Theological Commentary: Click Here
Jonah is a
very intriguing story. It is a
fantastical story. A man runs away from
God and is met by a strong storm. The
man asks to be thrown overboard, knowing that the storm will stop. It does, and Jonah is swallowed by a giant
fish. Instead of seeing this fish as a
predator, from within the belly of the fish Jonah knows that the fish is his
salvation. The fish then vomits him upon
dry land. There are so many elements of
this story that are fantastical.
Just because
it is fantastical doesn’t make it fictional.
The events of this story simply demonstrate the relationship between God
and one of His prophets. A prophet has a
very unique relationship with God; why shouldn’t the prophet experience very
unique events? When a prophet rebels, why
shouldn’t God use a unique means to bring Him back in line?
There is a
question that this story should raise – a question that will not get answered
until the last part of this story. Why
didn’t Jonah follow God’s wishes? Why
did Jonah head the complete other way? Why
doesn’t Jonah go to Nineveh and preach against their behavior? Why is Jonah willing to die in the sea so
that he doesn’t have to complete the mission?
The answer
will come tomorrow. Today, though, look
at what we can learn. God’s prophets are
not perfect. They are human beings like
us. They have disobedient streaks. They have moments when they are told to do
things and they do the exact opposite of what they are told.
After all,
we are God’s children. Any parent knows
that the children do not always obey.
Sometimes the child exerts independence and goes their own way, thinking
they know best. Sometimes rebellion happens
because the child thinks they can get away with it. Either way, though, a
prophet is a child of God. Sin and
rebellion are battles they face, too.
What I love
about this first half of the story, though, is Jonah’s sanity. He is more than sane when he runs away. He is more than sane when he sleeps during
the storm. He is more than sane when he
volunteers to be thrown into the sea to save the people. His sanity is proven when from within the
fish He lifts up praise to God. Jonah has
full knowledge about what is happening every step of the way. Even in his rebellion, he has the clarity of
mind and the sanity that we expect when a prophet acts.
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