Jonah's Downward Spiral

The story of Jonah most likely makes us think of the big fish that swallowed the prophet. And why not? It is a great story because people are not commonly eaten by fish, and even if they are, they don’t live to tell about it. It really is the ultimate fish story, but instead of Jonah telling his buddies about the big fish he caught, he could tell them about the fish that caught him. When we think of Jonah we think of the big fish, and when we share the story of Jonah it is usually to teach that God gives second chances: Jonah ran from God when he was called to preach in Nineveh, but he got another chance when the fish vomited him out in—of all places—Nineveh.

But Jonah is about more than just the grace of God. This short book also gives us a picture of what sin does in the life of a believer. Notice this repetition of the word down in Jonah: instead of going to Nineveh he went down to Joppa; after getting a boat to take him the opposite direction of God’s will, he went down into the inner part of the ship; from there he laid down and took a nap; he was thrown overboard and went down into the water and down into the belly of the fish. Had Jonah not been tossed out of the ship, it too would have gone down during the storm. As Dr. Eric Bargerhuff said of this passage, “Sin doesn’t lift you up, it only brings you down, and Jonah is circling the drain.” He found himself in a whale of trouble.

Because of Jonah’s disobedience he went on a downward spiral that took him into the bowels of a fish. When Jonah was summoned by God to testify in Nineveh, he could have obeyed and avoided all the headaches, and the stomachache for the fish. If he would have known that his rebellion would take him into the heart of a storm, into the fury of his shipmates, and into the belly of a fish, he would surely have obeyed to begin with. You have probably heard the old adage that “sin will take you farther than you want to go, cost you more than you want to pay, and keep you longer than you want to stay,” and that is certainly seen in Jonah’s life. I’m not saying that if you disobey God you will end up as fish food, but I do believe disobedience to God is always the wrong choice. Whatever God may be leading you to do, learn the lesson of Jonah and obey Him the first time.