Jonah 1:17

New International Version (NIV)

Now the Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

For Meditation

The story of Jonah in the belly of a fish for three days has marveled many people over the years. Some cannot believe that a man could survive in the belly of a fish and live to tell the story. “Nonsense!” the doubting Thomases shout; and they file the story as one of their arguments against the veracity of the Bible message.  One of such doubters asked a preacher one day:

“Pastor, do you really believe that Jonah was in the belly of a whale for three days?”

“I don’t know, son, but when I get to heaven I will ask him for the full story,” the preacher said.

“But what if Jonah is not in heaven?” the young man shot back.

“Then I will leave you to ask him.”

To disbelieve the historicity of Jonah’s experience is to wish God away and to deny His power and ability to do the impossible. As Jesus said to the His disciples, “What is impossible with man is possible with God” (Lk. 18:27). It is also a denial of Jesus and the redemption story, because Jesus cited Jonah as His type and a sign to the Ninevites to repent or suffer the ultimate penalty for sin (Rm. 6:23). He told the Pharisees and teachers of the law, “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matt. 12:40). “For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation” (Lk. 11:29-30).

I am so glad that Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection stand as proof to the veracity of the Jonah story, and a sign to every skeptic to repent and be saved (Acts 2:38; Jn. 3:16).

Jonah’s story informs every doubter that it is not possible for anyone to run away from God; and that ultimately, anyone who wants to live must submit to His authority and rule, which comes only through Christ Jesus.

1. Do you still doubt God and what He has firmly established as the only way back to Him – Jesus and His finished work on Calvary (Jn. 14:6)?
2. What other sign are you looking for apart from Jesus’ death and resurrection?
3. How long can you continue holding out until death sweeps you away?
4. How would that profit you when you land in hell where the rich man in Jesus’ story found himself after death (Lk. 16:19-31)?
5. Why not go on your knees now and confess your sins and Jesus as Savior and Lord?

As Jesus told Thomas the doubting disciple, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those have not seen and yet have believed” (Jn. 20:29).

“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Acts 10:13).

Shalom