By David J. Stewart | March 2014
Jonah 2:10 and 3:1-2, “And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land. ... And the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time, saying, Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.”
Jonah had been commanded by God to go to Nineveh, that wicked city and the
capitol of Assyria, to preach the gospel. Instead of obeying God, Jonah fled
to Tarshish. As Jonah learned the hard way, you cannot run from God's will
forever. No one ever finds happiness in life who seeks their own will
instead of God's will for their life. Many people run as far as they can, as fast as they can, until they
cannot run any farther from God and then they break down and return to God.
Jonah found himself in the belly of a whale. After three days and nights God
caused the whale to vomit Jonah out upon DRY GROUND. Talk about first class
service! Jonah then RAN as fast as he could, making a 3-day journey in just
1-day the Bible says (Jonah 3:3-4).
I love what the Bible says in Jonah 3:1, “And the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time...” Amen! God gave Jonah a second chance. Not everyone in life gets a second chance. Ananias and Sapphira didn't get a second chance (Acts 5:1-10). They had committed the proceeds from the sale of their property to the local New Testament Church. When they sold the property, they had a change of heart when they had the money in hand. And let me say here that there's just something about money that once you have it, IT HAS YOU.
The love of money and desire to be wealthy is the root of all wickedness and has destroyed countless lives throughout the history of mankind (1st Timothy 6:8-10). The greatest decision that you'll ever make as a born-again Christian is that money will NEVER be an issue in your life. Let the heathen world love their money, horde it, lie and commit wickedness to obtain it, but I'm going to LOVE GOD NOT MAMMON. Just give me Jesus!
Jonah was blessed by God to be given a SECOND CHANCE. Have you been given a second chance to get saved? Have you been given a second chance to serve God faithfully? Have you been given a second chance to have a Christian marriage and home? If your first marriage failed, don't be foolish the second time around... get into a Bible-believing church, pray with and for your spouse, and if you're thinking of getting married, whatever you do make sure that you marry someone who is a born-again Christian and loves Jesus more than everything else in life (including you). A husband or wife should love Jesus more than their spouse.
Although there is controversy over whether the sea creature was a whale or a huge fish, the New Testament of the trustworthy King James Bible does call the creature a “WHALE.” Matthew 12:40, “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 Greek word for “whale” here is ketos, from which our modern word CETOLOGY comes from, which is the study of WHALES. Jonah was swallowed whole by a whale!
There is speculation as to whether Jonah died and went to Hades (the paradise side). For an excellent Biblical study on the compartmentalization of Hades, please read “A BIBLICAL EXAMINATION OF HELL” by Pastor Max D. Younce (hard copies are available). It is difficult to believe that any man could survive such an ordeal without divine intervention. Some Bible students believe that Jonah died and went to Hades for three days and then came back. Others believe that Jonah remained both bodily and spiritually in the whale's belly. Matthew 12:40, “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.”
There is compelling Scriptural evidence that Jonah DID die in Jonah 2:1-2, “Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish's belly, 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.” When was Jonah in Hell (that is, the Paradise side of Hades)? I think the answer is clear.
God kept Jonah in the whale's belly for three days and nights as a spiritual type (foreshadow) of Jesus Christ who would die, be buried and spend three days in the HERAT OF THE EARTH (as we just read in Matthew 12:40). Some scholars believe this is a reference to the grave, and not Christ going to Hell (Hades). Others believe that Jesus went to Hell (Hades), to deliver the saints held in Abraham's Bosom (Paradise). I tend to believe the latter, but am not 100% sure nor would I argue the point. I think it is acceptable to form opinions where the Bible is somewhat vague, but we must exercise caution when doing so. I don't believe that Jesus went to burn in Hell for those three days. I believe He went to deliver the Old Testament saints from the Paradise side of Hades.
I love that phrase in Jonah 3:1, “And the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time...” Isn't God good! We're all just insignificant frail creatures living on a ball of dirt called planet earth, going round-and-round somewhere in outer space, like an ant stuck to a baseball, HOW DARE YOU OR I THINK WE KNOW WHAT'S BEST FOR US!!! WE DON'T! We are just frail creatures made of dust. Only God, Who created us, knows what is best! How could any human being made of dust possibly know what's best? Do you know that you don't even know the name of all the parts of your body? How can you know what's best? How can I know what's best? What we all need to do is first, get saved if you're not. Have you been born-again? Do you know you're saved? Once saved, then you can fellowship with God through Jesus Christ, and you can seek His will for your life (Hebrews 11:6).
