed a great fish to swallow him! Jonah found himself in the belly of this great fish, wrapped in seaweed and darkness! For three days and three nights he wrestled with his own heart and finally offered a beautiful prayer of repentance from this belly of the whale! (Jonah 2:2-9) The Lord spoke to the fish and Jonah was vomited up on the shore of Nineveh!
The ironic part of all of this was that the Ninevites worshiped Dagon, the fish god! When Jonah came out of the fish, they thought that their ‘god’ had sent him! As he preached repentance, all of them responded! God can take our rebellion and make it work for His purposes!
Jesus used the sign of Jonah to tell people that he would be buried for three days before His resurrection! (Matthew 12:38-41) We learn that God is sovereign and that creation obeys His commands! How much more should we obey Him! If you are running from God, why not avoid an experience like Jonah’s?