Jonah 1:17

Bible study about Jonah and the big fish

"Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights."
Jonah 1:17

The LORD told Jonah to go to Nineveh, to "cry out", to preach, against it (Jonah 1:2). Their sins were seen by God. Jonah did not want to go to Nineveh.
Jonah 1:3: 'But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.'

God had other plans with Jonah. Verse 4 tells us that He "sent out", or hurled, a great wind on the sea. The ship was about to be broken up. The people on the ship were afraid. They all prayed to their gods and threw the cargo overboard. But Jonah didn't pray.
Jonah 1:5b: 'But Jonah had gone down into the lowest parts of the ship, had lain down, and was fast asleep.'

The captain asked him why he slept. He should be praying to his God, maybe He would save them. After this, the people decided to throw lots, to see whose fault it was. The lot fell on Jonah. Jonah told them who he was. Notice: the men of the ship knew what he had done, but did not care about it. But later, when everything was working against them, they wanted to know the story.
Jonah 1:9-10: 'So he said to them, “I am a Hebrew; and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” Then the men were exceedingly afraid, and said to him, “Why have you done this?” For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them.'

Jonah told them to throw him into the sea. Was Jonah offering himself up to save them, or was this still him trying to escape his duty? Nevertheless, God wanted to save him. A great fish came and swallowed Jonah.
Some believe this fish was a whale. This is because of Matthew 12:40. There we read:
'For as Jonah was three days and three nights 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.'
Some translations, like the KJV and ASV, say "whale" instead of "great fish" (Greek: κήτους (kētous), translates to great fish, whale, or sea monster).

Jesus tells the people that as Jonah was 3 days and 3 nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth. He foretells His death. But it is also pointing us to His resurrection: Jonah was in the fish for 3 days. After that, he came out alive. So did Jesus. After 3 days, He rose out of the grave. Just as He told His disciples.

Today's lesson: You can try to run from God, but you cannot outrun Him. He decides what happens to you. Follow Him wherever He may guide you. It is the best thing that will happen to you.