A WHALE OF A TALE
JONAH, THE RELUCTANT PROPHET
Every Sunday school child can tell you about Jonah and the whale. Maybe because this account is found in nearly every lesson plan for younger bible students, it is looked upon as a fable and not an actual story of real events in history. How often have you seen cartoon-like drawings of the prophet and the fish? Speaking of cartoons, I have a vivid memory of the Disney movie, Pinocchio, where Gepetto and his puppet are swallowed by a whale. Do you remember that they built a fire and made the whale cough, or sneeze, them out on the shore? It certainly stirred my imagination as to what the interior of a fish’s stomach might look like. A summary lesson from that story is if you tell a lie, your nose will grow, but if you are good, the blue fairy will come and make you real. But we know that the story of Pinocchio is fiction and wishing on a star doesn’t always make our dreams come true.
Jonah is mentioned in the book of 2 Kings 14, which authenticates his life as a prophet to Israel and dates the place in time of these events. Jesus mentions Jonah, as recorded in Matthew chapters 12, 16 and Luke 11, which we will look at later. The words of Christ establish the story as being true and even pointing to Himself in His death and resurrection. Certainly we should take this writing very seriously. Perhaps the mental image of a man swallowed by a fish causes us to focus on that aspect of the narrative, when the fish is actually only mentioned in three verses. It is worth noting, however, that there are authentic reports of men being swallowed by whales and surviving. More important lessons are to be drawn from seeing God’s patience as the story plays out, and Jonah's irrepressible desire to out wit and out guess the God of heaven. Hopefully, as we go through this study you will identify with all the struggles of Jonah and with his sinful attitudes as well. He was a man very much like us. One commentator suggests that if you take away any one of the miracles of this story, and there are several, the whole thing falls apart. This is a story of miracles and of God’s unsearchable mercy and grace along side a prophet whose path of surrender was just one stumble after another.
Eugene Peterson, in The Message, writes this in the introduction: “There is a playful aspect to his story, a kind of slapstick clumsiness about Jonah as he bumbles his way along, trying, but always unsuccessfully, to avoid God. But the playfulness is not frivolous. This is deadly serious. While we are smiling or laughing at Jonah, we drop the guard with which we are trying to keep God at a comfortable distance, and suddenly we find ourselves caught in the purposes and commands of God. All of us. No exceptions.” Below is an outline of the book, using Peterson’s chapter headings plus some themes to look for.
Chapter One – Running Away from God
Jonah’s call
Jonah’s disobedience
Jonah’s nap
Jonah’s confession
Jonah and the fish
Chapter two – At the Bottom of the Sea
Jonah’s prayer
Jonah’s promise
Jonah’s deposit on shore
Chapter three – Maybe God Will Change His mind
Called to preach again
Message received
Nineveh repents
God relents
Chapter four – “I Knew This was Going to Happen!”
Jonah’s anger
God’s tests
God’s last word
A WHALE OF A TALE – STUDY QUESTIONS – LESSON ONE
1. Read the entire book of Jonah in one sitting if possible. Then record the story briefly below in your own words.
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
2. Read 2 Kings 14:12-17, 23-27 to answer the following questions:
A. What were the conditions in Israel like in those times?
B. How was Jonah used of the Lord in Israel?
C. Where was the prophet from?
3. Read Jonah Chapter one:
A. From verses 1-2 tell what Jonah was called to do. Why do you think he refused to obey?
B. How would you relate this to the call on every child of God? Has God ever asked you to do things that are difficult? Explain.
4. Challenge question: Find Samaria, Nineveh, and Joppa on a map or in a bible atlas, or look for a description of the locations in a Bible dictionary or commentary. Find some information about Tarshish. What was the approximate distance between these locations?
5. What two things did God send to or provide for Jonah from Chapter 1? What lesson can you learn from this for your own life? (See Hebrews 12:5-11)
6. Read the following verses about obedience and record what you learn:
A. Joshua 1:8
B. 1 Samuel 15:22-23
C. Matthew 7:21
D. John 14:23
7. Personal question: Can you pin point any area in your life where you are presently being disobedient to God? Can you recall disobedience in your past? What do you think is or was at the root cause of your disobedience? (This might be a good time to ask for forgiveness and then commit yourself to complete obedience to the Lord.)
8. In verses 4 through 10, when the Lord caused a great wind to spring up and put the ship and those on board in danger, how did the following respond? Do you respond to an emergency in any of the same ways? Record your thoughts.
A. The sailors
B. Jonah
C. The captain
9. Why do you think that Jonah went down into the belly of the ship and went to sleep?
10. Personal: When you perceive that you have disobeyed the Lord, what do you do to put it out of your mind?
11. Read verses 12 through 17. How did Jonah’s disobedience affect the other men on the ship? Give the negative and positive results.
12. Can you recall how God has changed your heart through troubles in your life? Consider how your obedience or disobedience has influenced those around you.