I want to cover two aspects of Jonah’s story: the literal and the spiritual.
I believe that we are all familiar with the story of Jonah, probably because it is so unique and unbelievable. God commands Jonah to go to the city of Nineveh and preach and prophesy about what awaits them if they don’t repent. Jonah decides that the Lord will relieve him of his duty and calling if he can get as far away from Nineveh as possible. What seems odd to me is that if Jonah understood God and how he works, how could he imagine himself to be safe if he fled from God, or would it even be possible to escape from him?
So Jonah gets on the ship, and as they are traveling to their destination, a great storm arises, and the people on the boat begin to pray to their various gods. Jonah is found sleeping and is told to wake up and pray to his God for their safety. After some time, it is determined that someone on the ship is responsible for the storm because of something they’ve done or are doing. Jonah then realizes he is the problem and tells the others to cast him overboard. They are reluctant to do as he requests and begin to row feverishly toward the shore but to no avail. So Jonah is thrown overboard where the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow him.
To this point, the story is improbable but not impossible. What happens next is what is so remarkable and memorable. When the fish swallows Jonah, it seems he is still conscious of what is happening to him. I do not believe that Jonah’s life functions continued. But if Jonah died, how could he still pray?
As I discussed this with my family, we surmised that Jonah’s life was suspended, but he was still aware of what was happening to him. While this seems impossible, there are many, many stories of people who have physically died, been aware of the circumstances of their death, were observing what was happening to them, and then revived. These near-death experiences are not unique, but there are other instances of people being dead for an extended period and returning to life. Both Lazarus and the daughter of Jairus are examples of this.
The thing that makes me think that Jonah’s life functions were suspended is the wording used in Jonah 2:2, which reads, “…I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the Lord, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell…”. Verse five reads,” The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head.”. The phrase “even to the soul” means even to the point of death.
If this is what happened to Jonah, you can only imagine how desperately he would pray and plead for forgiveness.
Now I would like to discuss some spiritual aspects of the story of Jonah and how we can apply them in our lives.
First, like Jonah, we all have a divine calling and mission. Most of us do not discover our life’s purpose until extraordinary circumstances make it obvious. These circumstances could include powerful spiritual experiences or excruciating trials. If what God asks us to do is difficult or takes us out of our comfort zone, we may try to run away like Jonah. We learn from the story of Jonah that when we run away from God and our responsibilities, we end up in hell. Some of us don’t realize we’re in hell for a long time, but we generally plead to God for help when we do.
I believe that most of us discover or will experience some form of hell at some point in our lives. These are circumstances when we feel there is no hope or reason to live. Jonah was put into situations that would have ended his life permanently if God didn’t have a plan for him. Because we know that Jonah was aware of those dire circumstances, he turned to God and recognized the source of his salvation. I believe God has a plan for us and will save us from death and hell if we call upon him.
The language Jonah used in his prayer is interesting and insightful. “Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple.”. I am a witness that when we look toward God and towards the holy temple, we will learn the source of our salvation. I would encourage you to attend the temple as often as possible. If you cannot go inside the temple, at least go to the temple and feel the spirit there.
In summary, Jonah’s story applies literally and spiritually to us. Jonah was in impossible circumstances, and we may find ourselves in like circumstances. The lessons that we learn from his story are that our physical and spiritual salvation comes from God.