Jonah and the Whale

The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: 'Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.' But Jonah wanted nothing to do with this mission. Nineveh was the capital of Assyria, Israel's brutal enemy, and Jonah had no desire to see them receive God's mercy. Instead of obeying, Jonah ran away from the Lord, heading to Joppa where he boarded a ship sailing to Tarshish—the opposite direction from Nineveh.

God sent a violent storm that threatened to break the ship apart. While the terrified sailors cried out to their gods and threw cargo overboard to lighten the ship, Jonah was below deck, sound asleep. The captain woke him and demanded he call on his god for help. The sailors cast lots to determine who was responsible for the calamity, and the lot fell on Jonah. He confessed that he was running from the Lord, the God of heaven who made the sea and the dry land.

Jonah told the sailors to throw him into the sea to save themselves. At first they refused, trying desperately to row back to land, but eventually they prayed to Jonah's God and threw him overboard. Immediately the storm ceased, and the sailors feared the Lord and offered sacrifices to Him. God appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and the prophet spent three days and three nights in the belly of the fish—a living tomb that became a place of repentance and prayer.

From inside the fish, Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. He acknowledged that salvation comes from the Lord alone, and he vowed to fulfill what he had promised. The Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land. God's call came to Jonah a second time: 'Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.' This time Jonah obeyed.

Jonah proclaimed throughout Nineveh: 'Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown!' To his surprise and dismay, the entire city believed God's message. From the king to the common people, they declared a fast, put on sackcloth, and turned from their evil ways. When God saw their repentance, He had compassion and did not bring the destruction He had threatened.

Jonah was furious that God had shown mercy to Israel's enemies. He complained that this was exactly why he had run away—he knew God was gracious, compassionate, slow to anger, and abounding in love. He would rather die than see Nineveh spared. God responded by providing a plant to shade Jonah, then allowing a worm to destroy it, teaching Jonah a profound lesson: if Jonah could care about a plant he didn't create, how much more should God care about 120,000 people He made? The story ends with God's question hanging in the air, challenging readers to embrace God's heart of mercy for all people.