The Great Fish: A Creature Appointed by God
The story of Jonah and the great fish is often dismissed as a biological impossibility. However, by looking at the specific language of the original text, we can understand it not as a scientific puzzle, but as a theological statement about God’s power. This view, which we can call the “Appointed creature” , is an animal that was a miraculous instrument of God’s will.
The “How”: A Deliberate Act of Divine Intervention
The evidence for this view comes directly from the Hebrew word used in the Book of Jonah. In Jonah 1:17, the Bible says that the Lord “appointed” a great fish to swallow Jonah. The Hebrew word for “appointed” is manah, which means to “ordain,” “assign,” or “prepare.” This is not an accident. God didn’t just happen to find a big fish; He specifically chose and prepared this creature for a one-time, unique task.
This divine action is reinforced in Jonah 2:10, which says, “And the LORD spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land.” The idea that God could speak to and command a creature goes beyond a simple biological event. It shows that the fish was a part of a miraculous, divinely orchestrated plan.
This same Hebrew word (manah) is used repeatedly in the book, showing a consistent pattern of God’s direct intervention. In Jonah 4:6-8, God “appointed” a plant, a worm, and an east wind to teach Jonah a lesson. All of these are presented as tools that God used to accomplish a specific purpose. The great fish is simply the first and most dramatic of these divinely appointed instruments.
The “Why”: God’s Sovereignty and Grace
From this perspective, the question of whether a specific animal could have swallowed Jonah becomes irrelevant. The story is not meant to be a biology lesson. Its purpose is to demonstrate God’s sovereignty—His absolute power over all of creation, including nature itself. The miracle of the creature is a sign of a much greater, more profound miracle: God’s boundless grace and mercy, which He was willing to extend even to the people of Nineveh.
The story’s true focus is not on the creature but on the character of God and the character of Jonah. The divinely appointed creature serves as a vehicle to show us that God will go to any length to save a disobedient prophet and, ultimately, to save a disbelieving city.
Guide for Jonah
This guide explores the key moments of the Book of Jonah, highlighting why the story is so much more than a simple tale about a man and a great fish.
1. The Call to Nineveh: The Beginning of the Problem
The story begins with a simple command from God: “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me” (Jonah 1:2). Jonah’s response is immediate and rebellious. He does the opposite, fleeing to Tarshish. This isn’t just a simple act of disobedience; it’s an act of profound defiance. Jonah doesn’t want the Ninevites to be warned because he doesn’t want them to be saved. This sets the stage for the true conflict of the book: not between God and Nineveh, but between God’s compassion and Jonah’s nationalism.
2. The Storm and the Sailors: An Unlikely Repentance
As Jonah flies, a great storm threatens to break the ship. The pagan sailors, in stark contrast to Jonah, cry out to their gods and then, upon discovering Jonah’s identity, try everything they can to save him. Their actions show a remarkable compassion and reverence for life. When they are finally forced to throw Jonah overboard, they pray to God, saying, “O LORD, please do not let us perish for this man’s life” (Jonah 1:14). This genuine repentance from the “bad guys” is an important theme that prefigures the Ninevites’ own change of heart.
3. The Great Fish: The Most Famous Detail
After being thrown overboard, Jonah is swallowed by a “great fish” that God appointed. It is in the fish’s belly that Jonah repents and cries out to God in prayer (Jonah 2). This is the most famous part of the story, but it’s often mistaken as the moral climax. While it’s a miraculous display of God’s power, the true turning point of the book lies ahead. The fish is merely the vehicle God uses to turn Jonah back toward his original mission. The focus is on God’s mercy to Jonah, which contrasts with Jonah’s lack of mercy for others.
4. The City’s Repentance: The Unforeseen Outcome
Jonah finally goes to Nineveh and delivers a shockingly brief sermon: “Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” (Jonah 3:4). Despite the short message, the Ninevites respond with complete and immediate repentance, from the king to the people to even the animals. They “turn from their evil way and from the violence that is in their hands” (Jonah 3:8). This is the true climax of the story, demonstrating that God’s desire is for repentance, not for destruction.
5. Jonah’s Anger: The Hidden Climax
Instead of rejoicing, Jonah becomes furious. He sits outside the city and complains to God: “Is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster” (Jonah 4:2). Jonah is angry that God showed mercy to his enemies. This is the central conflict: Jonah’s limited, nationalistic view of God’s grace versus God’s limitless, universal mercy. This part of the story is almost always ignored in popular tellings.
6. God’s Final Question: The Unanswered Call
The book ends with God teaching Jonah a final lesson using a plant that provides shade. When the plant withers, Jonah becomes even angrier. God asks him, “You pity the plant…And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?” (Jonah 4:10-11). The book ends without Jonah’s reply. The silence forces the reader to answer the question for themselves: Do we rejoice in God’s mercy to all people, or do we, like Jonah, resent His grace when it is extended to those we don’t think deserve it?