Jonah and the Whale Essay Sample

Jonah sat in the whale’s belly for three yearss and darks. He spends that clip in supplication. thanking God for salvaging him. He realizes the miracle that God has affected to salvage him and is genuinely thankful. I’m non certain how thankful I’d be sitting in a whale’s belly come twenty-four hours two or three. I would surely hold been glad at first. but perchance would hold started kicking reasonably rapidly. This is frequently the instance for people: we beg for alleviation from our fortunes and when it comes. we aren’t satisfied with it. But Jonah doesn’t complain. He is sincere in his supplication and God tells the giant to ptyalize Jonah out on shore. ( Jonah 2:1-10 ) Then. the Lord tells Jonah once more to travel to Nineveh and preach penitence. Imagine being Jonah. walking into a metropolis of your enemies and prophesying a message that is bound to be unpopular. It would be terrorizing! But. Jonah this clip does as he’s told and surprisingly the people repent. The king orders all to fast. set on sackcloth and beg for forgiveness. ( Jonah 2:1-10 ) Nineveh is spared and Jonah walks off from the state of affairs mad at God. He builds himself a small shelter outside of town and moues. He thinks that God should hold destroyed the Ninevites instead than save them.

So angry is Jonah that he says he’d instead die than unrecorded! “2 So he prayed to the Lord. and said. “Ah. Lord. was non this what I said when I was still in my state? Therefore I fled antecedently to Tarshish ; for I know that You are a gracious and merciful God. decelerate to anger and abundant in lovingkindness. One who relents from making injury. 3 Therefore now. O Lord. delight take my life from me. for it is better for me to decease than to populate! ” ( Jonah 4:2-3 NKJV ) What a fit. What Jonah is truly angry about is that God has given the gift of redemption to a state that Jonah finds unworthy. Jonah felt that it was incorrect for Jews to be sharing their God with people they considered pagans. It may look foolish to us that Jonah got huffy at God for salvaging the Ninevites. Think about this. though. Are at that place people that you resent and would wish to see fail? Are at that place those that have wronged you and you’d like to acquire retaliation on them?

This is merely what Jonah wanted. He didn’t want the Ninevites acquiring God’s clemency he wanted them to endure. God’s clemency and redemption is for everyone. non merely those we think merit Him. If merely those that deserved His love got it. we’d all be headed for snake pit. Jonah ne’er does hold on this. He continues to whine about his ain status but feels no commiseration or clemency for the Ninevites. God tells Jonah. “11 But Nineveh has more than 120. 000 people populating in religious darkness. non to advert all the animate beings. Shouldn’t I feel sorry for such a great metropolis? ” ( Jonah 4:11 NLT ) Thankfully. God does experience sorry for us and spares us in malice of ourselves. And. God can work through us in malice of ourselves. He was able to utilize Jonah to present a message despite Jonah’s unwillingness and complete antipathy for the message. But. Jonah suffers effects for non making things God’s manner. And. so do we.

Jonah and the giant

The narrative of Jonah and the giant is excessively of import to be left as merely a children’s narrative. There are tonss of life lessons in the Book of Jonah for kids and grownups. Jonah’s narrative Teachs us about obeisance. willingness of spirit. gratitude. compassion and God’s forbearance and clemency. Jonah was a prophesier from Galilee and his narrative takes topographic point someplace between 780 B. C and 760 B. C. During this period of history. Assyria was a powerful. evil state and Israel’s most awful enemy. The Lord spoke to Jonah and told him to travel to Nineveh. the capital of Assyria. and preach to the Ninevites. ( Jonah 1:2 ) Jonah was supposed to warn the Ninevites to atone or endure the effects of their evil. Jonah had other thoughts. though. Alternatively of heading for Nineveh. he took off for Tarshish. Spain. His motivations could hold been fear or retaliation or both. The Assyrians had committed awful atrociousnesss against the people of Israel: going into their thick would hold been scaring. Jonah besides despised the Assyrians and likely would hold liked to see God penalize them. Yet. Jonah knew God’s nature. He knew that if he preached penitence to the Ninevites. they would atone and God would save them. ( Jonah 4:2 ) Jonah hops on a boat headed for Tarshish. trying to conceal out from God. At dark. a immense storm comes up and tosses the boat wildly. The crewmans are afraid and all start to pray to their Gods. while Jonah slumbers soundly below deck. ( Jonah 1:4-6 )

The captain goes down to Jonah’s cabin and pulls him out of bed. “And they said to one another. “Come. allow us project tonss. that we may cognize for whose cause this problem has come upon us. ” So they cast tonss. and the batch fell on Jonah. ” ( Jonah 1:7 NKJV ) The crewmans all inquiry Jonah about what he’s done to convey this storm on them. He confesses that he is running off from the Lord’s will and state the crewmans to throw him overboard to save their lives. This they do. ( Jonah 1:8-15 ) As Jonah is droping into the sea. a large fish ( whale ) swallows him. ( Jonah 1:17 ) Here we see God’s great clemency. He could hold let Jonah endure the effects of his actions and drown. Yet. God intervenes and spares Jonah’s life. We frequently complain to God about the effects of our wickednesss but do we of all time inquire how frequently He has spared us from effects? I seldom of all time think about that.