Thoughts on Jonah and the Whale

The allegory of Jonah and the whale never fails to amaze me or to provide something new, a new thought, a new insight, a new way of looking at life and our own shortcomings--and salvation, nonetheless.

Jonah, in the story, like all of us, disobeys God's commandments. He literally runs in the opposite direction from where God asked him to go. As I read a synopsis of the story, I thought about it a little differently.

Jehovah offered this allegory as revelation to some prophet in Old Testament times. Possibly one named Jonah. 

The prophet, Jonah, in the story, through his disobedience, represents all of us. No matter what we do we will always fall short of the demands of justice, just as Jonah fell short. When he is thrown into the ocean, it represents his death, and inevitable burial, his spiritual death. He's drowning. He has fallen short. 

God, however, sends a great fish, Jesus Christ, to spare his life, his very spiritual life. Remember, Jesus is often depicted as a fish. (I can't help but think of the fish magnets placed on the backs of cars, which represent Jesus.) 

While he's in the belly of the fish, Jonah says, Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple. I think about those who die without knowing the gospel, or without accepting it. To me, one of the things this allegory is saying is that despite our disobedience, or falling short, we can yet look toward the Holy Temple, in the afterlife. The saving ordinances will be made available to all, even after this life. 

Once Jonah is vomited out of the fish's mouth, in other words, after he is saved, or in the afterlife, he has the opportunity to preach to the wicked, or those who were wicked in this life. Jonah's preaching is successful. Maybe our preaching in the next life will be more successful than it is here. The wicked repent, completely, as fully as they can, and they accept Jesus Christ. God gladly accepts their repentance and saves them, through the atonement of Jesus Christ.

Nineveh, in Old Testament times, was an enemy to Israel. It was also a very wicked place. As such, it's the perfect place to represent wickedness in general, being the exact opposite of Israel, which represents righteousness, or God's gospel plan. 

I can see how this deathbed--even later than that--repentance could displease Jonah, even to the point of wanting to be dead. (Think of the prodigal son. Or, more specifically, his brother.) What was the point of preaching in the first place when Jonah knew that God would be so kind and forgiving, even after life was over? That was Jonah's question. Chapter 4:2: 

And he prayed unto the Lord, and said, I pray thee, O Lord, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.

He's basically asking, why did I work so hard to do what was right? You were willing to save all of us anyway? 

God reminds Jonah of the grouse, which grew in a night and died in a night, which gave Jonah comfort. Jonah had nothing to do with its growth, yet he's angry when it's gone. God says, aren't these people even more important than that? 

Interesting that the number of people in Nineveh is 120,000. Seems like a common theme, divisible by 12, but a relatively large number, to represent all the wicked. Nineveh represents the wicked, or those who did not have the chance to accept the gospel, maybe even a second chance for those who did have the opportunity but didn't take it. 

There's more to this allegory than I've ever thought. Though I've realized for some time that I'd continue to learn from it. In other words, I knew there was a lot here. It reaches even beyond the veil, or beyond this life, and, again, it looks to the Temple. It looks to saving ordinances, which, as we know, reach beyond the grave. Something no other religion can actually get from this story, though an intuitive and wise person might anyway, is that it represents God's love for all his children, which reaches beyond the bounds of this life. He loves all of us so much, and he doesn't just say it, he provides a way to show it completely, offering us all the opportunity, the true, legitimate, opportunity to accept his saving plan, with all its ordinances. Can it be that the book of Jonah says all that? 

Again, another Old Testament prophet pointing us to the Temple.