Throw That Jonah Overboard

by Joseph Adenuga

This story is one of the familiar stories in the Bible. The swallowing of a man by a big fish is very intriguing. However, the most phenomenal part of the story is not the swallowing of the man, but that the man stayed in the belly of a fish for three days and three nights?! Awesome!

You could imagine looking at the eyes of a little child in Sunday school hearing this story for the first time. The child would gaze in such amazement and wonder; imagining the chances of survival in the belly of a fish.

I would like us to look at this story again but this time in a rather uncommon perspective which I have been relishing recently while meditating.

Jonah 1:1-16

¹ Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, ² “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.” 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.
⁴ But the LORD sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was about to be broken up.
⁵ Then the mariners were afraid; and every man cried out to his god, and threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten the load. But Jonah had gone down into the lowest parts of the ship, had lain down, and was fast asleep. 

... a ship going to Tarshish; ...

Our lives are like ships set out for a particular destination (perhaps no destination at all but drifting through life). Some people are boarded on a "relation"-ship setting out for a successful marriage; some are boarded on a "career"-ship, and if you are like me, you are boarded on a "fulfillment"-ship. Whatever ship you are boarded on at every phase of life, the key element is usually that there is an end in mind (the destination). This end is what the bible refers to as expectations in Proverbs 23:18 (KJV) “For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off”. It is important in the different “-ships” of life to have an expectation (destination). This can be likened to vision, goals and the likes. But I won’t go into all that now.
Tarshish is an allegorical expectation or destination of every man. We all pay and plan to go to Tarshish. We are hopefully boarded on the right ship to Tarshish to sail through the sea of life. We are in no doubt aware of the risk of traveling through this sea yet because we are in this ship, we have a measure of belief and hope for safe landing at our destination - Tarshish.

... to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD

This phrase shows us that the problem wasn’t that Jonah was going with them to Tarshish, but that his going to Tarshish was not in line with Gods ordination; in other words, leaving Gods presence.

Here is a ship or a life as it may, with an expectation, hoping everyone on board is in line with the vision, yet there is a Jonah. Jonah could symbolize many things but I wouldn’t make any claim on what Jonah could be or not, I would simply let us see the impact a Jonah could have in a purposeful ship such as this one. This people on board have planned their trip, paid their dues, done all that they should do on their own part to get to Tarshish, but unknown to them, they have a Jonah on board.

... LORD sent out a great wind on the sea

This phrase is particularly important as it purports that God himself will stand on our way to Tarshish if we have a Jonah on board. Suddenly life becomes difficult, our seemingly secured ship starts to rock; Tarshish starts to appear an arduous destination to reach. Our experience does not seem to correlate with the stories of people who have been on this same ship in the past. Have we not prayed? Did we not plan? Is it not the right time? Questions may begin to flood our minds like the tempest we experience on the outside. Life has become stormy; yet all these because we have a Jonah on board.

... every man cried out to his god, and threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten the load.

Instinctively, we start to try what we know. We pray more, adding fasting to it. We even use our acquired skills and knowledge trying out things at least to stabilize our ship en route Tarshish. Yet Tarshish is not in sight.

This people went spiritual, and when this seems to have been exhausted with no progress in sight, they must have said to themselves “Heaven helps those who helps themselves”. Now they started throwing valuables into the sea in the name of applying the principles of Physics.

But Jonah had gone down into the lowest parts of the ship, had lain down, and was fast asleep.

Interestingly, this attitude of Jonah has made him famous such that people that sleep unnecessarily are nicknamed after him. All the while Jonah was asleep! Sometimes the problem is somewhere in the least expected part of the ship “fast asleep”!

¹⁰ 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. ¹¹ Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you that the sea may be calm for us?”—for the sea was growing more tempestuous.
¹² And he said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will become calm for you. For I know that this great tempest is because of me.”
¹³ Nevertheless the men rowed hard to return to land, but they could not, for the sea continued to grow more tempestuous against them.

Now by drawing of straws, they have identified the reason for the storm – Jonah; yet they were afraid. Sometimes we now know the Jonah yet we are afraid. In fact, Jonah himself told them the solution – get rid of me, and you will get rid of the storm – this still didn't seem like an option to them.

¹⁵ So They took Jonah and threw him overboard. Immediately the sea was quieted down. (MSG)

You need to throw that Jonah overboard! All the effort, all the spiritual gymnastics, all the valuable resources they lost...all they needed to have done all this while was to throw Jonah overboard?

If your Tarshish does not seem to be in sight, if the sea of life seem rather unkind to you with raging storm and tempest, if you probably have lost valuable resources hoping you could stabilize your ship to Tarshish; yet all this is not yielding result? Look for that Jonah, scan through the ship and fish him out, don’t be afraid, throw him overboard.

Know this for sure that you cannot get to Tarshish with a Jonah on board! Throw him overboard now.