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2 Arise, go to
Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up
before me. 3 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. (Jonah 1:2-3)
Here is an excellent
old hymn that helps teach us a story of an actual event in the Old Testament
relating to a prophet whose memory is often associated, wrongly so, with
cowardice. It is unfortunate that we do not know the author of this hymn – only
his initials – W.E.S. The hymn first appeared in The Joy Bells of
Canaan: Burning Bush Songs No. 2, edited by Arthur Ingler & Elisha
Hoffman (Chicago, Illinois: Burning Bush, 1905). Music arrangement is Over
There by Ingler.
Jonah and the Whale
In the
Bible we are told
Of a prophet who was
called
To a city that was
steeped in awful sin;
All the people in
that place
Were devoid of
saving grace,
And the prophet
seemed afraid to enter in.
Refrain
Refrain
Over there, over
there,
In that land bright
and fair,
Oh, he’ll tell me
all about it over there;
On the hallelujah
strand
I’ll take Jonah by
the hand,
And he’ll tell me
all about it over there.
Then this
prophet forth was sent
That old Nineveh
might repent,
But instead of that
to Tarshish he set sail;
Oh! the winds began
to blow,
Overboard did Jonah
go,
And he found a mercy
seat inside the whale.
Refrain
In the cold
and briny deep
Tears of grief did
Jonah weep,
And the big fish
threw him out upon the shore;
Then he gladly went
his way,
Preached to Nineveh
night and day,
And he did not care
to backslide any more.
Refrain
Oh, some
people don’t believe
That a whale could
him receive.
But that does not
make my song at all untrue;
There are whales on
every side,
With their big
mouths open wide
Refrain
Just take care, my
friend, or one will swallow you. .
Many souls
are tossed about
By the whales of
fear and doubt,
But the Savior wants
to take them by the hand.
If they will His
voice obey,
He will save them
right away,
And will guide them
safely to the promised land.
Refrain
In the Bible we are
told Of a prophet who was called To a city that was steeped in awful sin; All
the people in that place Were devoid of saving grace, And the prophet seemed
afraid to enter in. The failures and weaknesses of the ancient prophets often receive
undeserved and libelous appraisal from those of us reading in the comfort of
our armchairs. We immediately frown upon Jonah’s failure to immediately follow
the Counsel of God, and we may consider him to be so much lower than our noble
selves. Hundreds of sermons could be written on Jonah, therefore, we learn much
from this prophet which we would not have learned had he not been found wanting
in the immediacy of his service. Well, there are no whales or other sea
monsters, in our studies, so we judge from a considerably more advantageous
vantage point than that to which Jonah was confronted. So why did Jonah balk at
going to Nineveh? It was more out of an outrageous jealousy than out of abject
fear that detained Jonah from his calling. Many of us would have the same
emotions about going to Raca, or Mosel, and teach the Gospel to the heartless
and rabid fighters of the Islamic State in Syria (ISIS). Most of us do not
consider such infidels worthy of the grace of God; but if we consider our own
souls worthy of that grace, we would be badly mistaken. Yes, there would be
inordinate fear about going into the den of lions in the Levant, but the
overriding reluctance would, at least initially, be of wonder that God would
consider such a people for His grace. If Jonah was indeed governed by fear, it
is a sad indictment against a prophet to fear men more than God.
Then this prophet
forth was sent That old Nineveh might repent, But instead of that to Tarshish
he set sail; Oh! the winds began to blow, Overboard did Jonah
go, And he found a mercy seat inside the whale. Even well-meaning
men and women of faith often wind up going in precisely the opposite direction
that God commands for our lives. In this case, Tarshish (Spain) was
diametrically opposite the way to Nineveh. Though God was waiting in Nineveh as
Jonah’s Protector, He was also tarrying on the Ocean Seas as Jonah’s Prosecutor
to bring him to heel.
It would be a
bit awkward to be swallowed by a whale. The muscles of the whale’s alimentary
canal would painfully cramp our lifestyle as we were forced, by the peristaltic
action of that canal, into the whale’s belly. There the digestive fluids would
inflict a burning torture to our flesh much like those suffered by the Rich Man
in Hell who had favored sumptuously while Lazarus starved in rags beyond his
gate. Moreover, every strand of seaweed or sea life that whale swallowed would
be our fellow travelers in the depths of the sea. Jonah was in the belly of the
whale in precisely the same manner in which Christ lay in the Garden Tomb. How
do I know? Because our Lord tells us: An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a
sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet
Jonas: For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly;
so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the
earth. The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation,
and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and,
behold, a greater than Jonas is here. (Matt
12:39-41)
You do not suppose that the adulterous generation to which our Lord referred could be compared to
that of our own day, do you? Surely, today’s generations do not run to apostate
churches to see charismatic wonders and fake miracles, do they?
Our Lord lay dead in
the Tomb over the Sabbath Day just as Jonah lay in Hell during those same three
days in the whale’s belly. Examine Jonah’s prayer from Hell as his
spirit fainted in him: 2 And said, I cried by reason of mine
affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell
cried I, and thou heardest my voice. 3 For thou hadst
cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me
about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me. 4 Then I said, I
am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple. 5 The waters
compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round
about, the weeds were wrapped about my head. 6 I went down to
the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me
for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O LORD my God. 7 When my
soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came
in unto thee, into thine holy temple. 8 They that
observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy. 9 But I will
sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that
I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD. (Jonah 2:2-9)
In the cold and
briny deep Tears of grief did Jonah weep, And the big fish threw him out upon
the shore; Then he gladly went his way, Preached to Nineveh night and day, And
he did not care to backslide any more. There was no point of time in which Jonah was
out of sight of God, but it must have seemed so. Sin creates a great abyss
between us and God. The sperm whale is capable of diving just over 7,000 ft.
depth in the sea at which the uniform temperature would approach 37-38 degrees
(not comfortable for humans traveling in the cramped state room of a fish.
Suddenly, with head wrapped in sea weed and debris, a little jaunt over to
Nineveh became most appealing to Jonah. God has a way of making alternatives to
disobedience seem quite enticing! ‘
Oh, some people
don’t believe That a whale could him receive. But that does not make my song at
all untrue; There are whales on every side, With their big mouths open wide. There are some
convincing accounts that have gained some scientific credibility of men
swallowed by whales and remaining alive after being vomited out. One such
lengthy study is included at the following web page and is concluded accurate
by a notable scientist named Henri de Parville: see http://www.reasons.org/articles/a-modern-jonah But
God’s Creative Omnipotence does not depend upon the science of man for proof
since God is the Maker of all true sciences.
Just take care, my
friend, or one will swallow you. Many souls are tossed about By the whales of
fear and doubt, But the Savior wants to take them by the hand. If they will His
voice obey, He will save them right away, And will guide them safely to the
promised land. Believe it or not, there are many different sizes, shapes, and
types of whales that may be sent after you owing to your disobedience of God’s
Call such as lust for unlawful sex, greed for money or power, inordinate
jealousy, an idle brain or body, financial ruin, illness, etc. When we are
given as much, and more, of that for which we crave, even THAT can become
Jonah’s whale. Fear and doubt are the foremost whales, but a disdain for the
lost is a great one. God’s arm is never shortened from saving us no matter the
distance we have wandered from Him – even the depths of the sea in a whale’s
belly. God’s main concern with the disobedient is not the distance he has
backslidden, but rather the direction he is presently traveling – either AWAY
or TOWARD God!
