JONAH
1:17
Jonah's
Predicament
I. INTRODUCTION
This narrative seems almost
unbelievable, yea, sounds like a greater falsehood and folly than any fable of
the poets. If it were not recorded
in Scripture, I would regard it as ridiculous lie . . . I myself would not
believe it, were it not written in Holy Scripture.
C. This story, however, is part
of scripture and is historical. Upon
further examination of all the facts, this
story will not seem too far fetched and will be put into the category of a sensible miracle.
II. JONAH IN THE HANDS OF GOD (l:17a):
"Now the Lord had prepared a great fish."
A. The word
"prepared" does not mean to create, but to determine, to appoint
or to ordain. The thought
is that Jehovah ordained a great fish to swallow Jonah. NOTE: God providentially had this great fish near or under the ship
to swallow Jonah when he was cast
overboard, for Jonah would be swallowed before reaching the bottom, keeping him
alive.
B. All of God's creatures, even
this great fish, obey the Creator and serve His designs of mercy. The fish was more obedient than Jonah.
III. JONAH SWALLOWED BY A
FISH (l:17b): "Now the Lord
had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah.Ó
A. What Kind of Fish? The Bible says only that this was a
great fish and does not identify it. In Matt. 12:40, Christ said it was a
whale but the Greek simply says a "huge fish." So this may have been a whale or one of
the many species of the shark family, or any other sea monster. NOTE: Many scholars think that it
was probably not a whale but a large shark or sea-dog (canis carcharias,
or squalus carcharias) which is very common in the Mediterranean, and
has so large a throat that it can
swallow a living man whole.
B. Unbeliever's Explanations
of This Event. Various
approaches to this story have been taken by
the scoffers. Critics, unable to credit the account as actual fact, have dreamed up explanations even -more
fantastic. Some say Jonah had a
wild dream in the ship while he was asleep during the storm, and that later he recorded
the extravagant fairy tale. Some
relate the book to the Phoenician myth of Hercules and a sea monster. Others claim that Jonah was picked up
after the storm by a boat which had a fish
for a figure-head and that this gave him the idea for a "good story." And some would even resort to the ridiculous claim that a dead fish was floating around and
that Jonah took refuge in it during
the storm.
C.
Fact for the Historicity of This Event. The greatest proof for the historicity of
Jonah and the fish is the fact that Jesus Christ unequivocally spoke of Jonah
as being in the great fish's belly three days and three nights (Matt. 12: 40). And since Christ is God
and cannot lie or be deceived, His opinion is infinitely
more trustworthy than that of the destructive critics.
D. Can A Fish Swallow
A Man? Yes, and there is
historical evidence to prove it. The
following quotes were taken from the book Jonah – Dead or Alive?
By J. Vernon McGee, who took his quotes from the book The Bible Today by
Grace W. Kellogg.
There
are at least two known monsters of the deep who could easily have
swallowed Jonah. They are the Balaenoptera
Musculus or sulphur-bottom whale, and the Shinodon Typicus or whale shark. Neither of these monsters of the deep
have any teeth. They feed in an
interesting way by opening their enormous mouths, submerging their lower jaw,
and rushing through the water at terrific speed. After straining out the water, they swallow
whatever is left. A sulphur-bottom
whale, one hundred feet long, was captured off Cape Cod in
1933. His mouth was ten or twelve
feet wide —so big he could easily have swallowed a horse. These whales have four to six
compartments in their stomachs, in any one of which a colony of men could
find free lodging. They might even
have a choice of rooms, for in the head of this whale is a wonderful
air storage chamber, an enlargement of the nasal sinus, often measuring seven
feet high, seven feet wide, by fourteen feet long. If he has an unwelcome guest on board who gives him a
headache, the whale swims to the nearest land and gets rid of the offender
as he did Jonah.
The Cleveland
Plain Dealer recently quoted an article by Dr. Ransome Harvey who said that
a dog was lost overboard from a ship.
It was found in the head of a whale six days later, alive and barking.
Frank
Bullen, F.R.G.S., who wrote, "The Cruise of the Cathalot," tells of a
shark fifteen feet in length which was found in the stomach of a
whale. He says that when dying the
whale ejects the contents of its stomach.
The late
Dr. Dixon stated that in a museum at Beirut, Syria, there was a head of a whale
shark big enough to swallow the largest man that history records! He also tells of a white shark of the
Mediterranean which swallowed a whole horse; another swallowed a reindeer
minus only its horns. In
still another Mediterranean white shark was found a whole sea
cow, about the size of an ox.
The famous
French scientist, M. De Parville, writes of James Bartley, who in the region of
the Falkland Islands near South America, was supposed to have
been drowned at sea. Two days
after his disappearance, the sailors made a catch of a whale. When it was cut up, much to their surprise
they found their missing friend alive but unconscious inside the whale.
He revived and has been enjoying the best of health ever since his
adventure.
Dr.
Harry Rimmer, President of the Research Science Bureau of Los Angeles, writes
of another case. "In the Literary Digest we noticed an account of
an English sailor who was swallowed by a gigantic Rhinodon in the
English Channel. Briefly, the
account stated that in the attempt to harpoon one of these
monstrous sharks, this sailor fell overboard, and before he could be picked up
again, the shark turned and engulfed him.
Forty-eight hours after the accident occurred, the fish was sighted and slain. When the shark was opened by the
sailors, they were amazed to find the man unconscious but alive! He was rushed to the hospital where he was
found to be suffering from shock alone, and a few hours later was discharged
as being physically fit. The
account concluded by saying that the man was on exhibit in
a London Museum at a shilling admittance fee; being advertised as ÔThe Jonah of
the Twentieth Century.Õ Ó
In 1926, Dr. Rimmer met this man, and
writes that his physical appearance was odd; his body was devoid of hair and
patches of yellowish-brown color covered his entire skin.
Far
further corroboration that a fish can swallow a man the Research Service
of Encyclopedia Britannica released a positive statement:
Further,
the Research Service goes on to cite two instances of men in
modern times being swallowed alive and living to tell the story. One of
these cases was subjected to careful scientific investigation by a British and two French
scientists. A whaler disappeared after his
small boat was upset by a harpooned whale; two days later he was found
in the dissected whale's stomach. Except for a two-week period of shock and a permanent bleaching of his skin
from the gastric juices, the man lived a normal life thereafter. (Teacher's Manual — Campus
Crusade for Christ's Ten Basic Steps Toward
Christian Maturity.)
IV. JONAH'S THREE DAY ORDEAL
(l:17c): "And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three
nights." —
The three days and three nights are not necessarily to be thought of as a total of 72 hours, but are to be interpreted
according to Hebrew usage. According
to the Jews, any portion of a day was considered a whole day; therefore, we conclude it was probably less than
72 hours.
V. CONCLUSION
A. After examining the facts,
the historical account of "Jonah and the Fish" seems more than just a
possibility. The evidence is overwhelming that Jonah was swallowed by a fish and after three days was vomited up alive.
B. However, we must be careful
not to give a natural explanation to what God designed
to be a supernatural event, for God was supernaturally controlling both Jonah and the fish.