Luke 11:30 For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation.
The record of Jonah and the Fish is one of the earliest lessons I learned in church. I was taught…and many continue to tell children…that Jonah disobeyed God when told, ‘go to Nineveh.’ Again, according to man’s version of things, God comes off looking pretty stupid…and Jonah comes off looking like a prophet who does not ‘believe’ God. Awwwww…come one!!! Neither is true!!! God PURPOSED Jonah go to Nineveh BY WAY OF saving the souls on board the ship….by way of a supernatural experience which, when told to the Ninevites…would be believed! God PURPOSED Jonah’s experience of death, burial, and resurrection to be a ‘sign’ of Christ to the Ninevites. To KNOW the supernatural power of God to save the lost is to KNOW the living Christ. The ‘sign’ Jonah carried in his heart to Nineveh …was the death, burial, and resurrection…of CHRIST!!! Jonah who was a mere man…and whose soul was not sinless…was PURPOSED by God to experience …in the natural…or physical realm…DEATH, BURIAL, AND RESURRECTION FROM THE DEAD…as a TYPE of the coming Christ. Jonah’s death in the raging storm waters after being obedient to death for the saving of the souls on board…pointed to Christ. The imprisonment of both Jonah’s dead body and soul in the great fish for three days and nights replicated the power of death over Christ…until its power was broken by the perfect Lamb of God. Jonah’s deliverance from DEATH by God…pointed to Christ’s RESURRECTION.
BRETHREN…it was CHRIST that Jonah preached to Nineveh that day. It was Christ’s DEATH, BURIAL, AND RESURRECTION that Jonah preached to Nineveh that day. Even though Jonah believed he was sent from God to pronounce judgment on the Ninevites….God was offering them Grace through Christ. As Paul later declared in Romans 1:16 ….” it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” The Lamb of God …Grace through Christ…has been in effect since God killed the animal in Eden (the animal was surely a perfect lamb) to give ‘covering’ for acknowledged nakedness. Nineveh became ‘naked’ before God as they heard the Gospel of Grace preached by Jonah. They repented and the nakedness was ‘covered’ by the blood of Christ……only later to return to their wicked ways. (Heb 2:3 How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;
Jonah 1:2 records that God told Jonah ‘Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.” But God didn’t say WHEN Jonah should go to Nineveh.! KNOWING that he was unprepared for Ninevah…Jonah followed his heart… takes off for Joppa ‘from the presence of the Lord.’ In a short period of time, Jonah is on a ship bound for Tarshish. And God’s plan is working PERFECTLY. And while He is preparing Jonah ‘as a sign’ (a ‘type’ of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ) to the Ninevites whom God KNOWS will be repentant…He reveals himself to the lost souls aboard the ship.
Jonah is on board a ship with worshippers of false gods. God zaps them with a huge storm. The men of the ship are begging their gods for help….and are tossing things off the ship to lighten it.. The ship master wakes Jonah and commands, ‘pray to your God and see if he’ll help. ‘ Next, the ship’s crew rolls dice (cast lots) to see which enemy… of which God ….is responsible for the divine storm about them. The lots point to Jonah. Jonah explains to them that he has fled the presence of God…then tells them to ‘throw’ him into the water so the storm will cease. The men keep trying to save the ship and themselves….but NOTHING WORKS. Now..they turn and look at Jonah….they pick him up…and they throw him far from the ship …..as though he were a stick of dynamite. And the storm ceases! Afterwards, the crew is seriously converted to the God of Jonah after experiencing the miracle of the calming of the seas. But…Jonah is GONE!
Not to worry…God has prepared a big fish. (God knows ALL things/knew Jonah would go to Joppa/knew he was going overboard/all going according to God’s perfect plan). The great fish gulps down Jonah and won’t unzip his lips for three days and three nights. And inside the yukky, stinky, dark, desolate, separated, and imprisoned belly of that fish…lies poor drowned Jonah. Jonah…who gave himself a ransom for the men aboard the ship. Jonah.. a type of Christ …a sacrifice..will be inside the ‘belly of hell’ for three days and nights. His desolate soul will trust God for merciful deliverance out of the bonds of death. Jonah… like Christ, will resurrect after three days and nights. Then..ooooooh, the fish vomits Jonah onto dry land. And here’s God again, saying to Jonah..’go to Nineveh that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.’ JONAH LEAVES IMMEDIATELY FOR NINEVAH. But why now? Why not when God first spoke to him about Nineveh?
Because .. GOD DIDN’T INTEND JONAH TO GO THE FIRST TIME. God was preparing, positioning, endowing, and empowering Jonah…..to do the task at Nineveh.
i love the story of Jonah, too! very much like me a lot of times— 🙂 thanks for this post.
true, God knows all, and like Jonah, we can never run away from his plan!
it was nice meeting you, internet elias…
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