The Sign of Jonah
What’s the one thing everybody knows about Jonah? He was swallowed by a whale. That’s the extent to most people’s understanding of this narrative. And it comes from just one verse in the whole book. This verse begins Chapter 2 in Hebrew and is the most famous verse in the book of Jonah. We’re going to dive deep into this one verse today.
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.”
The subtitle for our series is “and the mercy of God.” Remember, just as fitting, another subtitle could be “and the sovereignty of God.” Here we see God’s sovereignty on display again. Neither Jonah nor the fish are the center of the story here. We are seeing God’s sovereignty displayed.
“And the Lord appointed…”
God appoints the timing and circumstances of all things.
The root of the Hebrew word used here, mānâ (mawnaw)[1], and it means to appoint, ordain, or prepare. This same verb appears four times in the Book of Jonah, here and three times in Jonah 4:6-8, where God appoints a plant, a worm, and a scorching east wind, which shows His power over all aspects of life—whether small or great, favorable or challenging. Here he is, in 1:17, controlling a large sea creature.
More than God being sovereign over nature, I think it’s more important to see that God is actively involved in the events of Jonah’s life. Jonah had tried to flee from God’s command, seeking to escape His presence by running to Tarshish. But God’s response shows that no one can evade His sovereign plan.
Here’s what this means for us: God is in control of every situation we face. Nothing happens by accident. Every event, encounter, and experience is part of God’s sovereign plan. Our lives are not subject to random chance or fate but are under the watchful eye of a loving and purposeful God. His sovereignty means that He is always at work, even when we can’t see it, aligning circumstances for His glory and our good. That means even through our hardships, like Jonah. I love what Elisabeth Elliot said in her book “Suffering is Never for Nothing.” She faced the death of her missionary husband Jim Elliot.
“Whatever is in the cup that God is offering to me, whether it be pain and sorrow and suffering and grief along with the many more joys, I’m willing to take it because I trust Him. Because I know that what God wants for me is the very best. I need pain sometimes because God has something bigger in mind. It is never for nothing. And so I say, ’Lord, in Jesus’ name, by Your grace I accept it.’”
At another place she said this:
“Just start thanking God in advance because no matter what is about to happen, you already know that God is in charge. You are not adrift in a sea of chaos.”
From the creation of the world to the orchestration of historical events, Scripture consistently presents God as the one who is in complete control. Psalm 139:16 reminds us that all the days ordained for us were written in God’s book before one of them came to be. In Ephesians 1:11, Paul writes that God “works all things according to the counsel of his will.” These verses show us that God’s sovereign appointment of events isn’t limited to the dramatic or miraculous but encompasses every minuscule aspect of our daily lives.
In the context of Jonah 1:17, God’s appointment of the fish is a specific example of His broader sovereign activity. This event isn’t just about saving Jonah; it is about aligning Jonah’s path with God’s redemptive plan for Nineveh. God’s sovereignty ensures that His purposes will be accomplished, even through the disobedience or reluctance of His prophets. Jonah’s story illustrates that God’s plans cannot be thwarted.
Here's what this means for you. When you face uncertainty, challenges, or detours, you can be confident that God has appointed these circumstances for a purpose—even if you can’t understand those purposes. Our response should be submission and trust, knowing that God’s timing is perfect, and His plans are ultimately for our good and His glory.
“…a great fish....”
With God, anything is possible.
We can’t tell the story of Jonah without talking about the whale. Or was it a fish? A shark? A jumbo shrimp?
The term “great fish” is intentionally broad. The Hebrew word used here is dag. It is the general Hebrew word for any aquatic creature.[2] Where we get whale from is 1) it’s large enough to swallow a human, and 2) a translation from a translation in Matthew 12:40. Jesus in Matthew 12:40 is quoting from the Septuagint (LXX), which is the Greek translation of the Hebrew text. So, He uses the word kétos (kay-tos), which the KJV translated it into English as whale.
First off, from a natural standpoint, there are several sea creatures that are large enough to fit a whole human inside them. Just last month a whale capsized a boat off of New Hampshire.[3] Just to give you perspective of the size of a humpback whale compared to a whole boat, look at this picture.[4] I don’t know if you remember a few years ago, but a humpback whale actually completely engulfed a man, Michael Packard, and ended up spitting him out.[5] While whales throats are too small to swallow a human, the whale shark, which is actually a shark, technically could.
The natural explanations aren’t what matters though. We’re talking about God. God who is sovereign over the sea that Jonah is in, and who made every creature within that sea. God who made all things! With God, miracles are possible. Anything is possible! One commentator even said that if it said a giant shrimp swallowed him he would believe it, because God could create a shrimp large enough for that one purpose. Way larger than “jumbo” size.[6] I don’t know about it eating me, but I’d eat that!
To ancient Near Eastern cultures, the sea was a symbol of chaos and danger. Sea creatures, especially large ones, were often associated with fear and the unknown. By miraculously appointing a great fish to swallow Jonah, God not only demonstrates His control over creation but also over the forces of chaos and disorder. Nothing is beyond God’s command—not even the chaotic, untamed depths of the sea. Through this miracle, God shows that He can turn a symbol of fear into a vessel of His grace.
This event also shows us God’s provision. Jonah, thrown into the raging sea, faced certain death. The big fish, for Jonah, becomes God’s instrument of rescue. While it may seem an unconventional means of salvation, it reflects the truth that God’s ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9). God’s deliverance may not come in expected forms, but it is always timely and exactly what we need. The big fish, in all its improbability, becomes a lifeboat (or a life submarine) for Jonah, rescuing him from drowning and providing him an opportunity to repent.
