Jonah and the Whale

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 The story of Jonah and the Whale, one of the oddest accounts in the Bible,  opens with God speaking to Jonah, son of Amittai, commanding him to  preach repentance to the city of Nineveh.

Jonah found this order unbearable. Not only was Nineveh known for its wickedness, but it was also the capital of the Assyrian empire, one of Israel's fiercest  enemies. Jonah, a stubborn fellow, did just the opposite of what he was  told. He went down to the seaport of Joppa and booked passage on a ship  to Tarshish, heading directly away from Nineveh. The Bible tells us Jonah "ran away from the Lord."

In response, God sent a violent  storm, which threatened to break the ship to pieces. The terrified crew cast lots, determining that Jonah was responsible for the storm.  Jonah told them to throw him overboard. First they tried rowing to shore, but the waves got even higher. Afraid of God, the sailors finally tossed Jonah into the sea, and the water immediately grew calm. The crew made a sacrifice to God, swearing vows to him.

Instead of drowning, Jonah was swallowed by a great fish, which God provided. In  the belly of the whale, Jonah repented and cried out to God in prayer.  He praised God, ending with the eerily prophetic statement, "Salvation  comes from the Lord." 

Jonah was in the giant fish three days.  God commanded the whale, and it vomited the reluctant prophet onto dry land. This time Jonah obeyed God. He walked through Nineveh proclaiming  that in forty days the city would be destroyed. Surprisingly, the  Ninevites believed Jonah's message and repented, wearing sackcloth and covering themselves in ashes.  God had compassion on them and did  not destroy them.

Again Jonah questioned God, because Jonah was angry that Israel's enemies had been spared. When Jonah stopped outside the city to rest, God provided a vine to shelter him from the hot sun.  Jonah was happy with the vine, but the next day God provided a worm that ate the vine, making it wither. Growing faint in the sun, Jonah complained again.

God scolded Jonah for being concerned about a vine, but not about Nineveh, which had 120,000 lost people. The story ends with God expressing concern even about the wicked.

The Scripture
Jonah 1:4

God Commissions Jonah
Now the Word of the Lord came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying Arise,  go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before Me.

Jonah Refuses And Flees From God 
But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.

The Lord Sends A Storm
But the Lord sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest  in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken.

The Marine's Prayers
Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast  forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them.  But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay,  and was fast asleep.

Jonah Told To Pray
So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon your God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not.

Casting Lots; Jonah Chosen
And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we  may know for whose cause this evil is upon us.  So they cast lots, and  the lot fell upon Jonah.

Jonah's Confession
Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray you, for whose cause this evil upon us; What  is your occupation? and from where do you come? what is your country?  and of what people are you?  And he said unto them, I am an Hebrew; and I  fear the Lord, the God of Heaven, which has made the sea and the dry  land.  Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, Why have you done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the  Lord, because he had told them. Then said they unto him, What shall we  do unto you, that the sea may be calm unto us? for the sea wrought, and  was tempestuous.  And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth  into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.  Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring it to the land; but they could not: for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous against them.  Wherefore they cried unto the Lord, and said,  We beseech You, O lord, we beseech You, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for You, O Lord,  have done as it pleased You.

Jonah Cast Overboard 
So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging.  Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the Lord, and made vows.  Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah.  And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

Jonah's Prayer, Repentance, And Deliverance
Then Jonah prayed unto the Lord his God out of the fish's belly.  And I  said, I cried by reason of my affliction unto the Lord, and He heard me;  out of the belly of Hell cried I, and You heard my voice.  For you had  cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods  compassed me about: all Your billows and Your waves passed over me.   Then I said, I am cast out of Your sight; yet I will look again toward  Your Holy Temple.  The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the  depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head.  I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the Earth with her bars was about me forever; yet have You brought up my life from corruption, O  Lord my God.  When my soul fainted within me I remembered the Lord: and  my prayer came in unto You, into Your Holy Temple.  They who observe  lying vanities forsake their own mercy.  But I will sacrifice unto You with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed.   Salvation of the Lord.  And the Lord spoke unto the fish, and it vomited  out Jonah upon the dry land.

Jonah's Second Commission; His Obedience  
And the Word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time, saying Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I  bid you.  So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the Word of the Lord.  Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three day's  journey.  And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.

Nineveh Repented, Granted Mercy
So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.  For  word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.  And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh  by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink  water: But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily  unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands.  Who can tell if God will turn and  repent, and turn away from His fierce anger, that we perish not?  And  God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that He had said that He would do unto them; and He did it not.

Jonah's Displeasure, Anger, And Complaint 
But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry.  And he prayed  unto the Lord, and said, I pray You, O Lord, was not this my saying when I was yet in my country?  Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I  knew that You are a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and You repent of the evil.  Therefore now, O Lord,  take, I beseech You, my life from me; for it is better for me to die  than to live.

God's Lesson To Jonah
Then said the Lord, Do you  well to be angry?  So Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east  side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the  shadow, till he might see what would become of the city.  And the Lord  God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief.  So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd.  But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered.  And it came to pass, when the sun did arise, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and  wished in himself to die, and said, It is better for me to die than to  live.  And God said to Jonah, Do you well to be angry for the gourd? and  he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death. Then said the Lord,  You have had pity on the gourd, for the which you have not laboured,  neither made it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a  night.  And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand (120,000) persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?