The last epic tale we are going to look at is the classic fish story. When you ask fishermen about the big fish that got away, they will always tell you, “it was this big”. With each telling of the story, the fish gets just a little bit bigger. Well, with Jonah, the fish was THIS BIG. It was a BIG FISH and he didn’t have it on his line, he was on its inside. And this is why many people want to dismiss the story from the beginning. It’s just not possible to be inside a whale and survive. Or is it?
Michael Packard was a 58 year old lobster diver when last June he was making a dive and suddenly found himself being tossed around in complete darkness. He realized that he was on the inside of a whale’s mouth. He said, "I could sense I was moving, and I could feel the whale squeezing with the muscles in his mouth. I thought to myself, there's no way I'm getting out of here. I'm done, I'm dead.”
From the inside of the whale, Packard started feeling himself rising to the surface where he was violently tossed from the whale's mouth. While technically a human cannot be swallowed by a whale, we can be captured in a whale’s mouth, carried along for a while and then spit out. I share that story so we will not simply dismiss the story of Jonah outright as an epic fish tale, but instead, stop and learn some lessons that Jonah has to teach us.
The story is pretty simple. God asked Jonah to go and preach to the people of Nineveh. Nineveh was the capital of Assyria and these were the people who had pushed Israel out of the Promised Land. They were the enemy of Israel and they were known for being wicked and violent. God wanted the people to repent so He could forgive them and bless them, but Jonah had some strong reasons for not wanting to go. First of all, they were the enemy. Jonah didn’t want them to repent, he wanted them to die. Second, they were wicked and evil people, which meant they might kill Jonah the first time he opened his mouth. So instead of following God, Jonah ran away.
Jonah got on a ship headed away from Nineveh. He wanted to get as far away from Nineveh as he could, and far away from God. While Jonah was on the boat, a fierce storm hit and the sailors cried out to their gods for help. Jonah, however, was sleeping. When they woke him up, Jonah didn’t tell them that he was running from God, but when they cast lots to see who was in trouble with their god, the lot fell to Jonah, he knew he had to finally tell them the truth. Jonah told them he was running from God and they should throw him into the sea to save their lives. They do.
Just when Jonah was about to die, a big fish swallowed him. From the inside of the fish, Jonah started to get honest with God. For three days Jonah prayed and he began to realize that when he had turned away from God, God had compassion on him and rescued him. So Jonah agreed he would go and preach to the people of Nineveh. Jonah said,
“Those who cling to worthless idols turn away from God’s love for them. But I, with shouts of grateful praise, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. I will say, ‘Salvation comes from the Lord.’” Jonah 2: 8-9
After having agreed to follow God’s call, the fish vomited Jonah onto dry ground. Jonah was not tossed back into the sea. The fish took Jonah to the shore and helped move him closer to Nineveh. God was already sending him on his way.
Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it. Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth. Jonah 3:3-5
When the king heard Jonah’s message, he issued this decree:
Do not let people or animals, herds or flocks, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. But let people and animals 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.” Jonah 3:7b-9
So the people turned from their idols and wicked ways and turned toward God, and God forgave them. While you might think Jonah would be happy that the people responded so positively to the message he shared, he wasn’t. Jonah was angry. He thought it was unfair for God to forgive them so easily and it just wasn’t right for the enemy of Israel to be forgiven and brought close to God. Jonah wasn’t happy with God at all so he went out of the city, sat down and began to pout.
During the heat of the day, God took pity on Jonah and had a large plant grow over him to provide him shade and Jonah was grateful. But the next day the plant died and Jonah was angry once again. God then said to Jonah,
“Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?”
“It is,” he said. “And I’m so angry I wish I were dead.”
But the Lord said, “You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. 11 And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?” Jonah 4:9b-11
And that’s how the story ends. We don’t know what happened with Jonah. We don’t know if Jonah grew closer to God and gave thanks that there is forgiveness for even the most wicked among us, or if Jonah held on to his anger and remained distant from God. The story doesn’t resolve itself because it’s not really a story about Jonah, it’s a story about us. We are Jonah and we are left asking ourselves the question.
