|
Listen to POST
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Jonah and the Great Fish
You have probably heard the story of Jonah. The usual story goes something like this. God called Jonah to deliver a message to the people of Ninevah. Jonah didn’t want to go, so he ran in the opposite direction. Then God sent a bad storm, and the boat was nearly sinking. The crew cast lots, and it fell on Jonah, and Jonah said, “Throw me in the sea, and you will be saved.” So, the crew threw Jonah overboard, and a great fish swallowed Jonah, and he spent three days and nights in the belly of the great fish.
I agree with that story, but if we dig a little deeper, you will see that it would be impossible for Jonah to live through that without dying first. Jesus said, the only miracle you will have is that of the prophet Jonah, who was three days and three nights in the belly of a great fish. The miracle is a dead Jonah coming back to life.
To breathe or not to breathe
Ready for some background? Jonah is a short story; you can read the entire book in about 15 minutes. We know that Jonah was not a fan of the Ninevites, and it makes sense why. If you study the Ninevites, they are from the Assyrian nation. The Assyrians were brutal in their dealings with other nations they conquered. I’ll write about that another time.
Jonah was thrown into the Mediterranean Sea. What do we know about the Mediterranean Sea? We know it is off the coast of Tel Aviv or Israel, which keeps with historical accuracy that Jonah went from Gath-Hepher, where he lived, which is near Bethlehem, a three-day (60 miles) walk from Bethlehem to Joppa in his time. The Mediterranean Sea has a depth of about 1 to 2 miles deep. Now, for Jonah’s sake, let’s say it is a mile deep. Why do I mention the depth of the Mediterranean?
Jonah Chapter 2
“Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish, saying”……now, I will probably get some feedback that I just read that Jonah prayed from the belly of the fish, meaning he was alive; no disputing that. What do we do when we are in intense distress? I mean life or death distress. We call on the name of the Lord to save us. Stay with me. Jonah said this from the fish. I believe he was recalling his prayer from when he was sinking to the bottom of the Sea. His prayer was short; it was not a long prayer, and he probably could only hold his breath for a maximum of 75 seconds before passing out and then dying.
Verse 5
There is so much to go over in this tiny book. I will only hit a few points about why I believe Jonah died. Verse 5, “The waters closed in over me to take my life; the deep surrounded me,” take special note of the next sentence. “Weeds were wrapped about my head at the roots of the mountains.” Jonah was at the bottom of the Sea. It would have taken Jonah possibly 30 minutes to hit the bottom of the Sea. No way he could hold his breath that long. Plus, in verse 6, Jonah says, “I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever.” I believe Jonah’s spirit was in Sheol, or Abraham’s bosom, or paradise. Jonah says in verse 2, “Out of the belly of Sheol I cried.”
Jonah’s life restored
Then, in verse 6, from Jonah’s prayer, “yet you brought up my life from the pit.” After Jonah’s dead lifeless body was on the ground floor of the Mediterranean Sea, God called a fish to come and save Jonah’s physical body, and God presented his soul back to the physical body, and that was the miracle. That is an unexplained phenomenon. Miracles are truly unexplained phenomena, just like when Jesus called Lazarus’s spirit to return to his physical body.
Conclusion
The above are why I believe Jonah died before he got into the fish’s belly. If you disagree with me about Jonah dying in the Sea, that’s okay; we’re still friends. What are your thoughts? Have you heard this before? I’d love to know.