Jonah and the Whale is considered one of the oddest accounts in the Bible. The story begins when God tells Jonah to preach repentance to the city of Nineveh. Jonah believes that this command is unreasonable because Nineveh is known for being wicked, and is the capital of the Assyrian empire, one of Israel’s worst enemies. Jonah does exactly what he’s not supposed to do and he goes onto a ship leading to Tarshish, directly opposite of Nineveh.
Jonah is seen as, “running away from the Lord.” God then sends a violent storm, which can tear the boat apart. The crew is frightened and comes to conclusion that Jonah is responsible for this terrible misfortune. Jonah tells the men to throw him overboard but instead, they try rowing back to shore. This causes the waves to become even stronger. Being afraid of God, the men throw Jonah over and the water immediately becomes calm.
Contrary to expectations, Jonah does not drown. Instead, he is swallowed by a great fish, provided by God. In the belly of the whale, Jonah cries prayers out to God. He praises God, ending his prayer with "salvation comes from the Lord." (Jonah 2:9)
Jonah remains in the whale for 3 days before God has the whale vomit him back onto shore. This time around, Jonah obeys God. He walks through Nineveh stating that in forty days the city would be destroyed. Surprisingly, the Ninevites believe Jonah and repent, wearing sackcloth and covering themselves in ashes. God has compassion for them and does not destroy them all. Jonah questions God again, wondering why he would spare Israel’s enemies.
Later, Jonah stops to rest and God provides a vine to shelter him from the hot sun. Jonah is very pleased with this vine, but the next day God has a worm eat the vine, making it wither away. Jonah then complains about the heat again. God scolds Jonah for being concerned about a vine but not about Nineveh, a city of 120,000 people. The story ends as Jonah realizes that God expresses concern even for the wicked.
Jonah is seen as, “running away from the Lord.” God then sends a violent storm, which can tear the boat apart. The crew is frightened and comes to conclusion that Jonah is responsible for this terrible misfortune. Jonah tells the men to throw him overboard but instead, they try rowing back to shore. This causes the waves to become even stronger. Being afraid of God, the men throw Jonah over and the water immediately becomes calm.
Contrary to expectations, Jonah does not drown. Instead, he is swallowed by a great fish, provided by God. In the belly of the whale, Jonah cries prayers out to God. He praises God, ending his prayer with "salvation comes from the Lord." (Jonah 2:9)
Jonah remains in the whale for 3 days before God has the whale vomit him back onto shore. This time around, Jonah obeys God. He walks through Nineveh stating that in forty days the city would be destroyed. Surprisingly, the Ninevites believe Jonah and repent, wearing sackcloth and covering themselves in ashes. God has compassion for them and does not destroy them all. Jonah questions God again, wondering why he would spare Israel’s enemies.
Later, Jonah stops to rest and God provides a vine to shelter him from the hot sun. Jonah is very pleased with this vine, but the next day God has a worm eat the vine, making it wither away. Jonah then complains about the heat again. God scolds Jonah for being concerned about a vine but not about Nineveh, a city of 120,000 people. The story ends as Jonah realizes that God expresses concern even for the wicked.
Themes:
The theme of Jonah and the whale is obedience. Because Jonah does not listen to God and avoids Nineveh, God tortures him, using the wicked storm and then the belly of the whale. After Jonah praises God and does what he is told, he questions God’s action of sparing the people of Nineveh. God uses the vine to show how ignorant Jonah is being and how he needs to do what God says, even if he may not agree because in the end, God will provide help and guidance for him. References: SparkNotes. "Paradise Lost." SparkNotes. SparkNotes, n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2013. Zavada, Jack. "Jonah and the Whale - Bible Story Summary." About.com Christianity. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2013. |
Allusions to Jonah and the Whale:
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