Kali Lynch - Jonah
I have currently been reading the book of Jonah in the Old Testament. Today when I read, I was hit with the realization that people do not typically think that it is possible for Jonah to have been swallowed by a fish and live for three days. I have grown up in church since before I was born, so hearing about Jonah and the whale ("whale") has always been something I have heard and I have never actually thought about Jonah being a real man that gets swallowed by a fish or a whale of whatever.
And then I thought wow. A man gets swallowed by a fish. What?
I suppose when people go back and forth on this story, they focus on the science and the impossible-ness of the story. How would a grown man be swallowed by a big fish and live in its belly for 3 whole days and 3 wholes nights?
How is that possible?
Possible is the key word. When someone hears this story out of contexts, or just hears in passing, "yeah this grown man got thrown overboard by a bunch of sailors so the seas would stop roaring and then he got swallowed up by a giant fish!" They probably think it is just another parable in the old testament instead of it actually happening. But then, when you realize the context, the fact that Jonah was running from God and trying to escape him, and then the storm rolls in and Jonah has to go overboard to save the other lives or the sailors, he jumps in and gets swallowed by the fish because God provided it for him.
God provided a huge fish for Jonah to be held in for three days. What?
Thats when this whole thing, at least for believers, kind of starts to make sense. Suddenly, the minor details of what kind of fish, or how long was her actually in there, or what part of the ocean, does not matter at all. God was the one who sent the fish. He is also a God that does great and extraordinary things that humans cannot wrap their heads around. He also performs miracles. He raises people from the dead, heals, comes down on white clouds. Suddenly, once the realization comes through that God is the one who sent this fish for Jonah to survive in, the minors dont matter anymore and all we are left with is another miracle that God performed for the one he loves.
And then I thought wow. A man gets swallowed by a fish. What?
I suppose when people go back and forth on this story, they focus on the science and the impossible-ness of the story. How would a grown man be swallowed by a big fish and live in its belly for 3 whole days and 3 wholes nights?
How is that possible?
Possible is the key word. When someone hears this story out of contexts, or just hears in passing, "yeah this grown man got thrown overboard by a bunch of sailors so the seas would stop roaring and then he got swallowed up by a giant fish!" They probably think it is just another parable in the old testament instead of it actually happening. But then, when you realize the context, the fact that Jonah was running from God and trying to escape him, and then the storm rolls in and Jonah has to go overboard to save the other lives or the sailors, he jumps in and gets swallowed by the fish because God provided it for him.
God provided a huge fish for Jonah to be held in for three days. What?
Thats when this whole thing, at least for believers, kind of starts to make sense. Suddenly, the minor details of what kind of fish, or how long was her actually in there, or what part of the ocean, does not matter at all. God was the one who sent the fish. He is also a God that does great and extraordinary things that humans cannot wrap their heads around. He also performs miracles. He raises people from the dead, heals, comes down on white clouds. Suddenly, once the realization comes through that God is the one who sent this fish for Jonah to survive in, the minors dont matter anymore and all we are left with is another miracle that God performed for the one he loves.
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