In the Belly of the Big Fish

But the LORD provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights.

Jonah 1:17

And so Jonah ran forty miles to Joppa to catch a ship heading for Tarshish. Surprise: the LORD sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up (1:4)! The sailors, accustomed to heavy seas, were petrified. Meanwhile, Jonah slept. When awakened by the captain he told them to throw him into the sea. It was all his fault.

I love the little aside about the sailors. No way did they want to throw Jonah into the turbulent waters. They did their best to row back to land, but the sea grew even wilder than before (1:13). They cried to Jonah’s God: “O LORD, please do not let us die for taking this man’s life” (1:14). So when they threw him in and the seas immediately grew calm, the men greatly feared the LORD (1:16). In total awe they worshipped the God who not only created the sea (1:9) but had control of its raging and calming. 

By this time in the story Jonah had had at least two chances to save himself all the grief: before he went into the water, and as the currents swirled about and the breakers swept over him and the seaweed wrapped itself around his neck (2:3-5). He could have ended up on dry land in either case—if only he had asked!

But now, here he was, in the belly of that great fish! Come to think of it though, that fish saved him from drowning, didn’t it! God provides in strange ways. There Jonah came to grips with himself: “In trouble, deep trouble, I prayed to GOD. He answered me. From the belly of the grave I cried, ‘Help!’ You heard my cry” (2:2, MSG). He had left his pride at the bottom of the sea—for the moment.

With a song of thanksgiving Jonah vowed to no longer cling to the worthless idol of his way, but to grab the life preserver of grace God was throwing him. He would worship the Lord and do as he’d been called to do.

When swallowed up by the crises of life, do you have the psalms of confession and praise at your fingertips, as Jonah did, to offer to the only One who can save you from deep waters?

Nancy P

All Scripture quotations are from the NIV 1973, 1978, 1984, unless otherwise noted.