Are we willing to grow in our relationship with God and the world around us?
That’s really what God wanted for Jonah. He wanted Jonah to trust Him so completely that he would be willing to follow Him no matter where He sent him. God wanted Jonah to have the same compassion and mercy for others that He had. He wanted Jonah to be more like Him. And that is what God wants for us too. God wants us to be more like Him. God wants us to deepen our relationship with Him and have a heart that will reach out with grace and mercy to others.
If we want to grow in our faith, it’s important to look back and see that there are three times when Jonah had to stop and get honest. During the storm on the boat, Jonah had to get honest with the sailors and tell them that he was the one running from God. He didn’t tell them at first, but in time he got honest and confessed.
When Jonah got honest with others, the outcome wasn’t the best, he was tossed into the sea, but at least he had acknowledged his failure and had taken responsibility. And while it looked like his honesty was going to cost him his life, it actually set him on a path that led him closer to God.
Taking responsibility for our actions and being honest with others isn’t always going to be easy, but it will put us on a path where we will be able to grow closer to God. It’s important for us to be honest with one another and deepen our relationships with one another in the church. We will consider this more in a moment.
From the belly of the whale, Jonah started getting honest with God. The prayer in Jonah 2 is filled with Jonah’s honest thoughts about God and how God’s mercy had saved him.
But you, Lord my God, brought my life up from the pit.
“When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, Lord,
and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple. Jonah 2:6b-7.
For three days, Jonah had nothing to do but sit and think. He got honest with God about his own failure to be faithful and how God’s mercy and love had saved him. That honestly led Jonah to reconsider God’s call to go to Nineveh. Jonah got honest with God and we also need to get honest with God about our sin, our need for God’s mercy and what God is asking us to do. .
God is calling each and every one of us to be part of God’s work in the world. We are all part of the church and the church has a mission, which means all of us have a mission. Are we willing to get honest with God and confess that we aren’t always willing or wanting to follow Him in that mission? Can we get honest with God and look at all the ways God’s love and mercy has helped us and that maybe we should respond to that love with gratitude and obedience to God’s call? Jonah shows us that we can run, but we can’t hide from God. What we need to do is start getting honest with Him.
At the end of the story, God asks Jonah to get honest with himself. Do you really love this plant more than people? Do you really not care about those who are in need around you? Do you really just want me to care for you and love you and not care and love others? God asks Jonah some pointed questions so he will get honest with himself and make some changes in his heart and life.
We don’t know how that honest reflection ended up in Jonah’s life, but again, that’s not important, what’s important is how it will end up in our lives? Are we willing to get honest with ourselves and confess our sin, accept God’s grace and follow God where He leads us? Will we get honest and start looking at what needs to change in our own attitudes or actions so that we can grow closer to God and be a blessing to others.
While the focus of Jonah’s story is always the big fish, the lesson from Jonah for all of us is that it’s time to get honest about our lives and our faith. It's time for us to allow God to ask us some tough questions and hold us accountable.
Next Steps
Jonah and the Whale
Read the book of Jonah.
Jonah didn’t want to preach to the people of Nineveh because they were the enemy and he didn’t want them to know God’s mercy or love.
● Is there a group of people who you don’t feel deserve God’s love or mercy?
● Is there a person you struggle to forgive or show them God’s love or mercy?
● Pray for a change of heart and an understanding of what it means to “love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you”.
Jonah tried to run from God but quickly learned he couldn’t.
Read Psalm 139.
● Have there been times you ran from God?
○ How did that turn out? How did God find you?
● Are you tempted to run from God now? If you are, is there someone you can turn to for help and guidance?
We don’t know the end of Jonah’s story.
● What do you think happened to Jonah?
● What is your takeaway from the questions God asked Jonah?
● What was Jonah still struggling with?
Pastor Andy said the story of Jonah is really our story.
● If God were to question you, what questions would He ask? How would those questions challenge you?
● Jonah had to get honest with others, God, and himself. Which of these is most difficult for you and why?
● If accountability is truly an invitation for us to listen as we invite others to speak into our lives, who can you invite into your life and faith today?