God’s power is limitless. When you face situations that seem impossible—whether it’s a health crisis, a difficult relationship, or an impossible ask—you can find hope in the truth that with God, all things are possible (Matthew 19:26). Our finite understanding and capabilities don’t limit God. His creative power and sovereign will can bring about solutions that we could never imagine. This should encourage you to pray boldly and trust deeply, knowing that the God who commanded a big fish to save Jonah is still in control and He’s capable of doing the impossible in your life as well.
The fish wasn’t just to spare Jonah’s life. It was for a greater purpose—to give him opportunity for repentance.
“…to swallow up Jonah.”
God disciplines to bring about repentance and restoration.
God’s discipline is corrective. It’s not only about judgment, but it is deeply connected with His mercy, with an end goal of restoration. In the belly of the whale, God was seeking to restore Jonah to his prophetic mission.
Through Jonah’s disobedience, instead of letting him perish, God appoints a big fish to swallow him. That’s where you can see His mercy amidst His judgment. The fish is both a form of judgment and a means of preservation. God’s discipline, while it involves a form of punishment, is never intended to be destructive. It’s corrective, but not destructive. And It’s always redemptive, aimed at turning the one in sin back to God’s will.
It's within the belly of the whale that Jonah begins to confront his disobedience and to recognize the foolishness of trying to escape God’s will (as we’ll see next week). For Jonah, the fish’s belly becomes a place of transformation—a place where Jonah moves from rebellion to repentance. God could have chosen to let Jonah perish in the sea, but instead, He provides a way for Jonah to survive and to repent.
God disciplines those He loves—His children.
Hebrews 12:7-11 — 7 It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. 11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
Hear how N.T. Wright explains this:
“If a parent leaves a child without training, without discipline, without checking and correction, we begin to wonder … if they have a problem themselves….If we are genuinely God’s children … then we should expect that God will treat us as a wise parent does, bringing us up with appropriate discipline [Proverbs 3:11–12]. … It may come as a shock to many Christians to discover that there lies ahead of them a life in which God, precisely because he is treating us as sons and daughters, will refuse to spoil us or ignore us, will refuse to let us get away forever with rebellion or folly, with sin or stupidity. He has his ways of alerting his children to the fact that they should either pause and think again, or turn round and go in the opposite direction, or get down on their knees and repent.”[7]
Think about a loving dad and his young son. There are just some things the kid can't get yet, like why he shouldn't play in the busy street. When the dad scolds his son for not listening and staying out of the street, he's doing it because he loves him and wants to keep him safe—not because he's angry or doesn't care. If a good dad does this for his child, then how much more does God, our heavenly Father, do this for us, always having our best interests in mind? And just like the little boy can't fully understand why his dad would get after him for playing in the street—because he doesn't know how dangerous the street can be—how much more are we in the dark compared to God's infinite knowledge and wisdom?
God’s discipline is a sign of His care and commitment to bringing those He loves back into right relationship with Him.
“And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.”
The "sign of Jonah" points to Jesus’ mission to die and rise from the dead, proving His identity as the Messiah.
We mentioned it last week, but hear what Jesus says about this. In Matthew 12:39-40, when the Pharisees demanded a sign from Him, Jesus said,
“39 But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For just 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.”
Here’s what this means. Jonah is more than just an ancient story. It’s a powerful revelation of who Jesus is, not just to Nineveh, not just to Pharisees, but to you and me.
Some think Jonah died in the belly of the fish because he was like Jesus. I don’t think that. He was a type, though. This is typology. It’s something lesser that points to something greater, that we have the privilege of learning from on the other side. Jesus experienced death and then rose to life. Jonah experienced, in a sense, a living death and renewed obedience to God. A different kind of resurrection, an internal one, one that we’re called to as well. We’re called to die to ourselves in order to live in Christ. We are dead in our sin and made alive in Christ.
The sign of Jonah shows us this: Jesus died. He really died. Jesus died for Jonah. For Jonah’s disobedience. For Jonah’s doubting. For Jonah’s bitterness. For Jonah’s lack of mercy. For Jonah’s fleeing. Jesus died for Jonah’s sin. And He died for you, too. For your disobedience. For each time you return to that same sin. For your unforgiving heart. For your bitterness. For the sacrifices you make to be comfortable. For your lack of compassion for the lost. For your me-centeredness. For your dust-covered Bible and your empty prayer journal. For your insatiable lust. For your cowardice to stand up for the ways of God. For your harsh words to your spouse. For your constant desire to get more yet never give more. For your sin. Jesus died for your sin.
And He didn’t stay dead! He rose so that you can be redeemed for each of those sins and redeemed in spite of each of those sins.
That’s what the sign of Jonah is for. It’s for you. It’s for your repentance. It’s for your assurance, that though your sins are great, His mercy is greater.
[1] https://biblehub.com/hebrew/4487.htm
[2] Cf. Gen 9:2; Num 11:22; 1 Kgs 4:33; Ps 8:8
[3] https://apnews.com/article/whale-breach-boat-capsize-new-hampshire-efe8cbfae49b93f6325c4331db8999ae?utm_source=copy&utm_medium=share
[4] https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/humpback-whale-fishing-boat-california-monterey-bay-a8914836.html
[5] https://www.capecodtimes.com/story/news/2021/06/11/humpback-whale-catches-michael-packard-lobster-driver-mouth-proviencetown-cape-cod/7653838002/
[6] Eric C. Redmond, “Jonah,” in Exalting Jesus in Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary (Nashville, TN: B&H, 2016).
[7] N.T. Wright, Hebrews for Everyone [London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2004], 151–54.
