Jonah Swallowed by a Fish
Jonah was a Prophet:
Jonah was a prophet, though he didn’t want to be. The book of Jonah only covers a small period of his life, but such an important part that we can learn much from.
Jonah Ran From God:
God told Jonah to prophecy to the city of Nineveh and preach against it and its wickedness. But Jonah was too scared. So he ran away and fled from God (Scriptures 1. Jonah Flees From the LORD Jonah 1:1-3). His goal was to flee to Tarshish.
Jonah Thrown Off the Ship:
He boarded a ship. But while he was on that ship, God brought a great storm (Scriptures 2. Great Storm Breaking Ship Jonah 1:4-6).In those days, when something bad like this happened, they believed it was God’s wrath and people had a great fear for God’s wrath. Jonah had told them earlier that he was running away from God. The people on the boat asked Jonah what they needed to do to be saved from this storm killing them all. Jonah actually bravely told them they must throw him off the ship. After trying a futile attempt to row back to shore, they prayed for God to forgive them and threw Jonah off the ship (Scriptures 3. Jonah Thrown Off the Ship Jonah 1:8-15).
Jonah Swallowed by Fish:
But that wasn’t the end of Jonah’s story, for the Lord had plans for him. God sent a huge fish to swallow him (Scriptures 4. Jonah Swallowed by a Huge Fish Jonah 1:17) and Jonah lived in the belly of that fish for three days and three nights.
Jonah Prayed While in Fish Belly:
While in the belly of the fish, Jonah came to his senses and prayed to God (Scriptures 5. Jonah Prayed While in the Fish Jonah 2:7-10). He basically vowed he would prophecy salvation comes from the Lord and that worthless idols turn them away from God’s love. God honored his prayers and had the fish vomit him out onto dry land.
Jonah Went to Nineveh:
Later, God went to Jonah a second time and told him again to prophesy to the city Nineveh and preach against it and its wickedness. This time Jonah obeyed (Scriptures 6. Jonah Went to Nineveh Jonah 3:1-4). Nineveh was a large city. It took Jonah three days to walk through the city. He was prophesied that that their city will be overthrown in 40 days because of their wickedness and idols.
People of Nineveh Repented:
The people of Nineveh believed Jonah’s prophecy came from God and repented from their sins. They fasted and put on sackcloth (Scriptures 7. Ninevites Repented Jonah 3:5-10). They called out urgently onto God and gave up their evil ways; hoping God would have compassion on them. When God saw what they had done, he did have compassion and relented to bring the destruction he had threatened.
Jonah Angry at God:
This made Jonah very angry at God (Scriptures 8. Jonah Angry at God Jonah 4:1-3). Jonah’s prophecy was now a false prophecy since God changed his mind and did not bring destruction to the city as prophesied. Jonah told God that this is why he ran from him the first time. Because he knew God is gracious and compassionate, and that he would not bring this calamity if they repented.
God’s Response to Jonah’s Anger:
Jonah felt very sorry for himself. He wasn’t happy about God not bringing destruction to over 120,000 people. Jonah wasn’t thinking of all those people at all. He was just thinking of himself. Over the night, God provided Jonah a leafy plant to provide shade, and that made Jonah happy. But at dawn, God had a worm eat he plant, which made Jonah so angry he wanted to die. God told Jonah if he had been concerned about the plant, he should have tended to it (Scriptures 9. God’s Response to Jonah’s Anger Jonah 4:5-11). God also expressed to Jonah that he should he have also been concerned for all the people and animals in the city of Nineveh.
So what can we learn from Jonah’s story? How can we apply it to our lives? Complete the Bible Study Worksheet below:
Worksheet: Jonah Swallowed by a Fish Bible Study Worksheet
PDF: Jonah Swallowed by a Fish
See: Part 1 #15 Why Does God Allow Bad Things?
See: Part 3 #15 A Prayer for Putting God First
Also See: Free Bible Study Worksheets
Also See: Part 3 – List of Prayers
Leave a Reply