Jonah 1:17 And the LORD appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Jonah was the prophet who tried to run from God. The Lord told him to go to Nineveh to preach repentance to the Assyrians. Jonah did not think very much of the Assyrians and so he got on a ship that was headed in the opposite direction. When a storm threatened to sink the ship Jonah was on, the crew cast lots to determine just who was the cause of the storm (in their belief system, the god of the seas was upset with someone on board and so the anger of the seas!). The lot, of course, fell to Jonah (for the one true God can work through the superstition of pagans to work HIS plan!). God continued to work his plan by sending a great fish to swallow Jonah alive. Through that experience, Jonah had a change of heart and agreed to go to Nineveh ... which he did and the Assyrians repented (again, not to Jonah's liking). Make sure you read chapter four to see how it all ends.
Jesus pointed to Jonah's "great fish" experience as a sign of what was coming for him. In Matthew 12:38-41, Jesus said that "just as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." This was, of course, a reference to his coming burial ... which would end in the early morning hours of the third day following his crucifixion with his glorious resurrection from the dead.
Take a moment and praise God that we serve a living savior. One whom the shackles of death could not keep bound!
Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj
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