Help, I'm in the Belly of a Whale.

Help! I’m in the Belly of the Whale

      Almost everyone has heard the story of Jonah and the whale.  Hearing the story for the first time, most people think how scary it must have been in the darkness and how no one would ever find him.  Poor Jonah!  Let’s look at Jonah from a different perspective; not ‘Poor Jonah’, but ‘Foolish Jonah’. 

      One day the spirit of God spoke to Jonah and told him to go to the great city of Nineveh; then tell people to repent of their evil ways or they would be destroyed.  Jonah was pretty upset; not only was Nineveh eight hundred miles away, but the people were Assyrians – pagans.  They had brought trouble on Israel for many years.  As far as Jonah was concerned they should be punished severely and not given mercy.

     So Jonah decided to get out of town and not obey God.

     “Been there, done that” is a popular cliché that says it all.  I’ve been in that same situation and you have too.  God gave us a direction and we didn’t want to go that way because it might mean giving up things.  What did we do?  We went in the opposite direction.  Let’s face it – it didn’t work!  When we don’t follow God’s direction we become the most miserable people on earth.

     This is the state Jonah was in.  He left town, jumped on a boat and headed in the opposite direction from Nineveh.   There he was, on a boat in the middle of the sea and God sent a terrible storm.  It was so bad; the boat was breaking into pieces.  The captain found Jonah asleep down in the lowest part of the ship.  (I think he wasn’t really asleep, but was probably hiding)  The captain told him to get up and pray to his God.

     By this time Jonah was so terrified of God, he thought he might be better off dead, so he told them to throw him overboard and the storm would stop.  The sailors were afraid to do that, in desperation they called out to Jonah’s God not hold this against them so they threw him into the sea.  When they did, the storm stopped and the sea became calm.  (I wonder if they became Believers?)

     As the icy waters closed over Jonah, what went through his mind?  Maybe his life passed before him as his body spiraled downward.  He knew death was the reward of his disobedient heart.  Suddenly, from out of nowhere, a huge fish glides silently through the murky depths.  As its cold eyes scanned its surroundings, they land on what appears to be a tasty dinner.  One gulp and it was all over; Jonah was down in the belly of the fish. 

     The fish was an instrument used by God to create a series of miracles and it came along at just the right time – God’s time.  We can’t explain things like Jonah being able to breath inside the fish, or that the gastric juices didn’t eat him up, but God is able.

     When we’ve been swallowed up in circumstances and see no way out, we call on God to deliver us.  Why does it take something this drastic to turn our hearts toward him?  There are three answers; self, self and self.  Like self-centered Jonah, we be can become so wrapped up in our own selves, we have nothing left over for anyone else; not love, emotions, compassion, forgiveness; nothing but self.  It was strictly Jonah’s selfishness that put him in the belly of the whale.

     Now, Jonah called out to God, “Help!  I’m in the belly of the whale.”  Then the truth hit him – God was in control.  He should be dead but he was alive, so he began to praise God for deliverance and made a vow to him.  After a certain length of time, God knew Jonah was ready to be spiritually free and he delivered him.  The fish vomited Jonah out onto dry land and then he was physically free.

     If you are in a situation and helpless to get out of it, don’t despair.  You may be exactly where God wants you.  He wants to set you spiritually free before he sets you physically free.  God wants your attention; he wants you cry out to him; he wants you to praise him; he wants you to follow him.

     When Jonah came out of that whale, he was squeaky clean, bleached white as snow.  He was given another chance at life.  God wasn’t finished with him yet.  He still had to travel the eight-hundred miles.  As he traveled he had lots of time to think over and meditate on what God had done for him and he was grateful.

     Next week we will continue with Jonah’s story.  In the meantime, why not read this short book in the Old Testament of the Bible.  Do you see a little of Jonah in yourself?  If you do then you better read “the rest of the story” next week.