An incident happened in Bahía El Águila near the San Isidro Lighthouse in the Strait of Magellan in Chile’s southernmost Patagonia region. Adrián Simancas was kayaking with his father, Dell. A humpback whale surfaced, engulfing Adrián and his yellow kayak for a few seconds before letting him go. “I thought I was dead,” Adrián said. (APnews.com 14 February 2025) The Bible also records a similar incident that happened to the Prophet Jonah. (Jonah 1-4)
Partial obedience?: The capital city of the Assyrian Empire was the city of Nineveh, the most prominent city of that time. God commanded Jonah to go and preach against the city. Jonah was reluctant to go there because, first, it was an intimidating city. Second, Jonah wanted the wicked city to be judged and not escape punishment. Third, he was willing to go, but not willing to preach. Hence, he went to the seaport of Joppa. Jonah took a ship going to Tarshish, which was East and considered the end of the earth. Tarshish was near modern Spain.
Ticket money: Jonah had sufficient money to purchase a ticket to Tarshish, which was more expensive. He assumed that God had given him money to go on a picnic to Tarshish.
Strong winds: The ship began the journey, but if there were strong winds, the ship could sink. All passengers called upon God while Jonah slept. The captain of the ship found him sleeping and asked him to call upon his God.
Confession: Jonah confessed to the captain that the strong winds were because of his sin, as he was running away from the presence of God. Jonah asked the captain to throw him into the sea.
Swallowed and spit: Jonah was thrown into the sea; a big fish swallowed him. Now, he confessed to God and prayed for deliverance from the depths of the sea. God commanded the fish to vomit him on the shores of Nineveh. He preached, and the city repented by fasting for three days.
Do I understand that God could use a fish to teach Jonah obedience?