Jonah Three Days in the Belly of a Very, Large Fish

It is never wise to go against the teachings of God or His plans for your life! His mercy and His grace extends to ALL nations…to ALL people. He wants no one, no not one, to live estranged from Him for eternity. Spread the Good News.

He died so that ALL could have the choice to live.

Jonah three days in the belly of a very, large fish!

Jonah is the only narrative included in the books of the Minor Prophets. It tells the story of God commanding the prophet Jonah to preach in Nineveh, but Jonah decides to run the other way by boarding a ship. After God orchestrates a storm and a great fish swallows Jonah, he obeys God’s command. But when Nineveh—a major city of the Assyrian Empire and Israel’s enemy—repents after listening to Jonah, he is infuriated. The book’s lesson becomes clear in the end: God’s care extends to all who call on Him—even those who previously stood against His people. His mercy is truly for all.

 The Book of Jonah challenges God’s people not to exalt themselves over others. The Lord, the great King, is free to bless, to be gracious, and to be patient with all the nations of the earth. More than that, He may show compassion even on the wicked. Indeed, His mercy extends even to animals.

Jonah’s view of God was too restrictive. He believed that God was the Creator of everything, but that He was compassionate only toward the elect of Israel. Jonah believed that since God had chosen Israel from among the wicked nations, He had to show mercy to Israel, even if the people were rebellious. Jonah had failed to appreciate that the Lord may be equally forbearing with other nations as He was with Israel.

The Book of Jonah affirms God’s freedom, sovereignty, and power. God is sovereign because He is the Creator of everything. His power extends over all creation (the storm, the fish, the vine, the worm). God is free and He can never be bound by human misconceptions.

The self-righteous make the grave mistake of rejoicing only in their own deliverance and in God’s answers to prayer. They miss out by narrowing God’s grace and mercy to themselves. 

Like Jonah, they cannot share in God’s delight in saving the sailors and the city of Nineveh, including infants and even animals (4:11). They confess that God is Creator and King of the whole cosmos, but restrict His involvement to judgment, justice, and retribution. In this manner they do not see His acts of compassion, righteousness, and forbearance. The Lord’s final proclamation to Jonah (4:10, 11) sums up the prophetic message of the book: God is free to bestow His mercy on anyone and anywhere He wills. His concern and mercy extend to all creation.NKJ Bible.

Matthew 12:40 (NKJV)

⁴⁰ For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Joel 2:14 (NKJV)

¹⁴ Who knows if He will turn and relent,

And leave a blessing behind Him—

A grain offering and a drink offering

For the Lord your God?